D.W. Wilkin's Blog, page 139
April 19, 2015
An Unofficial Guide to how to win the Scenarios of Wild the 2nd Expansion for Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
An Unofficial Guide to how to win the Scenarios of Wild
I have been a fan of this series of computer games since early in its release of the very first game. That game was done by one programmer, Chris Sawyer, and it was the first I recall of an internet hit. Websites were put up in dedication to this game where people showed off their creations, based on real amusement parks. These sites were funded by individuals, an expense that was not necessarily as cheap then as it is now. Nor as easy to program then as it might be to build a web page now.
Prima Books released game guides for each iteration of the game, Rollercoaster Tycoon 1, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (RCT3) but not for the expansion sets. And unlike the first two works, the third guide was riddle with incorrect solutions. As I played the game that frustrated me. And I took to the forums that Atari, the game publisher hosted to see if I could find a way to solve those scenarios that the Prima Guide had written up in error. Not finding any good advice, I created my own for the scenarios that the ���Official��� Guide had gotten wrong.
Solutions that if you followed my advice you would win the scenario and move on. But if you followed the ���Official��� version you would fail and not be able to complete the game. My style and format being different than the folks at Prima, I continued for all the Scenarios that they had gotten right as well, though my solutions cut to the chase and got you to the winner���s circle more quickly, more directly.
My contributions to the ���Official��� Forum, got me a place as a playtester for both expansions to the game, Soaked and Wild. And for each of these games, I wrote the guides during the play testing phase so all the play testers could solve the scenarios, and then once again after the official release to make changes in the formula in case our aiding to perfect the game had changed matters. For this, Atari and Frontier (the actual programmers of the game) placed me within the game itself.
And for the longest time, these have been free at the ���Official��� Forums, as well as my own website dedicated to the game. But a short time ago, I noticed that Atari, after one of its bankruptcies had deleted their forums. So now I am releasing the Guide for one and all. I have added new material and it is near 100 pages, just for the first of the three games. It is available for the Kindle at present for $2.99.
(Click on the picture to purchase)
Not only are all 12 Scenarios covered, but there are sections covering every Cheat Code, Custom Scenery, the famous Small Park Competition, the Advanced Fireworks Editor, the Flying Camera Route Editor which are all the techniques every amusement park designer needs to make a fantastic park in Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.
Scenarios for WILD!
1) Scrub Gardens
2) Ostrich Farms Plains
3) Egyptian Sand Dance
4) A Rollercoaster Odyssey
5) Zoo Rescue
6) Mine Mountain
7) Insect World
8) Rocky Coasters
9) Lost Land of the Dinosaurs
10) Tiger Forest
11) Raiders of the Lost Coaster
12) Saxon Farms
April 18, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-Sir William Pulteney 5th Baronet
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Sir William Pulteney 5th Baronet
October 1729 ��� 30 May 1805
William Pulteney
Sir William Pulteney 5th Baronet was a Scottish advocate, landowner and politician. He was reputedly the wealthiest man in the Great Britain. He invested in lands in North America, and in developments in Great Britain, including the Pulteney Bridge and other buildings in Bath, buildings on the sea-front at Weymouth in Dorset, and roads in his native Scotland.
He was a patron of architect Robert Adam and civil engineer Thomas Telford.
William Johnstone, as he was born, was the second son of Sir James Johnstone, 3rd Baronet of Wester Hall, Dumfries, and his wife Barbara Murray, the oldest sister of the literary patron Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank.
His older brother was the soldier and politician Sir James Johnstone, 4th Baronet. His younger brothers included the politician and naval officer George Johnstone and the East India Company official John Johnstone. Alexander Murray of Elibank, a Jacobite, was his uncle.
He studied law, became a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1751, and went on to become an eminent advocate. He lived in Edinburgh and associated with several major figures of the country’s learned society, including philosopher and historian David Hume, political philosopher and economist Adam Smith, and architect Robert Adam. He was a first cousin of Patrick Ferguson.
On 10 November 1760, he married heiress Frances Pulteney. Frances was the third daughter of MP and government official Daniel Pulteney and first cousin once removed of William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath. She inherited William���s substantial fortune and estates close to Bath in Somerset after his death in 1764 and that of his younger brother and heir in 1767. On inheriting, Johnstone changed his name in 1767 to Pulteney. Simultaneously, his daughter���s name was also changed from Henrietta Laura Johnstone to Henrietta Laura Pulteney.
At that time Bath was expanding, but the Pulteneys’ rural Bathwick estate was separated from the city by the River Avon, and with no bridge in place the only means of crossing the river was via a small ferry. They decided a bridge needed to be built, and Pulteney turned to his friend and fellow countryman, architect Robert Adam. Adam was influenced by his travels to Florence and Venice and proposed a bridge incorporating shops along both sides. This was completed in 1773, but the Pulteneys’ original plans for Bath’s expansion did not take effect until 1788 when Bath architect Thomas Baldwin started to create a new estate. As well as the bridge bearing his name, Pulteney���s involvement is recalled by Great Pulteney Street in Bathwick, reputed to be the longest boulevard of its kind in Europe, while Henrietta Street was named after his daughter.
Pulteney represented Cromarty and later Shrewsbury, where he usually resided, in seven successive Parliaments. He first but unsuccessfully contested the Shrewsbury seat in 1768, but subsequently won the seat for Cromarty. In 1774 he again contested Shrewsbury, and although he was defeated, he was returned on petition the following March (and retained the seat until his death in May 1805).
On 1 June 1782, Frances died, leaving him her fortune.
Pulteney invested in land in the West Indies and in what is today western New York state. The settlements of Bath, Pulteney, Henrietta and Caledonia are evidence of his speculation at the end of the 18th century, through ‘The Pulteney Association’ an agency run by his agent Charles Williamson.
In 1783, Pulteney began working with Thomas Telford, later the most eminent civil engineer of his day. When Pulteney first met him, Telford was a young stonemason from the same parish of Westerkirk in Dumfries, who had travelled to London to seek work. In 1787, Pulteney commissioned Telford to design and supervise restoration works at Shrewsbury Castle, and helped his appointment as Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire.
Later, as Governor of the British Fisheries Society, Pulteney appointed Telford to design the world���s then largest herring fishing port, at Wick in Caithness. The village was named Pulteneytown and is the location of the Old Pulteney whisky distillery.
Pulteney was also influential in Telford’s 1801 appointment to devise a master plan to improve communications in the Highlands of Scotland, a massive project that was to last 20 years.
Pulteney also took a lively interest in many other engineering projects, including that of Bell Rock lighthouse, supporting a bill in 1803.
He succeeded to the Johnstone baronetcy in 1794 on the death of his elder brother James Johnstone. He was thus titled 5th Baronet Pulteney, having declined several offers of a peerage during his parliamentary career.
In 1804 Pulteney married, as his second wife, Margaret, widow of Andrew Stuart and daughter of Sir William Stirling. The marriage did not last long. Pulteney died intestate at Bath House in Piccadilly, London, on 30 May 1805, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
His daughter, (Henrietta) Laura, was created 1st Baroness of Bath on 26 July 1792 and 1st Countess of Bath on 26 October 1803. In 1794, she had married her father’s first cousin Sir James Murray, who had taken the name Murray-Pulteney. She died on 14 July 1808 without bearing children and her titles became extinct.
Fantasy from Space Opera Books, Trolling’s Pass and Present
Trolling���s Pass and Present
Not only do I write Regency and Romance, but I also have delved into Fantasy. The Trolling series, (the first three are in print) is the story of a man, Humphrey.
We meet him as he has left youth and become a man with a man���s responsibilities. We follow him in a series of stories that encompass the stages of life.
We see him when he starts his family, when he has older sons and the father son dynamic is tested. We see him when his children begin to marry and have children, and at the end of his life when those he has loved, and those who were his friends proceed him over the threshold into death.
All this while he serves a kingdom troubled by monsters. Troubles that he and his friends will learn to deal with and rectify.
It is now available in a variety of formats. For $2.99 you can get this fantasy adventure.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
Years since their battles with the Trolls, even on foreign soil, the warriors of the Valley Kingdom of Torahn need something to keep their edge honed.
The economy too is beginning to fray a little without the great wars to support. The Leaders hit upon the idea of searching for a path to reach the east side of the continent.
The Elves swear that at one time their writings tell of such, the Dwarves swear such a pass across Teantellen is legendary. Teantellen though is filled with races man has never gotten along with well. Goblins, Dark Elves, Trolls, Giants and Dragons.
It has been years since the mountain tops exploded, and perhaps that has changed things enough that a way can be found to link the western lands with the eastern lands and increase trade, and prosperity for all. Even should they fail in their quest, as the history of man has shown to this point in time, the attempt will do much to spur the economy.
Tens of thousands of gold will be spent by the Council of Twenty-One to pay for such an expedition. Gold that those who are not so scrupulous might choose to pocket as they tried in the Troll Wars.
With such shenanigans taking place again, are the hopes of the previous generation, the leaders from the Troll Wars now in retirement, ready to be achieved? Is it time for Torahn, called the Valley Kingdom, but the only Kingdom without a King, to have a King once more?
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
April 17, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-Harry Powlett 4th Duke of Cleveland
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Harry Powlett 4th Duke of Cleveland
19 April 1803 ��� 21 August 1891
Harry Powlett
Harry Powlett 4th Duke of Cleveland was the third son of William Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland, by Lady Catherine Margaret Powlett, daughter of Admiral Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton. Henry Vane, 2nd Duke of Cleveland, and William Vane, 3rd Duke of Cleveland, were his elder brothers. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford.
Vane entered the foreign service and held posts in Paris and Stockholm before entering the House of Commons in 1841 as a member for South Durham. He would represent Durham until 1859, when he switched to Hastings, which he represented until his accession to the dukedom on the death of his brother on 6 September 1864. Later the same year, on 18 November, he adopted by Royal Licence the surname of Powlett in lieu of that of Vane, in accordance with the will of his maternal grandmother (wife and Duchess to the 6th Duke of Bolton). He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1865. During the crisis which led to the collapse of Lord Russell’s government in 1866 over the question of parliamentary reform, he was considered a possible compromise Prime Minister in a Whig-Conservative anti-reform coalition government, but such plans came to nothing.
In 1854 Cleveland married Lady Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope (1819-1901), a historian known as the Duchess of Cleveland, the daughter of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope and widow of Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny, by whom she was the mother of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The marriage was without progeny.
Although Cleveland had no legitimate progeny, he produced an illegitimate daughter by his mistress Mary Ann Raby. The daughter was called Charlotte (Lottie) Raby (1841-1919) and took the surname Raby so her parentage was not discovered.
Cleveland died in August 1891, aged 88, at his London townhouse Cleveland House, 16 St James’s Square, Westminster, London. Thereupon the line of succession to his peerages became unclear. In 1891 the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords declared the title of Duke of Cleveland extinct but declared Henry de Vere Vane to be the rightful heir of the title Baron Barnard and to the estates of Raby Castle and Barnard Castle, which latter had been purchased in 1626 by the Vane family.
RAP has The Shattered Mirror, A Regency Romance
The Shattered Mirror
For your enjoyment, one of the Regency Romances I published. It is available for sale and now at a reduced price of $3.99, and I hope that you will take the opportunity to order your copy.
Order for yourself or as a gift. It is now available in a variety of formats. For just a few dollars this Regency Romance can be yours for your eReaders or physically in Trade Paperback.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
and in Trade Paperback
Bridget Halifax-Stokes was giddy with the excitement of her season in London. Town had beckoned and her season came on the heels of the end of the war against the tyrant.
All the handsome men were returning heroes. What better year to come out.
Her father thought it all nonsense. Her mother believed that it would be the best showing of any of her daughters.
More lords available and luck that Bridget was just the perfect age.
All is fun and frivolity until Bridget literally crashes into Sir Patrick Hampton as he limps along the high street. A man she knew once well, now a stranger with dark and foreboding eyes.
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
April 16, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-Robert Furze Brettingham
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Robert Furze Brettingham
1750���1806
Robert Furze Brettingham like his uncle he spent a part of his early life in Italy, from where he returned in 1781. Brettingham’s subsequent works, and the drawings which he exhibited on his return at the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, showed that he did not neglect his opportunities for study in Italy. Among them may be noted in 1783 a drawing of a sepulchral chapel from the Villa Medici at Rome, in 1790 the design for a bridge which he had erected in the preceding year at Benham Place, in Berkshire, and the entrance porch of the church at Saffron Walden restored by him in 1792.
In 1773 he published another edition of his uncle’s Plans, &c. of Holkham, also, like it, in atlas folio, “to which are added the ceilings and chimney-pieces, and also a descriptive account of the statues, pictures, and drawings, not in the former edition.” Descriptive Account Brettingham wrote the descriptive account; as in the original edition, the plans are ascribed to Matthew Brettingham, and William Kent is ignored.
The sudden death in 1790 of the prison architect William Blackburn, provided the great opportunity of Brettingham’s life, and he soon gained a lucrative practice. Blackburn left many designs incomplete, several of which Brettingham subsequently carried into execution. He erected gaols at Reading, Hertford, Poole, Downpatrick, Northampton, and elsewhere.
In 1771 his name appears associated with those of the leading architects of the time in the foundation of the Architects’ Club, which met to dine at the Thatched House Tavern on the first Thursday each month. Other original members of this club included Sir William Chambers, Robert Adam, John Soane, James Wyatt, and Samuel Pepys Cockerell. About this time Brettingham also held the post of resident clerk in the Board of Works, which he resigned in 1805.
His works for private patrons include the “Temple of Concord” in the grounds of Audley End House, a rectangular Corinthian imitation ruin built for Sir John Griffin in 1790 to celebrate George III’s recovery from insanity, and a mausoleum in Scotland for the Fraser family. He also carried out work at Winchester House, St. James’s Square, erected originally for the Duke of Leeds; 9 Berkeley Square, afterwards sold to the Marquis of Buckingham; Buckingham House, 91 Pall Mall, rebuilt in 1794 by Sir John Soane; Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square; 80 Piccadilly, for Sir Francis Burdett; Charlton, Wiltshire, for the Earl of Suffolk; Waldersham, Kent, for the Earl of Guilford; Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk, for the Hon. W. Wyndham; Longleat, Wiltshire; and Roehampton, Surrey, and Hillsborough House in Ireland, both for the Marquess of Downshire. Brettingham was held in much regard by his professional brethren, and was the esteemed master of many who later attained eminence in the architectural profession. The exact date of his death is not known.
Trolling Down to Old Mah Wee, another Fantasy
Trolling Down to Old Mah Wee
Not only do I write Regency and Romance, but I also have delved into Fantasy.
The Trolling series, (the first three are in print) is the story of a man, Humphrey. We meet him as he has left youth and become a man with a man���s responsibilities. We follow him in a series of stories that encompass the stages of life.
We see him when he starts his family, when he has older sons and the father son dynamic is tested. We see him when his children begin to marry and have children, and at the end of his life when those he has loved, and those who were his friends proceed him over the threshold into death.
All this while he serves a kingdom troubled by monsters. Troubles that he and his friends will learn to deal with and rectify. It is now available in a variety of formats.
For $2.99 you can get this 2nd book in the fantasy adventure series of Humphrey and Gwendolyn.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
When the neighboring kingdom of Mah Wee begins to experience the same problems that beset Torahn some years before, they urgently request the aid of the experts in containing a new Troll infestation. But eradicating Trolls is not as easy as exterminating a few rats or mice.
Trolls are bigger than men, they are stronger than men, and then are meaner than men. Humphrey Cutter and his band of mismatched warriors must once again rise to the occasion, but can they without the aid of expertise of Gwendolyn and her particular skills? ����
Mah Wee, an ancient kingdom, with a monarch more steeped in the rights of being a king rather than the obligations and duties that a king should be. Here Humphrey and his crew finds that they have more than Trolls to overcome if they are to save Mah Wee from the same or nearly similar problems that they faced before in Torahn.
But, as Humphrey knows, nothing can truly be accomplished if the lovely Gwendolyn is not able to lend her aid as well.
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
April 15, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-Richard Handcock 2nd Baron Castlemaine
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Richard Handcock 2nd Baron Castlemaine
14 May 1767 ��� 18 April 1840
Richard Handcock 2nd Baron Castlemaine was a younger son of the Very Reverend Richard Handcock, Dean of Archonry, and Sarah, daughter of Richard Toler. William Handcock, 1st Viscount Castlemaine, was his elder brother. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.
Castlemaine was a Member of the Irish House of Commons for Athlone from May 1800 until the Act of Union in 1801, alongside his elder brother, William. In 1839 he succeeded his elder brother as second Baron Castlemaine according to a special remainder in the letters patent. However, as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords.
Lord Castlemaine married Anne, daughter of Arthur French, in 1790. They had seven sons and two daughters. He died after a long illness in April 1840, aged 72, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Richard. Lady Castlemaine died in November 1852.
His daughter Anne married Sempronius Stretton. His daughter Sarah married Major General Christopher Hamilton CB.
Jane Austen Fans Rejoice, Jane is BACKKKK��� Jane Austen and Ghosts
Special Sale Price!
Jane Austen and Ghosts.
Not only do I write Regency and Romance, but this can take a humorous turn. Some years back, I am sure readers of this blog will be aware that some writers began to take great liberty with Jane Austen and her works. Pride and Prejudice being liberally rewritten with the inclusion of zombies.
Then other books appeared with sea monsters, and werewolves and vampires. President Lincoln has even made it to the big screen where he is intent on sending foul creatures to hell. It occurred to me, even before I read any of this literature, that Jane would probably not appreciate what had been done to her classic piece.
That the tales and her life have become visual spectacles that we enjoy she might not like either, but is perhaps resigned to. That zombies, ghosts and vampires are now used to follow her own plot lines would I think, have her turning over in her grave. Jane Austen and Ghosts is my take on that.
It is now available in a variety of formats. For a limited time it has been reduced to $2.99 for your eReaders and $8.99 for paperback you can get this Jane Austen adventure.
Barnes and Noble for your Nook
and in Paperback
In the world of moviemaking, nothing is as golden as rebooting a classic tale that has made fortunes every time before when it has been adapted for the silver screen.
Certainly any work by Jane Austen made into a movie will not only be bankable, but also considered a work of art. That is of course until the current wave of adaptations that unite her classic stories with all the elements of the afterlife is attempted to be created.
That these have found success in the marketplace amongst booklovers may not be quite understood by those who make movies. But that they are a success is understood and a reason to make them into movies.
All that being said, perhaps it would also be fair to say that the very proper Jane, were she present to have anything to say about it, would not be pleased. Of course she has been away from this Earth for nearly 200 hundred years.
But does that mean were she upset enough, she wouldn���t come back?
Feedback
If you have any commentary, thoughts, ideas about the book (especially if you buy it, read it and like it ;-) then we would love to hear from you.
April 14, 2015
Regency Personalities Series-Joseph Warton
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Joseph Warton
April 1722 ��� 23 February 1800
Joseph Warton
Joseph Warton was born in Dunsfold, Surrey, England, but his family soon moved to Hampshire, where his father, the Reverend Thomas Warton, became vicar of Basingstoke. There, a few years later, Joseph’s younger brother, the more famous Thomas Warton, was born. Their father later became an Oxford professor.
Joseph was educated at Winchester College and at Oriel College, Oxford, and followed his father into the church, becoming curate of Winslade in 1748. In 1754, he was instituted as rector at The Church of All Saints, Tunworth. In his early days Joseph wrote poetry, of which the most notable piece is The Enthusiast (1744), an early precursor of Romanticism. In 1755, he returned to his old school to teach, and from 1766 to 1793 was its headmaster, but it was a role in which he did not distinguish himself. His career as a critic was always more illustrious, and he produced editions of classical poets such as Virgil as well as English poets including John Dryden. Like his brother, he was a friend of Samuel Johnson, and formed part of the literary coterie centered on the publisher Robert Dodsley.
A monument to Joseph Warton by the neoclassical sculptor John Flaxman is in Winchester Cathedral.
His works:
The Enthusiast, or The Lover of Nature (1744)
Odes on Various Subjects (1746)
Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope (volume 1: 1756; volume 2: 1782)
