Nobs and Nobility

Nobles and their titles/roles are very important historically, as well as being quite useful for a fantasy writer. Of course, you don't have to borrow titles from history but the general feudal system is still pretty handy as a template if you're working in a post-ancient, pre-industrial age.

Rundown of noble ranks:

King

Duke

Marquis

Earl

Viscount

Baron

Baronet

Knight

The baronet and knight are not nobles, but they are a cut above the yeomanry or peasants (a yeoman is a sort of high status peasant, so you might have a Yeoman Master of the Hounds, for example).

So, how did these roles come about and what differences, if any, are there between them?

Starting at the top, the King is an ancient position that goes back as far as mankind does. Top dog, although in a feudal (or Macedonian/Spartan, even) system they don't have absolute despotic power because the nobility have a certain level of autonomy and independence. The position is usually considered hereditary, but that need not be the case. The Golden Age Roman Emperors (kings in all but name) were appointed by their non-paternal predecessors, there was a debate after Alexander's death as to who would become king and, of course, there's the potential for revolution and revolt.

Duke and Count (there's a reason the latter's not on the list, below) both evolved during the latter Roman (and Byzantine) period as powerful military positions. The old system of proconsuls fell by the wayside and new, appointed nobility replaced it, just as the consuls and emperors were replaced by the all-powerful Byzantine basileus (king, though Byzantine emperors are still what they're usually called). Dukes are very powerful, and are not infrequently princes or even an additional title of the King.

In Britain, the Count was replaced by the Earl (an earl's wife is a countess) because of our unique and Vikingy history. Those who have enjoyed Skyrim will know that rulers of holds are called Jarls, and it is from that genuine Scandinavian word that the title Earl is derived.

A Marquis (also spelt Marquess) is below a Duke and above an Earl/Count. The principle difference to the latter is that a Marquis' territory is called a March, and is often in an area that is prone to invasion and in need for a strong and capable man who can handle military difficulties.

Viscount is simply a lower form of Count, and can also be used as a courtesy title for the heir to an Earl or Count (as happened in Bane of Souls with Vicomte Henri).

Baron is the lowest form of nobility, and was introduced to England by William the Bastard to distinguish those who had proven loyal (it's little remarked upon but the war continued after 1066 with Edgar the Aetheling actually becoming the next King of England before being crushed by William).

Thaddeus

First Impressions: F1 2012 (PS3)

Yes, yes, I said wasn't going to buy this, but decided I would to tide me over until The Last Of Us. I didn't buy the 2011 game but do have 2010, and I'm a reasonably big F1 fan, so it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up.

 

When I do a proper review I'll make a point of trying to assess it more thoroughly, but at this stage I've done the Young Drivers' Test and several races/qualifying sessions (50% race length) in Career Mode.

The most immediately noticeable thing, aside from the game trying to persuade me that an online VIP pass code is worth redeeming, is that the graphics are bloody fantastic. 2010 had very good graphics, but these are a significant improvement. The sound also appears to have been improved to a slight degree.

Another feature I like is that during loading screens you get stats on your gameplay to date (average finishing position, highest speed, most G-force etc) which is quite cool. There's also quite a lot of statistical stuff in the My F1 section, which can be used to not only check stats and fiddle with basic options but also to change your name and nickname, and so on. Unfortunately nicknames have been reduced and I don't believe it's possible to be known as Tiberius this year.

The paddock's gone and replaced with a swish Gran Turismo style approach. It works pretty well, and I'm glad the zombie agent of 2010 has gone. Although I haven't used them there are plenty of modes, from time trials to a full blown career, and a half-sized (10 race) career-type mode called Season Challenge. There is multiplayer, but as multiplayer gaming is the work of Satan I shall not be looking into it.

Before you can do anything else you have to do the Young Driver's Test. Basically, this involves some simple 'challenges' like starting and then stopping in a certain zone. It's mostly tedious but is handy for learning about KERS and DRS. One slight omission is how to call for a pit stop. In-race experimentation has led me to conclude you cannot do it; you simply specify your next tyre choice and then turn up whenever you like (NB, it is useful to use practice to find out where the pit entry is, as opposed to guessing during the race).

A Career involves not just racing, but some nice additional touches such as a one lap walkthrough commentated upon by Anthony Davidson, and e-mails/news cuttings regarding the next race and so forth. However, there is a small mistake (I hesitate to call it a bug). In China I got pole and the fastest lap, but finished quite low down due to cocking up strategy. The game, though, indicated by e-mail and news cuttings that I'd gotten the win! My points were not affected by this so it seems to have been a pole/fastest lap confusion.

Races have been cut from 3 to 1 practice sessions and qualifying and race distances remains as per real life (race distance can be cut to 25% or 50%, and I went for the latter).

There's no lag or choppiness during racing, either when it's congested or when the track is clear. The DRS and KERS become second nature very quickly, and the DRS especially makes a qualifying lap quite different to a race lap. Entirely due to my desire to be a good reviewer, I went off the track quite a bit at Australia (first race) and my tyres became suitably green. It also meant that later on the grip level went and it's pretty clear when that happens. In Malaysia I was kicking arse (it was on Easy, I'll check proper settings later) in first by more than a minute as it rained heavily. However, my brakes became cold for the last two laps and I found myself struggling not to spin at almost every corner. Plus, my KERS temporarily broke, but got fixed about 5-10 laps later. These are very cool, realistic touches.

Obviously, I've not played it enough for a comprehensive review, but at this stage I can definitely say that I'm enjoying it a lot.

Thaddeus

Dragon Age 3 confirmed

After a lot of speculation Dragon Age 3 has formally been confirmed:

 

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119622-BioWare-Confirms-Dragon-Age-III-Inquisition

The subtitle, which had been one of several doing the rounds, will be Inquisition. As was very widely expected, the action will take place in Orlais, the faux French kingdom west of Kirkwall and north of Ferelden. 

As expected (and pretty much necessitated by the end of DA2) the game will feature the chantry being torn apart as mages and templars go at each other's throats and refuse to acknowledge the chantry's authority.

According to the info the game's been in production for 2 years already and is expected late in 2013. Hopefully the much longer turn around time than DA2 had will see a superior quality game. Apparently the world will be more expansive, there will be more customisation (I'd love the chance to play as a Qunari but would be surprised if that's an option) and more 'reactivity' to player choices.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. DA2 had some good elements (the Qunari were a rare case of retconning improving things and the voice acting remained of a high standard) but it was clearly rushed. There was little variation to areas, with the vast majority simply copy and pasted. Likewise, the story lacked a central theme or sense of direction.

I like Dragon Age, so hopefully Inquisition will be a great RPG.

Thaddeus

Harper Voyager Open Door

A few months ago Angry Robot ran an Open Door scheme, and it's good news that Harper Voyager are doing something similar. An Open Door programme is where a publisher enables, for a usually time-limited period, submissions of a specific genre from aspiring authors who lack agents (which are most of them as getting an agent isn't easy).

   

Full details can be found here:

http://harpervoyagerbooks.com/harper-voyager-guidelines-for-digital-submission/

The publisher already has a stellar array of fantasy writers including George RR Martin and Robin Hobb.

They're after pretty much any kind of 'speculative fiction', which translates to sci-fi, fantasy, horror and dystopia.

Digital submissions will be accepted from the 1st to the 14th of October.

I strongly advise those considering submitting to read the guidelines and FAQs to avoid making a schoolboy error and potentially losing out on a deal due to a technical failure.

The start of the submission window isn't far away, so if you've got a manuscript that needs dusting off and checking, you'd better get cracking.

Thaddeus