Maddy’s Journal 8 (Farming Simulator 22 fan fiction)

I got a little sidetracked in my last entry. Well, a lot sidetracked. But that’s the benefit of a journal and not a—gasp!—diary. When I journal I can take every rabbit trail I want and not feel like I broke some unwritten rules. I always found diaries as too specific and full of excessive introspection. Me, I just prefer to write whatever comes to mind. Sometimes those ramblings jar loose rusty memories, which is where this entry is going to take me. Back to December 11, 1990. The day I became terrified of fog. It was a Tuesday. 

The decision to begin Christmas break early my senior year was not my idea. I wanted extra days to spend with friends. And hit up your typical high school party. A little drinking, petting, strip poker. You know, standard young person exploration mixed with stupidity stuff. I’ll admit to being on the wild side. I was safe, or at least I believed I was safe at that age. Okay, okay. I had been on the pill for five years already, so I was a lot more careless than I should’ve been. At least looking through the twenty-twenty hindsight eyeglasses, I was safe. Before you all think I was the local bicycle, I had—yes had—as in not anymore, a physical condition that birth control managed. Of course, how would I know? Mom is the one who insisted I be on birth control. 

TMI, I know. But you’re the one reading this so don’t throw stones in my direction. 

My dad’s family all lived in Chattanooga. And I do mean all his family. They had migrated up and down the east coast from Florida to Maine and back south again. They were like migrating animals always chasing the rainy season for greener pastures. But when they arrived in Chattanooga, it was like they arrived at the Mara River, and not one of them was willing to take that first leap into the River of Death. 

And that’s where we were headed on that Tuesday morning. We had to leave early even though we had driven all the way to Asheville, North Carolina the day before. Still almost four hours to go. So, we were out the door by six that morning, and planned no stops until arriving at my uncle’s house. 

At Knoxville we took Interstate 75 south after leaving Interstate 40 from Asheville. I don’t recall what the traffic was like. Or the weather. Or anything, really. My mind concerned itself with other things far more important to an eighteen year old. Besides I wasn’t driving. And Knoxville wasn’t new. We had been there before. An hour later all hell had broken loose. And the images I saw that morning still haunt my sleep. 

If it wasn’t for my dad’s heroics, I’m not sure I would’ve ever come to grips (as flimsy as they still are) with the carnage. But what my dad did that day for so many people has always provided me with a lifeline. And the scars on his arms are a not-so-subtle daily reminder of the events that started with the fog. 

I’ll need a break for now. The memories are too overwhelming for me to focus on writing. And the tears in my eyes are making the screen blurry. 

Maddy’s Journal 6 (Farming Simulator 22 fan fiction rough draft)

 September 1

It’s early afternoon here in North Carolina. LW called here around 8, so 6 his time. He said some of the estate money had trickled in. He told me he wanted to make a land purchase and get contractors in to build a chicken coop, a couple pigsties, and a cow pasture. I told him to go ahead with the purchases, and I would see him in a week. 

He sounded shocked at that. When I asked him why, he said he didn’t expect me to return so soon. But the way he said it burned my ear a bit, and for a few moments I didn’t see him in my minds eye. I saw a greenish, drooling troll running across a bridge with an army bag stuffed with cash. And for the first time since I met LW, I wondered if he was on the level. Or was he taking me for a ride? 

Then he asked me if I would be willing to sell calves. The price wouldn’t be better than adults, but if we managed to get 40 top quality heifers, and if they bred well, we would end up with 40 great cows. Quality breeders were more valuable in the long run. Maybe 8-10 years. 

He warned me that the livestock would likely need to be fed by purchase. But next fall we would have grown all the crops needed to produce our own feed. 

And finally he put a bug in my ear about cotton. It wouldn’t be of any benefit to the animals, but the current market was good, and we could use it as a cash crop. Maybe even ship some off by train for a premium price. The initial investment would be high, but he thought it would be a boon in the long game. 

Then he signed off. He said a long day was just beginning. 

Just now heard from LW. He said a local farmer just sold off his entire spread. Something about a grisly divorce. He would be willing to sell all his slurry to us on the cheap. Since I wanted to go as organic as possible to told LW to get it all. 

Treva's Watch from the "Saga of Regine" by Brunhilde the Bard.

 The following is an excerpt from The Saga of Regine (Biography of a Vampire) as told by Brunhilde the Bard. 

ONE

Regine approached Treva’s Watch from the shoreline of the Treva River. The fort sat large on the northern shore of the river. The southern wall faced the river, and a single gate secured the entrance. Several timber ramparts protected most of the wall sections, providing cover for archers or mages. The fort’s tower occupied the northwest corner, providing an elevation advantage agains any assaults from the north where enemies could attack along a hillside. A campfire provided some orientation on the northeast wall where bandits could rest and eat when not on patrol. 

East of the fort another campfire offered some illumination against the growing darkness of night. As Regine approached she notice three Nords sitting in a half-circle around the fire. They were engaging in conversation she couldn’t quite make out. 

A man named Stalleo sat on a wood stump. He had gray hair cut in a thick stripe and the sides of his head were shaved to the scalp. A large beard extended well beyond his chin, almost to the chest, and matched his hair in color. His eyes were deep set and blacked with war paint. Across from Stalleo a female donned in heavy steel armor sat, her features muddled by the firelight and steel helmet. A male in fur armor and a hunting bow sat to Stalleo’s left. He turned toward Regine, and asked if she was there to help, mistaking her for a mercenary. 

She told him he was and she would be better than anyone else he could find. Her fee was high though. Stalleo agreed, and told her a story.  

It was about three or four months ago when everything started going bad. My friends here, and my family, we’re doing work to the exterior of the fort when a Stormcloack courier arrived. He walked to the gate and asked if he could come inside to discuss the militia that was forming. As a good son of Skyrim, I agreed to hear him out. I opened the gate and let him in the courtyard. 

It turned out he was visiting every village and city in Skyrim. He didn’t have a horse, or carriage ride to hold capitals. Only his own two feet as mode of transportation. He looked exhausted and weary. He limped profoundly. His eyes were sunken and dark, the whites more red than not, and his cheekbones looked like they would burst free at any moment. “Come on in and have some meade,” I said.  He started to refuse but I cut him of with a hard glance. “You’re coming in for some meade and a meal. You look like you’re an hour away from being a draugr that escaped the Ansilvund crypt.” He mulled it over for a moment then nodded his head slightly as if too much movement would cause it to tumble off his neck and roll into the Treva River. I slapped him on the shoulder and guided him toward the door where my wife stood ready to ring the dinner bell. 

I led him into the dinning room and offered him a seat. “What’s your name, soldier?”

He sat down, slowly, and with a grimace splitting his face into one part pain and one part exhaustion. He sat for a moment before speaking, and when he did the words seemed just as pained as his face, “We aren’t supposed to give anyone our names, sir.” He shrunk farther into the chair, head bowed, arms limp to his sides. 

I finally noticed this man wasn’t in his late twenties or early thirties but not even out of his teens. He likely took the courier job to show his loyalty and patriotism, but didn’t account for the severe impact such a job would take on his health and body. Walking long distances for hours and hours, avoiding wolves, frostbite spiders, trolls, and Imperial patrols could age a man years within weeks. And here he sat so worn down from trying to prove himself to the Stormcloak cause he appeared to be decades older than his years actually accounted for. 

I felt a knot of sorrow and sympathy far deep inside tying up my guts and heart. This is the toll that war takes on not only those on the frontline but by everyone. When this conflict with the Imperials finally ended the whole of Skyrim and her people will bear the burden for generations. Friends and family will be dead from enemy attacks, others will die of starvation, and more still will succumb to disease and illness. Proof sat at the table, broken and scarred physically and emotionally. 

“Here you are,” my wife said, placing a bowl of tomato soup, a plate of carrots with apples and cabbage, and a platter with beef steak and crab cakes in front of our guest. “Ale or meade?” She waited for a moment, but he didn’t answer. She placed a flagon of ale on the table. My wife handed the rest of us a bowl of tomato soup and ale. Then she sat down and gave me a slight glance, I nodded in reply. 

The message bearer sat for a time, staring at the food and drink before him. I didn’t think he would eat on his own. “Go ahead. Dig in.” He grabbed a fork with a shaky hand and took a mouthful of crab cakes. It must’ve been tasty as he ate without so much as a look up. Every morsel of food was consumed in less than five minutes. None of the rest of us had done anything but watch him eat. 

Vampire Regine Journal Entry 3 (Skyrim Anniversary Edition)

Regine Journal Entry 3

(Font change)

The bandits at Silent Moons Camp are no match for my growing power. I dispatch them rather easily. New forms of magic arise within me and I use it to take them down. I’m sneaky, quiet, and bloodthirsty. Somehow I can even will myself to be unseen. My mother used to say powerful mages could bend light and become invisible. Somehow I can do this. It is intoxicating. Enrapturing! 

I leave the broken and battered and drained bodies behind and head for a walled city. I believe the community is Whiterun, the most well-known location in all of Skyrim. This is most likely because of it’s central location within the province. The mild weather and wide-open landscape is also a deciding factor. 

Whiterun reminds me of home. I grew up in Northpoint. My father fished the Etheric Ocean and my mother was a trader (selling my father’s catch most of the time). Seven years ago they died at the hands of some thugs from Evermore. The bandits were hired by a rival fisherman. They stole everything not fastened down and torched the rest, including my parents. Only their teeth remained after the fire finally snuffed out. After that, I left. Not knowing where I was going, but wherever it was would be okay as long as it was a long way away. 

Two guards stand on either side of the large doors. Their blood calls to me but I resist. I wonder if my control is accidental from recent feedings or if I can manage my thirst more now? They do not speak or stop me, and I’m allowed to enter unmolested. 

Inside, a man and woman are having a heated discussion, and although I’m not close to them, I can hear each word. I approach just as the conversation ends. The man in Imperial armor asks me something random. His heartbeat is all I can clearly make out. It’s powerful and steady. He is a strong human. I answer his question without ever hearing it. My reply pleases him. I wonder if he can feel that I now have control. I watch as he walks away. 

There are more heartbeats. All around me. Within me. The hunger begins to grow. A small bunkhouse to my left has three guards within. I don’t know how I feel this. I enter and feed on the two sleeping men. A third man sits, he’s the watchman. I need him. Want him. Want, want, want!

He suddenly stands, dazed, entranced. I take the risk and feed while he is unaware. Then, as starkly as he stood and offered himself to me, he sits back in his chair—none the wiser. 

I leave and head directly to the guardhouse. I seem to know exactly where I’m headed. An unseen power guiding me along the cobblestone to where more guards slumber. I’m getting bolder.

Nosferatü Diary: Day 1

Am I fleeing from some court intrigue? That’s what the Imperial soldier asked me. As if he might know what goes on in the rest of the world. What with the increasing decay of Skyrim due to the growing animosity between the locals and the Empire. Of course that countrywide fracture was nearly knitted back together as the Imperials hand the Bear of Markarth in bindings. Still, that Imperial soldier was much closer to the truth than he knows. Best to avoid him for now. 

Then that black dragon showed up. Of course stories of dragons have always been told, but as everyone else had done, I dismissed them as folktales to frighten children. Now, though, it appears they are real. No matter, its appearance garnered me freedom. I suppose I owe that dragon. 

The blond Nord said something interesting just before cutting me loose. He said something about the harbinger of the end times. That struck me in a familiar way. I can’t quite put my finger on it, though. I’m certain I have heard that before. But where? Or when? 

Riverwood. A small village with a mill and blacksmith. A tiny general store. A bed and bar. 

And Sven. A simpleton bard. He will do nicely. Or the wood elf. Nah. The bard. 

Fallout 4 Charisma Attribute

On my very first playthrough of Fallout 4, I maxed my Charisma as soon as possible. Truth is I believed Charisma was the best attribute in Fallout 4. Thousands on hours later it still is essential for all my play throughs. Without good Charisma you possibly leave a lot of experience points on the table. I recently earned 100 XP for a Charisma check with a sniper build. That’s a huge amount. But anyway enough of my gaming history and onto the breakdown of the perks in the Charisma attribute.

Tier 1 is Cap Collector. If you aren’t building settlements this perk isn’t all that necessary. Although the first two ranks give you a significant price discount over any other option it’s true value is in the settlement building as you must have the first two ranks to build stores at settlements. The third rank, which grants you the ability to invest caps in shops is a pass. You’ll have plenty of shops built at each settlement to sell all you loot. If you aren’t building settlements and still want the caps, you’re better off investing two perks in Fortune Finder under the Luck attribute.

Black Widow/Lady Killer perk is Tier 2. If you’ve built a female character this is a more useful perk as there are more male enemies than female and the bonus damage is nice. But it isn’t world beating, either. By the end game when this perk shows its most usefulness in combat, your weapons will be plenty powerful enough. The other benefit come from Charisma checks as it’s easier to convince the opposite sex and the Intimidation perk is more successful. Perk points best allocated elsewhere.

The Tier 3 Lone Wanderer Perk is the premier perk under Charisma and one of the best perks in the game. Let’s face it, companions are stealth killers and at best are poor shots and have little use in combat, except an overhauled Codsworth or Ada, both of whom can be devastating in combat and have a high carry weight. With the Lone Wanderer Perk you get a significant boost to carry weight +100 with rank 2, outdoing Stongback by 50. At rank 3 you also inflict 25% more damage while taking 30% less damage. And with rank 4, with the Far Harbor DLC, you get an addition 25 action points, a good bonus for V.A.T.S. users. And if you need to carry more loot bring Dogmeat along as he doesn’t count against the Lone Wanderer perk.

Speaking of Dogmeat, the Attack Dog perk can be had at Tier 4. The perks sound good but they really aren’t worth the investment unless Dogmeat is integral to your play through. Holding an enemy, maybe crippling a limb, and causing bleed damage isn’t likely worth the perk points as there are far better damage multipliers available. Give these a pass unless Dogmeat is with for the entire play through.

Tier 5 brings Animal Friend into the mix. You can pacify, incite to attack, or give specific commands to animals of the Wasteland. Other than provide to comic relief by bringing in a bloatfly to cause chaos, these aren’t worth the points. Easier to just kill the animals and the raiders. Maybe a Beastemaster-style play through is worth it or building arenas but honestly it’s more gimmick than useful.

Local Leader at Tier 6 is primarily for settlement building. You’ll need both ranks to combine with Cap Collector to buildshops, it only one rank to create supply lines and be able to build workstations in every settlement, which is beneficial as you can stop anywhere to improve armor or weapons, cookfood or make chems negating the need to always go to Sanctuary or Red Rocket or the Castle.

Like to drink? Well, the Partyboy/girl perk at Tier 7 is for you. This is actually a great perk for a variety of builds, especially and melee character as you can get even more strength by consuming alcohol. Plus your Luck goes up, and if you’re running a low Intelligence build with the Idiot Savant Perk, you can imbibe before turning in quests to 8mprove the chance of your XP multiplier. It’s a high investment into Charisma but probably a worthy set of perks.

The Inspirational perk at Tier 8 is mostly a pass. Yes it prevents you from harming your companions and them from harming you, but are companions worththis very high investment in Charisma to get? Since you’re far better off with the Lone Wanderer Perk, I would say no. Unless you already have high Charisma adding points to get here and then take these perks isn’t a great option.

Tier 9 and 10 are essentially identical to Animal Friend only they apply to wasteland creatures and people. Now maybe having a pet deathclaw is your thing or having arena fights with humans, creatures, and animals is also your thing. Either way these aren't worth getting until later in the game for any reason other than role-playing. Of course I'm going to be hypocritical under the Intelligence attribute in the next post as it has an option just like these only for robots.

Being able to manipulate others and have them do your bidding can be a fun and entertaining option, but the real strength in Charisma is the ability to dig out additional information and earn XP while doing it. I mean it is equally fun to squeeze more caps out of the tightwad residents of Diamond City. And, of course, the settlement system isn't fully optimized without the appropriate Charisma perks to make it happen.

Fallout 4 Firearms Snafus Part 1

In the world of Fallout 4 many of the weapons available to the player have roots in the real world players inhabit. But before I get into these real-world counterparts of those in the fictional world of Fallout 4 let me make something perfectly clear: Fallout 4 is a video game. Period. End of story. In addition, I'm not going to get militant about Bethesda not portraying the firearms in Fallout 4 accurately to the real life versions. I'm merely going to point out a few minor flaws. In doing this there needs to be an understanding: assumptions will be made. If you, reader, can keep that in mind things will go a lot smoother. And lastly, I'm not going to get into the science fiction weapons or experimental weapons in the game. These posts will be solely about standard cap-and-ball firearms. 

In real life I have many of the firearms represented in the Fallout 4 universe. I may not have the exact caliber, or more appropriately, cartridge of those offered in Fallout 4 but I have similar rifle “actions” as portrayed in the Commonwealth. For this post, I'll be focusing of the rifles. I'll save the pistols and handguns for another post. So we will be exploring bolt-action, lever-action, and semi-automatic versions of the game’s rifles and how they relate or compare to the actual versions I own. 

For the purposes of this post, I'm going to use the .308 rifle as the baseline. In relation to Fallout 4, assumptions need to be made immediately as the game doesn't identify the exact .308 cartridge. So, I'll be going with the assumption the game refers to the .308 Winchester (there are several rifle cartridges with .308 as a prefix but none are as popular as the .308 Winchester), which is nearly identical to the 7.62 NATO or 7.62mmX51mm. To be clear the 7.62 NATO is not the same as the Handmade 7.62 you'll find in Nuka World but I'll get more into this a bit later. For now I'll focus on the .308 bolt-action rifle. 

The .308 Winchester was released to the public in 1954, three years earlier than its cousin cartridge the 7.62 NATO would be adopted by the U.S. military. But that doesn't mean the .308 came before the NATO version. In the 1940s experiments had already begun to improve on the venerable.30-06 cartridge. So Frankford Arsenal began experimenting with a smaller .30 caliber cartridge—the .300 Savage and ended up with the 7.62 NATO, which was smaller than the .30-06 and nearly as powerful with light bullets. This adaptation led to a shorter action and lighter weapon. Now I mentioned the .308 Winchester and the 7.62 NATO where cousins but they're more like fraternal twins. I won't go into all details in this post. If you're interested in the differences post the question in the comments.

Now that I've thoroughly confused you, I'll get back to the game. The .308 is the first traditional bolt-action rifle you'll encounter in Fallout 4. I say traditional because pipe rifles are not traditional and won't be covered with any depth in these posts. Pipe rifles are more related to zip guns than true firearms and that's where I'll leave that. You can easily  find a .308 bolt-action rifle, which will be more powerful than any other versions in the early stages of Fallout 4, at Walden Pond. One of the raiders nearest the sewer entrance will have a hunting rifle in .308. Not far from Walden Pond you may come across a broken section of highway with a few Gunners, one of which may have a full .308 sniper rifle. 

So what about these snafus you're asking? Well, the first and most obvious snafu is the bolt handle on bolt-action rifles. For me, this was an obvious mistake or oversight and I'm leaning to oversight. Your character shoots right handed. Pistols, revolvers, rifles, sledgehammers, all weapons are active from a right handed person perspective. The trouble exists with the bolt handle being on the left side. I won't say this doesn't happen, but it's rare and typically seen with customized rifles, or left-handed models. This flaw or oversight also exists with both the lever-action and semi-automatic rifles. With the lever-action, the ammunition is fed in from the wrong side. For the semi-automatics the bolt handle is on the wrong side. I say this is an oversight because in Fallout New Vegas the lever-action loading gate is on the correct side. I suppose this could have been done on purpose to create a more immersive feel by watching the character perform more visualized actions, but I think it's a mistake by Bethesda. 

Next I'll explore damage. In the Fallout 4 world the .308 is the least powerful of the non-semi-automatic rifles. Both the Handmade 7.62 and the .45-70 are more powerful, but this isn't true in the real world. As a reminder, I'm not including pipe guns that would include the .45 pipe revolver rifle. These errors go from bad to downright awful. Let's use the .50 caliber rifle as an example of downright awful. Again, we aren't given the actual nomenclature of the .50 caliber rifle, but assuming it’s related to real-world rifles, we can rightly guess it's the 50 BMG. I can assure you that all three of the smaller caliber rifles combined cannot match the power of the 50 BMG. But within the fantasy of the Fallout world the .50 sniper is only slightly more powerful than the .308. To me this is an egregious error,  not as much as the power of the .44 revolver, though. I just need to remind myself that it is ONLY a game. I don't want to mire you down with all the ballistics within the post. So if you are interested, and prefer to see proof instead of just my world, then leave a question in the comments. 

A small bit on the Handmade 7.62 and how it relates to the .308. Given what we know of the Handmade 7.62, it is safe to assume it’s based on the Alexander Kalashnikov rifle of 1947, aka AK-47. Another popular rifle using the same ammunition is the SKS. The 7.62mmX39mm doesn't share the same diameter projectile as the 7.62 NATO, although it still falls into the .30 caliber family. This is also a rather complicated section on real-world rifles and nomenclature so I'll save it for the comments. Inside a rifled barrel are lands and grooves. These lands and grooves are what provides the sealing surfaces and the twists as the projectile leaves the chamber, travels down the barrel, and exits the muzzle. The 7.62mm or .300 inches is the diameter of the lands in the barrel, whereas the groove diameter is 7.82mm or .308 inches. From this I can show you the difference with the 7.62X39. The projectile of the 7.62X39 is .312 inches. The lands of the barrel is still .300 but the grooves will be different at .312. 

Now that this post has come to an end, I'm asking myself what it was actually about. So I feel your pain if you are asking the same question. That being said, I'll be doing a post of the handguns of Fallout 4 and where I feel things are off kilter.