Author Archives: Tim Hall

We apologise for the absence

Posted on January 28, 2003 by Tim Hall

Now I know what happens to a Moveable Type blog when I have a whole week without net access!

In the past week I’ve started a new job, and moved into a new home (one week from the day after first telephoning the estate agent!). I spent a week in hotels, and then it was a couple of days after moving in before I got the phone connected.

I’m now living in metropolis of Cheadle Hulme, just south of Stockport and five minute’s walk from the local railway station, which is just ten minutes ride away from where I work.

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Bloggers in Trouble

Posted on January 18, 2003 by Tim Hall

Fellow bloggers Andrew Ian Dodge and Sasha Castel have been having a bit of bother with the UK immigration authorities. I don’t know the full story, but the idea that someone might be refused entry to Great Britain because of things written in a blog is surreal. Perhaps some small-minded bureaucrat really thinks they plan to summon Cthulhu?

Remember Andrew and Sasha in your prayers.

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Blogging Hiatus

Posted on January 18, 2003 by Tim Hall

Entries have been light lately, and will continue to be so for at least another week; not only am I starting a new job and having to relocate, but I’m struggling with an extremely flaky internet connection.

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Carnival of the Vanities #17

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Tim Hall

“Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends…” Yes, it’s that time of the week again, so it’s time for Carnival of the Vanities!, hosted this week by Greeblie Blog.

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RPG Campaign Styles

Posted on January 14, 2003 by Tim Hall

This week’s Game WISH is about Campaign Styles

Do you prefer campaigns to be limited-plot, with a definite ending, or open-ended, so that they can continue indefinitely? What about things like “convention campaigns” where people meet irregularly to pick up old characters and game together? What are the pros and cons of each sort of game? Which is more common in your gaming experience?

I see three forms of game structure:

  • The open-ended game, which has a vast epic plot and multiple subplots which goes on as long as a typical Robert Jordan epic, but eventually fizzles out.
  • The closed game, which might be a single one-shot adventure or be resolved over several sessions, but has a definite beginning, a middle and end.
  • The episodic game, where each episode is largely self-contained plot-wise, but successive episodes feature the same setting and characters.

    • Over the years I’ve had experiences of all three; there was the long-running AD&D Spelljammer “Vikings in Space” which fizzled out before any final conclusion, my equally long-running GURPS Kalyr game which did reach a final conclusion after 5 years, and an largely episodic Runequest game. Since then much of my off-line gaming has been convention-style one-shots.

    I have some experience of “convention campaign” games; so far I’ve played three day-long sessions of an interdimensional Fudge-based game called “Guardians of Dimension”, and expect to play a fourth this Easter. On-line games are different again; most have been of the ‘open-ended’ format, even though a typical long-running PBeM or message board game only gets though as much actual plot as a convention one-shot. So far I’ve only ever played in a single on-line game that’s run to a conclusion, all others have either fizzled out or are still continuing, although many ran for two or three years before folding.

    My preferences are for games that come to some sort of conclusion, either one-shots or short, focussed campaigns. If I want something long-term I’ll go for an episodic format, but I do find one of the big advantages of one-shots is that they give the opportunity to play in a lot of different genres.

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    If I ran a Train Company

    Posted on January 14, 2003 by Tim Hall

    Patrick Crozier has already outlined what he might do if he ran a railway company. Here’s what I might do if I ran one:

    • I would make my timetable robust, optimising for reliability and punctuality. This means I will not attempt to run any services that I didn’t have the rolling stock, the staff and the track capacity to run reliably.
    • When obtaining new rolling stock I will never entertain the idea of ordering large fleets of new trains of a totally untried design straight off the drawing board, with the whole lot due for delivery before the manufacturers have time to iron out the bugs in the design.
    • When taking delivery of new trains I will not dispose of the old ones they replace until I am totally satisfied with the performance of the new trains. Even then I will keep some older trains in reserve in case of unforseen problems or sudden increases in traffic.
    • I will paint my trains in a livery that cries “train”, rather than try to pretend that my trains are buses or aircraft. I will also make every effort to keep them clean both inside and out.
    • I will foster a pride, loyalty and ‘can do’ attitude amongst my staff. I particular I will listen to any new ideas any of them come up with rather than have a ‘thats the way we’ve always done it’ culture.
    • I will consider radical new means of ticketing, such as smart cards for regular passengers that respond to transponders on the trains themselves. If these systems prove successful I will encourage their adoption thoughout the industry, especially for operators that share routes or provide connections with my own trains. However, if David Blunkett asks me to link these smart cards with his stupid national ID card I will tell him to bugger off in no uncertain terms!
    • I will build partnerships with other business whose customers are also my passengers wherever both parties benefit from such an approach.
    • I will have a positive attitude towards rail enthusiasts and the preservation movement.
    • If a public body such as a local government is prepared to give me a subsidy for a service that would otherwise not be economic for me to operate I would take the money!

    Posted in Railways | Comments Off

    Old Rockers and Tribute Bands

    Posted on January 12, 2003 by Tim Hall

    More musical musings: how many original members does a band need to still be considered the original band?

    There are an awful lot of acts from the 60s and 70s that are still recording and touring, despite the fact that only two or three members of their most successful lineups remain. I’ve heard some people describe the current lineup of Uriah Heep (with only guitarist Mick Box and drummer Lee Kerslake from their 70s peak lineup) as ‘a tribute band with a couple of original members’, which I consider a little unfair, although the current lineup does lack the original frontman (the late David Byron) and the original main songwriter (Ken Hensley). However, the current lineup has now been together for more than sixteen years, half their thirty-two year existance!

    Similarly, Blue Öyster Cult were known as “Two Oyster Cult” when reduced to just Eric Bloom and Don “Buck Dharma” Roeser plus three new guys, although Allen Lanier has since rejoined.

    How much does it really matter? When you go so see Uriah Heep, Blue Öyster Cult or Deep Purple, what are you going for? Is it to see a particular bunch of guys perform, or is it to hear their music performed? I say this because I’ve seen all three bands perform in the past couple of years, and have enjoyed all three. However, one of the best shows I’ve seen all year has been by The Musical Box, a Canadian tribute band reproducing Genesis’ 1973 tour!

    Posted in Music | Comments Off

    Greg Costikyan’s Weblog

    Posted on January 12, 2003 by Tim Hall

    Noted game designer Greg Costikyan has a brand-new weblog focusing, naturally, on game design.

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    LOTR vs Star Wars

    Posted on January 11, 2003 by Tim Hall

    Andrea Harris explains why Lord of the Rings is so much better than Star Wars.

    Dazzling special effects are no longer sufficient to hide a weak storyline from the audience. The storyline in Lord of the Rings exposes the Star Wars “mythos” as a randomly pasted-up pastiche of old fifties sci-fi, Saturday matinee serials, rescue-the-princess fairy tales, and badly-digested kung-fu-movie pseudo-mysticism.

    I thought Star Wars was just an entertaining film, and nothing more. There’s no deep philosophical meaning, and no consistant worldbuilding behind the scenes. But there was never meant to be.

    Anyone that tries to make sense of the “Star Wars Universe” as a coherent world deserves to spend eternity trying to make sense of the continuity of Dr.Who.

    On the other hand, LOTR was Prof. Tolkien’s life’s work. And it shows.

    Posted in Science Fiction | 58 Comments

    New Left-Wing Blog!

    Posted on January 10, 2003 by Tim Hall

    There’s a new left-wing British political blog on the Blogosphere, filling what seems to be a gap in the market – politX – vote hard, vote often,

    Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment