It was back to Minerva this week and I had to tackle the most technical and punishing part of the miniature as well. I’m not completely satisfied with some minor things and will make some more adjustments but her helmet and the feathers are pretty close to being done. It felt like I spent all week trying to correct mistakes and get all of these things right so I’m glad that I’m nearly done. Here’s a look at where she stands.
Its nice to see her coming together and pretty much everything left to work on is “important” to the mini so that should help keep me motivated though I am starting to look forward to focusing on some gaming stuff in the future too.
Outside of painting, I’ve been having a great time playing Anno 1800 on Steam. Does anybody know this series? It is a city building/tycoon game which is a genre I imagine many PC gamers are familiar with. Anno 1800 is set around the time of the industrial revolution which is a great setting for a city building game as it turns out. The game is really about economics and there are all these production chains you have to learn as you play. For example, you might be able to make bread, beer, and steel among others and you have to decide which one you can afford and would benefit your city most. It takes a while to build up your city and move through the various epochs of history but it is really satisfying to see it all come together.
I also really like how the game is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game like Warcraft or Starcraft so its a bit more lively and demanding than Civilization is. At the same time, there isn’t a strong military focus so you don’t have to worry about getting Zerg rushed in under five minutes by John at JustneedsVarnish.com, who also enjoys RTS games! Hopefully a few of you other PC gamers know exactly what I’m talking about here. Anno the perfect blend of relaxing but also engaging and that isn’t something that city builder/tycoon games always get right.
I’m going to try and get 100% of the achievements for Anno 1800 and I’ve got 20% currently after beating the main game in a little under 40 hours. This means I’ll be playing the game for quite a long time to come and I look forward to it! I’m planning on getting a new computer in the next month or so and that should increase my enjoyment further as my computer really struggles when you get into the late game and you and the computer players have built up mega-cities.
That’s it for me for another week. I don’t know if I can make enough progress on Minerva to provide much of an update next weekend or not but I’ll certainly give it a go anyway.
Kuribo's Painting 
Minerva looks great, really nice progress! I’ve played Anno before but not 1800, 1404. Quite enjoyed it although
I didn’t play it as much as it deserved. Good luck on that 100% goal!
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Thank you, Nic! Unless I’m mistaken, Anno 1404 was released as Dawn of Discovery here in the States and that was the last one I played too. I really enjoyed it and Anno 1800 is very similar, just set in a different time period with more modern graphics and some minor improvements as you would expect.
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Sounds neat, it’s an interesting period for sure, presumably some musketry involved!
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Indeed, though mostly cannonballs since the only combat/military forces are naval in the Anno series.
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The head area is really starting to pop Jeff, and can understand all the extra time spent on it as it is the main focal area of the model and the first thing most people see. Sounds like you are enjoying the game, and that is what counts.
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I’m really glad to hear you think so, Dave! I agree and I think its always worth spending extra time on the head no matter what the project or painting standard is for the exact reason you described.
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Amazed at your work as always!
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Thanks, Eric! I appreciate it!
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That helmet is looking awesome and well worth all the time you spent on it. The feathers are interesting, I think most would be inclined to further the contrast…BUT I think it works really well as is. It gives the feathers an impression of softness, which is spot on.
I haven’t played Anno, but I have played probably every version of Civ. I also remember being freaked out during that Zerg mission where you are suddenly attacked by a horde. That was such a memorable moment in gaming.
Anno sounds cool though, but I’m still struggling too find time to play the games I have. I think I also need to find something that’s less time consuming but also somewhat fulfilling. Great taste, less filling!
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Thank you, Brian! I think the feathers need a bit more work too. I feel like they look brighter in the pictures than in-hand but that still means a little extra work there would pay off because most people are only going to see the pictures of this one online, if you think about it.
Civilization is a great game and if you like it and find yourself with plenty of free time, give Anno a shot! Having said that, I know that its hard to find 30-40 hours to play a game for many people and so it probably isn’t a good fit for you right now. Hopefully one day!
Unfortunately, video games seem to be getting longer but also tend to have padding as part of that. I miss the days where a 10 hour game was more accepted and normal. Truthfully, if you’re looking for games like that, I’d suggest looking at indie games as they tend to be shorter than the bigger name titles these days. They can be just as much fun to play as well.
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Well I look forward to seeing you work more magic on the feathers. I honestly think they look great now!
I’m not sure that games have gotten much longer. Civ was always super long. I think they didn’t have as much disk space back then, but you could still cram quite a bit of text on disc. Especially when CDs came around. Game prices have certainly gone up, so it’s probably better if they also increase the length of the game to make up for it.
I’m really not sure what I’m in the mood for games wise. I just don’t want to sink too much time in or I’ll never get any minis painted! When we move, I plan on moving the arcade machine into my office. I’ll probably leave it on more often and I can play some quick arcade games when I feel like it.
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Thank you! The feathers were a pain and took two attempts so I’m glad to hear they’re on the right track.
Civilization is a long game, especially if you don’t get an early victory. There are more long games being made now than ever before, especially with RPGs. For example, the Persona Series is anywhere from 75 to 100+ to beat. The Witcher 3 was well over 100 hours if you play through the DLC. There are also a fair number of games that are full of padding. Ghost of Tsushima (which is very similar to Assassin’s Creed) is full of things to do but a lot of them don’t impact the story and are kind of just there. Its not fun to complete them all as I found out the hard way and I ended up feeling like I wasted my time trying to complete as many as I could. So that is partially why I say that games are getting longer. I also played several games in 2023 that I liked and were good, but would have benefitted from being shorter and cutting out some of the boring parts so its certainly fresh in my mind.
Having said that, a quick arcade game is the perfect antidote to all this! 🙂 I don’t have a lot of games in my collection right now that are like that but I do really value that kind of experience. Having a blast for 15-30 minutes and avoiding the feeling that you played for a while and barely accomplished anything is great!
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I think the older games I’m thinking of are ones that were open ended. There were sandbox games like Sim City that didn’t really seem to end. Also Daggerfall. But that one might have been impossible to beat due to bugs. I put a lot of time in Skyrim, but mostly because I was dinking around. I’m not sure what the actual gameplay time would be if you rushed to the end. I actually never beat it either. I think for a lot of those big rpg games, I just play and then I set it down and am not too successful at picking it back up. So I don’t pay as much attention to the hours, other than sometimes glancing at my Steam data and then getting depressed! 😂
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I wasn’t thinking about sandbox and more open ended games. I generally don’t like them because I need some structure and goals to work towards but a city building/tycoon game is a rare exception. A lot of sandbox games can be played forever if you don’t get tired of it. And I know exactly what you mean on those hour counts on Steam. I’m equal parts proud, happy I got a great value out of the game, but also a little embarrassed and ashamed haha! 😀
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I try to not let the hours data get me down so much, but there are times where I think ‘I could’ve done this or that instead!’. But in comparison to my friends, I really don’t play that much computer/console games, so I don’t feel too bad.
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That is good and well, I’m more in the category of your friends because I play plenty and have the collection to back that up too haha!
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It seems younger generations are more into games. Or maybe it’s age, I don’t know. I used to sink a lot of hours into computer games, but over time I’ve started to play less. Especially as I spent more and more hours on the computer for work. Not sure if it was from picking up other hobbies or getting tired of staring at the computer so much from work. Maybe both?!
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I think video games hit their peak (or at least their importance started to increase) with millennials because the NES and Sega Genesis was a huge hit and for many of us, video games have always been a core part of our recreation time to some degree.
Having said that, I hear a lot of board gamers say exactly the same thing. “I want to play a game and relax but not look at a screen so much.” I’m sure that makes board gaming pretty appealing. Tabletop RPGs would be the same way.
Meanwhile, I look at screens all day and never seem to get tired of it. Maybe one day that will change though! 🙂
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I guess that makes sense. I don’t know that I always play boardgames to relax though. Sometimes they are downright stressful! I guess the same goes with mini painting. Sometimes it’s fun if I get in the zone and am not rushed, others it can be a real chore.
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Some board games require a ton of brainpower too. I guess its different strokes! Does the choice in mini have something to do with that? Generally speaking, I’m finding that if I pick a display mini that is repetitive to paint, that isn’t good for me. On the flipside, gaming miniatures that are hard to paint or aren’t well sculpted can turn those into a chore as well.
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Yea, and I’m usually picking the boardgames that require a lot of brainpower. It’s not necessarily the thinking that stresses me out, it’s more the competition and time to strategize.
Hmm, minis that stress me out? I’m not sure if it’s any specific mini. I know belts and crap can be a headache at times. Sometimes it’s trying to figure out a good color scheme to use. Especially if I’ve already painted part of the mini, and then have to find a totally new color for this one bit without the whole thing looking like a rainbow! ;P Sometimes it’s something I’ve never painted and have to figure that out…okay, alligator skin pouches, here we go…. I imagine a good part of it is what sort of mind frame I’m in that day, how quickly I need to get a mini painted for a game, how tedious the painting will be, etc. I think there is little to do with whether I like the character or not. That actually might make it worse, as I want to be able to do it justice.
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That makes sense all around. For me, making mistakes that are hard to fix or trying to make something look a particular way and not having success are just about the only thing that puts me in a bad mood. Occasionally a bad sculpt will do it, but not too often, thankfully!
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Making something look a particular way and not having success is practically all my miniature painting!! 😂
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Haha, I’m sure you’ve gotten better as you keep practicing. I know I used to feel the same way but more and more, I feel like I can do what I want with a miniature which is a very nice and comforting feeling so you’ll get there!
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Nice work on the feathers, Jeff! 🙂 Really coming along! Like Nic I played the original Anno (on my Nintendo DSi – anyone remember them! I’ve still got mine) and enjoyed it. I do like strategy games, even though I’m not particularly good at them!
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Thank you, John! It really feels like Minerva is getting there now even if there is several weeks left of work yet to come.
Kudos to you for playing that on DSi! That is a small screen to work with! I played the same game on PC and it was a blast. Anno 1800 is very similar overall and you’d be able to pick it up pretty easily I would imagine. I’m the same way with playing RTS games like Warcraft. I love playing against the computer and enjoying the story but I get smoked playing online so I don’t even bother with that part of the game!
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Very nice Jeff. Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do on the blog reading front.
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Cheers, Mr. IRO! No pressure to catch up on my end though I always look forward to hearing your thoughts at the same time!
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Feathers look like feathers to me, so nice job! I think the head area is really coming together well. 😀
I remember the Zerg rush. Stupid Zerg.
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Cheers, Stew! Its definitely nice to see it coming together after all these weeks. And yeah, losing a game in five minutes or however long it took was just embarrassing and killed any joy in playing Starcraft online.
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Getting feathers to look natural can be a real challenge and it looks to me like you did it. The model is coming along brilliantly.
Mrs. GG enjoyed the earlier Anno series games back when she used to PC game year ago. And I currently listen to the various Anno series soundtracks quite often when crafting. I can definitely see myself getting into them if I was still PC gaming.
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I’m really glad to hear you think so! Feathers are not as easy to paint as I expected (its been a while since I’ve tried some).
That is great to hear! The soundtrack for Anno 1800 is very good. Its not overtly catchy but after playing a couple times, I realized I had it stuck in my head. If you return to PC gaming, you should give Anno 1800 a shot. Its a really fun game!
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I always love to see your updates on Minerva, it’s looking more amazing each time. Do you prefer to correct any mistakes as you go along or just tidy everything up at the end?
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Cheers, mate! There’s been a lot of them for the last month or two or however long I’ve been working on her now 🙂 Generally, I try to fix the mistakes sooner than later because I know how to mix up the paint the way I want. With that said, I haven’t fixed everything that I spotted yet so sometimes I drag my feet a bit 🙂
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Cool, that’s probably the most sensible way. I find I make so many overpaint errors that it’s often easier just to fix them all right at the end of the process. Well, maybe not all as I’m sure I miss plenty on all my minis!
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Minerva is certainly lookling the business there! The NMM is coming along nicely, and I particularly like the clothing highlights on her chest.
I nerver played any of ther Anno games, though I did dabble in both Civ and War/Starcraft at different times. I’m actually spending quite a lot fo time in Azeroth again lately which has been a nice break from everything else. Also – Palworld! 😀
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Thank you, mate! Its nice to see her coming together. If you like those games, there’s a pretty decent chance you’d like Anno though it is a time sink of a game. Palworld has set the world on fire it seems like. I have never been as into the Pokemon video games as much as I’d like so I’m not sure if I’ll ever play it. That is assuming Nintendo doesn’t find a way to shut it down! I’ve seen some rumors that they’ve at least looked into it.
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With an active World of Warcraft sun another time sink is the last thing I need! 😉
I never really got into Pokemon. I played a couple of the early ones a little on a Gameboy around 1998-2000 when I was travelling, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan or particularly knowledgable about it.
No chance that Ninty will be shutting Palworld down. That was really just a stink kicked up by a bunch of internet twitter Pokemon Stans crying about the game so eventually Nintendo had to issue a basic press releas just to shut them up.
It’s a bit of fun, especially since Marouda and i have been able to play co-op, I’ve been playing via Gamepass but am considering purchasing it as well to support the devs.
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There’s only room for one time sink for sure. I’ve played and still own a couple early Pokemon games as well. They’re competent games but with fairly simple gameplay and almost no story to them, I feel like I grew out of them quickly (I was a teenager back then so I was a bit older than the main demographic). There’s no shame at all in enjoying them though in my book!
I got it wrong about Nintendo shutting down Palworld. Its Pokemon Company that was looking into it but I’m not surprised that they aren’t doing anything. Its not like a ROM or something like that where the laws are clearly on their side. I’m glad to hear you and Marounda are enjoying it so much as well!
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