Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 11:51:22 EDT
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Since I graduated, one of the things I have been doing with my free time is playing World of Warcraft. I have certainly had the free time to play it, and it's a fun game. One of the best things about the game is the ability to alter the user interface, and extend functionality, via user made add-ons.
The default user interface reports your character level progression via a progress bar. This progress bar is broken up into pips, where each pip represents 5% of your level progression. In addition, you are able to earn "bonus" experience if you rest your character in a major city or an inn. This is represented on the progress bar by a blue color. Clearly, this is a very simple method of giving you the information. You are able to turn on a display, in numbers, of how much experience you have earned, and how much is needed for your next level, but it is also limited. So I decided to fix this by writing my own add-on.
I wrote my add-on in late January, and early February. I put off releasing it because of a couple of bugs and a missing feature. Yesterday I decided that the add-on is plen ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 03 July 2007, 10:18:26 EDT
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Thursday, on my way home, I stopped and bought a copy of Overlord for my Xbox 360. I had played the demo and thought it would be a fun game, even though the demo was lackluster. I thought the demo ended too abruptly and didn't give quite enough gameplay. Turns out, I was wrong. The game is almost exactly like the demo. It is a fun game, but the story doesn't develop very well. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a game that lets you take fifty minions and pillage a couple towns, setting fire to their fields, and killing all of their sheep, but the beginning and end were not joined very well by intermediate story telling.
Aside from the story, I really enjoyed the game. If you have played Pikmin then you know the basics of this game. As you explore the world, you gain control of four types of minions: brown, red, green, and blue. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses. The browns are grunts; they are adept at hand-to-hand combat and can take the most damage. The reds are weaker than the browns, but have a ranged fireball attack; they are also impervious to fire and have the ability to extinguish flames. Greens are very much like the creatures from the 1984 movie Gremlins. They can become invisible to enemies and will jump on their backs and back-stab them. They are the most effective minion type to bring down large monsters with a lot of hit points. Finally, there are the blues. I found them to be mostly useless. They are the only minion type that can enter water and are very weak. They have two plusses that were not of much use to me — they can revive fallen minions and are your only weapon against magical creatures. There are only two magical creatures that I have encountered; neither of which occur in any sort of abundance. Throughout the game you must solve puzzles with your minions. None of the puzzles are very complicated. For example, one of the tricker puzzles involved blues and browns. To advance through a specific area, you need browns to fight with. However, their spawn point is in the middle of water. So you must spawn some browns, let the water kill them, and collect them with some blues who will then revive them on dry land. That is probably the most difficult puzzle in the game.
After beating the game last night, I played online for a while. It seems like only two peo ... (view rest)
Monday, 02 July 2007, 10:12:05 EDT
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I don't think it is a big secret that I'm not a fan of the Micrsoft corporation. So, it was no light decision for me when I decided to purchase their Xbox 360 video game console. I came to the realization that I would eventually need to buy a "next generation" console. It would be only a matter of time before new games ceased being released for the Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube (which I have very few games for anyway). Thus, I evaluated the new consoles and made my decision.
John Wallom brought his Nintendo Wii to work the last day campus was open before closing for the winter holiday. So I had a chance to try it out. I think it is a good console for casual gamers or gamers who have a lot of friends over to their place often. I had fun with the games we played, but I don't think they would be much fun without other people. If Nintendo's plan for the console is to be believed, and I don't know of any reason it shouldn't, then that will be the majority of the games. So, not many single player games for the Wii. That, and it is basically a beefed up Gamecube. Therefore, no Wii for me until I see something that makes me change my mind.
The other option would be the Playstation 3. Sony hasn't been impressing me with their [lack of] love for the consumer lately. From installing rootkits without warning to arrogantly stating the PS3 will be expensive and people will buy it anyway, they are showing how little they care for the people buying their products. I just can't get down with that. It might be that in the future there will be little alternative to the PS3 for playing console games. But that's a big "maybe."
And so, I was left with one choice if I wanted to get a new console — the Xbox 360. I had played games like PGR3 and been impressed. It also looked as if Microsoft had done a good job integrating online capability with the console. Their ubiquitous friends list, game agnostic chatting, and gamerscore features are really quite nice. I really only had a couple of reservations about the console: game price, pay-to-play online, and reports of console failure. So far, I've only paid full price for two games out of the thirteen I own — Dead or Alive 4 (a budget title) and Call of Duty 3. I bought CoD3 full price to show support for my friend Jason ... (view rest)
Thursday, 17 November 2005, 12:09:18 EDT
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First, a small update about this site. I have implemented gzip compression on the RSS/Atom feed. The feed, for the month of November thus far, accounts for 75% of the requests (510) for PHP files on this site. The requests for PHP files total (672) this month is 29.2% of all file types requested. Basically, that is about 4.9MB of traffic this month for the feed by itself. Sure, I have a lot of bandwidth to work with but I would prefer to squash this problem sooner rather than later. This change could be "bad," though. I have no way of knowing if all the aggregators that request the feed support gzip compression. So, if you are getting garbage in your aggregator let me know and I will implement the change a little more robustly (i.e. actually check to see if the client supports gzip compression before sending it compressed data). I will also be compressing all of the other pages on the site but you all shouldn't notice any difference (other than faster load times) there; all modern browsers support the feature.
On to something a little more interesting. Last Saturday I went to Best Buy with my room mate because, well, we were bored. I managed to prevent myself from buying Guitar Hero (narrowly) but I didn't walk out of the store empty handed. I wandered into the music section, specifically the "Dance" section, and came across Tiësto's latest album — In Search Of Sunrise 4: Latin America. It was an acceptable $15.00 for two CDs worth of Tiësto goodness so I decided to get it to refresh my exercise music. I listened to the first CD Monday and the second on Wednesday during my workouts. The first one isn't very good exercise music. It is a good CD, but it can only be described as "pretty." At about twenty-eight minutes into the album, it picks up the tempo for a couple minutes but then relaxes back into pretty mode. The second disc is much better workout music; it starts off with a nice, upbeat, tempo and it continues on through the album. Actually, about fifty minutes into the mix it relaxes a little bit and finishes off the last twenty or so minutes in a peaceful groove. Perfect. It is around that time when I start my cool down and don't really need the up-tempo beats. As for the music, it isn't all latin beats and such as the n ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 31 August 2005, 21:19:37 EDT
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Today! Today!
Another year gone by.
Twenty and six
have come and gone.
Twenty-seven
is on the run.
This is being posted later, way later, than I intended. I wanted to post this earlier in the day instead of an hour before it ends but the day conspired against me. I came up with that little "poem" a couple weeks ago and really wanted to use it for this post; I am not the poet, that would be my brother, so that is why my poem sucks. I'm not even sure how that one came to me. I was trying to get to sleep and it popped into my head. Any way, I left the poem at home this morning so I couldn't post from work. Then, when I got home my room mate and I went out to dinner and over to Best Buy where he surprised me by buying Midnight Club 3 for me; that, of course, sucked up the rest of my evening. The game rocks! So, here I am writing my birthday post at the end of the day. This turns out to be a good thing because it has given me an idea for these birthday posts. I am now going to try and write something about what has happened in the world on this day every year. Well, for as long as I keep this up any way.
First, I would like to thank everyone for making this birthday another good one. As I have already mentioned, James, my room mate, hooked me up with a game I have been wanting for quite some time. So, on with the others. When I got to work this morning I was told to seek out one of my old supervisors because she had something for me. It turns out she was baking me some delicious chocolate chip cookies. After lunch, my current supervisor walked into the office carrying a Great American Cookie Company cookie cake; I love those things. This evening, my Dad called to with me happy birthday, actually calling on my birthday for the first time in a long time; not that it bothers me when he doesn't, but it was still nice. Lots of other people wished me a happy one as well. I can't link to all of you or this post would go on for days, but you all know who you are. And, finally, me, my Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, and little brother all went out last night for dinner at Pilgreen's (I got home too late tonight to have such a dinner on the actual day). There you have it. Lots of nice personal stuff that made the day nice.
Now for the "what happened today" part of the post. This morning it was announced that the major Atlanta area had been using fuel from its ten day reserve for the past two days. Hurricane Katrina knocked out power to a couple pumps that pump fuel through a couple supply lines that feed into Atlanta. These supply lines evidently provide a majority of the fuel in Atlanta. Upon hearing this news the major Atlanta area collective lost its mind. Everyone started running to the gas stations to fill up before the commodity became extinct in the area. It seems ... (view rest)
Thursday, 04 August 2005, 09:30:25 EDT
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Yesterday was the last day of class for the Summer semester. Summer semester is a nine week semester, half the time of a regular semester. I took Calculus II for the semester and made an A in the course. As a reward for my accomplishment I went by GameStop on my way home and purchased a copy of Guild Wars. If I didn't earn the luxury to buy a game by getting an A in Calculus II the first time then I don't know what would warrant the luxury.
Guild Wars is a game that I have been wanting to play for quite some time now. I played the alpha when they made it available way back in 2003 and found it to be quite enjoyable. That alpha didn't do the game justice; this game is really cool. I played it for six hours yesterday, made level seven, and finished a prelude that I didn't even realize was a prelude. There are plenty of quests for a solo player to have quite a bit of fun, thought it gets exponentially harder after the prelude, and it has something that World of Warcraft doesn't [aside from no monthly fee] — the ability to multi-class. Multi-classing is something I dearly wished WoW had whilst I was playing it; multi-classing makes characters much more interesting, especially in a player versus player environment. When a character only has the option of one class the characters get stale rather quickly. There is generally one really popular way to make a character and that style character will abound. Multi-classing allows people to be a bit more creative with their characters. For example, the first character I have created in Guild Wars is a warrior/monk. I focus most of my skill points into the warrior class, which is my primary and thus strongest class, while rounding him out with the monk abilities. The warrior abilities give my character some serious damaging dealing ability while the monk abilities deflect damage being inflicted to him. In the first PvP battle I participated in last night I totally rocked the other team because 1) ... (view rest)
Monday, 27 June 2005, 21:53:02 EDT
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A couple of weeks ago I read an article on Gamasutra titled "Bad Game Designer, No Twinkie! VI". I kept the article open because I wanted to write about it but didn't really have much to say other than "Go read this! It is good." Well, this weekend I started playing Demon Stone; a role-playing game for the Playstation 2. This game is exactly what the article is talking about.
Demon Stone is a rather short game, especially for a role-playing game. There are only ten character levels and ten game levels to match. I don't really mind the shortness of the game because it makes it playable; had I not started playing it so late in the afternoon on Saturday I would have beaten it in one sitting. I don't really have time for games like Zelda: Wind Waker or GTA: San Andreas any more even though I love a good, involved, game. So, a game this short is really quite nice since I can get the full thing in without having to spend a year on it.
Another plus for the game is its level balance. The characters have a small selection of abilities and goods they can buy per level. It is very easy to gain all ten character levels and max out the characters' abilities. Each person in the party gets a fair share of gold to spend after each game level. It isn't too difficult to get all the best gear for the characters by the end of the game, usually getting good enough gear for the upcoming level.
I wish that there were more good things to say about this game but it just isn't so. In fact, I am having a difficult time deciding where to start on the massive list of things wrong with this game. I suppose a good place to start is the lack of plot development. It is as if the designers of this game decided to take their last Forgotten Realms campaign and turn it in to a game. Not a bad idea in itself. After all, one of the best fantasy book series of all time was based on a Dragonlance campaign. However, the designers of this game evidently favor the psionics class thinking that the players of their game will be just that — mind readers. There is not any character development for any of the characters in your party other than what you get to pick up along the "adventure". Instead, you are just thrown in to a battle with the fighter character during which you meet the other two in your party: the rogue and the wizard. Each meetup goes something like "hey, why don't you get us through the next section of this course while I go get a beer."
So, we get to control some characters that we have no real attachment to other than they will let us get through the obstacles in the game. That's fine as long as the rest of the game is better right? Well, this game loves to ignore good design. Did you read the article I linked to in the beginning? You should, and you should pay close attention to the "Unplayable Camera Angles" section because this game has them. I am not sure how they decided to fix the camera in relation to the currently controlled character but you better believe it is in the worst possible spot. The game is set in a 3-D environment but you can't manipulate your viewing angle. Why did Sony even put a second joystick on the controller? Hardly any of the people making games for the Playstation know what it is good for and the people that made this game are no exception. Speaking of a 3-D environment. There is only one character in your party that can jump — after you find an item that enables it.
There are just two other things I want to mention about this game. The difficulty level and the cut scenes. The Gamasutra article starts off talking about games that offer a choice as to how difficult the game should be. Basically, the article points out that if the player chooses "easy" then they expect the game to be "easy" throughout the whole game, not just until he gets to the final level(s). I decided to play this game on easy becau ... (view rest)
Sunday, 01 May 2005, 21:32:50 EDT
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I went to see The Hitchhicker's Guide To The Galaxy yesterday afternoon. Overall, I liked the movie; there were some rather funny parts but it wasn't hilarious like I thought that it would be. I suppose I should just break down and read the book to get the much lauded humor. After the movie, my room mate and I went over to Media Play to waste some more time. When we had tired of walking around the store I went to pick up Midnight Club 3 (MC3). However, on the way to get it I noticed another, cheaper, game on the shelf. I ened up buying it instead of MC3.
What game did I buy? One of the craziest and oddest sleeper hits to ever come out of Japan — Katamari Damacy. I realize that most people who read this site have already played this game but, believe it or not, there are those who do that haven't so... In this game your character is about 1cm tall. The character's father is the "king of the cosmos" and is about as tall as a whole planet. It seems that the king went a bit crazy and knocked all the stars out of the sky. Since this is not a "good thing," the king commissions you, the prince, to restore the stars. To do this you have to roll a ball, called a "katamari," ranging from 1cm to 5cm in diameter, around earth. This ball has the unique ability to pick up items that are small than it is. As you pick up items, the ball "grows." That is not to say that the ball actually gets bigger but the items make it bigger so that you can pick up progressively bigger items. While the ball gets bigger, the character pushing it, you, do not. So, it ends up that a character smaller than a mouse can push a ball with cruise ships, sky skrapers, islands and even rainbows around. When you amass a ball large enough to meet the levels requirements the ball of junk is then transfered to space and becomes a star.
... (view rest)
Thursday, 14 April 2005, 21:34:07 EDT
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It is no secret that I love to play video games. What is the problem with that? Well, let me list off the games that I do not own but have an overwhelming desire to have and then I will tell you.
Midnight Club 3 (PS2)
Need for Speed: Underground 2 (PS2)
Gran Turismo 4
Guild Wars (In stores April 28)
That is over $200.00 worth of video games. That is the first problem. The second problem is the time to play them. Midnight Club 3 and NFS:U2 I could probably beat in week or two each game; they are more like arcade games and are not too involved. Gran Turismo 4 would consume me. I can spend hours tuning one car and testing it out on various tracks. That game is just... well, amazingly fun and engrossing. With over 650 cars in the game that can take just a bit of time; and, yes, the Gillet Vertigo is back (*drool*). Guild Wars would be good for occasional forays in to fantasy role playing without a monthly fee but has no real "end" to the game. If I am not being lazy, classes take up all of my time to play games. Calculus is fun but it isn't quite the same as trying to get fa ... (view rest)
Thursday, 31 March 2005, 13:08:11 EDT
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A week or so ago I mentioned that I would be adding a "favorite icon" to the site. It took a while because I can't draw and I am not talented enough with photo editors to do what I wanted. So, I asked Jason to draw one for me. He managed to find time to scan it in and send it to me last night so today there is an icon. Thank you, Jason, for the icon; it is perfect.
Speaking of video games, I have to rant a bit more on violence in video games, parents' lack of responsibility, and the government. On the fourteenth of this month Senator Hillary Clinton gave a speech concerning the media and its affect on children. Near the beginning of her speech she says, "And probably one of the biggest complaints I've heard is about some of the video games, particularly Grand Theft Auto, which has so many demeaning messages about women and so encourages violent imagination and activities and it scares parents." Of course, she has never played the game so her assesment of it is woefully inaccurate. Yes, the game is predicated on violence; but, the game is also satire which makes fun of the media! The very thing she wants to regulate is the very thing the game, which she doesn't seem to care for, ridicules.
Later in her speech she talks about how advitisers target young children with flash commercials about junk food and toys. She says, "And so it's a kind of real whammy. You get the child hooked, you know, into these ads and then the child, if you've ever been in a supermarket with a young child, becomes a very effective advocate just to be quieted in the cart. Go ahead and buy it so we can go ahead with the rest of our shopping." Am I the only one that recognizes the problem here? The child she is speaking of evidently has not been diciplined. The parent is probably the same parent that would buy their child a mature rated video game.
Senator Clinton advocates a cross media rating system that is "clear" so parents can judge what their ... (view rest)
Sunday, 20 March 2005, 18:40:53 EDT
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I just canceled my World of Warcraft account. I have not actually played the game in at least a month. I have logged in a couple of times and done some miscellaneous stuff like sell items or quickly do a low level quest, but I have not played the game per se. I also have not felt any overwhelming desire to play recently. I do enjoy the game and I was looking forward to the upcoming player versus player content but it just isn't enough to keep me paying the monthly fee. And, after reading the latest update concerning the PvP system, I am not too jazzed up about that any more either; it seems that they are going to reward the people that can play non-stop and give people like me the cold shoulder. One of the reasons I purchased the game was the fact that it is supposed to cater to the casual player and not overly reward those that are more than casual. Besides, I have other things that I need to be doing.
In other news, I wouldn't be surprised if our government collapses in upon itself at some point in the future. It is a behemoth that can not seem to contain itself while, at the same time, it tries to be overly correct and not offend anyone. In case you have not heard, there is a special session of the House and Senate being held this evening to debate federal legislation as to whether or not an invalid should be allowed to live or die. It seems that our congress thinks this is a more pressing issue than, oh say, social security reform. If the issue is not a family issue then it is surely a state government issue and is most assuredly not a federal issue. Why they are even discussing this is beyond me — it isn't like she is paying taxes. Oh, that's right, it is a "moral issue" and we care more about christian morals in this country than about actually solving problems.
I am not sure what is worse, the fact that this issue is before the congress or the way the legislature members address each other. When I was watching the meeting this afternoon where they debated about possibly having ... (view rest)
Monday, 14 March 2005, 20:57:02 EDT
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Today, after work, I went by Best Buy to pick up a specific item. After I found the item was there to buy I decided, against all better judgement, to look around for bit. I looked through the computer section, of course, and learned they are starting to try to cater to the hobbyist now; it seems that Best Buy is now selling miscellaneous parts like motherboards, cases, cooling fans, and even thermal paste. All I can recall them having are ABIT boards but I think they had at least one other brand. I suppose it is good that they carry ABIT and not some cheap-o brand. Any way, that isn't the section of the store that I shouldn't have gone in to. No, that section is too high priced for me and there is no way I was going to buy anything from there. The dangerous section turned out to be the video games section. As I was browsing the Playstation 2 section I found Midway Arcade Treasures priced at $10.00.
Usually when I see one of these retro game packs I shrug and continue on my merry way. This one, however, contains two games that I absolutely love: Marble Madness and Klax. I spent a lot of time playing Marble Madness on my NES; I'm not sure but I think I actually beat the game without the use of a Game Genie. Marble Madness is quite possibly one of the hardest games ever made and I certainly enjoyed the challenge. Klax, though, is in a class of its own. I only played the game a couple of times at the Unio ... (view rest)
Monday, 07 February 2005, 08:57:34 EDT
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If you ever meet someone that says something to the effect of "I have too much free time" you need to beat them until they tell you where the acquired it. I made a comment after last semester about playing World of Warcraft almost non-stop and that I hoped I would get past the "newness" of it before classes start again. Well, I haven't been able to play the game in about two weeks. I logged in Saturday to play but not even a minute after I started I had to stop and take care of more pertinent matters for the day. Saturdays are about the only day I have time to waste on such an activity and the Saturdays where that is possible are few. Every other day is filled with work, school, and errands.
Also, if you have been reading this web site for any length of time you know that I have a tendency to be fanatical about web standards. Here is a link to an intersting story about a major newspaper "seeing the light" so to speak. Since I have moved this site to bluehost.com I have been able to keep up with the individual stats for this site. They have a statistics generator that I had previously not known about that is quite awesome; ... (view rest)
Monday, 06 December 2004, 10:55:18 EDT
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I just touched up a couple more things around here. No longer will you have to scroll to the bottom of long posts when you want either read the comments or post a comment. I have tried once again to get the comment form to remember the stuff you fill in but web cookies suck so it probably still doesn't work.
I have been playing entirely too much World of Warcraft lately. It is a good thing that I waited until classes were basically over for the semester because that game is too addictive. Hopefully I will get all of the fresh addictive gameplay over with during the winter break. If you haven't played it I suggest you head over to the website and download the gameplay video to see what you are missing. At Jason's party, more on that in a second, I was able to see Everquest 2 being played and I am very happy with my choice. From what I remember, lots of beers, I did not like the graphics in the game. I think they tried to make it look too pretty. WoW is pretty but it is cartoony and I like the cartoony look of the game. EQ2 tried to be too real in some aspects while looking too fake in others. I don't know, I should probably look at the game again when sober to make ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 00:29:07 EDT
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For almost a month I have been idly playing Vendetta Online. It is a space based Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). I enjoyed it for a while and was particularly happy with the monthly fee and initial investment; it cost $9.99 per month and was a free download with a free eight hour trial to start. However, after playing it for a while I realized that to accomplish anything of any significance it would take me several play sessions and the work would be highly repetitive. Plus, I was not very good at attacking higher level bots or other players. Those two factors, combined with an elitist attitude held by a majority of the players that had been playing for the past four years during the alpha and beta phases, quickly turned me off of that game. I should never have played Vendetta because it reawkened a desire in me that I had killed off after the first couple years of Everquest (EQ1) — the desire to play a continuous online game.
After deciding that I would no longer play Vendetta I started thinking about my options. I had my choice between Star Wars: Galaxies (SWG), Everquest 2 (EQ2), or World of Warcraft (WoW); the later two were just recently released. I decided against SWG because the game already has an expansion out, which would mean even more initial cost, and its reputation for requiring massive amounts of time to accomplish anything. I have already quit one game because of that why would I start another? About the only thing EQ2 had going for it is the fact that Jason plays it and it would be a good way for me to keep in touch with him once he moves to L.A.. However, I have not heard anything about EQ2 addressing the issue of time investment for casual players (a.k.a. me). So, taking that in to consideration and the reason I left EQ1 (long story) I decided not to get EQ2 and settled on getting WoW.
So, last night I drug my roommate out to town and bought us both a copy so that we could play (he had been expressing interest in wanting to play a new game as well). One of my biggest gripes with MMORPGs is the initial cost followed up by a monthly fee. They claim that you "get the first month free" but you have really just paid a great deal more for the fist month than you will pay each consecutive month. My purchase of WoW has not changed that opinion; in fact, it has strengthened that opinion. I believe that if you are going to pay $50.00 for the box, and everything that comes in it, and then be required to pay a monthly fee to play that the packaging and contents should at least be worth a good portion of that initial investment. If you take a look at this picture you can see that the WoW box contains very little for that $50.00. All that is in the box is four CDs (why couldn't it be on DVD?) with a very poor container (paper sleeves? wtf?), the game manual, and a couple advertisements. That is pathetic. Oh well, at least I can play right?
And play I have. I played for about an hour and a half last night and attained level four with my gnome mage. The little bit that I played last night impressed me quite a bit. Today, I read a bit more about the game and how to play it and realized that this game really will cater to a casual gamer. I think the most important aspect that affects the casual gamer is the resting system. Basically, if you can't play for long periods of time you can be compensated by logging off in certain areas so that when you return to the game you are able to get twice the experience you normally would. That is really awesome. There are also two other features that help out the casual player ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 22:49:09 EDT
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Out with the old in with the...old? Doom 3, one of the most hyped and anticipated games ever, came out today. Being that a demo will not be available for some time yet I went ahead and bootlegged a leak of it and played it last yesterday. I am very happy that I did not spend $54.99 on this game as I have found it to be the same as its predecessors just with better graphics. This thread on Slashdot accurately describes the game and its shortcomings. While the thread starter got bored with the game after an hour I gave it thirty minutes more before I turned it off. I have not had any desire to play it since then. That does not bespeak a good game; a good game is one where you look forward to the next time you have available to play it. Unreal Tournament 2004 was like that for me and still is to some extent. The Doom3 engine has promise but the game they wrapped around it to demo it does not captivate me in the least. If you like linear predictable game play then you will love this game. If you like a gaming experience that can change every time you start up the game then don't bother. Just wait until October for GTA: San Andreas to come out.
Unrelated to gaming, I found an awesome quote at bash.org today. I liked it so much I turned it in to a shirt ... (view rest)
Sunday, 06 June 2004, 23:02:55 EDT
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I would like to thank two very good friends for keeping me off the road Friday evening. Wolven and Leviathan formed a dynamic duo and drew me away from the car and relieved me of my keys. I had had way too much to drink without even realizing it; that is what I get for drinking whiskey out of a plastic party cup instead of a glass better suited for such things. I don't know why I decided it was time that I leave but I was fairly intent on doing so, although I do believe I willingly handed over the keys. I could be wrong about that – I don't really remember. So, thank you Wolven and Leviathan for not letting me a complete dumbass and I apologize if I was a jackass about it.
On a less somber note, I went to XPlayground in Peachtree City for a friend's birthday party Saturday night. It was rather fun; the best part about it was just hanging out with friends and playing some games. The place was pretty much as I expected it to be – a big Halo arena. We did try to play s ... (view rest)
Sunday, 16 May 2004, 22:20:39 EDT
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Yesterday I went to see Troy with my mother. Overall I liked the movie; they did a good job adapting the book to screen. Brad Pitt played a very good Achilles and Eric Bana did a decent job with Hector, much better than he did with the Hulk. The person that played Priam did an excellent job, particularly when he went to Achilles' tent to ask for Hector's body. Probably my favorite scene in the movie is when Ajax fought Hector. Ajax wielded his war hammer excellently and was just damn cool. I believe it was better than the fight between Achilles and Hector; that is not to say that fight was not awesome, it had to be awesome as that is the pivotol point of the story and it was indeed awesome. I did have a problem with some of it though. After Hector killed Patroclus there should have been a large battle over the body but instead Hector called and end to the fighting. I also didn't like the portrayal of the relationship between Achilles and Triopas. There are a few other things that were off kilter, such as the distorted time frame, but overall this movie was very well done and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Need For Speed Underground 2 will be out this fall and it sounds really bad ass. I particularly like the fact that you will be able to adjust gear ratios and such with the cars. If it is even half as good as Gran Turismo is in that aspect I am going to be able to make some seriously awesome cars. I love being able to tweak a car to drive just like I like it; it helps me play the game a great deal better. And if that isn't enough Midnight Club 3 is in production now and will probably be out around the ... (view rest)
Monday, 03 May 2004, 19:58:49 EDT
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Last night I was going to work on a web page. A web page that really needs to be worked on. But, before I started working I decided I wanted to beat race 102 in Need For Speed: Underground first. It was just going to be a quick race and then on with the code. That was at 7:00PM; at about 8:30PM I had beaten the game, all 112 races. I just got sucked in. I ended up racing online until 11:00PM. I have determined that the racers online are cheaters (literally) and will hit you any time you are in the lead just so that they can win. I find it extremely sad that people have such a burning desire to "win" that they have to employ dirty tactics and even stoop to cheating.
Also, some of you may be interested in a project I have started. You can read about it, and keep up with it, at ... (view rest)
Sunday, 02 May 2004, 18:59:13 EDT
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James has updated his site to include a comments system and monthly archives. In all actuality I just hooked him up with the most basic parts of my code to get him started and give him an example to learn by. But, it is now in such a state that I have added it to my friends list. Any way, drop by his place for some interesting reading.
If you are an addict like me then you probably realize that Final Fantasy Tactics is not an original concept and was probably inspired by the likes of Shining Force. Also, if you have known me for a while then you probably know that I absolutely love Shining Force 1 & 2. I can sit down and beat SF2 in just about a day and still get all the hidden extras. Well, the day of reckoning ... (view rest)
Monday, 19 April 2004, 23:39:29 EDT
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Lets talk a minute about video games and why I play them. I play video games because I find them fun. I am pretty decent at certain types of video games like Raiden II, Tempest 2000, and Amplitude. Those are the style games that I enjoy the most and am the best at; some might say I am pretty good at racing games as well and those come in a close second to the style of aforementioned games. I am not very adept at first person shooters (FPS) though. No, I don't completely suck but I have my moments where I can't hit the broad side of a barn. Since I am not very good at them I am very picky about the ones that I will play and the reasons why. The absolute biggest requirement for me to play a FPS style game is that I must have fun playing it. Because this type of game is not my strong area in gaming I like FPSs that are fast paced and do not noticeably limit the playing time. What do I mean by that? Well, there are games like Counter Strike that prevent you from respawning when you get killed. For me this is unacceptable; I aboslutely do not like getting shot in the first five seconds of play, possibly while still trying to figure the game out, and not being able to play for another five minutes while watching everyone else have a good time. "But, what about realism?" some say. I don't play FPS games for realism. I may play a racing game for realism because I might never get a chance to drive some of those cars (hell, almost all of them). But, if I want some realism ala FPS style I can go join the damn army and get a hefty dose of it real quick. No, I play FPSs to have fun.
Another aspect of some FPS games that annoy me is the ever popular trend to use levels that are so huge you can walk around for what feels like days without seeing an opponent. The "revolutionary" game that introduced this concept was Tribes. Playing this game is not fun (to me). The levels are friggin' massive and have very little distinguishing marks. I admit, it is impressive they were able to create such massive levels and have the game run well with the limited hardware of the time, but there is no reason to do so when it leaves the players lost. "Oh, but you have a jet pack to aid you in movement." Whoptie-fuckin'-do. "Skiing" across the terrain does not make it any less massive. Nor does it make it any less annoying to have to retraverse all that ground when you die.
Tribes 2 introduced vehicles to the FPS genre. Cool idea, overplayed idea. I won't go in to how horrible I think the vehicles in Tribes 2 are because of their control; I will just acknowledge that the game introduced the concept with a somewhat playable implementation first. I will, however, bitch about the subsequent use of them in later games like Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2k4). In UT2k4 the developers decided that vehicles would be a cool addition to the game. They are indeed a cool addition, they just seem to take all the glory and leave people like me desiring straight up deathmatch out in the cold. All anyone wants to play now is a mode with vehicles so they can drive around and be silly. There have been very few matches that I have been a part of that have been aided by the use of vehicles other than to get you across the huge friggin' level a little be quicker. I suppose that is my issue with the vehicles. In order to make the game playable with vehicles the size of the levels needs to be expanded otherwise it will be like a traffic jam and no one wants that in a game. So, what it boils down to is if you are not lucky enough to get in a vehicle as you spawn you get to run cross country or just chill and hope some other hapless soul wanders by.
Another genre that irks me is the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). I like role playing games; they are really fun because your character can turn in to a real bad ass which can own other players - always fun. What I don't like about the MMORPGs is the business model. They don't release demos so to try out the game you have to go to the store and buy it. If you don't like the game you have just wasted however much money it cost to buy the game because to play the game you have to pay a monthly fee, you can typically play the first month free, to have access to the actual game part of the game. What comes on the CD is just the (out dated) files necessary to be able to play the game. The initial cost at the store varies from $30.00 to $50.00. ... (view rest)
Sunday, 04 April 2004, 22:56:07 EDT
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I have discovered a profession that I will not consider if I ever have to choose another one. That profession is called "mechanic." I have no idea how people can put up with all the crap that comes with being a mechanic. I went out to my grandparent's today to replace the remaining three struts in my car (replaced one last weekend) and we only accomplished getting one installed. The day started off pretty good; I got the front right strut out in record time, which is basically a helluva lot faster than it took to get the front left one out, and thought things were going to go well. Sadly, that was not the case. We had to drive up to Sears in Union City and buy an offset box end metric wrench so that we could put the nut on the top of the new strut. So, after buying this $18.18 tool we had the nut in place and secured inside of two minutes and put the new strut in in about five minutes (that is damn sight better than the five hours it took us to do the left one).
Awesome, so we move on to the rear right strut. Oops, the bolts were seized so we had to get craft and use a five foot pipe, or "persuader bar" as called in this situation, and use it on the wratchet. After getting the bolts out of the bottom of the strut it was time to climb in the trunk and get the top one out. Let the fun ensue. This nut was also seized to I grabbed a Giant Fucking Wrench™ and used it to "persuade" the wratchet to unseize the nut. Aside from taking a chunk of meat out of the knuckle on my left thumb when the nut broke free and all my force shove my hand against some sharp metal things were looking up. After the nut was broken I started, foolishly, trying to turn the nut off of the shaft of the strut. This, of course, did not work because the shaft turned with the nut. After trying to work some voodoo and get it off without "proper tools" we resigned ourselves to going back to Sears to return the tool I bought and let my grandfather buy a whole set of tools. Lo and behold the nut came off after we had the "proper tools." Time to put the son-of-a-bitch new strut on and move on to the final one right? Wrong! The nut that came with the new struct doesn't fucking fit.
So, in the end my car is still on jack stands in my grandparent's drive way. I hate cars and the seemingly haphazard choice of nut and bolt sizes the car designers like to use and I am missing part of my body that I started the day off with.
On to other things...
I have heard a lot of Pink Floyd today. It got me to thinking about how amazing they really are. I mean have you ever heard a more talented and in sync group of people? The can rock out while retaining a peaceful acid trip sound at the same time. Don't believe me? Listen to Comfortably Numb some time and just try to figure out how they play that well. It hurts my head just to try and comprehend the talent in that one song much less all others they have done.
It seems that there will be a second Neverwinter Nights. One of the public relations people for Atari let it slip in this ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 19:07:42 EDT
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Something occured to me today when reading the games section on Slashdot. There is a lot of talk about the, supposed, upcoming release of Half-Life 2 by Valve Software. Some time around 1996 Valve picked up the rights to a very, very, popular QuakeWorld modification called Team Fortress. They stipulated that the current mod could continue as is but any other mod that copied it feature for feature, in any other game, would be met with harsh legal action. They did this because they wanted to release Team Fortress 2. Well, here it is 2004 and the last news update on the official TF2 web site was made on January 23, 2001. Did everyone just forget that they were making a game based on the most popular Quake mod ever? Why is everyone surprised that Valve is not meeting their release dates with HL2? Seems to me that they have a clear history of missing release dates. Hell, ... (view rest)
Thursday, 04 March 2004, 19:48:48 EDT
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Well hot damn Jason finally got his internet connection fixed and posted some new content to his web site. I should download the new Quake III maps he has there and try them out but Unreal Tournament 2003 is calling my name.
My headphones are starting to show their age. I really need some new ones. The problem is is that I want the model up from the ones. While the new pair is now the same price as my current pair was when I bought them they are still too expensive for me right now. My current pair are really showing their age though; the "leatherette" is almost completely gone from the left ear piece and is flaking off more and more on the right piece every day. Who wants to save me from my headphone hell and by me the MDR-V700DJs?
Wolven reminded me today how much I love Green Jellö album Cereal Killer (technically it is a sound track but I just like it for the good Metal that it is). Since I have evidently lost my compact disc somewhere along the way I hit up EBay like a crack fiend and put in a bid on an original copy printed before they were legally require to change the name to Green Jellÿ. Hopefully no one will jack the bid up past the $3.99 it currently is in the next six days. I doubt they will because just about no one likes the band and would hardly even dream of buying the CD. Here is to hope against hope.
Also, I have been getting more and more aggitated with the piss poor grammar skills of people who post text to the internet. Damn it people, pick up a book and do some reading. I promise it will d ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 23:32:22 EDT
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Do you know what game is really cool? Need For Speed: Underground. Do you know what sucks about it? No LAN support. Well, you gotta love the internet: ... (view rest)
Thursday, 25 December 2003, 01:01:48 EDT
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Ok, I might have to get myself a network adapter for my Gamecube. Check out this choice bit of information.
Is there anyone out ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 10 December 2003, 01:10:35 EDT
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This just in: If you want a copy of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City while it still has all of its original content you better hurry up and get it while the gettin' is good. Check out this ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 08 October 2003, 00:32:38 EDT
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I want one: PSX.
I wait on one of you to buy it for me. It is only $ ... (view rest)
Friday, 29 August 2003, 16:29:29 EDT
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I have added another section to this site. If you dig Gran Turismo 3 for the Playstation 2 you should check it out.
I woke up this morning and decided that since I will be spending money from my next pay check to buy Soul Calibur 2 for my Gamecube I might as well go ahead and charge it and just pay it off with the money from the pay check. So, that is what I did.
THIS GAME ROCKS!
Link is one bad muthafucker. He has bombs, arrows, and his boomerang. I have unlocked an alternate weapon for him; it is called the "Megaton Hammer" and ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 27 August 2003, 18:52:39 EDT
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It seems that Tecmo is taking video games just a little bit too far. But then again, if people like this are goin ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 20 August 2003, 16:25:54 EDT
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Damn the monolith and its buying power. Damn it straight to hell. It seems they have gobbled up the rights to a remake of one of my all time favorite games: ... (view rest)