Back with Frickin' Laser Beams!

I am back. And now I have a laser. 

I purchased the Creality Falcon2 22-watt laser with all of the trimmings. I have used a laser in the past, however, that machine was very next-level and way out of my price point. If you have the means, the Epilog series of lasers are amazing. I do not have the means but I set one up for the Buffalo Science Museum in 2013. 

I have dreamed of having my own machine and the Falcon2 was at my price point. 

Delivery was super quick and set up was "easy". I've had this machine for nearly two weeks and thanks to the Crowdstrike issue nuking every computer at work, I didn't get to unbox the Falcon2 for 12 days after delivery. 

I wanted to do an unboxing video, but I was too excited to film it and unboxing videos are not a habit I want to start. I will say the packing is excellent for both shipping and unboxing. They really thought out the consumer angle of this product. 

Setting up the laser is simple, but I would like to share some tips based on my background experience. These tips will draw on my time at Mattel/Fisher-Price and my experience with the Epilog laser. 

First, the Falcon2 has 60% of the power of the Epilog 35-watt system. This means the Falcon2 has less power needs and fewer protective systems. The Epilog is in a massive metal and glass box with specific venting methods set right into the frame. 

The Falcon2 only needs a tent with a fan to separate you from the laser. Additionally, the Falcon2 requires protective glasses despite having a plastic window on the tent AND a shield around the laser. Seriously, you only have two eyes so 3 layers of protection is good. 

Let's start with two issues I had with the tent. The tent sits on a plastic frame. The frame parts appear to be 3d printed plastic. It does require a bit of care assembling. Me and my hulk hands snapped one of the support tubes. 

This was laziness on my part. I could have used a little care or a dot of soap. 

The second issue I had was with the fan assembly for the tent. It comes with a fan shield.

PUT IT ON! 

Fans are devices with spinning blades. Despite everything Star Wars has taught me, they usually have covers. This prevents items like Jedi from jumping through them to destroy your Imperial Plans. 

It is a little-known fact that if you stick your fingers into a tiny fan to see if it is sucking or blowing, the blades always SUCK! 

In addition to the Falcon2 laser, I also purchased a very nice set of bandaids. If I had put the shield on the fan from the start, I could have saved a couple of bucks on bandaids.

Live and learn. 

Now we are to the third issue I had with this product. On my first try, the laser didn't work. It wouldn't even move. This indicates a firmware update is necessary. The process is pretty well documented, you simply load the file on to the provided SD card and stick the card in the SD card slot. This updates the main driver motors. 

Next, you load the laser head file on to the SD card and plug that into the laser head unit using the provided SD to USB-C connectors. It's odd, but it works. 

Having completed the update, the laser head moved and the air assist worked. But the laser would not fire. This one flummoxed me. I reached out to support to get help.  

They were ridiculously fast. I emailed at 9:45 pm and they responded by 5:00 am the next day. I was taken aback by the speed and the comprehensive support. They had me disassemble the laser head and check the internal connectors. This would have been daunting, but for the fact they provided all of the tools necessary to perform this check. They provided tools! 

Sadly, this was not my problem. 

Let's back up a bit and go to the same problem I always have... me. Remember how excited I was to assemble the product? I disassembled the whole thing and started over. This was not that hard. 

Before I go any further, I would like to explain the symptoms as they presented. 

Symptom One: the laser head and arm wouldn't move until I updated the firmware. Also, all of the lights blinked oddly. This was the red herring. After the update, the head and arm would move correctly including home and frame, and all of the lights gave correct/ready indicators including the laser, but the laser would not fire. 

On reassembly, I noticed something was off. There connector box on top of the arm for the laser head. When I pushed the connector in, it felt squishy. It also has a locking tab that would not lock. I couldn't see anything wrong until I used my camera.

In my haste, I bent a pin. It wasn't all that hard to push the pin back into place. I first tried the provided tweezers. That didn't work, they were a smidge too big. 

The next tool I reached for was an X-acto blade. It seemed like it would work, but I had just slashed my finger open on the fan so I put that down. What did do the trick was a clay sculpting tool. It has no sharp edges. 

I pushed the connector in and got the same squish. I thought I was being ham-handed again. Considering I already broke one part and stuck my finger into a spinning fan, this was highly probable.  

I fixed the pin again and took a better look at the problem. 

There are three cable management clips on the arm and the third leaves barely room to push the connector into the plug. Remember I mentioned they sent tools with the laser? 

One was an Allen wrench, the right size to remove the cable management clips. With that one clip removed, the connector was easy to fit, click and all. 

The last step was to put the clip back. I gave myself a lot of slack by homing the laser head and pulling the lines out of the way. The clip went back home and I had good cable management again. 

My Mattel/Fisher-Price training tells me they could have put this in the instructions but this isn't the typical consumer product. It's not like you are expecting a child to survive first contact with the beam.  

Since I was in troubleshooting mode, I simplified testing by loading one of the sample images to the SD card and disconnecting the laser from my computer. One problem at a time, right? 

I was immediately rewarded with the air assist powering up, the laser head homing and framing, and a brilliant blast of light. 

Within a few minutes, I had my first engraving. 

The image to the left shows the final product, not the process. You need to have all of that safety gear in place to use the laser. 

Like so: 

And so: 

And, also so: 

Ok. The smoke and CO detector was not actually provided with the device and is more of a nod to the fire that burned my house down once before. 

While you can read that as humor, it isn't. With the tent and fan in place and one window open, you can run this thing in your home without terrible odor problems. Even if your home includes 3 survivors of a fire who are sensitive to burning smells. So long as you have good ventilation. I would also like to point out the laser doesn't trigger a smoke detector 10 feet away in the same room. 

I suspect when I goof, it will trigger the detector, but I'll have to try harder to do that. Also, the product does have a built-in fire detector, so I'll have to try real hard. 

I polled four people on the smell and got some surprising reactions. 

Me, the guy who was not at home for the fire: It smelled alarming bad, like I was going to send my family into PTSD mode. 

Nathan, the kid who was outside but present for the fire: "The laser smells like smoke."

Catherine, the girl who got out last: "It smells like incense."

Kitty, my wife, ran back into the fire to save the cat and collapsed from smoke inhalation: "I can't smell anything." 

So, it does clearly smell funny but not that bad. 

I'd like to close with a final image, an improperly run speed vs power test. 

I cannot wait to get the hang of this and start making products. 

Spherical Hex Map

My last post generated two types of responses: 

"How did you wrap the hex map onto a globe?"

"You actually can't. It's been a quest of the computer games industry..."

This is a case of me working forward and backwards with some assistive tech to get a result. I want a globe covered with hexes and I already know that doesn't work so how did I do this? 

"Well, believe me, Mike, I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid... and I went ahead anyway."

"Map" and "hex" have specific mathematical meanings that don't apply to what I intend to do. The final image will be a drawing that might (I hope) look like a hex map on a globe. I am constrained by the paper's dimensions - 13 hexes wide and 9 hexes high (and each hex will be subdivided) to represent a drawing of a hex map on a hemisphere. 

The image on the left was a standard subdivided hex, distorted to look like it was bulging out of the page. It's constructed by a distorted hex, you can see where it literally becomes sketchy. 

The image below is a more refined and localized example of the same idea with some minor changes. 

The computer-generated hex map from Worldogragher is distorted to a hand-drawn globe with hex-like shapes. I used the simple icon set so I get a sense of how shapes distort like this. Virtually none of the points from the Worldographer map match the hand-drawn hex globe points. I am going to "bend" both images to something in between.

I am hoping for a piece of artwork that looks good and is compelling. 

Aside from the initial subdivided hex map that is flat, there is no math or code. It's done by hand to look good. 

You can download a set of normal hex map templates from DriveThruRPG here. 

          The Hex Pack

        The Hex Pack

I'm Still on Hiatus...

 I'm still on hiatus, but have a test file to share. 

What do you think?

Another Character Class Idea - The Monomachos

(This is a bonus post, one I wrote back in September of 2022. I found it unposted while cleaning up.) 

Stephen Donaldson is known for using 10-dollar words when a single simple word would suffice. In his Mordant's Need series, the villain's right-hand man is The Monomach. He is one part warrior, one part assassin. 

Now I thought I knew what "monomach" meant, but it turns out I was totally wrong. I had thought it was related to nobility or being a monarch, making this guy "The Assassin King".  

Nope. 

It's Greek. "Monomachos" or "he who fights alone". A gladiator. That is not as cool as "The Assassin King" but makes so much more sense in context. I'd like to introduce one to a campaign. I posted as much a few years ago when I last read the series. I had a couple of ideas that I have refined over time. 

A Monomachos is like a fighter, but nothing like a regular Fighter, Elf, Dwarf, Cleric, Paladin, or Knight. They live for the fight, not for sustained warfare. 

In Donaldson's books, the Monomach is clearly evil because he assassinates people for the joy of it. When I first wrote about the character, I had a limited view of that type of character. If you didn't read that story, think of Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace without all the chattiness. Maul showed lust for fighting, maybe killing, but not for general mayhem.  

As a villain, a Monomachos only has one purpose... to cause death and terror before dying. But do they have to be the villain? 

Well, it certainly makes things easy if they are all villains. But they are not all villains.  

It was relatively easy to come up with superhero examples. Black Widow, Hawkeye, Daredevil, The Hulk, and so on come across as heroes who live for the thrill of the fight. To a lesser extent, you could add Tony Stark and Spider-Man to the list, but then also remove the MCU Black Widow because she was starting to believe the fight was too much of a bother. Hawkeye was also heading that way, only to be replaced by Kate Bishop which allowed him to leave the hero act behind. Baymax would be an interesting and scary addition to that list because he follows his programming as if it were a joy. 

Oddly, the Punisher is not a Monomachos as he has a different purpose for what he is doing. Fighting and aggression are not really his "thing". He is sorting criminal corpses into their proper circle of hell. It's a completely different purpose. He doesn't have to fight, just kill. 

So what about non-superheroes? 

Well, the list is short. Peter Pan, The Three Musketeers, Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, Legolas, and Glimly. And my brain screeches to a halt there. I guess I could name more, but that is good enough. 

The surprising people from those two lists are Spider-Man and Peter Pan because they are characters who are loved by children. It doesn't mean their drives are kid-friendly. Parker is driven to take risks and engage in violence at great personal cost. Peter Pan is slightly more disturbing. He switches sides if the fight is too easy. He kills Hook and then forgets there was a Captain Hook to kill. Both do it for the same reasons, the drive to excel with their given skill set, that are in parallel with their personal goals. 

So what commonality do these people have if we take away alignment? 

Each person is an improviser. They may use traditional weapons but are fully capable of using a brick, a candlestick, and a doorknob if necessary. They are not subject to outside influences, such as social norms and certain types of magic. Being a bit of a sociopath helps. Oddly, this deviated personality may cause them to be in more control of their feelings and desires, leading them away from wasteful fights. If the fight isn't a challenge, why do it? 

Poor or malformed social skills are a hallmark of every character listed. 

None of these characters are especially good at ordinary, everyday skills. Peter Pan and Kate Bishop can't cook. Hawkeye tends to zone out at key moments and Bruce Banner retreats from the world. Stark is made of neuroses, everything from germaphobia to being a dick even when he means to help. 

In-game, what sort of traits would these characters have? 

They should be able to use any sort of weapon and armor, even if they don't personally like specific armor and weapon types. They can also use improvised weapons. It's not their first, best option but if there is a lot of rubble around, it's better than bruising your knuckles. 

Next, they should have some unique combat skills. 

The Monomachos should rarely be surprised in combat. Perhaps only a 1 in 6 chance and this is separate from the rest of the party's roll. They are itching for a fight in every situation. If the party is surprised and The Monomachos is not surprised, they move with the enemy. This could spoil their surprise round as there is one opposing person moving as they do. The enemy had to waste their surprise round to address the Monomachos. 

Their third combat ability is to refuse contact. If the Monomachos has the initiative and makes a successful attack roll, they may either proceed to the damage roll OR spoil their attacker's next roll. This also allows them to turn and face another opponent. This prevents them from being flanked, it does not permit them an extra attack. 

Fourth, they defy outside influences. They have trait that they can't utilize magic weapons to full effect. No bonuses, but the weapon still counts as magic to inflict damage. This is because they only rely on their own skills, not the assistance of a magic weapon. Of course, if the magic weapon has a secondary power or effect that is magical, like detecting evil or light, they can use that to the fullest. It's the assistive nature that they won't do. 

Armor is different, they do receive bonuses as they can't undo or refuse its basic nature to protect.  

Cursed weapons should fear the Monomachos character. These types of people aren't subject to outside influences, therefore a cursed weapon should be just as ineffective as a positive magic weapon. A cursed weapon should try to escape their clutches because the Momomachos may choose to sacrifice a weapon to win. Intelligent things fear destruction. 

I wanted something like this when I created my Swashbuckler character class but in play testing it was impractical. Based on this new character type, I will rewrite that document. 

To recap the character: 

Surprised only on a 1 in 6. They move and attack during their opponent's surprise round if not surprised themselves. 
Can use all weapons and armor, but receive no magical bonuses for weapons.
They are immune to cursed weapons.
They can also use improvised weapons if only to save their knuckles.  
Foil attacks on a hit and turn to face other opponents instead of dealing damage. 

Let me know what you think in the comments, especially if you have already purchased my Swashbuckler class. 

Taking a Break - 100+ Days

I love to brainstorm ideas and run with it all willy-nilly. In my last few posts, I have mentioned a few projects that are "almost done". And I have at least a dozen other ideas that need to be done. It is time to step back and reflect on my goals and priorities without the distractions of blogging. I think I will take a break for 105 days.

A few months ago, my ancient Power Mac bit the dust. This was my main machine for writing, with my clamshell iBook being the backup. Now I am operating with no backup at all. That is not good. 

I have been gifted two 2010 Mac Pros to get my writing and blog back on track. Yet they sit next to the broken Power Mac unused. What is holding me back is data recovery from the old Mac and recycling equipment that is no longer used.

Second, next to the computers is my gardening shelf, which is covered with crafting supplies. As May 7th is the last frost date in Western New York, I am going to need this space for my gardening supplies in April. It needs to be emptied and supplies bought for gardening. 

This also ties into the Giant Frickin' Bunny that inhabits our home. He needs a nice place to play, both inside and outside. His name is Fiver and maybe he will get his own blog. He certainly is cute and photogenic. 

Anyway, the garden and rabbit are linked topics because one needs the other. He is a cross between a Flemish Giant and a Continental Giant, so we can expect him to grow to be at least 30 pounds and maybe 3 feet long. We'll be using the garden to supplement his store-bought foods. We give him plenty of fresh food and it would be nice to not shop specifically for him.  

Third, my blog, in some form or another has been rolling since January 2010. It has developed a lot of cruft in 14 years. Formatting has gone weird, some posts link to places that no longer exist, and half a dozen things that bother me are begging to be fixed. That doesn't even cover the fact that I have a high-quality camera and microphone that sit unused on my desk. I need to clean up to keep this place nice. I also need to integrate it better into my social media accounts. 

In no particular order: I would like to scrub ads off the blog, fix formatting that is broken, and provide better images for existing posts while creating a standard for future posts. 

All of this takes time. Maybe 105 days.

When it comes to the content, I have a bag of holding worth of books and games waiting to be read, and played, and reviewed. 

I don't expect to go radio silent for the next couple of months. You can expect to see a few posts, probably less than what I have done in the past year. As I tick items off my list, I will definitely post updates. However, I don't plan on spending a lot of time on social media promoting things. While I am working on all this, I want to think about how I present on those other channels and gear my posts to work better in those places. 

Again, I would like to thank all of you for supporting this blog.