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Should We Let Our Teens Toast the Holidays?
While you're guzzling spiked eggnog or sipping Champagne this holiday season, what is your teenager going to be drinking? It's a question that you may want to ask yourself before the bubbly starts pouring.
I grew up never being allowed a drop of alcohol under my parents' roof until I reached the age of 21 (i.e., or until I went off to college and my parents no longer had control). But with my younger sister, my mom was a little more flexible, and has long been allowed the occasional bubbles on special occasions, such as weddings and Christmas.
Other than the obvious "younger sibling has it easy" issue, there hasn't been any real reason for concern. I highly doubt that the few sips that she did have when she was 15 at our aunt's wedding lurched her into a downward spiral of alcoholism.
I understand why parents would have a strict no alcohol policy in their home -- for fear that they'll be uncorking that metaphorical bottle forever. And yes, that would be a horrible responsibility hanging over your head, but the truth is, they're teenagers -- if they really want to drink, they will do so, with or without your permission.
You have to take a good look at your teen and gauge which is the best method for your family. If you prefer the "When in Rome" type of lifestyle, then have a glass of wine at dinner. If not, don't. As bent out of shape as some parents get about the whole "drinking under parent supervision thing," it's really not that big of a deal.
There was no difference between my sister and I, drinking-wise, as we both turned into adults, yet one of us was introduced to alcohol at a much younger age than the other. It was never a "forbidden fruit" to me -- up until college, I never even had a desire to drink, and when I did start, I didn't go crazy. And my sister, who was given the taste years ago with a glass of Champagne at a family Christmas dinner, has yet to turn into a raging alcoholic. It's credited to my mother who educated both of us on the effects of alcohol; she just used two different teaching methods. At the end of the day, education and trust are what's key. I will say that my sister and mother seemingly have a closer bond than my mother and I did when I was her age. Now whether that bond was created over drunkenly discussing life, who knows (kidding!). But in all seriousness, I think a lot of it has to do with the trust factor. My sister didn't feel the need to "sneak" around; therefore she's more open to talk to my mom about things -- whether it be boys, drinking, drugs, etc. -- whereas, I never really talked to my mother about that stuff until recently.
For me personally, when I have teenagers in my household, I see nothing wrong with letting them have a glass on special occasions. I'm not going to allow my home to be turned into one giant keg party, but I see no harm in responsible drinking.
I will argue that some parents think it's okay to extend that same practice to their children's friends, eternally turning them into the "cool parents," which is not okay under any circumstances. Yes it's under your roof, and yes you may be supervising, but whether they drink underage or not is, by no means, your decision to make -- it's the parents' of the child. So as tempting as it may be to be the "cool mom," someone has to be the adult in the situation and lock that wine up.
What are your thoughts on allowing teens to drink at home? Will your teen have a glass of alcohol during the holidays?
Image via Incase./Flickr
Piping Hot Posts
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usmom3December 21, 2010 at 10:51 PM
No he has health problems that drinking alcohol would complicate for him.
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sarahtessaDecember 21, 2010 at 11:45 PM
I grew up having sips of dad's beer, sips of mom's wine cooler, and champagne on new year's. It wasn't a big deal, because we were all home and safe. It also meant that I grew up learning moderation around alcohol, so my first time drinking didn't end up with me passed out on a dorm bathroom floor. I would certainly give a teen champagne or eggnog with a wee bit of rum IF and only IF we were home and going nowhere. And, SD is only 9, but I'm getting her and my sis (8) some sparking apple juice to ring in the new year with. (My SM knows and is fine with it). The girls are super excited. Someday I don't see anything wrong with them having a champagne toast with us. I'm thinking 14 or 15, though, not anytime soon!
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qrex912December 21, 2010 at 11:50 PM
I will, barring any health issues or medication, of any kind that could make for a harmful combination. I believe fostering responsibility and open communication in a teen are important.
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RanaAuroraDecember 22, 2010 at 1:54 AM
I grew up having an oune or two of champage on Yule and New Years. I don't see the harm.
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momtothemax2910December 22, 2010 at 8:52 AMI was taught responsibility and moderation by my parents and will absolutely do the same with my children.
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ladyjodamic79December 22, 2010 at 9:15 AM
I say no..The drinking age is set in place for a reason.Even though some adults at the age of 21 are still to young minded to drink,they still know the health risks and any other dangers that can come from drinking..Teens cant make up their minds on who is dating who or what jeans to buy,or what make up to wear..So as a parent of a soon to be 13 year old i feel letting her drink is something that is a responsibility she is not ready to deal with the consequences of,and it wouldn't be fair of me as a parent to let her and to even think she can handle those responsibilities..Let her worry about other things like a normal 13 year old and not things that could stop her from even making it to the legal age to drink..
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Sarasahmof3December 22, 2010 at 10:06 AM
I was allowed to sip my mother's wine with dinner. And to have a small glass(less than a shot glass) of whatever was being used to celebrate. I was also taught at a very young age the results of drinking and driving(my dad's first wife and my best friend's mom were both killed by drunk drivers). But we lived in Germany where it was OK. With my own kids I will let them taste(you should really see their faces) my beer or wine. One taste and they are done. I am not a big drinker, I may have a drink once or twice a month. My drink of choice at home is coffee or hot chocolate. I was taught responsibility and moderation by my parents and will absolutely do the same with my children.
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jmtmnDecember 22, 2010 at 12:26 PM
I was allowed a little bit of Bailey's in my hot chocolate or a small glass of wine on holidays starting around age 15. I think I turned out ok. haha I would prob allow it for my kids if they were responsible and not driving that night.
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Boddah266December 22, 2010 at 3:30 PM
I was allowed to have Sambuca and Anisette at some family occasions (e.g. Yule) and I grew up just fine. I did not go insane and in fact, did not even drink alcohol until the age of 24! I am 30 now and I do not drink at all. Though I am not opposed to it - I do not have the desire to so.
My children have no desire to so much as taste any kind of alcohol as I have taught them that it is not a desirable thing to consume.
Though everyone has a difference of opinion and I taught my children differently than when I was growing up, taking those few sips certainly did not act as a prerequisite to alcoholism later in life.
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vallhkDecember 22, 2010 at 3:32 PM
I will more than likely allow her to drink at home, we were allowed to when we were younger. The only rule was that we could not leave the house once any alcohol passed our lips. Same thing will go for our kids. And hopefully we will be able to teach them to use it responsibly.


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At Geisinger, we work hard to make sure your experience is one of kindness and compassion, of listening and responding. We know it's hard to be away from home, even for a joyful event like welcoming a newborn into the world. That's why everyone from our medical and nursing staffs to our chaplains are here to serve you.
Our Patient Liaisons are dedicated to assist you with additional resources. For example, a family member may want to read more about your medical condition. Your patient liaison can direct your loved one to our Community Health Library, or arrange to speak to the doctor if you are not feeling up to asking questions.
What you need to bring
We want you to be as comfortable as possible when you're admitted to the hospital. You'll want to wear loose-fitting, casual clothes. You might also want to bring a change of clothes for when you are discharged, as well as personal items such as a razor, deodorant, toothbrush and shampoo. It is best to leave cash, credit cards, jewelry and sentimental items at home or send them home with a family member when you enter the hospital.
Be sure to also bring a list of your medications and your insurance card.
Patient meals
Our staff of registered dietitians strives to meet your nutritional needs, while balancing any restrictions you may have during your stay. You will receive a card daily to choose your menu for each of the following day's meal. If you need help, don't hesitate to ask your nurse. You may not always feel up to eating, but it's best to follow your dietary plan as much as possible to regain your strength. If at any time you have concerns about your meal (from temperature to selection), please let your dietary aide or nurse know when they bring your tray.
If family members bring you food from home, please ask the nurse from your healthcare team before you consider eating it. If you are on a special diet, consuming foods outside of your meal selections could interfere with your treatment plan.
Identification bracelet
At Geisinger, your safety and security are one of our highest priorities. That's why we issue and check identification bracelets (placed on your wrist when you are admitted) throughout your stay. We also have identification bracelets and a wide range of extra security measures in place for our newborns.

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April 05, 2001, 10:42 AM — General Motors announced a deal Tuesday to upgrade its consumer Web site, GMBuyPower.com, with new technology that lets car buyers access the site faster and on a variety of platforms, from cell phones to handhelds.
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GM is one of the first car makers to embrace the Internet as a venue to market and sell its vehicles. On March 21, the company announced the pilot test of another car buying site it is developing through a partnership with struggling online car seller Autobytel.com. GM is also mulling the launch of an Internet auto dealer called AutoCentric, a joint venture it developed last year with its dealers.


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The Story of Christmas 2013 Event:
Tuesday 17 December 2013
The Thirty-Sixth Presentation of The Story of Christmas took place on Tuesday 17 December 2013 at St George's Hanover Square, Mayfair, and The Dorchester, Park Lane. The event raised over £380,000 to support eight charitable projects - each of which are capital projects benefitting either the homeless or disadvantaged children in the London area. The event was attended by over 600 generous donors, who celebrated a Christmas service of nine lessons and carols, followed by a spectacular champagne reception and charity auction. Festive music was performed by the Choir of St George's Chapel Windsor Castle, the Band and Fanfare Trumpeters of the Welsh Guards and the magnificent soprano Gwawr Edwards. Yuletide readings and poems were recited by a cast of celebrated names including Charles Dance OBE, Freddie Fox, Tamsin Greig, Ian Hislop, Martin Jarvis OBE, Aled Jones MBE, Miles Jupp, John Sessions, Emma Watson, June Whitfield CBE and Penelope Wilton OBE.
Images of the 2013 event are viewable here.
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The Lord Mayor of Westminster and her consort with The Story of Christmas's Board of Trustees, the Chairman, Derek Penfold, and the Artistic Director & Chief Executive, Marc Corbett-Weaver at The Dorchester on Tuesday 17 December 2013
Video clips from The Story of Christmas's 2013 event, filmed by the Estates Gazette
The Story of Christmas
Founded in 1978, The Story of Christmas is a concert that takes place each year at St George's Hanover Square in Mayfair, followed by a glittering champagne reception and charity auction. The Event is organised as a special celebration of the festive season. It raises funds to support charitable projects that benefit homeless people and disadvantaged children in and around London. The Story of Christmas is supported by private and corporate benefactors, together with famous faces from the worlds of stage and screen who perform live. It is a private Event, tickets to which are offered by invitation.
The next event takes place on Wednesday 17 December 2014.
For further information, please contact Marc Corbett-Weaver, The Story of Christmas's Artistic Director
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Grandfather Twilightby Barbara Berger
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When day is gone, and shadows begin to deepen, it is time for Grandfather Twilight to close his book, put on his jacket, and go for a walk through the forest.
Little birds hush as he walks by, and the rabbits and other small creatures watch in silence as he performs his very special evening task and returns to his house among the trees. Small readers and listeners, too, will sense the serenity of this poetic story, and will be comforted to learn that the twilight is a gentle, friendly time.
Exquisite pictures extend and illuminate the text, to reveal the nightly miracle so faithfully performed by Grandfather Twilight. Perfect for reading aloud and for sharing at bedtime, this beautiful and reassuring book will be cherished by old and young alike.
"Dear Readers, Over the years, many people have told me about the peaceful hush that comes over a child, even a roomful of children, with the reading of Grandfather Twilight. When I created the book, I could only hope that something of the serenity I feel, myself, at twilight might come through the words and art. But I never dreamed that so many children would truly love it as they do, ask for it over and over again, find solace for fears of the dark and sometimes, even for the loss of a parent or grandparent. I never dreamed that Grandfather Twilight would have such a wonderful long life as a book, nor such a wide reach among children and adults alike, from the youngest to the oldest. To this day, it seems a miracle to me.
At the day's end, Grandfather Twilight walks in the forest to perform his evening task, bringing the miracle of night to the world.
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Barbara Helen Berger lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
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so i didnt actually work up the nerve to wear my silk spectre costume to oz comic con today, but i wish i had. So heres a few pics, too little too late. oh well. supernova's next
also showing off more of my bitchen new poster
you look awesome and should totally wear that to Supanova!


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Available UFAs: F Darryl Bootland, F Shane Hynes, D Maxim Kondratiev, F Mark Mowers Available RFAs: F Joakim Lindstrom, F Drew MillerNotable Signings: G Jonas Hiller (2-year contract), F Andrew Ebbett (2-year contract), F Brian Sutherby (1-year, $700,000 contract), F Andrew Ebbett (2-year contract), F Corey Perry (5 years, $26.625 million), G David LeNeveu (1-year contract), F Brendan Morrison (1-year, $2.75-million), D Steve Montador (1-year contract), F Eric Bogueniecki (1-year contract), F Josh Green (1-year contract), F Teemu Selanne (2-year, $5.25 million contract). Trades: Acquired a 2008 third-round pick from the Minnesota Wild for defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron, acquired forward Joakim Lindstrom from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional draft pick; acquired defenceman Ken Klee and forwards Brad Larsen and Chad Painchaud for defenceman Mathieu Schneider.
Available UFAs: F Mark SmithAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F Craig Conroy (undisclosed), F Daymond Langkow (undisclosed), G Curtis McElhinney (undisclosed), F Eric Nystrom (undisclosed), D Jim Vandermeer (undisclosed), F Rene Bourque (2-year contract), F Todd Bertuzzi (1-year, $1.95 million contract), F Jamie Lundmark (undisclosed), F Andre Roy (1-year, $550,000 contract).Trades: Acquired centre Michael Cammalleri and a 2008 second-round pick from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2008 first-round pick and a 2009 second-round pick; acquired a 2008 first-round pick and a 2009 second-round pick from the Montreal Canadiens for left wing Alex Tanguay and a 2008 fifth-round pick; acquired F Rene Bourque from Chicago for a 2nd round pick.
Available UFAs: F Kevyn Adams, F Yanic PerreaultAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F Andrew Ladd (2-year contract), Cristobal Huet (4-year, $22.4 million), Brian Campbell (8-year, $56.8 million), D Matt Walker (1-year contract), D Aaron Johnson (1-year, $525,000), F Colin Fraser (1-year contract), Doug Janik (1-year contract), G Corey Crawford (undisclosed), D Jordan Hendry (2-year contract), F Pascal Pelletier (undisclosed), Tim Brent (1-year contract)Trades: Acquired second round pick in 2010 draft from Montreal Canadians for forward Robert Lang; acquired a second round pick from Calgary for foward Rene Bourque; acquired centre Tim Brent from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenceman Danny Richmond.
Available UFAs: F Peter ForsbergAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F Joe Sakic (1-year contract), D John-Michael Liles (4-year contract), F Scott Parker (1-year contract), D Adam Foote (undisclosed contract), G Andrew Raycroft (1-year, $800,000), Darcy Tucker (2-year, $4.5 million), F Wojtek Wolski (2-years, undisclosed), D Daniel Tjarnqvist (1-year contract), F Cody McCormick (1-year contract), F Cody McLeod (1-year contract), F Brian Willsie (1-year contract), G Tyler Weiman (1-year contract), F Nathan Smith (undisclosed), F Marek Svatos (2-year, $4.1 million contract)Trades: Acquired centre Marty Sertich from the Dallas Stars for a 2009 conditional pick; acquired a 2008 second-round pick from the Los Angeles Kings for right wing Brad Richardson; acquired forward Matt Hendricks from the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenceman Johnny Boychuk.
Available UFAs: NoneAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: D Mike Commodore (5-year, $18.75 million), F Kristian Huselius (4-years, $19 million), F R.J. Umberger (4-year, $15 million contract), D Clay wilson (1-year contract), F Michael Peca (1-year, $1.315 million), F Derek MacKenzie (two-years, undisclosed), F Craig MacDonald (1-year, undisclosed), F Steve Kelly (1-year, undisclosed), F Mike York (1-year, undisclosed), F Alexandre Picard (undisclosed), D Aaron Rome (1-year contract), G Pascal Leclaire (3-years, $11.4 million).Trades: Acquired defenceman Jonathan Sigalet from the Boston Bruins for left wing Matt Marquardt; acquired centre R.J. Umberger and a 2008 fourth-round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for 2008 first- and third-round picks; acquired LW Raffi Torres from Edmonton for C Gilbert Brule; acquired D Fedor Tyutin and D Christian Backman from the New York Rangers for F Nikoalai Zherdev and F Dan Fritsche, acquired a conditional draft pick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Joakim Lindstrom.
Available UFAs: NoneAvailable RFAs: F Chris ConnerNotable Signings: D Dan Jancevski (2-year contract), F Toby Petersen (2-year contract), F Loui Eriksson (2-year, $3.2 million contract), F Sean Avery (4-years, $15.5 million), F B.J. Crombeen (1-year, undisclosed)Trades: Acquired a 2009 conditional pick from the Colorado Avalanche for centre Marty Sertich.
Available UFAs: D Garrett StaffordAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings:F Valtteri Filppula (5-year, $15 million contract), D Andreas Lilja (2-year contract), D Brad Stuart (4 years, $15 million), G Ty Conklin (1-year, $750,000), F Marian Hossa (1-year, $7.4 million), D Jonathan Ericsson (3-year contract), G Jimmy Howard (3-year contract), F Darren Haydar (1-year contract), F Aaron Downey (1-year contract), D Chris Chelios (1-year contract), D Kyle Quincey (2-year contract), F Darren McCarty (1-year contract).Trades:
Available UFAs: D Allan Rourke, F Geoff SandersonAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F Ryan Potulny (1-year contract), F Marc-Antoine Pouliot (2-year, $1.65-million contract), F Jean-Francois Jacques (2-year contract), D Jason Strudwick (1-year, $625,000), F Zach Stortini (3-year contract).Trades: Acquired centre Ryan Potulny from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenceman Danny Syvret; acquired defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky from the Los Angeles Kings for centre Jarret Stoll and defenceman Matt Greene; acquired C Gilbert Brule from Columbus for LW Raffi Torres; acquired F Erik Cole from Carolina for D Joni Pitkanen.
Available UFAs: G Dan Cloutier, F Ladislav Nagy, F Scott ThorntonAvailable RFAs: F Patrick O'SullivanNotable Signings: G Erik Ersberg (1-year contract), F Matt Moulson (1-year contract), F Gabe Gauthier (2-year contract), D Peter Harrold (3-year contract), F Jarret Stoll (4-year, $14.4 million contract), F Brad Richardson (multi-year contract).Trades: Acquired a 2009 fifth-round pick from the St. Louis Blues for defenceman T.J. Fast; acquired a 2008 first-round pick and a 2009 second-round pick from the Calgary Flames for centre Michael Cammalleri and a 2008 second-round pick; acquired right wing Brad Richardson from the Colorado Avalanche for a 2008 second-round pick; acquired centre Jarret Stoll and defenceman Matt Greene from the Edmonton Oilers for defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky; acquired D Denis Gauthier and a 2nd round pick from Philadelphia for Patrik Hersley and Ned Lukacevic.
Available UFAs: D Keith Carney, D Petteri Nummelin, F Mark ParrishAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F Antti Miettinen (3-years), F Andrew Brunette (3-year contract), D Kurtis Foster (1-year, $1.025 million), F Owen Nolan (2-year, $5.5 million contract), F Craig Weller (2-year contract), F Corey Locke (1-year contract), F Pierre-Marc Bouchard (5-year, $20.4 million contract), F Stephane Veilleux (1-year contract).Trades: Acquired defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron from the Anaheim Ducks for a 2008 third-round pick; acquired D Marek Zidlicky from Nashville for Ryan Jones and a second-round pick; acquired forward Corey Locke from the Montreal Canadiens for defenceman Shawn Belle.
Available UFAs: F Martin GelinasAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: D Ryan Suter (4-year, $14 million contract), D Shea Weber (3-year, $13.5 million contract), D Kevin Klein (2-year, $1.3 million), F Rich Peverley (2-year contract), D Ville Koistinen (1-year contract)Trades: Acquired a 2009 fifth-round pick from the Carolina Hurricanes for the rights to left wing Darcy Hordichuk; acquired a 2008 fourth-round pick from the St. Louis Blues for goaltender Chris Mason; acquired left wing Triston Grant and a 2009 seventh-round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenceman Janne Niskala; acquired Ryan Jones and a second round pick from Minnesota for D Marek Zidlicky.
Available UFAs: G David Aebischer, D Ryan CaldwellAvailable RFAs: F Joel PerraultNotable Signings: D Kurt Sauer (4 years, $7 million), F Todd Fedoruk (3-years, $3.175 million), D David Hale (2-year, $1.4-million), Matt Jones (2-years), F Brian McGrattan (1-year contract), F Garth Murray (1-year contract), F Dan Carcillo (2-year contract), F Jeff Hoggan (1-year contract), D Drew Fata (undisclosed). Trades: Acquire defenceman Sean Zimmerman from the New Jersey Devils for forward Kevin Cormier; acquired centre Olli Jokinen from the Florida Panthers for defencemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton and a 2008 second-round pick; acquired right wing Alex Bourret from the New York Rangers for a 2008 third-round pick; acquired forward Brian McGrattan from the Ottawa Senators for a 2009 fifth-round pick.
Available UFAs: G Dimitri Patzold, F Tomas Plihal, D Alexei SemenovAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: G Brian Boucher (undisclosed), F Jeremy Roenick (undisclosed), F Joe Pavelski (undisclosed), F Jody Shelley (undisclosed), D Rob Blake (1-year, $5-million), F Mike Iggulden (1-year contract), D Christian Ehrhoff (3-year contract), F Marcel Goc (1-year, $775,000 contract), F Tom Cavanagh (1-year contract), F Ryane Clowe (1-year, $1.6 million contract), F Lukas Kaspar (1-year contract). Trades: Acquired defencemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich from the San Jose Sharks for Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, a first round selection in the 2009 entry draft and a fourth round selection in the 2010 entry draft; acquired second-round selections in the 2009 and 2010 drafts in exchange for defenceman Craig Rivet and a seventh-round selection in the 2010 entry draft.
Available UFAs: F Petr Cajanek, D Micki Dupont, F Mike JohnsonAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F David Backes (3-years, $7.5 million), F Yan Stastny (2-year contract), D Mike Weaver (undisclosed), F Matt Foy (undisclosed) F Brad Winchester (undisclosed), F Jay McClement (1-year, undisclosed), D Jeff Woywitka (1-year, undisclosed), F Steve Regier (undisclosed), D Andy Wozniewski (undisclosed).Trades: Acquired defenceman T.J. Fast from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2009 fifth-round pick; acquired a 2008 third-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for right wing Jamal Mayers; acquired goaltender Chris Mason from the Nashville Predators for a 2008 fourth-round pick.
Available UFAs: D Aaron MillerAvailable RFAs: NoneNotable Signings: F Kyle Wellwood (1 year, $997,500), F Darcy Hordichuk (undisclosed), F Ryan Johnson (2-years, $2.3 million), G Curtis Sanford (1-year, $650,000), F Steve Bernier (1-year, $2.5 million contract), D Nolan Baumgartner (1-year, two-way contract), D Rob Davison (1-year, $560,000), F Pavol Demitra (2-years, $8-million), F Jason Krog (1-year, undisclosed), D Mike Brown (undisclosed), D Zach Fitzgerald (undisclosed), G Drew MacIntyre (undisclosed), D Nathan McIver (undisclosed), F Rick Rypien (undisclosed), F Ryan Shannon (undisclosed). Trades: Acquired right wing Steve Bernier from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second round pick in 2010 and a third round pick in 2009; acquired defenceman Lawrence Nycholat from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Ryan Shannon.
TSN's Bob McKenzie sets up the start of training camp, going one-on-one with the GMs from all seven Canadian teams.
WATCH: Bryan Murray - Ottawa Senators
WATCH: Dave Nonis - Toronto Maple Leafs
WATCH: Kevin Cheveldayoff - Winnipeg Jets
WATCH: Marc Bergevin - Montreal Canadiens
WATCH: Brad Treliving - Calgary Flames
WATCH: Craig MacTavish - Edmonton Oilers
WATCH: Jim Benning - Vancouver Canucks
TSN.ca previews what to expect out of the NHL's 30 teams as we count down to puck drop. Check daily for team previews and updates on each Canadian franchise leading up to Oct. 8.
Latest Preview: Carolina Hurricanes


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Camera & Lens Reviews pages updated (4 cameras, 5 lens reviews)
With two big Nikon and Sony announcements, it was not raining reviews this week, but that does not mean it was dry either! We caught up with the timeline (as you can tell by the burst mode of posts posted below) and we have added four new completed camera reviews to the Camera Reviews stream and five new completed lens reviews to the Lens Reviews stream. Four of the five were primes!


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All News
MMORPG General News
In Defense of the Subscription-Based MMO
Aubrielle provides arguments why it is good to have subscription based MMOs amongst the multitude of F2P MMOs.
» Continue reading the article...
After Reset
After Reset Interview
Last week I had the chance to interview Mr. Nixon of Black Cloud Studios . I asked the community to send questions, and some of you responded. So lets get started.
» Read the article
Recent articles
Poll WatchYour Favorite Infinity Engine Game?
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Recently ReleasedSep: Wasteland 2
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Sep: Endless Legend
Aug: Lichdom: Battlemage
Expected ReleasesSep: Gauntlet
Sep: TinyKeep
Sep: Icewind Dale: EE
Sep: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
News Watch
Star Traders 2 - A New Kickstarter RPG Game by fallen
Pillars of Eternity - Sensuki's Suggestions by Sensuki
Pillars of Eternity - Post-Funding Update # 85 by azarhal
Gauntlet - Video Preview @ GameSpot by tomasp3n
Wasteland 2 - Review Roundup #1 by tomasp3n
Forum WatchRPGWatch group on steam by wolfing
Firefox is worse literally every update by Lucky Day
Legends of Dawn Collector's Edition by TheMadGamer
Pricewatch! by Dark Savant
What games are you playing now? by Nukester
Monday - September 15, 2014
Liege - Post-Funding Update #29
John Rhee of Coda Games has released a new post-funding development update for his funded RPG Liege, and it includes a new video to watch also.
Apologies to those of you who were looking forward to the alpha release with this update- I decided it'd be better to take some more time to polish things up a bit rather than disappointing with a rushed build. Things are taking longer than planned, but we're getting a lot done and hopefully you like what you see so far!
Information aboutLiege
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Sunday - September 14, 2014
Dragon Age: Inquisition - Skyhold Interview
Bioware posted the first part of a new interview about the Skyhold in DA:I.
Last week, Dragon Age fans were introduced to Skyhold—the Inquisition's base of operations—through an article from our friends at Game Informer. Following the article, we caught up with Dragon Age: Inquisition producer Cameron Lee to ask a few follow-up questions.
In part 1 of this interview series, Cameron discusses what Skyhold is used for, what players can do to customize it, who you can interact with there, and more!
[DRAGON AGE]: Can you give us a quick recap on what exactly Skyhold is?
[CAMERON LEE]: Skyhold is a huge fortress and the seat of your power as the leader of the Inquisition. From there, you decide the fate of nations, direct your agents throughout Thedas, pass judgment on your enemies, and decide how you will personally take action against the Elder One.
[DA]: Does Skyhold's appearance change over the course of the game?
[CL]: As you progress, you'll notice some parts of Skyhold expanding and becoming more detailed. Murals may be painted, and trophies collected and mysterious artifacts researched by your Inquisition followers. All of this and more has a physical impact on Skyhold.
[DA]: What areas of Skyhold can players customize?
[CL]: Skyhold can be customized to reflect what sort of Inquisition you're leading. You choose what to do with major parts of the castle such as towers and the courtyard as well as decorations like statues, windows, drapes, furniture, and even the heraldry your Inquisition forces will take into the world.
Information aboutDragon Age: Inquisition
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Dragon - Interview @ IndieGames
IndieGames interviewed Erik Johnson of Red Level Games a few questions about his Dragon focused ARPG I posted about yesterday in case you missed it.
Let us get one thing out of the way first... Will we really get to play as fully grown dragons in Dragon?
Yes -- no false advertising on that front. And not just any dragon, your dragon. We want the game to contain a really robust character creator, and for players to have a variety of branching options as their dragon gains experience and evolves (through various means such as completing quests, eating, sleeping, and so on). A fledgling version of the character creator will be in by Early Access next week, and it might still be possible for us to release it ahead of the 19th -- which would give those interested a chance to customize a bit ahead of jumping into the first public Alpha build.
And, in a nutshell, how will the game play?
Similar to an action RPG, but you're a dragon as opposed to a humanoid protagonist -- meaning you can fly. We haven't taken that portion of it lightly either. A few of us on the team spent a good amount of our time on the road this summer, attending conferences (including PAX Prime, Dragonflight and Denver Comic Con) to build awareness as well as get feedback from attendees on the game's concept and our flight and combat mechanics. I remember worrying that without the RPG layer in at the time, people would see it as a lackluster tech demo. Instead, we had trouble getting folks to give up their seats for the next in line. They wanted to explore all corners of the world by air, and it became clear that many of those who tried the game found flying around the small biome we created for the demo to be its own special experience. I'm not sure how to describe it, maybe relaxing? Cathartic? Regardless, it allowed them to cut loose as a dragon and we know that's the crux of it all.
Another one of our top priorities is to have the initial co-op/multiplayer layer in for our Early Access Launch next week, as we're aiming to develop content that will specifically cater to various PvE and PvP bits as we move toward official launch. We'll be relying on early adopting players to help us test out these new features as we introduce them, along with other aspects of the game like mod tools.
Information aboutDragon
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Age of Wonders 3 - New Patch & Dev Journal
Triumph Studios announces patch 1.4 for Age Of Wonders III is now in Beta on Steam.
As we're ramping up for the Golden Realms Expansion set to be released September 18th, we're first going to talk about the accompanying v1.4 Patch. There's a huge list of changes below, but the stand out features of the patch are:
- A whole bunch of AI improvements and fixes, including: a more aggressive AI, trespassing updates, AI surrendering, etc.
- Updated disjunction mechanics. See Dev Journal: New Disjunct & Spell Mechanics for details. This also includes changes to abilities removing buffs and debuffs to make these consistent with the disjunct mechanics and more interesting overall.
- Non-Hero units can now continue levelling up beyond "Elite" and the level cap for Heroes has been razed.
- Added an option to disable observing other people's Manual Battles, such that the units and spells of other Players are no longer revealed.
- Tactical spells balance update, making them – and especially buff and debuff spells – more viable and fun.
- An update to all Elementals, adding more variety to their strengths and weaknesses.
- Multiple balance changes – specifically to Arch Druid and Rogue units which – adding racial diversity.
- Changes Happiness and Morale to make these systems more interesting. Includes changes to Skills, Abilities and Status Effects to add more active and direct ways of influencing Morale.
- Addition of the Package Manager to facilitate user made maps. This including Steam Workshop support. See here for a guide on how to use it!
They also released a new Development Journal about Wild Magic.
Hi there, here's a look at another new feature from the upcoming Golden Realms expansion. This time it's the new magical sphere of Wild Magic. Players who choose this specialization have the ability to direct the flow of raw magical energy for spectacular results.
Information aboutAge of Wonders 3
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released
Sinister Design - Against the Cult of Simplicity
Craig Stern of Sinister Designs has a new post about the Cult of Simplicity.
While at Indiecade in 2013, I had the pleasure of listening to Brenda Romero give an inspirational talk (one which she has evidently delivered elsewhere since) themed after the movie Hiro Dreams of Sushi. It was a talk about seeking perfection in game design. She described a triangle with one corner labeled on time, another labeled on budget, and a third labeled great. She exhorted the audience to disregard the "on time" and "on budget" sides of the game development triangle, and instead aim for a game that is truly great at all costs.
Brenda is a funny and dynamic speaker, and it made for a very entertaining talk. I would have enjoyed it without reservation but for one moment where she exhorted the audience to design games centered around a single core mechanic. Romero indicated that that was the only way to design something truly perfect. I considered asking her to defend that position in the Q&A that followed, but I hesitated. "I already have a bit of a reputation as a gadfly in the indie community," I thought to myself. "And I like Brenda. Is this really a battle worth fighting?" I chose to let it go–but the memory of that moment continued to nag at me.
Later on in the weekend, I dropped by a tent where Jeremy Gibson was giving a talk on game design. I don't recall the name of the talk, but it struck me as an intro-level lecture for folks who had not been making games for very long. He, too, apparently felt obliged to spend some time telling the audience to make games with only a single core mechanic. He did not give a reason; he did not limit his statement to new designers who are just finding their feet. He simply said that game designers should do it. Full stop.
Now, here's the thing: I genuinely enjoy games that employ only a single core mechanic. But I also enjoy highly complex games that leverage many different systems, and I admit that I am deeply uncomfortable with the thought that leaders in the indie community are running around telling everybody that one of these is somehow better than the other.
Before we get into the repercussions of telling people that a game with a single core mechanic is preferable, I want to take a step back and examine the merits of the contention itself: is it, in fact, actually better to have a single core mechanic?
Information aboutSinister Design
Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Gameswelt Videos
Warhorse shared links for some new videos on a German site called Gameswelt. The good news is some parts are in English, and they show new gameplay.
Gameswelt from Germany presented their 1st of 4 videos of their visit at our Studio in Prague. Check Gameswelt.de for today's joy.
Gameswelt NEXT: Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Do you want to see our Alchemy system or are you rather into archery? Check video 2 from the visit of Gameswelt at Warhorse Studios
Gameswelt NEXT - Teil 2: Dungeons & No Dragons
And there goes the 3rd video of Gameswelt. Have you ever wondered how our Tech Alpha will look like? Or the Beta? Check it out!
Source: Warhorse Studios
Information aboutKingdom Come: Deliverance
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Historical
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Worlds of Magic - New Patch Released
Wastelands Interactive uploaded a new patch on Steam for the early Access version of Worlds of Magic. So here are the details of the fixes, and changes from the patch.
New (1424M) build is up
A new patch has been uploaded. (Windows only, Linux and Mac to be uploaded on Monday) We tried to address as many issues as possible.
Below is the changelog.
We would really appreciate your feedback.
- [fixed] You can transmute 0 mana for 0 gold in alchemy-
- [fixed] Unit switcher above the minimap is not centered
- [fixed] Blue moon didn't apply it's bonus to research from Sage discipline
- [changed] Disabled forge
- [fixed] Not working next page button on spellbook
- [fixed] The game shouldn't crash from out of memory error while generating any more
- [fixed] Default race on surveyor was always DRACONIANS
- [fixed] Expanding "sort by lord" popup on enchantment list caused enexpected behaviour
- [added] Tooltips for mirror panel
- [fixed] Fixed many in-game texts
- [fixed] Win/lose conditions
- [fixed] Weird city-targeting spell issues
- [fixed] Enchantment panel
- [fixed] There was one additional militia unit during battle which wasn't shown on city screen
- [fixed] Amount of turns remaining to finish research wasn't updating (visual only bug)
- [fixed] Crash when opening abilities minipanel for some units
- [fixed] Army selection and destination flag animations are no longer fps-dependent
- [fixed] Number of opponents and world size drop down menus have wider colliders
- [tweak] Adjusted surveyor panel depth
- [tweak] Adjusted battle summary depth
- [tweak] Map, history and forge buttons are grayed out and unclickable
- [fixed] Owerwriting a file didn't update it's date
- [fixed] Units were losing exp after loading
- [fixed] Random obstacles will no longer generate during city siege
- [fixed] Bless duration (was 0)
- [fixed] AC modifying spells were not working
Information aboutWorlds of Magic
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Unbended - Some Questions & Answers
The developers of the Sacred inspired ARPG game Unbended have updated their FAQ on the website to answer a few more questions from a few different supporters.
Never fear. We have neither fallen asleep nor have we lost interest in our baby. During the last two weeks there was a lot of organizational matters and technicalities on our schedules. In the current phase of the project, that's unfortunately not avoidable. But we promise to improve and we'll try to give you something more tangible in the coming week. Stay with us and have a nice week. For now, there's the next round in our very popular category "Questions and Answers on UNBENDED".
Information aboutUnbended
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Shroud of the Avatar - Update of the Avatar #90
The 90th Update of the Avatar from Portalarium has been posted this week, and as usual it contains news, items, and a few more videos. Here are the details.
Here's what we have for you in this week's edition of Update of the Avatar:
- Darkstarr Training Montage
- New Designers Join SotA Dev Team
- Founder's Developer Blog: Daily Standup Notes and Developer Q&A
- Baron's Cloak
- Knight's Cloak
- Creature Spotlight: Elves
- Alienware Sponsors $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon
- Upcoming Events
Information aboutShroud of the Avatar
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Skywind - Bitter Coast Preview Trailer
The developers of the new Skywind mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimhave released a new trailer that shows the modders progress on the Bitter Coast.
An exclusive look at the latest work on the Bitter Coast. As always, many models are placeholders and everything is subject to change. Please enjoy!
Information aboutSkyrim
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release: Released
Gamasutra - MP Alternatives in RPGs
Gamasutra is hosting a new article from Zack Wood who writes about MP alternatives in RPGs, and no it doesn't stand for multiplayer. He means Magic Points.
We've all played a game or two (or twenty) with this system: each character has a finite amount of MP used for spells, more powerful ones cost more MP, and if your MP runs out you need items (or "rest") to replenish it.
I find many implementations pretty tedious (buying/using MP restorative items constantly, or saving all magic for the boss), but preferences aside, its just plain boring when so many games do the same thing.
Now I happen to think there's still a lot to learn from older games, so let's look back at some alternatives to the typical MP system and imagine exciting future possibilities. (Let's just define "magic" and "MP" broadly as "special moves" and the "special points required to use them.")
Information aboutGamasutra
Pantheon - New Screenshots Released
Visionary Realms Brad McQuaid posted a new update for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen this week that shares a few more screenshots on the game.
Bah, why wait a couple of days? I looked through the various zones being worked on and grabbed some graphical goodness. As always, please remember this is work-in-progress, and that the different areas shown are at different points in terms of being finished. So, for example, lighting and sky will look better in some shots vs. others. That said, I think it shows our world building team is NOT fooling around and we are building the world of Terminus!!
Information aboutPantheon
SP/MP: Massive
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: MMORPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Shadow of Mordor - Gameplay Video Preview
GamesHQMedia has a new video eight minute video preview of Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor with some commentary from the games developers.
Information aboutMiddle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Adventure-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Dead Island 2 - Why isn't Techland Making it?
Robert Purchese of Eurogamer took the time to interview Techland Game Designer Maciej Binkowski about why Yager is developing the game instead of Techland.
Why isn't Polish developer Techland making Dead Island 2?
Dead Island wasn't fantastic but it was successful - very successful. In February 2013 the game passed the five million sales mark. Five million sales! And for a new IP! Techland clearly did something right.
But what it didn't do was retain ownership of the IP.
"Right from the start, the IP was theirs," Techland game designer Maciej Binkowski told me, referencing publisher Deep Silver (Saints Row, Homefront). It was Techland's game, Techland's idea, but it wasn't a strong enough entity as a developer to argue.
"At that point we weren't really in a position to negotiate," he said, "so that was the best deal we could get. It's like playing poker: you have to make a decision with the information you have now. If you play the game thinking that something might happen, you're going to lose the game. At that point, that was the best decision we could do."
Techland made two Dead Island games for Deep Silver: Dead Island, and standalone expansion Dead Island: Riptide. Riptide wasn't brilliant but again it wasn't awful.
But a month after Riptide's April 2013 release, Techland announced a new zombie-killing game called Dying Light. A year later, at E3 2014, Dead Island 2 was announced - a game made by Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager.
What happened - did Techland and Deep Silver fall out?
"Well, you know, we had our ups and downs," Binkowski said. "There's always tension between the publisher and developer.
"For us it turned out well, because being forced to come up with a new IP... We can't just make a Dead Island 2 and change the name; it's got to be something fresh, it's got to be something unique.
"It was a bit tough," he added. "I would love to make a direct sequel, but at some point a decision was made."
Information aboutDead Island 2
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Modern
Genre: Hack & Slash
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Saturday - September 13, 2014
GOG - Indietastic Game Sale
GOG has a new sale for the weekend called the Indietastic sale. The sale contains quite a few games, and one RPG game called Inquisitor. Here are the full details.
Battle Worlds: Kronos, Ether One, Blazblue Calamity Trigger, and more Indietastic titles up to 80% off!
You know GOG.com has a lot of affection for the indie scene and for plenty of reasons. Some devs take on risks that none of the big AAA powerhouses would dare to consider, introducing original, untried concepts into their games. Others look to the past to re-create the feel and mood of the finest titles in the history of gaming, the ones that still give gamers a warm and fuzzy feeling, while adding their personal touch to create something fresh. To give you a sample of what we consider Indietastic this weekend we have a selection of 31 games on sale. Let's take a look at some of those titles:Dyad, a one-of-a-kind shooter, is a psychadelic trip at warp speed and straight into the audio-visual nirvana.
Information aboutGOG
Kingdom Come - Interview @ TechRaptor
Daniel Vavra is interviewed on TechRaptor to talk about GamersGate, and the gaming industry. I will remind everyone to keep it civil this time, or I will lock the thread.
What is the biggest difference in the gaming industry when comparing now to when you worked on Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (2002)? Better or worse?
The industry is much better now. We can be independent. We can self-publish our games, even on consoles. We can speak directly to our fans through social networks. There are new ways to fund development. All that is awesome and ideal for growth of the scene and more original games. There are also many more communication channels – social media, Youtubers, bloggers. Back in the day, the Internet was very small, paper mags held all the power, and the journalists asked boring questions like "how many weapons/cars/levels are you going to have?" I was trying to write a sophisticated mature story, and most of them wanted to know if it's going to be possible to drive over people. Now, when I am trying to make mature realistic historic game, some people ask why we don't have female knights.
Will the GamerGate issue have any real effect on your approach to your upcoming game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance? That could be changing a character, a story, or part of the world.
No. We had a strong playable female character before all this started. We have gay characters in the game, and we have different minorities in the game, because all I want is to have a mature, strong story. A story that I wanted to tell for years, and I am not going to change it because of outside pressure.
Information aboutKingdom Come: Deliverance
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Historical
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Legends of Eisenwald - Indie or Not Indie?
Aterdux Entertainment next Developer Diary update for Legends of Eisenwald about the recent previews of the game, and they even metion the preview from Aubrielle.
Developers Diaries #17 – indie or not indie?
Hello everyone,
Lattely we have been talking to a few journalists, from IGN Russia and rpgwatch.com in particular. IGN Russia had a discussion what is an indie game which was presented in several developers answers to four questions: what is an indie game; do you think Journey for PS3 or Valiant Hearts are indie games; if Banner Saga went to a publisher, they would have gotten more money and have done a better game – what do you think of this statement; are you an indie developer yourself. Many answered that it's a game where a process of its creation is not controlled by a publisher or an investor, we added that it's a game that is doing something new and it's also creative splash of the people making this game. Even some games of big studios could be considered indie, in our opinion. The whole article is here (in Russian).
rpgwatch.com wrote a preview. Alexander met with an editor from this site in Cologne during GamesCom and this preview is a result of this even though a preview is written by someone else.
In the beginning of the summer we applied with our game to IndieCade. We didn't have many hopes to start with. Looking at the screenshots that are published on Facebook page of this festival one could think that indie games for them are almost exclusively pixel art, simple mechanics and other attributes of modern pop-culture. So, the response we were not selected for the final part did not surprise us. To the standard response there were attached a few sentences of a juror or a few of them:
"I kind of don't get it… When the game is defined as a "classic old school RPG with tactical turn-based battles, simple economic model" why would you enter it in indiecade?"
" It seems weird to me, with no hook, no novelty and no tutorial, the game feels… Well, like a 90s game. It's a "classic, yes, but "old school" doesn't have to mean "old"."
"This game is an impressive technical achievement! Indiecade however looks for games that innovate in design or other categories, and Legends of Eisenwald is largely a worthy but loyal recreation of a well-trodden category.
We are grateful for a personal response and understand that everyone has different opinions. The only details that is not quite clear is a "no tutorial" part. Tutorial (while not the greatest) have been on Early Access since the very beginning and it seems that jurors simply didn't have enough time to check for a tutorial option in the settings. We started playing games in 90s and even the end of 80s, so in most cases when some people say our game looks like from the 90s, it sounds rather surprising to us and brings us to the conclusion that most likely they didn't play anything back then.
What do you think? Do we describe our game well? Maybe some moments are really unclear for the people who look at our game for the first time and has only 10 minutes to look at the game? We would really love to hear your opinions!
Information aboutLegends of Eisenwald
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
The Mandate - Operation Reclamation
Perihelion Interactive has finally posted a new update for The Mandate about your crew in the game, and mentions the topics of future updates.
Operation Reclamation
Time for another update! Today we start by outlining a schedule for the next few updates:
- Update #42 boarding combat (this update)
- Update #43 space combat
- Update #44 (tentatively) status of development
When discussing the boarding combat it makes sense to first talk about some of our goals for the boarding operations.
The Mandate focuses on the crew inside your space ships and the marines are an important part of your crew. We want boarding combat to come alive with drama and action. These interactions will be more high-paced than space combat, with ample explosions, memorable characters and the occasional acts of heroism or stupidity. After a firefight, the corridors should look banged up with bullet marks and bodies.
Information aboutThe Mandate
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Sci-fi
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Lords of Xulima - Preview @ Cliqist
Lords of Xulima.
Lords of Xulima should really appeal to players who love a good, difficult RPG. There are definitely some aspects that could see furthered tweaking, such as adding more to the day/night cycle, but as is there's already a fully featured game waiting for players. The development team is also constantly turning to players for feedback, which is just what you'd hope to find from an Early Access title. If you jump into Lords of Xulima now you can expect a massive game, regular updates, and a developer who is more than happy to read feedback. If you're a big Early Access gamer then you know these traits are rarer than they should be!
Information aboutLords of Xulima
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Age of Grit - A Big Push for 100%
The next update for Age of Grit has news on funding, and a new Art contest. The game made $10,347 of the $12,000 goal with thirteen days left in the campaign.
We're making a big push to reach 100% funded by the end of the week!!! We are doing great--just a little further and then its on to stretch goals! Please do what you can to help push us past the 100% mark.
A really BIG thank you goes out to each one of you for your pledge, your support, and for spreading the word.
Sadly, we've seen very little response to our art contest! The entries we've received have been really great, but there's only been a small handful of submissions thus far. Sad face. Consequently we are pushing the contest deadline back until the end of Friday, September 19th in the hopes that we'll see a few more entries over the course of another week.
Please submit any fan art you can scrounge up! Don't be shy--we are desperate here! Your entry doesn't have to be the Mona Lisa--just have fun! Remember, the grand prize is a gift card for $100! You can get a lot with $100! We will be judging the entries using creativity as the primary criteria.
The following would all be acceptable entries:
-simple doodles of airship designs on the back of a napkin
-real life landscape photographs (a cool desert or cowboy-looking shot)
-a clever wanted poster with some creative text
-a crayon drawing of a steampunk cowboy town
-a Lego steampunk creation
-ANYTHING clever, creative, or just pertty relating to steampunk, cowboys, or the general setting of Age of Grit. The only rule is you just have to be the actual creator of your piece.
Information aboutAge of Grit
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Steampunk
Genre: RPG
Platform: Unknown
Release: In development
Dragon - A Dragon ARPG on Steam
Dragon is an ARPG game I found on Steam Greenlight that may interest a few of you, and is being developed by a studio called .
As usual here is a video, and a short description of the game.
Dragons are the greatest fantasy creature of all time.
It is time for a video game that gives dragons their proper role as the monstrous, complex, and epic protagonists that they are.
In an open world, action RPG you will bring your dragon's story to life. Choose who to help and who to eat. Choose which cities will benefit and thrive under your protection, and which will burn...
You will customize your dragon, choosing its color, designing its face, look, and abilities.
As you eat and grow your dragon will develop; allowing you to improve and customize its wings, tail, claws, and breath weapon to your preferred playing style.
Growing more powerful through the years you will horde gold, claim a lair and expand your territory. Inevitably challenging other dragons, giants, liches, and other beasts for dominance over the world and claim over the lesser kingdoms of mortals.
In Dragon the world is yours...
Information aboutDragon
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Pathologic - Scriptwriting: Gap #1
Ice-Pick Lodge has another update for Pathologic this time from writer Nikolay Dybowski who writes the games plot, and he talks about the games story.
My name is Nikolay Dybowski. I'm the person behind the plot, the setting, and the script of Pathologic.
The story of Pathologic is not fictional. Or rather not entirely fictional: it's based upon artistically adapted facts and phenomenons that come from the real life.
I often compare my job to something a cryptographer or an archaeologist does. It's about reconstructing things, not making them up. My task is understanding, deciphering, and recreating a story that originates from beyond my imagination.
Some of its pieces are usually obvious from the get go—they don't require much work. A good example of that would be the character set in Pathologic and the general outlook of The Town. They weren't hard to discover.
But some troublesome pieces just aren't there. They make me feel like an astronomer. He knows there must be a star of a certain brightness and weight in a particular section of a galaxy even if he doesn't see it through a telescope; his maps tell him so. Just like an astronomer, I'm goofing off and lying when I'm trying to lay my calculations aside and start ad-libbing. The red giant may look fantastic in my mind's eye, but it's just not there.
And finally, there are some pieces that need to be cleared up slowly and methodically first. Here are the dusty ruins of an old dwelling. It's obvious where exactly the hearth used to be: we can see the pipe section area, we can see pieces of ash. But what was the hearth like? How did it look? What was being cooked in it?
Information aboutPathologic
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Modern
Genre: Adventure-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Mass Effect - Retrospective @ CGM
CGM's Reid McCarter posted a new retrospective for Mass Effect. So if feel like reading another one then give a look, and share your opinion in the comment section.
Discovering that we have a greater appreciation for a work upon revisiting it is probably a pretty common experience. How we judge any kind of media is inherently personal and so dependent on the nearly infinite minor joys and irritations that colour daily life, it's a wonder people's opinions ever line up. It's worth keeping this in mind when encountering a game that disappoints despite months of pre-release hype.
It's also a good thing to remember after dismissing a work of art or entertainment because of a poor first impression. Barring the kind of deep, fundamental issues that can make a game completely irredeemable—offensive or problematic content, say, or outright bad design—there's often something positive to discover in a title that was previously dismissed. This obviously can't be the case in every instance, but taking the time to see if there's more to apparently disappointing games than first appeared can definitely be worthwhile.
Information aboutMass Effect
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Sci-fi
Genre: Shooter-RPG
Platform: PC, Xbox 360
Release: Released
Star Traders 2 - Ship Design & Competition
The Trese Brothers Games latest update for Star Traders 2 goes into detail about how you can design your spaceship, and mentions a new faction competition.
Ship Design
In the years following the end of the great Exodus, the new colonies of the isolated quadrants lacked large shipyards. Most Star Trader Captains made do with heavily modified and upgraded vessels that were a hundred years old or older. Over the years, some of the quadrants found their footing and grew in power and wealth and they began to construct great shipyards to build the ships of the new era.
Your craft's hull will determine its basic design and allow you to slot components of your choice into its modular structure. Your ship's blueprint sets the layout of the decks, cargo bays, bulkheads, compartments, and primary engines. Each deck of a ship will have empty compartments that can be filled with upgrades of all kinds -- crew cabins, weapon magazines, gunnery pods, medical bays or hundreds of other options. With enough Credits, you can upgrade or replace every compartment to build your ship to your exact specifications. At capable shipyards, you'll also be able to pay for major upgrades such as improving the engines, outer armored hull and solar sails.
Faction Competition Update
The Faction competition is still roaring along with votes coming in every hour. I've totaled up the votes again before the last 24 hour push to Saturday at midnight (US, EST). Every Faction is still within striking distance of the 30 vote threshold to get the minor bonus in ST RPG and 4X Empires. Thulun has pulled farther into the lead with 20 votes! Get out and support your Faction!
If you're interested in learning more about the 6 Factions of Star Traders RPG, read about them here in the original Star Traders RPG manual. The manual is 4 years old, but it has a great description of each Faction. Even if you're a newcomer to Star Traders, check them out and then vote for the one you think you'd enjoy the most!
Information aboutStar Traders 2
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Sci-fi
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Might & Magic Heroes VII - Sylvan Faction Won
Thanks to the vote for what faction gamers wanted in Might & Magic Heroes VII it seems the Sylvan Faction will now be added to final game. Here are the details.
So, the time allotted to the vote is now coming to an end. The response was overwhelming, and it quickly became pretty clear that within our Shadow Council a majority believes the Elves of Irollan would make adequate allies for Ivan.
You can now vote on what units get added to the faction now.
Our game designers have offered us a choice regarding the composition of the Sylvan Army. Three different line-ups have been suggested and it's your voice that will make the difference. Don't hesitate to share the news with your friends to put your favorite alternative in the lead!
Even if they have some similarities, those three line-ups are different, more oriented on defense or offence, or in-between. These three line-ups are meant to be of equal strength, and be balanced with the power of the other Factions present in the game.
This vote will define the soul and heart of the Sylvan armies and what play style will suit them, so choose wisely!
Remember that you can change your vote at any time, so listen to the other members of this council, hear their arguments and offer your own. The Sylvan Armies will be a great help in the battles to come, but you still have to decide how.
Information aboutMight & Magic Heroes VII
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Pillars of Eternity - Video Preview @ Nilsor's Vault
If you want to watch a video preview of Pillars of Eternity that acts more like a history lesson then head on over to Nilsor's Vault. Just beware the narrator's voice.
"Pillars of Eternity 101" is a series taking a closer look at the lore and features of the game by Nilsor. Subtitles available in English and French
Information aboutPillars of Eternity
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
The Scoundrels Guild - Relationships & Friendships
Adam Mayhem posted a new kickstarter update for The Scoundrels Guild with information on how Relationships & Friendships work in in his game.
Dating can be fun, rewarding, and exciting if you and your partner are equally interested with each other. However, if you suddenly start to change your attitude and make choices that conflict with your partners interests, dating can soon become a nightmare.
In the game you will occasionally have the opportunity to ask someone out for a drink, or a midnight stroll around the courtyard. You will be presented with several options as to how you want your date to go. If you choose the right options then the other person may want to see you again, but if you choose the wrong options then you may get a slap in the face.
You will quickly learn about the their interests by inquiring more about them. They may like wine over ale, perhaps they prefer to sit in a quiet corner of the room opposed to dancing on the floor. Once you know more about them it's up to you to decide how you wish to talk to them.
If you form a strong bond with your partner, you will unlock more options. These options will depend on the type of person they are.
Forming an strong friendship can unlock a number of great opportunities, but these things take time, don't rush it. The bouncer at the pub might not like your face when you first meet him, but over a period of time you guys just might become best buds, trading old war stories and enjoying a mug of ale.
You can't befriend everyone in The Scoundrels Guild, because you just can't please everyone. Sometimes folks will get into arguments and it will be up to you decide who you agree with more. In such an instance the party you disagreed with might be more inclined to dislike you after that. Tough choices will arise and you can't always stay neutral. You might even cause a conflict requiring a good punch in the face, but that's entirely up to you. Sometimes violence is the answer and cannot be avoided.
Just remember, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It won't be long before you find yourself building a reputation in the guild and weather you decide to be the good guy or the bad guy you're going to make some enemies either way.
Information aboutThe Scoundrels Guild
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Adventure-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Fable Anniversary - Released on Steam
Fable Anniversary is now avaiable on Steam with three new DLC packs.
Fable Anniversary is launching on Steam today! We've been working hard since February to not only bring the game to PC but to also make it sound better, look better and most importantly play better than ever before.
With updated sound design, advanced graphics settings and the all new Heroic Mode, we've crammed as much spit* and polish into the game as possible. (*not real spit)
*WARNING* - Heroic Mode is really hard! Lionhead are not responsible for any swearing, tantrums or table flipping that may occur during play.
Finally one of the most exciting features we have just announced is official modding support. Shipping with a version of the UE3 Editor, everyone is going to be able to edit any of the existing art and animation in the game. This means that anything our artists and animators can do, you can to. (Can someone please create robot chickens just so we can shut Craig up?!)
Information aboutFable
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released
Earthlock - September Progress Report
Snowcastle Games has posted the September update for Earthlock: Festival of Magic.
Progression - Combat Gameplay
It feels like we have had a slow progression this last month, but we have not been idle. It's just that we have spent a lot of time working on the combat gameplay and some of the things we tried out did sound like a good idea at the time, but after playtesting we did not get the right vibe, so we rolled back and tried some of the other ideas.
We finally got to a point where we feel we have some cool combat gameplay. It feels new and familiar at the same time. Our programmers are working on getting this combat design implemented properly in-game and we have decided to wait until the next update before we show how it works.
Story and Quests
Meanwhile Magnus, our story writer has polished the main quest line and he has also made several side quests.
Here is a little message from Magnus:
"I really believe that the magic of the story, together with the world itself, comes from the characters. Our main narrative and our main quests firmly lock the characters and the world together, of course, but I also wanted the primary sidequests to have a strong bearing on character and reveal more about our heroes. These sidequests aren't mandatory to completing the game, obviously, but they are designed in a way to really give you the player a stronger connection to the characters, to the world and its history, and also heighten the gameplay. We have given our heroes a lot of personality and a rich, meaningful history, and we hope you'll take them on all the adventures you find throughout Umbra to get to know them as you know your friends. But, like in real life, friends have secrets too…" - Magnus
Concept Art - Artwork
Fridtjof and Fredrik have been creating a bunch of character designs that we will be sending over for 3D modelling and animation soon. We've boxed out a bunch of new areas in the game engine, and they are hard at work designing and making projection maps for those areas as well. If you missed our last post where we talked about projection mapping, it can be found here.
Information aboutEarthlock
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: J-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development
Friday - September 12, 2014
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Dev Diary #4
Harebrained Schemes has posted the fourth Dev Diary for the Director's Cut version of Dragonfall. The last entry of talks about the games new new visuals & UI.
Hey guys, Mike McCain here again - Game Director and Art Director on Dragonfall. Today I'd like show you some of the many interface and visual improvements we've made in the Director's Cut. But before we dive into that, guess what? Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut launches one week from today!
Information aboutShadowrun: Dragonfall
SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Technofantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released
Larian Studios - What Comes Next
Larian Studios Swen Vincke has a post on his blog after the last one a few months back, and he talks about the developers plan now that Original Sin is released.
Ok, let's do this thing. Lots of people have been asking me for numbers and thoughts on the release of Divinity: Original Sin, so here are a few.
Divinity:Original Sin did pretty well. At the time of this writing its Metacritic critic rating is at 87%, it's user rating at 89% and it's been at the top of the Steam charts for most of the summer, occupying the nr. 1 spot for around a month.
It has sold well over half a million units by now– mostly from Steam, with 10% from retail. "Break even" has been reached, our debts have been paid and we are now in the profitable zone. While not all of the money is for us as we had private investors on board, the game did sufficiently well for us to envision funding our next endeavors with it, meaning we're pretty happy about its performance.
And here is his conclusion of the post for the TLDR crowd.
In conclusion, developing D:OS was a very rich experience and I think our entire team matured a lot in the process of making it. We do this job because we enjoy entertaining other people with our imaginations, and when it's successful, it makes us feel all good inside. We're very grateful for the many thank you messages we received from our players :it's these shows of appreciation that fuel us when the night is dark and the task list long, and it's what makes this job so incredibly cool.
Information aboutLarian Studios
General News - New Game Sales
Here are a few more game sales this week I decided to share. So up first we have a new Kalypso Humble Bundle with the usual pay what you want with added extras.
Kalypso is back to bundle again! It was almost one year ago when Kalypso Media came to bundle town on a mission to share their unique brand of strategy games with the masses. We missed them dearly and are elated to bundle with them again and share more of their catalog with you. Pay $1 or more for Grand Ages Rome - Gold Edition, Imperium Romanum - Gold Edition, Airline Tycoon 2 and Disciples III: Gold Edition. Beat the average price to also get Tank Operations: European Campaign, Patrician III and Patrician IV. Pay $9 or more to get everything plus Omerta: City of Gangsters and Port Royale 3.
The Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: Collection is 75% off for $9.99 till September 15th.
The minds of New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston have combined to create Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a new role-playing game set in a world worth saving. Build the character you've always wanted and continuously evolve it to your style of play with the revolutionary Destiny system. Choose your path and battle through a master-crafted universe featuring some of the most intense, responsive, and customizable RPG combat ever.
And once again two versions of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are 75%off on Steam.
The next chapter in the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls saga arrives from the makers of the 2006 and 2008 Games of the Year, Bethesda Game Studios. Skyrim reimagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for you to explore any way you choose.
Information aboutGeneral News
SP/MP: Unknown
Setting: Unknown
Genre: RPG
Platform: Unknown
Release: In development


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Tag: Sports HotelsView All Tags
Scotland Hotels / Sports Hotels / Tennis Hotels / Andy Murray / → All Tags
Fingers Crossed For Andy Murray's Mum's Tennis Hotel In Scotland
It sounds like a brilliant idea – a tennis hotel for Scotland, to go along with all those golf hotels and hearty walker hotels, being backed by some of the country's best professional sports people – but, sadly, it may not come to pass.
The Park of Keir development near Stirling wants to build a hotel and a "tennis and golf super-centre", along with 100 homes – but hundreds of locals have objected to the plans. Perhaps the fatal flaw is that the two sportspeople backing it are golfer Colin Montgomerie and Andy Murray's mum, Judy, who has committed the cardinal sin of doing a phenomenal job as a single mother as well as making a solid career for herself as a tennis coach on her own bat. How dare she want a hotel on top of that?
Family Friendly / Sports Hotels / Hotel Cocktails / Hotel Bars / Hotel Packages / Dorchester Collection / Dorchester Collection Hotels / UK Hotels / Europe Hotels / Argentina Hotels / Palm Beach Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
Pony Up: Here's How Hotels Are Celebrating Polo Season
Polo season is in full gear in the UK and will be starting soon enough in the rest of the world. Whether it's polo-inspired cocktail menus, training with the polo pros or exclusive access to top matches, these hotels want you to experience polo paradise.
Three of the world's top polo matches take place in Argentina, so it's a pretty big deal there. The new bar at Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires pays homage to the sport and to the revered Argentinean polo team, La Dolfina. However, the Pony Line Bar and Lounge may be clad in brown leather and have a riding motif throughout, but it ain't a sports bar as you know it to be.
It's more for the urban sophisticate who wants to try the housemade chorizo and oxtail empanadas to go along with his or her artisanal locally-produced Stallion beer than the Bud Light and wings crowd. (Not that there's anything wrong with that—we like a good stack of salt-and-pepper wings as much as the next guy or gal. We're just sayin'.)
If you want to get an even bigger taste of the game, as a hotel guest you can visit La Dolfina Polo Ranch to learn more about the sport and why Argentina is reputed to be so good at it. Rates start at $595 in October.
Hotel Packages / Sports Hotels / Baseball Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Denver Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / Baltimore Hotels / Boston Hotels / → All Tags
Three Opening Day Specials Take You Out To The Ballgame
This week marks the beginning of baseball season, which means the air seems quite heavy with testosterone lately and beer sales have risen once again. Hotels are getting in on this special time by building special game-watching packages. Here are a few that make us say "Hot Dog!"
Hotel Monaco Baltimore
The "Bro's, O's, and Boh's Opening Weekend" package is designed for Baltimore Orioles fans in town for the April 5th opening day. You'll get 10% discount off the best available room rate, three cold Natty Boh local beers, three cold orange sodas (orange, of course, in tribute to official team colors--orange and black) , and home team goodies. Rooms start at $169 per night. Book online at www.monaco-baltimore.com or call (888) 752-2363 and ask for the ORIOLE rate.
Hotel Marlowe, Boston
Face it, Red Sox fans are falling over themselves in anticipation of the April 8th opening date (how many people will be calling in sick?). So, the "Ahead of the Curve" package is aimed at those anxious to get into Fenway Park, one of the country's oldest and famous ballparks. The hotel's deal includes a stay in deluxe accommodations, four T passes (Lechmere T station is nearby), a six pack of beer and peanuts, non-boozy beverages for children and Cracker Jacks, a complimentary in-room movie, and a baseball-inspired welcome amenity. The package begins at $369. Book online here or call 800-KIMPTON and mention rate code CURVE. Available April 8 – September 30.
Hotel Packages / Spring Training Deals / Arizona Hotels / Phoenix Hotels / Scottsdale Hotels / Sports Hotels / → All Tags
These AZ Spring Training Deals Bat 1,000
Hard to believe, but baseball is back with spring training under way down South. Florida is hosting its half of the action as well, but the unique thing about the scene in Phoenix is how close all the teams are (see map comparing Arizona and Florida facilities). Not only does this mean lots of options for games, it also means lots of hotel choices. And seeing as this is one of the best times of the year to visit the southwest weather wise, it's time to check in on some of the hotel discounts and packages happening in the desert that will help make your childhood dream of jet-setting down to spring training a bit more feasible:
Hotel Palomar: This Kimpton property is offering the "Batter Up" package that gets you 25% off the best available rate, two local beers, a baseball-themed welcome treat, and complimentary access to Gold's Gym Elite in case you want to hold your own spring training.
The Westin Phoenix Downtown: The 2013 Baseball Package has rates starting at $189/night Thursday through Sunday -- nice for a long weekend trip. It includes overnight parking, high speed internet access, and baseball "snack pack" amenities (there better be some Cracker Jacks!).
Miami Hotel Mambo / Sports Hotels / Florida Hotels / → All Tags
Who's Playing Dirk Diggler At The Fontainebleau?
Every so often we highlight a post, photo, or review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you.
Here's a pic from our Facebook friend Gregg Rory Holland, who sent this room key snap from Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel. He joked(?) that maybe it was the room key of Nick Saban, head coach of University of Alabama's Crimson Tide team.
Funny enough, today on our Twitter feed, follower @nickpastula posted "Bama is staying at the lux Fontainebleau, Irish family friendly Westin" when referring to the BCS National Championship. Of course, "Irish", of course, refers to Notre Dame, who apparently isn't get all fancy with their quarters, and their players haven't been banned from getting ESPN in their hotel rooms like Dirk, uh, Nick supposedly ordered!
Sports Hotels / Hotel Openings / Theme Hotels / Argentina Hotels / Buenos Aires Hotels / → All Tags
More Than Balls On A Wall: Buenos Aires' Hotel Boca Made For Soccer Fans
Although not as popular in the US, it seems like the rest of the world goes bonkers for a little soccer. And if you're a fan of the fast paced game, you know not to call it soccer, but football. So with a rich history of football, it makes complete sense for Buenos Aires to open up the first football-themed hotel for players and fans.
Rest assured The Hotel Boca isn't a sports bar turned hotel with a few footballs hanging from the ceiling or framed jerseys adorning the walls.This is a modern and avante-garde designed property with all the luxuries we adore . Public areas and the two restaurants are themed in the blue and yellow of the hometown team, Boca Juniors, and decorated with memorabilia from the over 100 year old club.
Each of the rooms and suites are decked out with great design and comfy living space that would impress even the highest level athletes. The simple layout is complemented with pops of team color, but in a way that would make you think you'd walked into a 'superfan's' closet. Think tasteful, not gaudy.
Sports Hotels / Basketball Hotels / Brooklyn Hotels / Celebrity Hotels / → All Tags
New Brooklyn Hotels Mean, Among Other Things, A Place For Lebron James To Party
91 days, 16 hours, and 54 minutes. That's the countdown to the opening of Brooklyn's new Barclays Center, a major new addition to the borough, and the new home of the Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New Jersey Nets). Understandably, residents are excited. Jay-Z (one of the arena's directors, and the opening night performer) is excited. Brooklyn hotels are excited.
And it seems, so is Lebron James. The NY Daily News picked up on a comment James made to Late Show host David Letterman, when he got asked how the Nets' relocation to Brooklyn will affect James and his teammates.
What do you suppose was the very first thing on his mind? Hotels.
Sexy Hotels / Beach Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Bahamas Hotels / Hotel Events / Sports Hotels / → All Tags
Models (Who Else?) Celebrate The Opening of Bimini Bay Resort's New Beach Club
If you happened to be in Miami Beach a couple of weekends ago, you might have seen what you thought was a mirage: a beach volleyball tournament played by the most beautiful, bronzed people on earth. And if you missed out on this walking daydream--the Ludus Athletics Model Beach Volleyball Tournament--you get another chance to watch the pretty people jump and spike this weekend.
That is if you can hitch a ride over to Bimini in the Bahamas. That's where the finalist teams--of models (it bears repeating)--will stage a rematch of the SoBe Tournament, to break in the Sakara Beach Club.
A luxury beach resort launching a new beach club--the European kind with sexy day beds, live DJs and tons of delicious things to eat and drink--is cause for celebration, no? Well, Bimini Bay Resort and Marina certainly thinks so--which is why they're flying in a slew of models to celebrate the launch of their new Sakara Beach Club.
London / 2012 Olympics Hotels / Olympics Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel News Briefs / Sports Hotels / → All Tags
Could London Hotels Suffer a Post-Olympics 'Hangover?'
2012 will be a huge year for London in more ways than one. With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and a certain international sports event set to descend upon the city, Londontown will see a massive influx of tourists. Hotel rooms are rapidly being snapped up by intelligent travelers, and profit projections for city lodgings remain promisingly high.
But what will become of the city after the torch has been extinguished and tinsel and confetti from the Queen's celebration swept away? According to a recent report by local commuter publication of choice, the London Evening Standard, a dark cloud may descend over the city come 2013.
Hotel Openings / Omni Hotels / Dallas Hotels / Texas Hotels / Infinity Pools / Hotel Pools / Sports Hotels / Hotel Rates / Opening Rates / → All Tags
Omni Dallas: It's Definitely Opening, And It's Definitely Got An Infinity Pool
Omni Dallas, which is set to open on 11/11/11, will include an infinity pool
Whoever said 11/11/11 would mark a pivotal world-changing event must have been cc'd on development memos issued from Omni Hotels' corporate office. That is to say, Omni's latest creation, Omni Dallas, a 1,001-room convention hotel on South Lamar St, will be opening on the portentous date—and with $111 rates, no less.
As part of the "Definitely Dallas" package (this name is putting dirty thoughts into our head), guests who book rooms through December 30, 2011 will receive $111 deluxe guest rooms. Inside the rooms, you'll find a 111-inch flat-screen TV; and on top of the beds, you'll rest your head on 111 pillows. And in the bathroom....OK, we're just kidding. In fact, the bathrooms do come with mirror TVs (which we remain undecided over), and the rooms all feature pieces by local artists.
London Hotels / London Hotel Scene / 2012 Olympics Hotels / Olympics Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel News Briefs / Sports Hotels / → All Tags
As If We Needed to Tell You: Book Your 2012 Olympics Hotel NOW
It doesn't look like much now, but the Olympics Stadium site in Stratford, London will transform East London…and cause hotel rates to skyrocket
File this story under "O" for "obviously": per a recent report from Travelio.net, those trekking to London for next summer's Olympic games should aim to book their hotel rooms, like, now.
A Hotels.com review of how sporting events effect accommodation prices revealed that, in the case of the recent Rugby World Cup, room rates rose around 29% in Wellington and 11% in Auckland. Over the summer, the Wimbledon tennis tournament saw London rates jump 3% with the city at full occupancy during this time. With the world's biggest sports happening soon coming to Londontown, travelers are being told to expect prices reaching "you've got to be kidding me" heights—up to 50% more than the average in some cases.
Sports Hotels / Hotel Packages / Los Angeles Hotels / JW Marriott Hotels / → All Tags
X Games Fans Can Have an Xtreme Stay at the JW Marriott at LA Live
If you were looking to go to the X Games 17, the JW Marriott at LA Live can hook you up. The hotel is partnering with ESPN to offer a special weekend pass for July 28 to 31 that will give you exclusive access to special events an put you right in front of the skateboarding, BMX biking and other action that will go down at the Staples Center.
The pass will get you three nights at the hotel and events like an intimate breakfast with an X Games superstar at JW Marriott's LA Market restaurant and VIP status in the Staples Center Lexus Club.


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Mon, Aug 20, 2012
We're excited to announce that on 13th September at The Hatton in London, we'll be holding our second Monster Buzz event! At this event, we'll be asking the question, 'Recruitment vs HR; never the twain shall meet?'.
We'll be hosting the event in front of a live audience and a panel of four industry experts – everyone's opinion on the topic is appreciated. We'll even be recording the event and encouraging participants to tweet whilst the debate takes place so those not at the event can join in the discussion too.
We really hope that the evening will be a great opportunity, not only to debate interesting topics in a fun and informal way, but to network with other experts too.
Doors open – 6:30pm, Debate – 7pm till 9pm
We'd love to see you there! If you'd like to attend, RSVP through our Eventbrite page.
Monster Buzz will be a quarterly event in the form of a panel debate covering a wide range of topical issues and industry concerns. You can follow the action using the hashtag #MBuzz.