mostlytechnic

I'm not sure why they put a limit - the PDF files are locked with your email as the password and your email and purchase info included on EVERY PAGE so it would be obvious if someone was passing them around. (yes, I'm sure that the PDF DRM isn't the greatest and probably could be removed, but if someone's going to that much work, nothing is going to stop them)

Even if not, there's already people with working PUP software - check out the long threads in the Train forum. The main one there can handle multiple PUP hubs already, so it can control an entire train layout. I'm sure it'd be trivial to add this Technic hub to it and have working Windows PC software to control it. No monthly cost needed to use it for this. Most people these days already have an old phone lying around that they could use without any actual phone service on it. They already exist in white, from two sets back in 2004: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=32054&colorID=1&in=A But pretty rare since each set only had a couple of them.

Yep, not sure it'll work in trains since people are reporting it's almost as big as the NXT brain - 6AA batteries instead of 6 AAA. However, if the demand is there, perhaps they could produce a AAA version with 4 ports for the train market, but I doubt Lego would see enough sales volume.

Keep in mind that Lego has never made a 7 function remote system before. There have been some (like 8275 bulldozer) with 4 functions that used 2 remotes to control it. This thing would take 4 remotes, and that's almost $100 more in retail cost to the set to include those! I suspect you'll be able to control 2 functions with a remote, if you have one, but the other advantage is the phone can have detailed, customized interfaces. It can handle a mix of on/off and "analog" controls. It can do so much more, and since it's open, even if Lego makes the app no longer work, plenty of people have alternatives already.

That is the key to EB mafia - it's possible to twist anything into sounding scummy, and then with the right pressure, convince others to agree. Thanks for the fun game! Town got hugely unlucky and scum got lucky; it happens. DARN IT! And I agree, I think it would be fun and helpful to have more forced "quirks" to help remove some of the meta-gaming and reading of people. Not sure quite how to make that work, since they need to be fun even for people who don't know the source material, but it'd be fun.

That is fantastic news. I like the AA battery setup (since anything using 4 motors is probably big, putting a bigger battery box shouldn't be a hassle and gets you much more runtime) and I'm glad that they're making more than 2 motor outputs. In my PUP review I called that out, that Technic for sure needed more outputs. I suspect (since it's using 2 hubs) that one's in the tread section and 1 in the body of the digger. The one in the treads would handle drive and probably rotation. That eliminates long drive systems for the treads or passing wires through the turntable. The upper one would handle all the digger arm with 4 motors.

As for the electronics - it sure looks like this is a new app using the Boost / PoweredUp system. However, they recognized (as did everyone looking at the current PUP system) that it needed more outputs. The current battery box can only handle 2 motors. This system has 7 motors and 2 new hubs, so it sounds like they're making a new "brain" unit that has 4 outputs. AWESOME!!!!!!!!! But yeah, that's why the high price. If you look, the current PUP hub (which is a battery box and bluetooth interface in one) retails for $50 alone!

Go go go! DARN IT!

It's been done many times. It's a different experience, since it eliminates the meta-game, someone is acting different than they usually do factor.

Thanks KotZ - fun theme and thanks for hosting!

So, your position is that Saying something is possible and even likely is the same thing as saying it's a 100%, guaranteed sure thing and therefore I must be scum to have that kind of insider knowledge When the voting was 9 to 4, with the lynchee committing suicide, the scum would still never all jump on a completely safe bandwagon When the voting was 9 to 4, the lynchee committed suicide relatively early in the day, and all four of the "against" votes were before that suicide, so if the scum had waited at all to vote (and they often do!) then they were all on the Lewis wagon BUT I MUST BE WRONG When the voting was 9 to 4, 3 of the "against" votes were placed before the suicide, the 4th voter (placed at the end of the day, knowing it didn't matter) has since been confirmed town, 1 is likely cleared, and so there's really only 2 possible scum left who could have voted against the wagon BUT I MUST BE WRONG And I haven't backed down, because MY LOGIC MAKES SENSE! Yes, there's a chance that Diane or Moore is scum. According to you, one of them must be. And yet YOU'RE VOTING TO LYNCH ME AND NOT THEM!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he meant Benson, not you, based on what was said. Nope, not fishing at all. Benson has already revealed he's in contact with at least 2 other PRs. That's who I'm asking about. If there's more (and I hope there are, so the town can turn this disaster around) don't reveal them. BENSON, DON'T REVEAL ANY MORE PRS! Is that clear enough for you? Now, please show me where I ever said that all the scum WERE on the wagon. I said over and over they could be, because others were saying they weren't. I was trying to make people keep both options open, since it was such a weird vote. Why do you keep twisting everything I say? I try to help the town, and everything gets distorted. And as for "dodging the senator's question".... first, there's NO QUESTION in what you quoted. If you mean the comment that I'm "trying to distance discussion about" off-wagon voting, nothing is further from the truth. Go megablocking read everything I said. That's a perk of playing in this format - everything is there and can be reviewed. I never said don't talk about it. I never said everyone WAS on the wagon for sure. I was in fact INCREASING DISCUSSION by saying there are more possibilities. I WANTED people to discuss where the scum voted and look at things. Instead all that happened was people attacking me for trying to help. And you wanna talk off-wagon voters? Well, there were three. Bob, Moore, and Barry. Barry's dead, and confirmed CTU. Bob claims to have been cleared by the investigator. So that leaves just Agent Moore. So yep, there could be a scum who didn't vote for Lewis. But the statistical odds are, there wasn't. If all of you are so megablocking convinced that there must be a scum off the wagon, then go vote for Moore.

I'm beating a dead horse here, but I NEVER SAID THAT. The day started with people saying there must be scum NOT on the wagon, and I said that's not true. Yes, you (and others) ARE and WERE grasping at straws and twisting what I said in order to find ANYTHING to lynch someone over. There may or may not have been scum off the wagon (which I've said over and over). But when I show up town next hour, keep in mind who all has been shouting so hard for my death. There are DEFINITELY scum in that group. Personally, I don't think Benson is one; I think benson is just jumping on the wagon now to get a lynch. One question before I die - Benson, did you ever give a timeline of who contacted you when? Of the other PRs you're in contact with, which revealed themselves to you BEFORE your claim and which ones after? That's tough to read too much into, since why would anyone (except an investigator who had cleared you) claim to you before you'd claimed? But it also makes one wonder, if any of them are scum trying to protect themselves by claiming a PR and getting into the town block... don't trust anyone too much who hasn't also been cleared by the investigator. Oh, and one more question... Benson, was anyone pushing you to claim before you did, or was that a decision solely made by you? Again, info for CTU to consider in hunting ACTUAL moles around here. As a loyal CTU agent, I don't want to go down without a fight. So again, beating a dead horse for people who can't read and understand plain words... Here's what was ACTUALLY SAID yesterday. First, the Senator jumps in... And Wilson.... And the Senator again... What I ACTUALLY SAID in the middle of this repetitive drumbeat of "look for the scum off the wagon" was: YES, MOLES LOVE TO SPREAD THEIR VOTES OUT. But that's in a normal lynch vote. When the lynchee commits suicide by edit, then WHY ON EARTH would the scum not take advantage of that and safely pile their votes onto it? There is ZERO RISK to them, and that's what scum love more than anything else in the world - safety in voting! So again, once I flip town tomorrow, go check out the Senator and Wilson since they were leading the pack on this bad logic and leading the mob against me. And after all, Senators are all scummy liars anyway, right? Why do we even let them in CTU? Get the politicians out of here so we can HUNT MOLES and KILL THEM! DARN IT!

Well, we've got a number of people not talking much and a couple people talking a ton. But it really feels like a bunch of people are waiting for someone to get a couple votes and then just jump on the train... oh wait, that's exactly what's about to happen to me! You missed a vote by kwatchi on Dr James. He's got 2 votes, so at the time of Alfred's vote on me he was making a 3-way tie with 2 votes each. That's a great way to help out a day of "dragging our feet" - split the vote up even more! Yep. I actually do trust his role claim, and I think we have an unlucky investigator who's cleared a couple people but hasn't found a scum yet. It happens. Oh look. That's now 3 people overnight who jumped on the Zip train. And they all said "hey, I'm voting for Zip for the same lazy, wrong reasons I did yesterday." Oh, now while I'm tying up this report another person climbed on, so now I'm just about dead. Well, you all are wrong. I'm CTU vanilla. No PR, but the town will be down 2 tonight with this (myself, plus whoever the scum take out overnight) so tomorrow will be even tougher. So next hour, whoever is left of the CTU loyal team... make sure to look at the voting patterns and think more carefully about your lynches. DARN IT!

For everyone's clarity, I believe what Benson is saying is there's a commuter claim, which he mis-read mafiawiki and thought that meant there would also be a strongman, and so initially said there's a strongman to hint at things without saying what he really was saying. In reality, there's a claimed commuter and therefore possibly a strongman as well, but that is not known at all at this point. One way to confirm a strongman would be for the doctor (the role, not Dr James) to protect someone who ended up dead from a nightkill. Other than that, there's not really a way to confirm it.

Wow, so much going on today. 1. Bob, I can believe an investigator would have checked you out. You've been strangely quiet, which is often a PR or scum play. So I'm tentatively buying your "I've been checked out" claim. (of course, the other potential here is that you and Benson are scum together, making a bold play that I don't think was needed at this point in the game, so I'm sticking to you're likely telling the truth) 2. Benson, I think for the same reason, you're also probably telling the truth. 3. Two people I'm currently quite suspicious of are Diane and Jason. Both have been very quiet and that's pinging loudly in my ears. DARN IT! (sorry, it slipped out). 4. I'm sure someone will ask why I'm not voting for Dr James, since I did last hour. Well, I re-read that exchange. Yes, he exaggerated what I said, but even if it was a "blatant lie" like I said at the time, that doesn't seem like a particularly scum move. They're usually more careful than that, and there were plenty of easier targets than me to go after if that was the reasoning. So I'm currently leaning like 50.1% town on you Doc. For the reason I said above, and since there's no other voting going on and people need a prod, I will Vote: Jason White (kintober)

Thanks for that clarification.

Oh, I'm fully considering they might be scum. I'm not defending them in the least. I do say I understand WHY (if they're town) they voted how they did, after you claim to know the investigator and throw out a vote without any explanation. As for the strongman/commuter - which is it? They're completely different roles. Commuter is a town role, means the person can pick to "leave town" at night and are therefore untargetable and unkillable. It's usually a sometimes role (either odd/even nights, or so many uses). And it's a fairly easy scum fake claim, since 1. it's uncommon here at EB and 2. it's hard to disprove, unless you're in contact with some PR that HAS successfully targetted them with something, but then again, the commuter claims it's a 1 shot or even nights only or something, and that explains it.

Wow, that's an unlikely sequence of luck. I can say, as someone who was a scum blocker in a previous mole hunt, I did a town blocker claim to try and save myself. It didn't work, but a claim doesn't mean the scum know the town blocker is gone. Before the claim, Benson was facing a lot of pressure, so it could have been an attempt to save himself. I kinda doubt it at this point though, with everything else I've seen this hour. Possible - you mean you're worried that the investigator you're connected to is scum faking it? It's easy to fake, especially in PMs, since they know who is scum and who is town. As for me, I do not find you saying you are in contact with the investigator and calling for any counterclaims to come forth suspicious. It makes sense to me. As others said, why? If you're just doing a random vote, you needed to say so. No, but it's a logical assumption when you don't give any other reason for the vote! Um, WTF? Is that trying to hint at who the investigator is, or why else would you say that? I'm straight up CTU loyal here. Saying the investigator has suspicions gives that suspicion too much weight, and it also messes with night actions (since both sides will potentially be focused on me) The strongman claim? I've never seen on here at EB that I can remember. According to mafiawiki, it means the person has an unstoppable kill (protection, blocking, etc cannot stop them). It's usually 1 shot. And it's USUALLY scum-aligned, although it's possible to be a vig or SK. I'd be very scared if you're in contact with someone claiming to be a strongman, since they're likely a scum killer. Do you have any further reason to trust them? Or are they just someone trying to get in the inner circle? Did they only contact you after your public claim?

Well, to look at it from the possibility that Benson IS a mole, the start of the day sure looked like he'd be on the chopping block again, so a pre-emptive role claim is a good way to survive. If he is town, then he really is the blocker. There's no reason a CTU agent would lie and claim a PR. That's bad play. If he's scum though, it'd made sense and let him survive as long as there's not a counter-claim. No, it's not. If Benson is scum, then he's running the slight risk that CTU both HAS a blocker and the blocker is still alive to counter-claim. And even if so, we'd probably lynch Benson (I'd be more likely to trust the counterclaim than the initial, save-myself claim) but the moles would have identified the real blocker and be able to night kill them at some point. Never said I don't still suspect Dr James. But given how yesterday he only got a couple votes, and Benson had a pile, and people were already bringing out the pitchforks, I'd have voted Benson today too. Lots of suspicious things that people have already cited, and CTU has no chance if we keep not lynching. Since there's been no sign of a vig or SK, we HAVE to start lynching to get moles dead or it's just a matter of time before we lose.

Agree, anonymous games are fun (but tough to do, with having to carefully remember to log out of your real account and stuff...) And I think it'd work well. A few times that I've done it here before it didn't work terribly well since certain players had rather obvious tells that let us figure them out quickly Hey, lots of us do. That's half the fun. We can all suck together.

Well, I immediately hit multiquote when I read this, but it's already been dealt with by everyone else. But yeah, how did so many people comment after this WITHOUT commenting on it?!!? No wonder we're down so many agents if everyone is that oblivious to what's happening around them... Well, this sucks that you think this since Benson has a role claim now and I know I'm town, so it's actually possible then that we're both CTU. Until I saw the claim, I was 100% planning to vote Benson today. Exactly - So, Diane, Dr James, Riley, Wilson, and Larry, care to explain why you didn't react at all to a not-so-subtle claim? Now, come on people. We whisper, and then WE YELL! That's the natural order of things. And that's what Benson did. No need to whisper again after yelling.

Hey there - I saw that no one responded to this (since you're right, it was off-topic for the game) and it really deserves some discussion. I think you're partially right - yes, there's a trend for the experienced players to make it towards the end, and for the the new players to die off early. I don't think it's deliberate or malicious - in fact, we NEED new players! I remember back in the day when a game would be announced and they had to cap the players because there were more wanting to play than a game could handle. Now it's hope to get enough and the mod often has to cut down the game plan because there's not enough. So we desperately need new players to join and stick around and become experienced players to keep EB Lego Mafia alive. That said, yes, the new players do tend to get lynched quickly. There's a strong EB mafia style (I've tried playing mafia elsewhere after learning the game here, and I HATED it on other sites because it was so different) and that hurts new players coming in. The early days of a game are difficult to find reasons to vote for people. Everyone is roleplaying, nothing of significance has happened, so players tend to find anything to justify a vote and then things steamroll. However the person reacts, others can claim they under-reacted or over-reacted, call either one scummy, and then more people vote for them. It's a tough situation to get out of. And new players will tend to actually under or over react, making it even easier to get votes. And they're also likely to do something unusual that people can jump on as scummy.

Nice boxcar. Have you tried putting the IR receiver behind the ladder? I think that'd make it less obvious, and it shouldn't block the IR signal.

I didn't like the color choice at first, but it's growing on me fast. I LOVE the vestas and death star sets in the Lego shop. Brilliant versions in tiny scale.