Can build 42 shoot new life into Project Zomboid?

 At just over a decade, Project Zomboid holds the distinction of being one of the longest running games still in beta stage of development.  The small Canadian/English based Indie Stone has been feverishly working on their latest update for the wildly successful open world isometric game. Despite promising a complete overhaul of many essential game systems, and piles of new content, one can't help but wonder if the upcoming update will address the games single biggest flaw; The game still lacks an objective. 

"This is how you died."  Project Zomboid makes no promises to it's players.  The game is brutal, unforgiving, complex, merciless and insanely addictive.  The game launches you into the world that immediately makes every attempt to destroy you. So, at it's base, the unspoken objective of the game itself is simply to survive.  This objective alone can keep players entertained for days on end.  There is so much area to explore, and the many, sometimes infuriating, nuanced micro managing necessities are a delight to discover and explore for people who suffer from OCD. 

    The small team of developers have been hard at work serving a legion of very loyal fans. Adding heaps of new content, in a build that they are promising to release sometime before the end of the summer.  Some of those new features include all new lighting dynamics, new sounds, crafting benches with all new recipes, new weapons, farming and animal husbandry.  The coders have replaced the lighting dynamics, increased the elevation of the buildings in the map, and added all new areas to explore. They have addressed performance issues in both single player and multiplayer.  But even with all of these things, which has the community salivating for a release date, the underlying flaw of re-playability still exists. 

     Because of the nature of the game, it's location centered around Louisville Kentucky, the map is static.  Essentially, the topography never really changes.  So what probably amounts to the games most exciting feature; exploration, is diminished after the first couple thorough playthroughs.  We found ourselves harkening back to our childhood imagination days of self imposed meaningless goals for the game such as; Everyone has to build a base from scratch with harvested materials. Or, we can only walk backwards with a baseball bat and see how many zombies we can kill that way before we die.  (it was 2137 by the way). 

    Because of the nature of the game itself. it could be argued that the game does not really need an objective beyond staying alive.  One could further argue that to put objectives in place would stifle the open world exploration feel of the game.  It undeniably one of the largest sleeper hits of the last decade.  PZ has an almost cult following in it's player base and it's modding community.  So, perhaps the task of adding arbitrary objectives may be best left to those modders.  In the meantime, the zomb-o-philes anxiously await build 42.  

Turn Some Pages

   

   I had always thought that mans biggest flaunt against his own creator was to spend his entire existence in complacency.  To not take the time to enjoy and experience all the thing that his maker put here for him.  I understand now that I was wrong, or at the very least only partially correct.  I have spent a lifetime absorbing the musings of poets and bards.  I've listened to, and read about the finer trappings of the thing they called love.  I thought that I could relate to them and understand the many variations and creative ways that they attempted to explain what it is like to truly experience the deepest gift we have been given as individual thinkers.  I was clueless about all these things.   The biggest tragedy in a persons existence is to let the person that they are destined to share an existence with pass them by without a fight. I know, because I made this mistake.

      I can see now, and understand how so many people are drawn to the arms of the person closest to them which offers merely comfort in the moment, and a sense of normalcy and safety.  We do this because life doesn't make it easy to find our destiny.  It is not easy to find our muse.  But I can attest, it's worth the fight.  It is worth every single inch of the struggle.  To crawl on your hands and knees, bleeding out through your fingernails to claw your way to the person that will give you pure, unadulterated love, is worth every bit of that struggle.  Unfortunately for most, its not a fight they are willing to endure.  I failed this test when life offered it to me. 

    I was fortuitous enough to be presented early in life with someone whom I felt this truest of feelings.   Our most cherished time was spent for hours on end, laying in each others arms and staring into the others eyes, marveling at this purest form of love.  It was, and is, the most awe inducing, intoxicating feeling that I have had the pleasure of experiencing... And I carelessly threw it away.  I did so with the misguided thoughts of a young man who didn't understand the world, or love, or relationships to the extent that it would have protected us better.  I threw it all away because I was sure that I was not good enough for her, and that she deserved a better man than I was destined to be.  I believed that I was helping her reach a better place in life.  I was wrong on all of those assumptions, and we both paid dearly for my mistake. 

     I have learned that Lachesis is not in the habit of offering up second chances at life's most valuable achievements.  Life is very unforgiving about allowing us to rectify affairs of the heart.  It is almost unheard of to hear about a broken heart actually mending itself, yet this is where I find myself today.  I have not always been the man I wanted to be.  I have failed at endeavors that I should have easily succeeded at.  Many times, I have not been a good father, a good brother, a good partner or a good person.  But, I HAVE learned from my mistakes.  One thing I have had the very painful reality of learning recently is that I was given love in the arms of a woman that poets write of.  I was blessed with that opportunity and I also failed.... But fate has blessed us....

    I have been afforded what I consider a once in a lifetime opportunity to rectify my mistakes of my ignorant youth.  Finding myself back in the arms of my muse for a second time much later than we last left each other.  The pace and manner in which we reconnected to our souls was dizzying.  Most observers would probably consider it wreck less and fool hardy.  It is a sensation that cannot be explained with mere words.  It has to be experienced to be understood.  It takes your sanity, it takes your breath, it takes your fear and self loathing away and replaces it with elation and pure ecstasy.  Just to be near her is the most potent drug I have ever experienced.  My mind short circuits and I would gladly sacrifice my kingdom just to look into her eyes once again.  And it's happening!

    It is such a bittersweet thing to me to contemplate how much of our lives was spent away from each other.  Time that would have been magical, staring into each others eyes and finding the meaning of the universe.  But it is also an elation of pure happiness that I understand that we have been given a second chance.  We have the time left in our lives to make the most amazing memories, to take each others hand and explore what the truest definition of love really is.  It would be a terrifying reality for most to see their own world and plans for life turn completely on it's side, yet, I welcome it with eager anticipation.

I don't know what the future holds for me.. for us.  I do know now, that my life was never complete, it was never whole without her in it.  I KNOW that for us to truly find happiness, the path leads right through each others arms..... Which is where I intend to spend the rest of my life.

Kate I was wrong.  I know that now.  May this serve as my promise: I will never intentionally hurt you again.  I will protect you and cherish you as the love of my life that I now understand that you are!

H

Miataland

    

  I didn't know I wanted it.  I certainly didn't know that I needed it. A little over 2 years ago, I sat down with my wife and planned the excursion for the year:  We were going to take The General (My 1990 Mazda Miata) up to Deals Gap and the tail of the Dragon in North Carolina for the annual Miatas at the Gap celebration for a week in August. Plans were set. Hotels were booked. Everything at the ready, then I found it: Miataland.  A genuine Miata owners paradise in the Umbria region of central Italy. Miatas for days, and for a price, you could drive them. Knowing my wifes love of Italy and their wine, I front loaded a question and put the decision in her lap: "Hey babe, we COULD go to North Carolina this year, OOOORRRR we could do this little trip to Italy."  I didn't have to wait long for a response. 

     It took nearly two full years of planning and saving and arranging before we could actually take the trip. A journey around the world is slightly more logistically, and financially involved than a trip to the Smokey Mountains. Arrangements were made, and everything was put into place to head to Italy.  We made our plans for early October,  through a tour company that specializes in driving tours around the world. That way we could maximize our time in Italy with a minimum of planning required for the 3 weeks we had planned to spend on the continent. 

     It was about a 2 hour drive from our hotel in Rome, to the resort itself nestled into the hills of Umbria. There were 7 slots for the tour and all of them were filled.  We took shuttles from Rome to the resort.  While this seems like an insignificant detail, it becomes important when placed into context:  We had one unnamed individual in our group show up with what amounted to the black plague. He also decided to share it with the entire group by not covering his mouth when he coughed, touching all the food, and generally violating peoples personal space.  I'm going to take the time to say this; If you are sick, postpone the trip, or make alternate plans.  By infecting the entire group, this one individual cost the collective thousands of dollars in doctors bills, medications and cancelled plans.  

     

     As we rolled through the hamlet of Piedicolle and up over a hilltop, down a gravel driveway, Miataland came into view.  But as the vans rolled to a stop, there was no time to soak in the stunning view.  Bags were dropped, and every group was Introduced to Andrea, the proprietor of the resort, and immediately thrust into one of 7 waiting MX-5's that spanned 3 decades of production.  The next stop: Drive yourselves to the local restaurant for lunch. I recognized this for what it was, and I was impressed by the drill instructor tactic of it.

     This is a good time to point out another couple of important points.  Andrea has, what has been called the worlds largest private collection of 51 MX-5's,  that cover the 32 years of production of the vehicle.  Not a one of these cars are granny cars or barn finds.  Every vehicle in his collection is a rare or collector version of that production model.  (More on that later)  These are NOT rental cars.  They are well maintained, loved, and treasured collectors items.  You are coming to visit one of the foremost collection of Miatas in the world and given a rare opportunity to drive a hand full of them.  And more importantly, not a single vehicle on the property has an automatic transmission.   Every morning,  Andrea would diligently get up before everyone else, and personally inspect every vehicle that was road bound.   Checking the fluids and tires and road worthiness of every vehicle that would be traveling. 

Andrea personally inspects every vehicle,  every morning before they leave the property.

     The immediate trek into town was a driving test.  It yielded results almost immediately when one couple proved after 3 or 4 kilometers that they did not have a grasp on how a manual transmission worked, and almost slid backward into the vehicle behind them.  This particular couple spent the entire rest of their tour riding shotgun in other vehicles, nary to operate another MX-5 the entire trip. As the group drove to the restaurant, they were also being judged on how they were treating their individually assigned cars.  This would be important later as the group had to be re-addressed to explain to them that these were not rentals, and many of them were irreplaceable.  You are expected to act like adults and treat these cars with respect.

      A half dozen suites are available in various configurations at the resort, and each of them are decorated in varying themes of MX-5 and their generations. Our suite for the week was a NA themed room, and the details put into its decoration were well thought out. 

 The frame rails of the bed were even cut to match the frame rail design of the first generations of Miata.  The towels were monogramed and there was even Miata branded shampoo. 

 The villa itself has a disappearing edge pool with a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside and the local village below. 

    In the U.S. the Miata is lampooned by some as a "hairdressers car".  Lets face it, between it's marginal power plant and the stance bois, the MX-5 really is low hanging fruit in the humor target department.  However, in Europe, the MX is quite a rare vehicle. It's actually a bit larger than your average commuter car, and the spyder configuration makes it a bit of a luxury expense that's entirely impractical in most places on the continent.  In our 3 weeks in Europe, we only spotted 4 other MX-5's, and one was in the Brussels Autoworld Museum. However, Andrea and his partner Claudias Miataland hid 51 Splendid examples for us to peruse. The collection ranged from a: 

1 of 4 Yamamoto series ND,

 

A first Gen NA with a factory Ford V8 crammed under the hood.

An exceptionally rare factory supercharged NA

And even a 1 of 1 Miataland commemorative ND in a one off white,  gifted to the resort by Mazda. 

     Miataland is itself a Bed and Breakfast resort.  You can book reservations and tours directly through their website and through the owners.  We opted to use one of their partner tour companies to get a longer stay with a more thorough driving experience through the hills of the region.  In our weeks time, we drove nearly 1000 kilometers through Umbria, Sienna, Chianti and Tuscany, every day driving a different car. The hills, mountains and back roads of the region gave Deals Gap a run for it's money.  Every single day was one breathtaking view after another, while challenging the drivers to the twists and turns of Italy's beautiful mountain roads.  All this, while being punctuated by the scheduled stops to sample the best food and wine the regions had to offer. 

     Make no mistake, all of this comes at a cost.  One that probably puts most car enthusiasts out of range of the trip.  So much so, that I would put that there really was only one other person in our tour group that was there for the cars. (At 53, I was the youngest member of our tour group) Most everyone else was there likely because they read about a lively tour through Tuscany drinking wine and could afford the trip.  So I am going to lay this out there now: If you have no skill driving a manual transmission, stay in the United States. Every other country on earth still uses manual transmission vehicles. If you still insist on going, I would suggest a 'Hop on-Hop off" bus tour.   That way you can ride around and not kill anyone else.  I would suggest a guided bicycle tour, however, all of them are manual shift as well, and you may injure yourself. 

     The Miataland experience is surely a once in a lifetime trip.  It's also an investment.  Depending on how you want to approach it, the entire experience can range from a minimum of 10 thousand dollars and on up.  We budgeted about 15k, and that was after the cost of our airplane tickets to Europe.  There a couple of ways that you can schedule a Miataland excursion. 

The author ALMOST Miata'd out.  Almost.

     The most obvious way is to reach out to Andrea or Claudia through their website.   We chose to use an outside tour company that has a partnership with Miataland called Blue Strada Tours.  They specialize in driving and riding tours around the world.  The advantage of doing it this way, is that they cover a bulk of logistical planning and meals and hotel accommodations.   They even arranged limo service to and from the airport in Rome.  There are several such companies that offer similar experiences of varying degrees, but I can't say enough good things about Bill and his Blue Strada tour company, and his amazing assistant Claudio.  It was worth the few extra dollars to have things pre arranged.  Be warned though, his tours sell out over a year in advance.  If you want to take advantage of this, you need to plan out a ways. 

     In the end, it was what I would call the trip of a lifetime for any Miata enthusiast.  We had to opportunity to experience and drive vehicles that we may never see again in our lifetime.  It was a chance to see the most beautiful sides of Italy and experience the wonderful people and culture of one of the most beautiful societies in the world.   I regret nothing about the trip, but next year, for the sake of my exhausted self, I will probably just take my Miata up to Deals Gap and brag to anyone who will listen to me.