Rob Zacny

Three Moves Ahead 319: Armello Rob, special guest Paul Dean, and Troy "Blue Balls Appear Irregularly" Goodfellow talk about Armello, an Early Access game available on Steam. Armello combines charming graphics and design with a game concept that is unapologetically a board game. The PC translation of this is full of potential that has time to be realized by the time the game is ready for release. We learn that Paul is lukewarm on the game, Troy is a fan, and Rob doesn't like Talisman. Armello, Talisman Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Esports Today September 9, 2015: Hashtag Passion Rob and Andrew discuss the China Regional Qualifiers for League of Legends and the surprising fall of SK before they are visited by the Spirit of StarCraft and reminded why this was once the king of esports. Detailed discussion of the StarLeague semifinal between ByuL and TY, a check-in on Chinese League of Legends, and a look at what went wrong for SK Gaming's League of Legends team. StarCraft 2, League of Legends Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Opening Segment - League of Legends 10:30 - StarCraft 27:02 - Esports Tomorrow Crib Sheet: LPL Regionals - EDG vs. Invictus Richard Lewis' Open Letter to Valve LCS Promotion: SK Gaming vs. G2 StarLeague Semifinal: TY vs. ByuL - WATCH THIS

Three Moves Ahead 321: Act of Aggression This week is a full house with Rob, Troy, Tom, and Fraser all weighing in on Eugen Systems' Act of Aggression. Tom stands alone as the half-hearted bastion of defense for a game that underwhelmed the panel. An unintuitive UI, questionable ethnic portrayals, and general crappiness had Fraser "so angry he punched a child", a deed which is now forever rendered in text. Act of Aggression, Wargame Series, Act of War Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Esports Today September 3, 2015: The Gauntlet Rob and Andrew chat about Heroes of the Storm's big international tournament at PAX, then talk to The Score's Kelsey Moser to get caught up on the state of Chinese and Korean LoL. Also dicussed: Cloud9's miracle run at the Regional Finals, and KT's Proleague stand. Opening - Heroes of the Storm 10:19 - League of Legends (Korea, China, NA Regionals) 29:22 - StarCraft 2 (Proleague, Red Bull) 41:50 - Esports Tomorrow Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, StarCraft 2 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Crib Sheet NA Regionals VODs (the one worth watching)Heroes of the Storm MSI tournament final day at Red Bull Kelsey Moser on Twitter What's going on with EDG Analysis of Qiao Gu

Three Moves Ahead 320: Game Designer Brian Train This week Bruce sits down with prolific game designer Brian Train. Brian's games span a wide range of conflicts and scenarios, including Greek civil war, fighting in Algeria, and Special Forces actions in Vietnam. His predilection for asymmetric warfare and non-traditional combat modeling have brought his games to the attention of US military simulation experts and wargame fans throughout the world. Pusan Perimeter, Algeria, Greek Civil War, A Distant Plain Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Also check out: Brian's website Brian at BGG

Ah, okay, the news report Andrew and I were working from didn't have that info and a lot of things were still up in the air, I think. There's nothing wrong with SK being relegated, no... but I have to admit sometimes I'm concerned by the churn in the mid-to-lower tier teams. Teams have such a short timeline to turn things around before they're out of the LCS and into Challenger where it can be a bit harder to get sponsor support and attract strong players. The concept of relegation is fine, but it happens in this compressed time-frame that sometimes seems at odds with the goal of building a strong league. SK had a bad summer, and they're gone. Same thing could have happened to C9. Easily, and all because of a difficult captaincy transition. That worries me a little.

Esports Today August 18, 2015: Putting the Evil in Geniuses This week, Andrew and Rob preview the ESL One Cologne CSGO tournament with special guest Joe Wong from Team Liquid, react in shock to Evil Geniuses' post-International roster switch, and enjoy a wild series from StarCraft's Jaedong. Dota 2, CSGO, League of Legends, StarCraft 2 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Crib Sheet Charlie Yang's note on Aui Joe's Guide to ESL One Cologne Jaedong. vs Showtime - Game 3

Esports Today August 25, 2015: Comeback Kids Fnatic recapture Counter-Strike glory at ESL One Cologne while CLG finally get their League of Legends championship. Andrew is probably wrong about Rocket League. Opening - ESL One Cologne - CS:GO 6:17 - League of Legends Finals 21:19 - Rocket League Tournament 30:07 - Esports Tomorrow Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Rocket League Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Crib Sheet CSGO Grand Finals: Fnatic vs. EnVyUs & NA LCS Final: CLG vs. TSM EU LCS Final: Rocket League Final: Cosmic Aftershock vs. Kings of Urban (stay for the end) The Fnatic CSGO hype video:

Pretty sure it's "Froskurinn". No idea if this was a gag or a Freudian slip. Well done either way!

No, this is a pretty important clarification, I appreciate it. I clearly need to brush up on my League since I stopped covering it so much.

I love this conversation, and these are great points. But to the basketball example, I'd submit the Lakers in the Kobe era. That guy is basically a locker-room terrorist, is awful to a lot of his teammates and few of them will ever express anything resembling affection for the guy. And yet... But you might be on the money with the o-line example. I was a tackle -- though not a good one -- and the lineman really are a team within a team. And yeah, it's an insanely complicated role because a lot of times you're lining up against something you've never seen before, so everyone has about 5 seconds to adjust their blocking assignments and get on the same page. But there again, the line was a united front only because we kind of defined ourselves against the rest of the team. The "skill position" players. But it didn't mean we all had to get along. It was more just like family: hey, I don't much like this guy, but he's my brother and I'll always be there for him. On the other hand, I talked to one manager of a Lord Management team and he told me that every player needs to be three things: a good player, a good employee, and a good friend. Having just two out of those three always causes problems. And because a lot of pro teams live together, the personal friction can be a lot more intense. Esports, man. The parallels are there, but they're such a new and odd thing.

Esports Today August 11, 2015: Reliving The International The International is over, but there's a lot of ground to cover in this extended post-event episode. Hosts Andrew Groen and Rob Zacny talk with Idle Thumbs' and Dota Today's Sean Vanaman about their big takeaways from the tournament. Then it's time for IEM StarCraft and another soO second-place, and a check-in with CS:GO. Dota 2, StarCraft 2, League of Legends, CS:GO Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

That's interesting. I started to wonder about PPDs relationship with Aui when he was on Twitter basically rubbing Aui's face in it. Now he's claiming the account was hacked and everything but, well, that's what you say after you screw up on social media. PPD's blog post is an eye-opening read, though. I get why PPD would feel this way. It sucks working with people who make life harder and more stressful, even if they're really competent. I can understand wanting to remove that from you team, especially if someone is really proving to be clubhouse poison. At the same time, when you have a championship-winning team, are feelings and happiness the most important thing? To paraphrase Don Draper, that's what the money is for. Side note: if you haven't seen it, you should check out The Bronx Is Burning, the miniseries ESPN made about the '77 Yankees. What I love is that it's a really subversive sports story, and probably a more honest one. You have this team full of clashing personalities and coaches. Bitter rivalries, an arrogant manager and owner that can't stand each other, sniping in the press... and you keep expecting the team to come together to form a united front and go win a championship. But they never do. They hate each other on the way to the World Series, and they hate each other afterwards. But the point is that the friction itself was the price of having that particular version of a great baseball team. And it got me thinking about how often we like stories about how, if only everyone worked together and respected each other's strengths, everyone would be the best versions of themselves. Well, in sports, maybe that's not the case. Sometimes you have to choose between winning or working with people you like.

Three Moves Ahead 317: Crusader Kings II: Horse Lords TJ Hafer and Rowan Kaiser joing Rob Zacny to discuss the latest expansion to CK2, Horse Lords. Horse Lords allows the player to assume the role of the eastern hordes, galloping across Europe and the CK2 interface. Has CK2 finally been stretched to its limit? Crusader Kings II, Horse Lords Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Subscribe to the RSS Feed

So FGC coverage in general will probably a bit more sporadic on this show than we would like. Andrew and I are foremost SC2 fans, then we each have our respective Lords Managements that we're into. Then for our third areas Andrew skews more FGC and I skew more CSGO. So the answer is yes, but it's something that we'll probably have to grow-into. Also, just in terms of timing, it's tough because we just missed EVO. We've had TI. Now all the final SC2 seasons are getting underway. LoL is ramping up to to Worlds. And IEM Cologne is kind of a big deal, I think. So it's a tough slate, and I'm not sure there's a TON happening in Smash right now post EVO. But don't be afraid to message us on Twitter or email if something big is upcoming that you worry we'll miss. We will also make an effort to find people who DO know what they're talking about when it comes to the areas we're less confident in.

Wait, are y'all telling me that Andrew made me buy a compendium for NOTHING? Dammit to hell. That guy is the worst. Funny thing is I used to call everything a tower because that's what they plainly are, but I spent two years working for LoLEsports doing freelance stuff and the house style infected my speech patterns. Another thing I hate? How you gotta be really careful about calling LoL characters "champions" and Dota characters "heroes". But I'm not sure I can get away with calling them lords every week, given the tenor of show we're going for.

Things can change quickly. One day all of your fans are happy, the positive reviews flow like wine, and phrases like "a return to form" are bandied about by critics. Then, when you least expect it - BAM: hit by a bus called "Rome 2" and it's back to the bottom. Time to look for yet another "return to form". Rob, Fraser, Rowan, and Troy "The Horse Lord" Goodfellow talk about series that have fallen off the horse, gotten back on, fallen again, shot the horse, and built a glue factory. No cows (or horses) are sacred and Rowan drops a truth bomb about Alpha Centauri that we all needed to hear. Listen here.

It's our Pi-eth episode! Rob is joined by game designer David V. Heron and OG panelist Tom Chick to discuss Massive Chalice. Doublefin's take on squad-based tactics has Tom all aflutter while David has a more reserved take. This Massive Chalice show has Massive Spoilers, so watch for the subtle cue. Listen here.

Rowan Kaiser and Fraser Brown fill in for an ailing Rob Zacny and talk about Age of Wonders 3. After a dearth of fantasy strategy games over the years, how does Age of Wonders 3 set alongside the Warlock series and the upcoming Endless Legend? Listen in as the phrase "dire penguin" is said on the show for the first time ever. Rowan's review at IGN. Fraser's review at PCGamesN. Listen here.

Rob, Bruce, and Troy "They Call Me Pony Express" Goodfellow attack the mailbox. We asked 3MA listeners for questions and got them in spades, so tune in to find out the panel's favorite games, podcasts, and desert island picks. Listen here.

MoO-ve over, other space 4X games -- Star Drive 2 is here and ready to impress. Fraser Brown (it's definitely Fraser this time) and Rob discuss the finer points of perpetuating genocide on a mass scale for the best reason possible: a lack of any other viable option. Star Drive 2 improves on the original and brings a ship building module that Rob actually enjoys, a feat not seen since GalCiv2 which is only accurate because I am writing this summary and Rob is not. Also, Endless Space is a great game. Love, Michael. Listen here.

Rob and Troy talk to Jamie Cheng and James Lance of Klei Entertainment, developers of Invisible, Inc, a turn-based tactical game that focuses on stealthy people doing stealthy things. Listen here.

Bruce and Rob are joined by game designer Ananda Gupta to discuss the idea of historical accuracy in games. Bruce gets down to the point by looking for a definition of "historical accuracy" and whether it's a bonus, a detriment, or just another facet of wargaming. Listen here.

Rob Zacny and Troy "Flava Flavius" Goodfellow examine the latest Total War game, Attila. Following the dizzying heights of Shogun 2 and the despair-filled depths of Rome 2, Attila shows that Creative Assembly can still soar like so many proverbial eagles. The praise is effusive in this show as both hosts are happy to see the series return to form. Rob breaks it down: "Attila... basically awesome." Listen here.

Rob, Rowan, and Sean Sands fulfill our listeners' requests by taking a deep dive on the newest expansion for EU4: Common Sense. The latest DLC (and associated free update) brings notable changes to the game's systems. Are they all for the better? Should this be called EU5? How many kids are on Rob's lawn, and should they get off of it? Credit for the episode title goes to listener @semitext, who angers me by coming up with something as good as "EU4ever" before I could. Listen here.