I was busy over the last few weeks updating STBL-Web for Game Central's 20th anniversary. Prior to that, however, I was playing Eador: Genesis, a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy setting. It reminded me of the early Heroes of Might and Magic games or King's Bounty. You play as a Master and move your heroes around on a world map. Combat is waged on a 2D hex grid. Available heroes are warriors, scouts, commanders, and wizards. They level up in abilities, learn spells and skills, acquire equipment, and recruit units for their armies. In Eador: Genesis, you conquer shards, which are small worlds. Conquered shards unlock additional buildings, units, and other elements. Playing each shard was like its own mini-game. I conquered several (at least half a dozen) but the game progresses slowly. Estimates to complete the campaign range from 50 to 170 hours. As much as I enjoyed it, I can't justify devoting that much time to finish the game. It's time to move on to something new.

Today is the anniversary of the Game Central website. It debuted on May 25, 2006 so this is the 20th anniversary. I can hardly believe two decades have passed since I started the site mainly as an archive for our old tabletop RPG campaigns. Over time, I added a lot of video game information as well. Game Central also linked to STBL-Web, the home of the Southern Tier Baseball League. The STBL was our computer baseball league, powered by various versions of Earl Weaver Baseball. My last major update to STBL-Web was in 2023. Prior to that, there was a sizable update in 2018. The STBL started in 1987 so next year will be its 40th anniversary. However, I wanted to do something special now and not wait another year.

I rebuilt the site, which comprised several hundred pages. I kept it simple and largely preserved the existing layout. Most of the stats came from text reports output from DOS games so there was no reason to get too fancy. One thing the site lacked was good navigation. You had to keep coming back to the home page. I created links between seasons and some of the other pages to streamline things. I found and corrected quite a few errors along the way. The biggest addition, however, is new pages for the preseason drafts. Earl Weaver baseball came with all-star teams of players from 1900 to 1975. They also released MLBPA stats disks with new seasons, starting with 1986. Just before the 1988 season, we instituted a four round draft with a MLB 1986 player pool. When we didn't have a new season available. we started drafting from the late 1970s. These drafts are now included on STBL-Web.

If you are interested in the STBL, check out the updated STBL-Web.

Because I have Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, I was able to keep playing after finishing the story in the base game. The GOTY edition includes all five of the add-on packs, which provide several more hours of gameplay. Here they are in chronological release order as described on the developer's web site:

1. Operation: Anchorage - Enter a military simulation and fight in the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from its Chinese Communist invaders.
2. The Pitt - Travel to the post-apocalyptic remains of Pittsburgh and become embroiled in conflict between the slaves and their Raider masters.
3. Broken Steel - Increase your level cap to 30, and finish the fight against the Enclave remnants alongside Liberty Prime.
4. Point Lookout - Embark on a mysterious and open-ended adventure in a huge, murky swampland along the coast of Maryland.
5. Mothership Zeta - Defy hostile alien abductors and fight your way off of the alien mothership, orbiting miles above the Capital Wasteland.

I played them in the order above and finished them over the last few weeks. Operation: Anchorage put you in a flashback to 2077. The Pitt had you traveling north to old Pittsburgh. You are stripped of your equipment upon entering the city and become a slave. This significantly weakened your character in the beginning but offered a nice challenge. Broken Steel was the add-on directly tied to the main story in the base game. It also raised the level cap from 20 to 30, so it was probably the most substantial add-on. Point Lookout had a creepy atmosphere, set in the swamps of what was Maryland. It also featured one (maybe two) very memorable non-player character(s) and some difficult enemies. It was a solid expansion. The final add-on, Mothership Zeta, was the oddball of the lot. You are abducted by aliens and the action takes place entirely aboard their spaceship. It offered interaction with several characters (fellow abductees) as well as alien weapons and technology to use. It didn't really feel like Fallout but it was more fun than I expected.

My version of The Lone Wanderer ended the game at level 23. Between the main game and the expansions, Fallout 3: GOTY Edition gave me over 50 hours of gameplay.


The Bridge into The Pitt