Tag Archives: membership

Work and Life, Personal

Levelling Up My Hobbies (and My Content!)

Leave a comment

Hi everyone,

I’m getting ready for the weekend and thinking about something that’s a big part of my life: my hobbies. From reading a good book to making art, these are the things that recharge me and spark a lot of the creativity you see in my content.

You might know that a lot of my time goes into Creative Engineering and A Few Moments with God. But what you might not see as often are the moments in between—the ones where I’m just enjoying a passion project. For me, these are things like getting lost in a good book, writing new ideas down, or getting my hands dirty with some pottery. I’ve also been getting back into playing some old favourites, like modded Minecraft and Factorio on my PC, and even dusting off some classic Wii or GameCube games using the Dolphin Emulator for the latter. These aren’t just ways to pass the time; they’re ways for me to learn and experiment. Reading, for example, has taught me a lot about storytelling, which has been super helpful for my own video series. Gaming has helped me see things from new perspectives and has trained my eye to notice small details that can make a big difference.

I often think about how cool it would be to share more of these things with you. Imagine a series of posts about the new pots I’m making or a deep dive into the latest mods I’m playing with. Right now, it’s a challenge to find the time and resources to do that justice. That’s where you come in.

Your support through Swagnilla Ice helps me turn these small passion projects into something more. It helps me invest in things like art supplies or new equipment. More importantly, it gives me the freedom to dedicate more of my time to these creative outlets. By becoming a member, you’re not just supporting a blog; you’re helping me grow as a creator and bring even better content to you.

So, if you enjoy what I do and you’re excited about the idea of seeing more, please consider joining one of our membership tiers. Even the Peasant membership is a great way to show your support, or if you want full access, the Squire tier is a fantastic option. The more paid members we have, the more time I can dedicate to hosting events on the Discord server. For example, once we hit five paid members, I’ll host a bi-weekly voice chat, with each session focusing on a different topic. At ten paid members, I’ll start a weekly live stream on Discord. And if we can hit fifty paid members, I’ll host a monthly community gaming night with games like Jackbox and Golf with Your Friends. I’m certain that I can also continue to find ways to provide even more content for higher numbers, so please consider becoming a Squire or higher today!

Thank you for being here and for helping me make all of this possible.

Talk soon,
Nathan Pinno (aka Swagnilla Ice)

Site News

Our Community is Leveling Up: New Features and Your Support Needed!

Greetings everyone!

I have some exciting news to share with you today, and I need your help to make it a reality. Please take a moment to read this entire post. My goal is to create the best family-friendly community website out there for anyone in the world who can speak, read, and write English. I believe the news I’m about to share will bring us one step closer to achieving that goal. So, let’s dive in!

The first bit of good news I have to share is that you can now earn hearts and ranks! The higher your total hearts, the higher your rank will become. Here’s how it works:

  • Starting Rank: Everyone begins as a Recruit.
  • First Level-Up: Earn 100 hearts to level up to the next rank.
  • Subsequent Level-Ups: Each rank after the first requires ten times the hearts of the previous one. For example, the third rank requires 1,000 hearts, the fourth rank requires 10,000 hearts, until you reach the rank of Triplicarius at 1,000,000, halfway up the ranks.
  • A Bigger Jump: To get from Triplicarius to Centurion, you need to earn another 1.5 million to get to 2.5 million in total.
  • Top Ranks: The top four ranks are spaced 2.5 million hearts apart. This means you’ll need to earn 2.5 million hearts to reach the next rank.
  • Top Rank: The highest rank is Legate. Who will be the first to achieve this prestigious title? Only time will tell!

By the way, I named the ranks after those of the Roman military, so if you’re curious about the historical context, feel free to look it up!

The next bit of good news is that we now have arcade games to play here! Yes, and they are amazing! Here are some details:

  • Game Availability: New games are added every day, so there’s always something fresh to try.
  • Tournaments: I hope to soon add tournaments (but that will cost C$96 – consider joining today and becoming a paid member – it’s a way of earning hearts) to allow you all to compete for bragging rights.
  • Guest Access: Visitors can play our games five times before they need to register to continue playing.
  • Member Benefits: All members, including basic (free) ones, get to record their high scores (only their high scores) on games that support the feature, which should encourage you all to have more fun and try to set new high scores every time you play!

Now, I need your help with something exciting: I want to add an events calendar to the site. However, to get all the features I want, it will cost US$399, which is a significant investment, but I believe it will be well worth the money. Here’s what the events calendar will offer:

  • Event Submission: You’ll be able to submit your own events.
  • Ticket Sales: Sell tickets for your events through the shop and split the revenue with my company.
  • Location-Based Search: Search for events by location, so no matter where you live, you can see what’s happening nearby that you can enjoy with your family members!

Additionally, I have an idea to introduce achievements to the site. These achievements will serve as visual rewards for achieving certain milestones or ranks. Here are some of the achievements I envision:

  • 1st Comment
  • 1st Forum Post
  • 1st Forum Reply
  • Your suggested activity-based achievements

While I’m not an artist myself, I’m open to suggestions and help from the community if anyone is interested in designing them.

In summary, we have some exciting new features to enhance our community:

  • Ranking System: Earn hearts and ranks to level up and achieve the prestigious title of Legate.
  • Arcade Games: Enjoy a growing collection of arcade games, with tournaments coming soon for members.
  • Events Calendar: Help us add an events calendar to submit, search, and sell tickets for local events.
  • Achievements: Earn visual rewards for achieving milestones and ranks.

Your support is crucial in making these enhancements a reality. Consider becoming a paid member or donating via Ko-fi to help us reach our goals. Together, we can make this the best family-friendly community website for English speakers worldwide.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement. Let’s make this community even better together!

Gaming and Technology

Ko-fi Updates: Games, Gadgets, and More

Hey everyone! I’m excited to share some important updates with you today. We’ll be covering changes on my Ko‑fi page, the new games I’ll be able to play after switching to the Linux distro Linux Mint, and a future project for my YouTube channel that I’d love your help with. So, let’s dive into the changes first!

The biggest change here is the removal of the jug of milk (or any food) references for donations. Now, you can simply choose a preset amount or enter how much you’d like to donate as a one-time contribution and click the donate button to proceed to the payment page.

Another significant update is the return of membership tiers, which are straightforward. The first tier, called the Tip Jar, is available for at least one Canadian dollar (though you can pledge more if you prefer). This tier offers the satisfaction of supporting me and a block with a sign in my Minecraft worlds. The type of block varies based on the length of your membership. For more details, check out the “Signs, Blocks, and You – Rewards from Swagnilla Ice” video below the donation panel.

The second tier, called Full Membership, costs at least five Canadian dollars a month. In addition to the Tip Jar benefits, you’ll gain access to the Supporters Area of my Discord, where you’ll be acknowledged as a Ko‑fi Member. This area features access to my beta modpacks, exclusive live streams, and tech talks amongst the features you will be able to enjoy. You’ll also enjoy exclusive polls and posts here for your viewing pleasure.

Next, I would like to focus on my computer and the changes happening soon. I’m planning on switching to the Linux distro Linux Mint (with the Cinnamon desktop) after the current seasons of Factorio and Banished are completed (whether I win or lose). However, this switch means I won’t be able to play all of the games in my Steam library. The following games will still be available after the switch: Minecraft, OpenTTD, AdVenture Capitalist, Basement, Big Pharma, Cities: Skylines, Empire TV Tycoon, Factorio, Game Dev Tycoon, Golf With Your Friends (community streams potential here), Kerbal Space Program, Kingdoms and Castles, Knights and Merchants, Masterplan Tycoon: Foundations, Megaquarium, Oxygen Not Included, Quiplash (great for community streams), Rise of Industry, Robocraft, Software Inc, Stardew Valley, Super Indie Karts, Surviving Mars, Train Fever, Transport Fever, and Tropico 2: Pirate Cove.

I know I’ll be able to mod Minecraft and Factorio, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do the same for Stardew Valley—I’m hoping that will be the case. I’ve also got games on my Steam wishlist that I’ve ensured are compatible, but I won’t spoil the surprise by listing them here!

In the near future, I’d like to create a video for my YouTube channel that’s focused on technology rather than games, although my Creative Engineering series on YouTube and my Twitch livestreams helped inspire the idea. The video will explore the power of nature versus man’s engineering feats, and I’ll need help to bring it to life.

To make this project a reality, I’ll need people to help with deeper research on the topic, someone to edit the script once I’ve written it, and someone to storyboard the video. Additionally, I’ll need individuals to record video footage both on the ground and with drones, as well as people to ensure the sound is perfect and that the right music is chosen for various sequences. I may also need someone to co-narrate and host the video with me.

With this support, I can focus on directing and producing the video, ensuring it reaches its full potential. However, this is a long-term project, as I currently cannot afford to dedicate the necessary time to it. If I receive enough financial support to cover my bills and groceries, I’ll be able to focus on projects like this one. If you like this idea and want to contribute, consider becoming a member and/or joining my Discord to stay in the loop about projects like this one.

Thank you all for your continuous support and enthusiasm. Your contributions make it possible for me to keep creating and sharing content that I love. If any of the changes, updates, or future projects resonate with you, consider becoming a member, joining my Discord, or simply staying tuned for more exciting updates. Your involvement means the world to me, and I look forward to sharing more of this journey with you. Until next time, stay curious and keep exploring!