Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Half Life 2 Plot Site
Yes HL2's plot is a shambles and This Site has appeared trying to put the pieces together.
Unfortunately the poor guy is clutching at straws.
Unfortunately the poor guy is clutching at straws.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Random Comment (GirlSpy)
GameSpy has been running This Column By Zoe Flower with her female perspective on gaming. Her new column is about Half Life 2, and this is the first of her columns that I have read, but I find it a very difficult read because her writing style is so rabid.
Maybe it's my flu like symptoms that are making it a difficult read, but I honestly can't make head nor tale, as to what the hell she is going on about.
Maybe it's my flu like symptoms that are making it a difficult read, but I honestly can't make head nor tale, as to what the hell she is going on about.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Bluetooth USB Adaptor
There is some great software out there for my phone and PC that uses bluetooth to transfer data. For example I can design ring-tones, background images and even manage my phone's address book from my PC, by using bluetooth. So I have ordered This Little Puppy.
And I will let you know how it goes when I get it.
And I will let you know how it goes when I get it.
P2P Killing Record Industry My Arse
The BBC has published a news item titled UK Music Sees Record Album Sales. And it goes on to talk about the booming success of the whole price cutting thing.
Now something even more interesting is that the record industry in the UK hasn't followed RIAA in they don't sue customers that have downloaded MP3s. So maybe that proves what RIAA has been doing is wrong and immoral.
Now something even more interesting is that the record industry in the UK hasn't followed RIAA in they don't sue customers that have downloaded MP3s. So maybe that proves what RIAA has been doing is wrong and immoral.
Friday, November 26, 2004
New Mobile
I have finally replaced My Old S35 (left) with a Sony Ericsson T610 (right).
Not actual size. Old one actually only a little bigger.
I have tried to replace my S35 before, but I wanted to replace it with one that had a colour screen, camera and was under £100, but the problem was all that the phones previously that met this criteria had always had big flaws. Like, stiff keys, crap screen, known technical problems or even very a slow interface.
Then two days ago I noticed that I could get the T610 for £89, so now I have one!
And I have to say it's very good. I mean it's an older model that has fallen in price, but the interface is nice, the texting is easy and best of all, it has all those little features that makes a great product, like being able to add words to the internal T9 dictionary, and an auto-keypad-lock so I don't have to keep doing that manually (not big features I know).
Plus it has a few new features that I haven't had before and now I understand what those marketing people are talking about when they talk about, selling products that customers don't know they want.
In my case it's the built in bluetooth. Apart from being able to play multiplayer with it. I can use it to backup my address book, send pictures & sounds I have recorded to other phones with bluetooth, and that's great because it makes the pictures & sounds I store a shared experience. Plus I can now send cock-pics to everyone in a 10m radios without them knowing who sent them.
So very happy with my new phone. The camera is equivalent to a very basic webcam, the screen could probably have more colours, the battery could probably last longer, more memory would be nice (it only has 2MB) and it only supports medium sized Java games, but those are just general issues you could probably say about most phones.
Not actual size. Old one actually only a little bigger.
I have tried to replace my S35 before, but I wanted to replace it with one that had a colour screen, camera and was under £100, but the problem was all that the phones previously that met this criteria had always had big flaws. Like, stiff keys, crap screen, known technical problems or even very a slow interface.
Then two days ago I noticed that I could get the T610 for £89, so now I have one!
And I have to say it's very good. I mean it's an older model that has fallen in price, but the interface is nice, the texting is easy and best of all, it has all those little features that makes a great product, like being able to add words to the internal T9 dictionary, and an auto-keypad-lock so I don't have to keep doing that manually (not big features I know).
Plus it has a few new features that I haven't had before and now I understand what those marketing people are talking about when they talk about, selling products that customers don't know they want.
In my case it's the built in bluetooth. Apart from being able to play multiplayer with it. I can use it to backup my address book, send pictures & sounds I have recorded to other phones with bluetooth, and that's great because it makes the pictures & sounds I store a shared experience. Plus I can now send cock-pics to everyone in a 10m radios without them knowing who sent them.
So very happy with my new phone. The camera is equivalent to a very basic webcam, the screen could probably have more colours, the battery could probably last longer, more memory would be nice (it only has 2MB) and it only supports medium sized Java games, but those are just general issues you could probably say about most phones.
Valve Has A Surprise For Next Week
Rumour says it's some kind of multiplayer mode with a physics cannon.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
DS Launch
GameSpy has Video Coverage Of The DS Launch and with Raymond's typical sense of humour it's a fun little video.
Was all those people wearing Nintendo branded jackets and t-shirts!?
Was all those people wearing Nintendo branded jackets and t-shirts!?
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Playing Through Half Life 2 On Normal
After completing HL2 on Easy I have started to do it on Normal, and honestly I don't see any difference.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Show You Should Watch
The Sex Inspectors is a great new show on Channel4 Tuesday nights at 11pm.
It's a sex therapy show with coupples having what they percieve as problems and a team of exsperts try to help them out. This has been done before, but this show introduces cameras in the bedroom! YAY!
I actually leared alot.
It's a sex therapy show with coupples having what they percieve as problems and a team of exsperts try to help them out. This has been done before, but this show introduces cameras in the bedroom! YAY!
I actually leared alot.
Valve Doing Something Wrong Again
Valve Has Banned over 20,000 STEAM Accounts linked to people trying to pirate Half Life 2.
I don't feel this is just.
Imagine someone has legitimately bought every available title over STEAM. And then for whatever stupid reason thinks it would be a good idea to try the warez version (everyone makes mistakes). His account is banned and he now can't access his warez copy of HL2, but what I think is wrong is that he also can't access any of his legitimately purchased games also. That right there is a step over the line for me.
If they allowed people to purchase a legit copy copy to unban their account, fine, but they aren't. All the money people have invested in their STEAM accounts has gone down the toilet just because of one mistake, and to me that is stealing from customers (the worst thing a company can ever do).
I don't feel this is just.
Imagine someone has legitimately bought every available title over STEAM. And then for whatever stupid reason thinks it would be a good idea to try the warez version (everyone makes mistakes). His account is banned and he now can't access his warez copy of HL2, but what I think is wrong is that he also can't access any of his legitimately purchased games also. That right there is a step over the line for me.
If they allowed people to purchase a legit copy copy to unban their account, fine, but they aren't. All the money people have invested in their STEAM accounts has gone down the toilet just because of one mistake, and to me that is stealing from customers (the worst thing a company can ever do).
Monday, November 22, 2004
Nintendo DS High Resolution Screens
Lik Sang has loads of high resolution screens of the DS in This article. That talks about the system.
The Half Life 2 Stutter
Apparently a fix will be out tomorrow for this gameplay effecting annoyance. If you haven't seen it This Video shows how bad it is for some people.
I myself have had a slight case of this, but nothing like what is shown in that video. It happens because textures are still being loaded into memory as you play. This is a technique is used in Lineage 2 and other games so that you don't have to wait for levels to load, but HL2 probably just uses it to cut load times. So expect load times to increase after the fix is release (probably tomorrow).
I myself have had a slight case of this, but nothing like what is shown in that video. It happens because textures are still being loaded into memory as you play. This is a technique is used in Lineage 2 and other games so that you don't have to wait for levels to load, but HL2 probably just uses it to cut load times. So expect load times to increase after the fix is release (probably tomorrow).
DS Coverage
IGN Has Three US Ads For Download, and with slogons like "it's good to touch" and "touching is good" I was exspecting more out of the adverts.
GameSpy Has An Atricle On The Game Packaging!
As well as some screens of Animal Crossing DS, Mario Kart DS and a video of Tendo Dokuta (that surgery game). It's all looking very bright for Nintendo's future.
I just hope Bill manages to get one, so I can have a go (he is on holiday in Florida, DS hunting).
GameSpy Has An Atricle On The Game Packaging!
As well as some screens of Animal Crossing DS, Mario Kart DS and a video of Tendo Dokuta (that surgery game). It's all looking very bright for Nintendo's future.
I just hope Bill manages to get one, so I can have a go (he is on holiday in Florida, DS hunting).
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Half Life 2 No CD Fix - Tried And Tested
I went through The Instructions and it doesn't work. I even tried a few other install combinations and it just doesn't work.
Random Fact
America doesn't politically recognise Carbon Dioxide as pollution. Even though there is internationally recognised evidence that it is directly linked it to climate change.
The Incredibles
I went to see The Incredibles earlier and it is most certainly the best film I have seen all year. And don't forget that I have Seen Over 140 Films this year. Yet I can say it's my film of the year with utter confidence.
5/5 (GO SEE NOW, STOP READING AND JUST GO!)
5/5 (GO SEE NOW, STOP READING AND JUST GO!)
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Half Life 2 Recap
Maybe I was being A Bit Harsh Yesterday. That might be because I have work on and I needed to complete it as fast as possible. It's a good game, just doesn't feel like the sequel to Half Life or even Opposing forces or Blue Shift. That is because the gameplay is completely different and frankly I got bored with the street fighting.
Time to completion, about 11 hours.
Review score. 3/5
Best weapon, the upgraded Zero Point thingy.
Final Thoughts
The original had a nice slow paced style of gameplay with obstacles to get around, enemies to defeat, interesting puzzles (of death) to solve and a story that threw in a few surprises, but with the origenal you where allowed to play it at your own pace. HL2 is a Rally Car race to the finishing line and that doesn't make it a bad game, but the gameplay is completely contrary to that of the first and it's the kind of gameplay I don't like in FPSs because it's almost impossible to stop and smell the roses. From the pushy nature of the characters, to the infinite ammo, ammo crates it's all very geared to pushing you along quickly.
Time to completion, about 11 hours.
Review score. 3/5
Best weapon, the upgraded Zero Point thingy.
Final Thoughts
The original had a nice slow paced style of gameplay with obstacles to get around, enemies to defeat, interesting puzzles (of death) to solve and a story that threw in a few surprises, but with the origenal you where allowed to play it at your own pace. HL2 is a Rally Car race to the finishing line and that doesn't make it a bad game, but the gameplay is completely contrary to that of the first and it's the kind of gameplay I don't like in FPSs because it's almost impossible to stop and smell the roses. From the pushy nature of the characters, to the infinite ammo, ammo crates it's all very geared to pushing you along quickly.
Half Life 2 (Completed)
Firstly the mysterious Chapter 15 is the credits is not a bonus level or anything secret or special. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think that slot is misleading.
Although I do recommend watching the credits all the way through.
I don't know if I even want to post an opinion at the moment because you aren't going to like what I have to say.
I felt that the whole game, from plot delivery to the street fighting, feels just like Call Of Duty.
I know one is Sci-fi and the other is World War 2, but they just feel the same. From people talking to you without expecting a response, to the way you climber through broken buildings and have teammates constantly standing in your way.
Both games have infinite streams of enemies that have to be mowed down by inaccurate rifles and some of the levels even look similar (COD's last Russian level is similar to the end of HL2's chapter 12). I preferred HL2's sniper missions to those in COD, but then I preferred the vehicle missions in COD because they never got boring (HL2's drags out).
On both you get pushed around by the enemy when you get too close to them, on both you are always having ammo problems with the rocket launcher and on both the rifles don't seem believable because they are so painfully inaccurate.
I am not saying they are the same, but they both feel like part of the same franchise. HL2 does not feel like the sequel to the original Half Life because it's pacing is a lot faster and there is just so much street combat, which wasn't even in the original.
I was kind of hoping the plot would be both expanded and some of my long standing questions would be answered, but the game simply doesn't reward you with plot points. Sure, there are scripted sequences as rewards, but not a single one will answer any questions you might have or specifically expand on the universe by providing new information. It's just glimpses here and there, or partial overheard conversations.
Some bits are cool, like Farther Gregory, the first half an hour of each vehicle level, the final level because it's back to that good-old slow paced exploration gameplay of the original, and the comedy elements are good, but I do wonder if Valve are catering too much for new players because there was not a single point in the game where I was glad that I had played the original or found a joke that only someone who had played the original would find funny.
A lot of the enemies from the first one have been removed and actually HL2 has far less variety in both enemies and weaponry. It's a good game and it will get rave reviews. Probably because nobody will dare give it a poor score through fear of a fatboy backlash. I know Valve have put their all into this, but it doesn't feel like a worthy sequel, simply because the heritage left by Half Life, Opposing Forces and Blue Shift isn't tapped into at all.
Although I do recommend watching the credits all the way through.
I don't know if I even want to post an opinion at the moment because you aren't going to like what I have to say.
I felt that the whole game, from plot delivery to the street fighting, feels just like Call Of Duty.
I know one is Sci-fi and the other is World War 2, but they just feel the same. From people talking to you without expecting a response, to the way you climber through broken buildings and have teammates constantly standing in your way.
Both games have infinite streams of enemies that have to be mowed down by inaccurate rifles and some of the levels even look similar (COD's last Russian level is similar to the end of HL2's chapter 12). I preferred HL2's sniper missions to those in COD, but then I preferred the vehicle missions in COD because they never got boring (HL2's drags out).
On both you get pushed around by the enemy when you get too close to them, on both you are always having ammo problems with the rocket launcher and on both the rifles don't seem believable because they are so painfully inaccurate.
I am not saying they are the same, but they both feel like part of the same franchise. HL2 does not feel like the sequel to the original Half Life because it's pacing is a lot faster and there is just so much street combat, which wasn't even in the original.
I was kind of hoping the plot would be both expanded and some of my long standing questions would be answered, but the game simply doesn't reward you with plot points. Sure, there are scripted sequences as rewards, but not a single one will answer any questions you might have or specifically expand on the universe by providing new information. It's just glimpses here and there, or partial overheard conversations.
Some bits are cool, like Farther Gregory, the first half an hour of each vehicle level, the final level because it's back to that good-old slow paced exploration gameplay of the original, and the comedy elements are good, but I do wonder if Valve are catering too much for new players because there was not a single point in the game where I was glad that I had played the original or found a joke that only someone who had played the original would find funny.
A lot of the enemies from the first one have been removed and actually HL2 has far less variety in both enemies and weaponry. It's a good game and it will get rave reviews. Probably because nobody will dare give it a poor score through fear of a fatboy backlash. I know Valve have put their all into this, but it doesn't feel like a worthy sequel, simply because the heritage left by Half Life, Opposing Forces and Blue Shift isn't tapped into at all.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Its Here (Half Life 2)
And about time too.
I have loads to do for Uni so this has to completed by Monday.
I have loads to do for Uni so this has to completed by Monday.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Half Life Source
GameSpy has a Small Review of Half Life Source and it's pants.
The only thing that has changed is the engine that powers the game, the main menu, water is now bumpmapped and physics have been added.
Valve Didn't Even Upgrade The Characters Models to those used in Blue Shift. Although there is Word of a Blue Shift Source so maybe Valve will do some upgrading then.
The only thing that has changed is the engine that powers the game, the main menu, water is now bumpmapped and physics have been added.
Valve Didn't Even Upgrade The Characters Models to those used in Blue Shift. Although there is Word of a Blue Shift Source so maybe Valve will do some upgrading then.
Artificial Intelligence In Halo 2
How Stuff Works has an interesting Interview With Chris Butcher the lead programmer behind the Halo 1 & 2's AI. I found it to be a very interesting (nontechnical) read.
One of the concepts he mentions is the Uncanny Valley.
What he says is that moving from computer generated looking characters (Half Life) to photo realistic characters (Half Life 2) there is an area where characters sometimes look believable, but at the sometime they can also look unbelievable because they are almost photo realistic, but not quite.
So in combat the player might entertain the possibility of them being real in a virtual sense, but when combat breaks and they are playing out of combat, the characters have the possibility of acting unnatural. It brakes the gameplay experience because the player realises that they are not real and that they are just Creepy Looking Dummies.
One of the concepts he mentions is the Uncanny Valley.
What he says is that moving from computer generated looking characters (Half Life) to photo realistic characters (Half Life 2) there is an area where characters sometimes look believable, but at the sometime they can also look unbelievable because they are almost photo realistic, but not quite.
So in combat the player might entertain the possibility of them being real in a virtual sense, but when combat breaks and they are playing out of combat, the characters have the possibility of acting unnatural. It brakes the gameplay experience because the player realises that they are not real and that they are just Creepy Looking Dummies.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Half Life 2 Where Are You!
I left the house about an hour ago and I hadn't yet received HL2, but then I haven't received any mail yet today, so there is a chance HL2 could be sitting in the letterbox right now.
I will know when I get home, but I have two hours of lectures before I can leave here. Next I have Innovation And Technology, which is actually a very interesting and worth while subject, followed by Artificial Intelligence, a subject that should be interesting, but isn't because of the two lecturers I have.
Sorry about the recent political posts, but this blog is the only outlet I have for that kind of crap.
lol, I just noticed that Blogger's spellcheck doesn't recognize the word blog.
I will know when I get home, but I have two hours of lectures before I can leave here. Next I have Innovation And Technology, which is actually a very interesting and worth while subject, followed by Artificial Intelligence, a subject that should be interesting, but isn't because of the two lecturers I have.
Sorry about the recent political posts, but this blog is the only outlet I have for that kind of crap.
lol, I just noticed that Blogger's spellcheck doesn't recognize the word blog.
America Is No Better Than A Playground Bully (Battle Royal 2)
Just finished watching Battle Royal 2 and the film is good although it does suffer from some pacing issues towards the end.
2.5/5
One of the interesting things about the film is that it is incredibly relevant the current political state in the world.
It basically compares America to an adult and all other nations as children. If one of the children falls out of line and does something the adult doesn't like, then the child gets punished.
The point the film makes about this situation is that if any of the children says NO, then America will destroy that child, but the irony is that the Adult is the only one that can't say NO. And so is the only one that doesn't have freedom because it is the adult and once you become an adult you can't become a child again.
What America is doing to the world isn't Justice. They cry terrorist, but the terrorists don't pose much of a threat. They might be able to kill a few thousand people here and there, but that is all.
One of the things the UK government has always said when faced with the threat of the IRA is that, whatever happens, go about your normal business.
Now if you look at what America is doing, by declaring war on countries to protect itself you might see a superpower trying to protect itself, but I see a country desperate for a cause to exist. I see a country that is looking for a purpose to exist. And one that is willing to declare war. An act that is so reckless that is kills more people in the crossfire than the sum of that, which is actually fighting it (also note that this isn't a war between nations, but a war between politicians).
Today I read about Colin Powell stepping down. And I read about how America will now take a tougher stance against terror. What is that supposed to mean!? Are they going to use nukes now!? Or are they going to declare war on more countries!?
North Korea will be next, but where does it end?
2.5/5
One of the interesting things about the film is that it is incredibly relevant the current political state in the world.
It basically compares America to an adult and all other nations as children. If one of the children falls out of line and does something the adult doesn't like, then the child gets punished.
The point the film makes about this situation is that if any of the children says NO, then America will destroy that child, but the irony is that the Adult is the only one that can't say NO. And so is the only one that doesn't have freedom because it is the adult and once you become an adult you can't become a child again.
What America is doing to the world isn't Justice. They cry terrorist, but the terrorists don't pose much of a threat. They might be able to kill a few thousand people here and there, but that is all.
One of the things the UK government has always said when faced with the threat of the IRA is that, whatever happens, go about your normal business.
Now if you look at what America is doing, by declaring war on countries to protect itself you might see a superpower trying to protect itself, but I see a country desperate for a cause to exist. I see a country that is looking for a purpose to exist. And one that is willing to declare war. An act that is so reckless that is kills more people in the crossfire than the sum of that, which is actually fighting it (also note that this isn't a war between nations, but a war between politicians).
Today I read about Colin Powell stepping down. And I read about how America will now take a tougher stance against terror. What is that supposed to mean!? Are they going to use nukes now!? Or are they going to declare war on more countries!?
North Korea will be next, but where does it end?
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Halo 2 Ending Update
Two days ago I Posted about the Halo 2 ending, but it Now Turns-out that at the very end the game's credits it says "Coming February 9th."
This only appears if you complete the game on legendary, but there is speculation that this could be Halo 3 or even a downloadable expansion.
This only appears if you complete the game on legendary, but there is speculation that this could be Halo 3 or even a downloadable expansion.
Half Life 2 Play Requirements
Andrew at uni has his copy of HL2 already and it turns-out that if you buy the DVD at retail (I can only assume this is the same with other backwater countries that are still using CDs) you first have to have an internet connection to register the game with a valid STEAM account. And even after that, you have to keep the disc in the drive when you play (ye, I know).
Obviously the same security requirement (disc being in drive) isn't there if you purchased the game over STEAM. So it makes me wonder wither that would have been worth the extra £5.
Obviously the same security requirement (disc being in drive) isn't there if you purchased the game over STEAM. So it makes me wonder wither that would have been worth the extra £5.
Half Life 2 Shipped
My copy of HL2 has shipped by good-old Royal Mail, today. So I will either get it tomorrow or Thursday.
Either way this is good news.
Either way this is good news.
Half Life 2 Out And Playable
Got an Amazon delivery this morning, but it was some CDs my Dad bought.
Monday, November 15, 2004
My Copy Of Half Life 2
In an effort to get HL2 as cheaply as possible I have purchased it from Amazoon, but because I placed the order yesterday I have a projected delivery date of Wednesday. That's a whole day after the release date.
I could cancel the order and buy it at retail tomorrow, but that would cost me an extra £5. And I specifically didn't buy it from STEAM because of that. So don't go all expecting my initial thoughts tomorrow.
I could cancel the order and buy it at retail tomorrow, but that would cost me an extra £5. And I specifically didn't buy it from STEAM because of that. So don't go all expecting my initial thoughts tomorrow.
Doom 3 Running On A Voodoo 2
Someone has managed to get a Voodoo 2 to run Doom 3.
I don't know why anybody would want to do this, but they have.
I don't know why anybody would want to do this, but they have.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Something Bad About The Halo 2 Ending
ICESPIDE says:
just finished halo 2 and for what? the worst ending in the history of video games. what a huge tease. really pisses me off. of course i didn't throw it away, it still kicks ass on XBox live. I hate it when developers end games horribly just to garauntee a halo 3. ughI have no idea, but considering the big plot holes in the first one I can only imagine it to be a very bad thing i.e unresolved assault on Earth.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
It's Amazing
While reading about The 1st and only... Internet Christian Network Access Point - CNAPsm which offers Cristian organisations large scale internet services. I notice that even though they are a Christian focused organisation, they offer technical support seven days a week!
Can you imagine the ethical dilemma their employees must be facing when they are asked to work on a Sunday?! It's just horrifying.
Can you imagine the ethical dilemma their employees must be facing when they are asked to work on a Sunday?! It's just horrifying.
Gabe Tells All (Half Life 2)
GameSpot has an great article chronicling the development of Half Life 2.
Gabe himself has put input-in, so it's a good read.
Here is the prelude:
Gabe himself has put input-in, so it's a good read.
Here is the prelude:
Now, for the first time, the team at Valve opens up about its journey in stunning detail. No question was off limits: From the missed release date to the code theft to the lawsuit with Vivendi, you'll hear directly from Valve about what really happened. And you'll find out about other struggles that have never before been revealed to the public. Ultimately, this is a story about sacrifice. A story about how 84 passionate gamers gave up nearly everything over five years to create what Newell believes is the best first-person shooter ever created.
This is the story behind the making of Half-Life 2.
Friday, November 12, 2004
It's Amazing
I was eating a packet of salt & Shake crisps (yes I know, how the hell can anybody like such a tragic snack) AND GET THIS! I got two salt packets!!!
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Big Corporations Suck
It's odd how two news stories both blamming big companies appear on exactly the someday. And they are both to do with the human treatment of programmers.
The First Story is about how WinAmp only has three people working on it.
Employee cutbacks are sometimes necessary, but this will hurt Nullsoft.
And the Second story is about how publishers are taking advantage of the droves of people wanting to be in the gaming industry.
The fact is that the IT specialist hole is now flooded, and it is going to be sometime before things work out. I am lucky because I specialise in so many areas of IT and business that I can transfer my skills to whatever I like, but there are still droves of people going into specialist areas of web design and 3D games programming that only has one perspective area of the industry.
The First Story is about how WinAmp only has three people working on it.
Employee cutbacks are sometimes necessary, but this will hurt Nullsoft.
And the Second story is about how publishers are taking advantage of the droves of people wanting to be in the gaming industry.
The fact is that the IT specialist hole is now flooded, and it is going to be sometime before things work out. I am lucky because I specialise in so many areas of IT and business that I can transfer my skills to whatever I like, but there are still droves of people going into specialist areas of web design and 3D games programming that only has one perspective area of the industry.
MUST WORK MUST WORK
It's 2am and I am just over half way through this stupid Expert Systems assignment. And I have a test tomorrow! Which I hopefully prepared for, but this stupid assignment, ARG!
MUST WORK MUST WORK
I did read an interesting article a few moments ago about Structured Procrastination and how creating a list of things to do can actually make you look like you are achieving something.
MUST WORK MUST WORK
MUST WORK MUST WORK
I did read an interesting article a few moments ago about Structured Procrastination and how creating a list of things to do can actually make you look like you are achieving something.
MUST WORK MUST WORK
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
STEAM More Expensive Than I thought
Turns out that to buy HL2 over STEAM in the UK you have to add $8.74 tax. And that's a fiver!
Sorry Mr STEAM, but I refuse to pay your extortionate prices.
Looks like I will be buying it from Amazon after all then.
Sorry Mr STEAM, but I refuse to pay your extortionate prices.
Looks like I will be buying it from Amazon after all then.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Half Life 2 Keeps Getting Cheaper And Cheaper
Yesterday I Posted about how HL2 was actually getting cheaper on STEAM as the American economy does worse (or maybe Sterling is doing better *shrugs*), but either way HL2 over steam has just dropped another 3p since yesterday so now it's 11p cheaper over STEAM!
At it's current rate, by launch day, I estimate HL2 will be 32p cheaper, over STEAM than Amazon (for UK purchasers at least).
At it's current rate, by launch day, I estimate HL2 will be 32p cheaper, over STEAM than Amazon (for UK purchasers at least).
Halo 2 Revews
Today has had posted many a Halo 2 review, but I only bothered with the IGN Video Review. Basically they say 'it's the best XBox game' and I think at this point in the year and looking at all the positive reviews, Game Of The Year, this year is going to be a tossup between Half Life 2 and Halo 2.
I didn't like the original Halo because firstly I am not a console gamer so obviously I spent the whole seven hours it took to complete it screaming for a mouse and complaining about the controls. There are loads of other things i didn't like too, like the partially zoomed in camera that produced a very tight field of view. The plot holes in the story:
I honestly didn't have a very good experience. Even the first three levels infuriated me because it wasn't until after these that I realised how to pilot the Warthog (not in-game instructions or any mention in the manual so you have to work it out for yourself).
I digress anyway, Halo 2 has supposedly fixed all these faults and has an involving story to boot. All the reviews are positive, the multiplayer has been expanded to include a cut-down version of Assault where you have to plant a bomb in the other teams base, and the multiplayer in general has been beefed up.
If you want an FPS for your XBox buy Halo 2,if you haven't played the original, don't bother, just buy Halo 2. That's the impression I get from the reviews at least. Out in America now, out in the UK Thursday, no idea about anywhere else.
I didn't like the original Halo because firstly I am not a console gamer so obviously I spent the whole seven hours it took to complete it screaming for a mouse and complaining about the controls. There are loads of other things i didn't like too, like the partially zoomed in camera that produced a very tight field of view. The plot holes in the story:
- How does Halo act as a weapon (sorry, but "it's a weapon" didn't cut it with me).
- Why are the Humans at war with the Covenant.
- What is The Flood exactly anyway.
- Why does the flood have to be so mind bogglingly floody.
- Why do you only get to kill soldiers and not any big bosses at the end of levels.
- And who is this Master Chef guy anyway!? (Intentional poor spelling)
I honestly didn't have a very good experience. Even the first three levels infuriated me because it wasn't until after these that I realised how to pilot the Warthog (not in-game instructions or any mention in the manual so you have to work it out for yourself).
I digress anyway, Halo 2 has supposedly fixed all these faults and has an involving story to boot. All the reviews are positive, the multiplayer has been expanded to include a cut-down version of Assault where you have to plant a bomb in the other teams base, and the multiplayer in general has been beefed up.
If you want an FPS for your XBox buy Halo 2,if you haven't played the original, don't bother, just buy Halo 2. That's the impression I get from the reviews at least. Out in America now, out in the UK Thursday, no idea about anywhere else.
Thoughts On World Of Warcraft
Ok the game gives you access to a few sides and professions which is nice. I chose an undead Warlock as my character because I like to give Magic characters a go every so often and on the splendid intro it has a Warlock commanding a huge undead stone thingy. So I wanted one of those (I don't think you can actually get one of those now, but then I have only been playing for a few days and this is based purely on looking at the skill tree).
The game is filled with quests. Literally you will spend most of your time completing quests. These range from killing a specific number of something (wolves, bats, greater bats etc), to collecting items from dead foes (i.e. you kill a bat and you take a fang and you need five fangs to complete the quest) and the good old messenger / delivery boy quests. Other than these basic types I have had one where I had to use one of the transit systems (buy a ticket to ride on a bat).
The quests all have backstories and after completing one quest you will usually be given another one that follows the story of the previous. This is good because it pushes you to explore the world and with WOW making it so easy to form groups (right click and select invite) short term group quests are kind of fun, but there isn't really any community interaction as I can see, but then I grew out of IRC back in 1995. So just standing around typing 'lol', and 'A/S/L' for hours at a time with general light chatting to AFGCAPs (strangers) isn't my idea of fun anymore.
One of the long standing problems with RPGing is that once you get a quest you have to find the quest area. Most RPGs in recent times have had compasses to the questing area, but WOW does something that I haven't seen before. It gives you a map, ye, and.. Good directions! I know it sounds stupid, but I have played many RPGs now and WOW does this the best. All the towns are signposted and the global map has all the landmarks on (once explored) so you can almost always find what you are looking for.
There is a nice selection of courses and spells, plenty of items. Lots to buy whatever your level. For once I didn't find myself having supply problems which made a nice change and the games areas are kind of split to accommodate players of different leveling brackets. So you start in an area with weak puny bats then after a while you will get a quest to go to another area. By which stage you have leveled up somewhat and can cope with the higherlevel bats in the new area.
The game is constructed well and the graphics although not amazing do have a nice styling to them. Plus the interface is kind of nice once you have gotten used to the unique mouse control's.
When the beta is over I won't be buying WOW because I like games I can complete, and even if WOW has an end it will take you possibly months of playing to get there. So probably a good thing for anyone that is into MMOs then.
The game is filled with quests. Literally you will spend most of your time completing quests. These range from killing a specific number of something (wolves, bats, greater bats etc), to collecting items from dead foes (i.e. you kill a bat and you take a fang and you need five fangs to complete the quest) and the good old messenger / delivery boy quests. Other than these basic types I have had one where I had to use one of the transit systems (buy a ticket to ride on a bat).
The quests all have backstories and after completing one quest you will usually be given another one that follows the story of the previous. This is good because it pushes you to explore the world and with WOW making it so easy to form groups (right click and select invite) short term group quests are kind of fun, but there isn't really any community interaction as I can see, but then I grew out of IRC back in 1995. So just standing around typing 'lol', and 'A/S/L' for hours at a time with general light chatting to AFGCAPs (strangers) isn't my idea of fun anymore.
One of the long standing problems with RPGing is that once you get a quest you have to find the quest area. Most RPGs in recent times have had compasses to the questing area, but WOW does something that I haven't seen before. It gives you a map, ye, and.. Good directions! I know it sounds stupid, but I have played many RPGs now and WOW does this the best. All the towns are signposted and the global map has all the landmarks on (once explored) so you can almost always find what you are looking for.
There is a nice selection of courses and spells, plenty of items. Lots to buy whatever your level. For once I didn't find myself having supply problems which made a nice change and the games areas are kind of split to accommodate players of different leveling brackets. So you start in an area with weak puny bats then after a while you will get a quest to go to another area. By which stage you have leveled up somewhat and can cope with the higherlevel bats in the new area.
The game is constructed well and the graphics although not amazing do have a nice styling to them. Plus the interface is kind of nice once you have gotten used to the unique mouse control's.
When the beta is over I won't be buying WOW because I like games I can complete, and even if WOW has an end it will take you possibly months of playing to get there. So probably a good thing for anyone that is into MMOs then.
Blogging From Uni
I turned up at 9 this morning hoping to get some work done, and I have, but now all the computing labs are full and I am stuck in the library with no way to access my work or even to achieve anything productive. So here I am. Level 3 computer Q6027 if anyone is interested.
I might start writing a post on World Of Warcraft or something now because there is absolutely nothing else I can do without access to my USB drive. Which the library in it's infinite wisdom has seen fit to lockout.
I might start writing a post on World Of Warcraft or something now because there is absolutely nothing else I can do without access to my USB drive. Which the library in it's infinite wisdom has seen fit to lockout.
Valve Does Something Right For A Change
That new Backup Feature in STEAM is actually very nicely put together. It creates an EXE file, or even many EXE files depending on the size of your medium. And allows you to move that content to a system without a copy of that game, and then to give that content to the system cleanly and easily.
I haven't gone through the whole proses myself, but from just messing around on my own system it appears to be exactly what the fans where asking for. Personally I have my Phat Pipe so I don't think I will use it, but a good effort.
An improvement would be allowing the user to specify the exact size of the partitions instead of choosing between CD size or DVD, but then maybe that would be pushing the guys at valve too far.
I haven't gone through the whole proses myself, but from just messing around on my own system it appears to be exactly what the fans where asking for. Personally I have my Phat Pipe so I don't think I will use it, but a good effort.
An improvement would be allowing the user to specify the exact size of the partitions instead of choosing between CD size or DVD, but then maybe that would be pushing the guys at valve too far.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Half Life 2 Overpriced Continued!
This time last month I did A Post about HL2 actually costing more digitally over steam (£1.01 more expensive to be precise), but since then Bush has gotten re-elected and the American economy has continued to fall. And as a result HL2 is now £0.08 cheaper over STEAM, YES!
So with eight days still to go before launch, it will be interesting to see how much HL2 will actually ends up costing.
So with eight days still to go before launch, it will be interesting to see how much HL2 will actually ends up costing.
World Of Warcraft And The Soul Stealers
I just finished pimping out my Pet and now he is a void thing. Still got my Imp, but I am not using him at the mo because he isn't as strong as my void beast. Something interesting is that to cunjor the void beast I have to use a soul shard. Now to collect a soul shard I have to cast a spell on my enemies at the moment of their death, and in doing that I catch their soul in a chrystal shard which I can then use to create my pet or to self-resurrect when I die.
Ok I admit it, WOW is growing on me, but I still don't like exploring a new area and getting killed by the first thing I see.
Ok I admit it, WOW is growing on me, but I still don't like exploring a new area and getting killed by the first thing I see.
World Of Warcraft Restart
All the WOW servers are still down.
Edit: Common it's been over an hour now. (0:04am)
Edit: I suppose they are doing a little more than just pushing the reset button then. (1:11am)
Edit: Well it looks like the servers are coming back online, finally. Now I just have to wait for my world server to be there and I can upgrade my Imp.
Edit: Common it's been over an hour now. (0:04am)
Edit: I suppose they are doing a little more than just pushing the reset button then. (1:11am)
Edit: Well it looks like the servers are coming back online, finally. Now I just have to wait for my world server to be there and I can upgrade my Imp.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
When World Of Warcraft Updates
I have been playing WOW most of day and one of the questions I have always had is 'what happens when MMO games update?'
Well Now I know.
Yep, they chuck everybody off the server. Personally I was just about to get my Imp (evil minion) upgraded, but this whole update thing is very disorientating. And at the time I actually thought the client was crashing.
Well Now I know.
Yep, they chuck everybody off the server. Personally I was just about to get my Imp (evil minion) upgraded, but this whole update thing is very disorientating. And at the time I actually thought the client was crashing.
Image Host
I managed to get a fairly good image host at last.
Normally I use Image Magician, but I have to pay for that and since I want to use lots of images, that simply isn't going to cut it.
So I asked my good friend Google, and he gave me Image Shack. Which allows me to upload images upto 1MB in size, and will keep them on their server as long as the images have been accessed in the past year.
Normally I use Image Magician, but I have to pay for that and since I want to use lots of images, that simply isn't going to cut it.
So I asked my good friend Google, and he gave me Image Shack. Which allows me to upload images upto 1MB in size, and will keep them on their server as long as the images have been accessed in the past year.
Saturday, November 06, 2004
World Of Warcraft
I have been playing WOW for a few days now and I still don't know wither it's good or not. On one hand I am having fun just running round completing the various quests, but on the other, that's all I am doing.
So it's possible the game would have been better as a singleplayer experience. Like the ill fated Earth And Beyond that I also beta tested.
So it's possible the game would have been better as a singleplayer experience. Like the ill fated Earth And Beyond that I also beta tested.
Friday, November 05, 2004
Did God Goof When He Made People Gay!?
Quite an Interesting Short Article on selective reading by the Christian community.
He references this at one point:
The Bible is a boring and difficult read, that is so open to interpretation, it is an unreliable source for information, for both referencing and the basis of a belief system.
He references this at one point:
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. (Leviticus 19:19)This is saying it's wrong to make clothing out of mixed fibbers, just as it is wrong to keep animals of different species together on a farm. And yet you don't get Christians crying from the rooftops about clothes with mixed fibbers.
The Bible is a boring and difficult read, that is so open to interpretation, it is an unreliable source for information, for both referencing and the basis of a belief system.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
PSP's Official Battery Life, Confirmed As Bloated
Apparently someone at Sony is admitting that the PSP will only do about two hours before it needs it's battery changing.
That sounds bad and it is because I play games four to eight hours at a time. So something like this would infuriate me immensely.
When people where saying they couldn't imagine people using one on the bus, I assumed that would be because we are all used to seeing the Game Boy, not because of a technical limitation, but the best bit is this:
Maybe some of the smaller developers and EA will, but common!
That sounds bad and it is because I play games four to eight hours at a time. So something like this would infuriate me immensely.
When people where saying they couldn't imagine people using one on the bus, I assumed that would be because we are all used to seeing the Game Boy, not because of a technical limitation, but the best bit is this:
However, he stopped short of saying that the company plans to upgrade the battery technology in future revisions of the PSP, instead focusing on the possibility that developers will find ways to optimise their games to use the battery life more efficiently.lol, and pigs fly!
Maybe some of the smaller developers and EA will, but common!
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Looks Like Bush Won
So what happens now.
- Bush will air-bomb cities in Iraq claiming that they where filled with militants.
- Bush will dispatch his personal army to Iran.
- Stem-cell research will be banned in America. And I don't think they understand the potential for this research. They must just be thinking of the unborn kids, but there are other places to get stem cells now so the issue should be over, but it's not.
- Same sex marriages will become illegal and so lots of people's marital unions will be declared as unlawful (land of the free my ass).
- The American economy will get into an even worse state than it is already in now because of the cost of war and the continuing poor management (that's good for me because it's now cheaper for me to import books from Amazon.com than Amazon.co.uk).
- Aids will continue to boom because of the lack of Condom and safe sex promotion in schools (the US will become a nation of barebacking HIV carrying idiots because people enjoy sex too much and it's not accepted to use a Condom).
- Unemployment will continue to rise.
- The average hourly wage in America will continue to fall.
- The US pharmaceutical industry will get richer because of the closed market they control and will be forced to develop new stem-cell benefited research outside of the US.
Just Noticed Something (US Elections)
Posting from Uni and I haven't watched the news today yet, but looking at the BBC's Election Coverage Program. Every state has voted exactly the same as it did last-time, except the ones that haven't announced their vote yet and New Hampshire witch only has 4 electoral votes, but it's looking like Kerry has won simply because all the other states are voting the same as they did four years ago.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
And So It Begins (US Elections)
The seven hour coverage of the US election has just started on BBC1 and I honestly don't think the BBC even gave four hours for our last general election, but then that's completely understandable when you consider on one hand you have World War 3, and on the other a stronger more globally responsible and integrated America.
Myst IV Revelation 1.01 Patch
Ø Radeon 7000-7500 fixes random square all over spire (workaround around an ATI driver bug).
Ø Timing of the frequency lock puzzle (spire) tweaked to be less time sensitive.
Ø Timing of the Camoudile puzzle is tweaked to be less time sensitive.
Ø Fixes a mismatch when resetting the Camoudile puzzle.
Ø Fixes a random crash when resetting the Camoudile puzzle.
Ø Version number of the game is now displayed on the bottom left of the main menu.
Ø Size of the save game will be lowered after taking a lot of pictures.
So they have fixed the two most show stopping puzzles in the game, Hazaa!
Still Downloading World Of Warcraft
The finished download, is corrupt, so I have to start the whole download process again.
World Of Warcraft Is Big
Even for an MMO 2.5GB is a large install file.
And it's going to take me six hours to get it.
And it's going to take me six hours to get it.
Beta Keys
Turns out I will be emailed a World Of Warcraft key when the servers are ready, but FilePlanet has a new Betakey History Page where you can view all the keys you have been sent.
A Tale in the Desert Subs (Boring)
Anarchy-Online: Shadowlands (Crap)
Armed & Dangerous (Crap)
Armies of Exigo Beta (Can't remember = Crap)
Chrome Beta (Crap)
Chrome Demo (Crap)
Command & Conquer (TM) Generals Multiplayer Sneak Peek (Most unbalanced game I have ever played (be the US and win))
Contract J.A.C.K. MP Beta Test (Only played one game)
Earth and Beyond (Crap, would have made a better singleplayer game)
Fighter Ace Trial (I think I liked this)
Freelancer Trial (Good, much better than the full game)
Kuma War Beta (Crap)
Line of Sight: Vietnam (Crap)
Midnight Club II Demo (Crap, but then I never did like driving games)
Once Upon a Knight Demo (Can't remember)
PlanetSide Beta (Very good, but ultimatly pointless as you can't win or loose)
PlanetSide Trial
PlanetSide Trial 2
Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown Demo (I liked, but everybody else said it was crap)
Ryzom (I only played for 30 seconds)
Secret Weapons Over Normandy (Didn't get on with at all)
Star Wars Galaxies Trial (Crap)
The Matrix Online Beta (NDA)
Tribes 2 (Crap)
Tribes: Vengeance Closed Beta (Laggy)
Ultimate Baseball Online (Didn't get on with at all)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Contest (Good)
Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War Closed (Good)
A Tale in the Desert Subs (Boring)
Anarchy-Online: Shadowlands (Crap)
Armed & Dangerous (Crap)
Armies of Exigo Beta (Can't remember = Crap)
Chrome Beta (Crap)
Chrome Demo (Crap)
Command & Conquer (TM) Generals Multiplayer Sneak Peek (Most unbalanced game I have ever played (be the US and win))
Contract J.A.C.K. MP Beta Test (Only played one game)
Earth and Beyond (Crap, would have made a better singleplayer game)
Fighter Ace Trial (I think I liked this)
Freelancer Trial (Good, much better than the full game)
Kuma War Beta (Crap)
Line of Sight: Vietnam (Crap)
Midnight Club II Demo (Crap, but then I never did like driving games)
Once Upon a Knight Demo (Can't remember)
PlanetSide Beta (Very good, but ultimatly pointless as you can't win or loose)
PlanetSide Trial
PlanetSide Trial 2
Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown Demo (I liked, but everybody else said it was crap)
Ryzom (I only played for 30 seconds)
Secret Weapons Over Normandy (Didn't get on with at all)
Star Wars Galaxies Trial (Crap)
The Matrix Online Beta (NDA)
Tribes 2 (Crap)
Tribes: Vengeance Closed Beta (Laggy)
Ultimate Baseball Online (Didn't get on with at all)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Contest (Good)
Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War Closed (Good)
Monday, November 01, 2004
John Kerry Storms To Victory In Virtual Vote
A a world nation We Hate Bush because Kerry won in a landslide 77% of the vote victory and Bush only got 9.1% of the votes. Lol, even Nader got more than that and I don't even know what he looks like.
Yet when Americans are asked about this, they just say "We don't give a shit what they think." Maybe eating Buffalo meat has corrupted their brains, I don't know.
Yet when Americans are asked about this, they just say "We don't give a shit what they think." Maybe eating Buffalo meat has corrupted their brains, I don't know.
Copyright Is Terrorism
Not according to the FBI it isn't.
Terrorism
The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
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