I'm still hoping that (somehow) Durandal is the ancient, powerful AI on the ark at the end of Halo 2. That perhaps its the Jjaro dreadnaught that he captured at the end of MI, and that galactic civilization has fallen, and then risen again since then. Durandal manipulating newly formed alien races into a religious covenant to find the remains of humanity (they were apparently seeking Earth) wouldn't be too far-fetched for me.
Rocket Jockey was very finished. It was an absolutely incredible game, too, with an awesome surf-guitar soundtrack. There are only 2 difficulties here: 1) I can't find my CD (though I surely still have it), and 2) if I remember correctly, it depends upon some very old DirectX stuff that won't run anymore. That was just about my favorite game from '95-'96 (somewhere in then).
SMAC runs slowly on something? I used to play that fine on an awful K6-2 laptop with a 2MB video card. In Windows. At the same speed as on a good modern computer.
I dunno, the Dreamcast had fairly effortless multiplayer, although not that many online games. Alien Front Online was awesome (I still prefer it to the similar Mech Assault, and would love a sequel).
I've seen Gamestop re-shrinkwrap the old display games (the copies of a new release that they put up on the wall without cds, the cds are in sleeves at the counter) after they come off display, but I've yet to see them re-shrinkwrap an actual used game. The shrinkwrap they use is nothing like the real stuff, and pretty easy to spot though.
PS2 seems to have a decent number of scrolling shooters, though I'm sorta disappointed by the lack of any from Capcom. Of course, I've got a few of those (and Ikaruga) on the Dreamcast still. You might want to check out Gradius V, it was actually a joint Konami/Treasure game, and there's a lot of Ikaruga style in it, so far as coloring, enemy ship formations, pacing, etc. They've done some incredible things with the 'option' side-ships.
Re:Talking out both sides of out mouths.
on
Pepping Up Windows
·
· Score: 1
You're 100% correct on that... its actually my default viewer for everything. I somehow never realized that I could paste into it (its never something I just run, I always just open things with it). Greatest image viewer/lite image manipulator ever made.
If you can find a used PS2 that was disposed of due to a bad controller port, they're incredibly easy to fix (say 10 minutes). The new controller port part for them is $20, but some of them don't even need it, the connection prongs just slowly work their way too far back to connect. I got my 'broken' PS2 free and had it up and running in no time, without even knowing what I was doing. Speaking of PS2, I might have to get this, it looks cool.
Since the US government is MS's largest client, I suspect that MS would hack OpenDoc support into Office (and probably do a decent job of it) if the government ever mandated that. I don't think a state government could change their stance, but I'd be willing to bet that the federal government could. MS is fairly responsive to client requirements on contracts that large.
SoF2 is just about the best semi-realistic FPS ever made. A bunch of my friends at college used to play what we called 'death house' on the randomly generated multiplayer maps. We would all converge on whichever building was closest to the center of the map, and the point of the game was to hold the building for the most time possible until the kill limit ran out, while everyone else assaulted it and tried to take it back. It was a shame that none of us knew how to code a mod so that the game could 'officially' tally total time in (or in a certain close radius to) the 'death house'. As it was, we just kind of played it to play it. Some of the later maps that Raven released (along with the Sig rifle) and some of the user-made maps were awesome too, but something about the random ones was just always interesting. You could get some strange output out of it too, with certain input strings. I don't have any on me, but we found one that made buildings float in the air, and one that made almost the entire map flooded with about 2 feet of water, with tall grass sticking out of it.
The one 'Power Toy' that puts small screenshots in the alt-tab menu (which sounds like a great idea) causes all sorts of graphics problems and grief. I was most disappointed with it, though I'd love to see it done right.
Re:Talking out both sides of out mouths.
on
Pepping Up Windows
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Yea, in many people's minds MS just immutably damned... what they actually do or don't do doesn't really affect their damnation.
Maybe they could make everyone happy by dropping their half-assed small apps and supporting some FOSS apps in Windows by default. It would be awesome to install Windows 2000 or XP and have the option to install GIMP, VLC, Crimson Editor, a better console, and a decent FTP client preloaded. OpenOffice would be nice too, but since MS-Office is big business, I could understand that being left out.
Actually, some of those small apps still do have roles... for instance, Paint vs. Gimp. Paint is perhaps 1% of Gimp, but Paint also opens almost instantly, and is perfect for dumping printscreens or copied bit of graphics (if only it had better save options). Notepad is similarly useful for dropping bits of text for later use, without firing up a larger, slower, ram-eating word processor. I don't really use either as an application to do work in, but I use them incessantly as buffers between other applications or documents.
They're sort of like pockets. My pockets don't get any work done for me, but if I'm out in the shed to find some bolts I need for the car, I can cram the bolts in my pockets, walk out front to the car, and proceed to completely mangle the car since I'm an awful mechanic. The pockets got the bolts there so I wouldn't need to take the car directly to them.
Eh, some of these URLs might not be right since they're from memory, but my recommendations would be:
First, I second Starscape, Gish, and Fate, they're all good.
And some new ones:
Alien Shooter http://www.sigma-team.net/ - The most incredible isometric shooter ever made. Star Monkey http://www.smallrockets.com/ - A great (though very short) vertical scrolling shooter. Ultra Assualt, from the same company, is also very good, and longer. I just prefer Star Monkey for some reason. Zombie Smashers X2 http://zsx2.totallyscrewed.net/ - The most incredible side-scrolling beat-em-up ever made. Lux http://www.sillysoft.com/ - An excellent online or offline Risk game, which allows the Risk ruleset to be applied to user created maps, and also allows for large scale scenarios which would be extremely difficult using a traditional board. Has a good following, and some excellent map makers. Demonstar: Secret Missions 1 http://www.mking.com/ - The best of the 3 Demonstar games (SM2 is also good). A good vertical scrolling shooter blatantly inspired by the Raiden arcade series. I've been hoping for a modernized sequel (either higher-res sprites or polygonned), but I think Mountain King has sort of stopped making games.
And, the best for last:
Jets n' Guns http://www.rakeingrass.com/ - The greatest shooter of any kind since Tyrian, and arguably better than Tyrian.
If you're interested in some of these, I'd recommend Jets n' Guns first, then Starscape, then Zombie Smashers X2, then Alien Shooter, and definitely Lux if you like Risk.
If I've only got one hand free, I usually do. The juice from the peels makes my tongue all numb and tingly though. They're another good example of something that, to be operated well, takes one hand to hold while the other operates.
Of course, it would be awesome to say, stare at the banana and use my mind to make it peel itself, but my species isn't really known for that either.
I've had an Xbox since day one, with no trouble, and love it, but even I can't understand all the 360 hype (nor the PS3 hype for that matter). There's really nothing terribly appealing in either company's launch lineup, and there's already a terrific stock of games for either company's existing system. I just got a PS2 a few weeks ago (a friend gave me a 'broken' one and bought a new slim one), and I've been having a blast playing R-Type Final and Gradius V. There are other games, that have been out for years on PS2 and/or Xbox, that I haven't had a chance to play, and that look more appealing that anything announced for the new launches. So I dunno... where is the real appeal (and the reason for the rabid hype and anticipation) for these new, still-unreleased, systems?
I once tried to convince my boss to put Typing of the Dead in the middle and high school typing labs here... he wouldn't have any of it, of course, but I had to try.
Ipods have never been designed for the pocket... its my main problem with them (and the reason I never bought another after mine died). The touch sensitive controls and interface that requires one hand to hold while the other operates make their devices impossible to operate without taking out of the pocket and staring at them. For an excellent pocketable interface, look at an old Rio 500. The buttons have different shapes, have a good tactile press about them, and are hard to push accidentally, even if its in your pocket with your wallet or knife or whatnot.
What I will say for the Ipod though, is that its the finest thing ever made to leave in your car for music. Its weird though... I've had an mp3 player around since the first Rio, but now that the Ipod died I've not replaced it; I've been walking about with no portable music, and I feel better than before. Though I can't get that song about a desert and a horse with no name out of my head... maybe that was the reason I started listening to other music all the time anyway?
House of the Dead 2 sold a lot of lightguns for the Dreamcast (though the best lightgun game on it was Confidential Mission, I think). There was also some cop game on the Genesis that came with a revolver-styled lightgun, which was very good as well... but I can't think of its name. I think it was from Konami.
Slashdot Mirror
A long bit of game time? I beat it in a day, though I did go back to it a bit later to find the other endings.
Now Riven, that one had far more obtuse puzzles and more game time. Never played any of the later ones.
I'm still hoping that (somehow) Durandal is the ancient, powerful AI on the ark at the end of Halo 2. That perhaps its the Jjaro dreadnaught that he captured at the end of MI, and that galactic civilization has fallen, and then risen again since then. Durandal manipulating newly formed alien races into a religious covenant to find the remains of humanity (they were apparently seeking Earth) wouldn't be too far-fetched for me.
Rocket Jockey was very finished. It was an absolutely incredible game, too, with an awesome surf-guitar soundtrack. There are only 2 difficulties here: 1) I can't find my CD (though I surely still have it), and 2) if I remember correctly, it depends upon some very old DirectX stuff that won't run anymore. That was just about my favorite game from '95-'96 (somewhere in then).
SMAC runs slowly on something? I used to play that fine on an awful K6-2 laptop with a 2MB video card. In Windows. At the same speed as on a good modern computer.
I dunno, the Dreamcast had fairly effortless multiplayer, although not that many online games. Alien Front Online was awesome (I still prefer it to the similar Mech Assault, and would love a sequel).
I've seen Gamestop re-shrinkwrap the old display games (the copies of a new release that they put up on the wall without cds, the cds are in sleeves at the counter) after they come off display, but I've yet to see them re-shrinkwrap an actual used game. The shrinkwrap they use is nothing like the real stuff, and pretty easy to spot though.
PS2 seems to have a decent number of scrolling shooters, though I'm sorta disappointed by the lack of any from Capcom. Of course, I've got a few of those (and Ikaruga) on the Dreamcast still. You might want to check out Gradius V, it was actually a joint Konami/Treasure game, and there's a lot of Ikaruga style in it, so far as coloring, enemy ship formations, pacing, etc. They've done some incredible things with the 'option' side-ships.
You're 100% correct on that... its actually my default viewer for everything. I somehow never realized that I could paste into it (its never something I just run, I always just open things with it). Greatest image viewer/lite image manipulator ever made.
If you can find a used PS2 that was disposed of due to a bad controller port, they're incredibly easy to fix (say 10 minutes). The new controller port part for them is $20, but some of them don't even need it, the connection prongs just slowly work their way too far back to connect. I got my 'broken' PS2 free and had it up and running in no time, without even knowing what I was doing. Speaking of PS2, I might have to get this, it looks cool.
Since the US government is MS's largest client, I suspect that MS would hack OpenDoc support into Office (and probably do a decent job of it) if the government ever mandated that. I don't think a state government could change their stance, but I'd be willing to bet that the federal government could. MS is fairly responsive to client requirements on contracts that large.
SoF2 is just about the best semi-realistic FPS ever made. A bunch of my friends at college used to play what we called 'death house' on the randomly generated multiplayer maps. We would all converge on whichever building was closest to the center of the map, and the point of the game was to hold the building for the most time possible until the kill limit ran out, while everyone else assaulted it and tried to take it back. It was a shame that none of us knew how to code a mod so that the game could 'officially' tally total time in (or in a certain close radius to) the 'death house'. As it was, we just kind of played it to play it. Some of the later maps that Raven released (along with the Sig rifle) and some of the user-made maps were awesome too, but something about the random ones was just always interesting. You could get some strange output out of it too, with certain input strings. I don't have any on me, but we found one that made buildings float in the air, and one that made almost the entire map flooded with about 2 feet of water, with tall grass sticking out of it.
The one 'Power Toy' that puts small screenshots in the alt-tab menu (which sounds like a great idea) causes all sorts of graphics problems and grief. I was most disappointed with it, though I'd love to see it done right.
Yea, in many people's minds MS just immutably damned... what they actually do or don't do doesn't really affect their damnation.
Maybe they could make everyone happy by dropping their half-assed small apps and supporting some FOSS apps in Windows by default. It would be awesome to install Windows 2000 or XP and have the option to install GIMP, VLC, Crimson Editor, a better console, and a decent FTP client preloaded. OpenOffice would be nice too, but since MS-Office is big business, I could understand that being left out.
Actually, some of those small apps still do have roles... for instance, Paint vs. Gimp. Paint is perhaps 1% of Gimp, but Paint also opens almost instantly, and is perfect for dumping printscreens or copied bit of graphics (if only it had better save options). Notepad is similarly useful for dropping bits of text for later use, without firing up a larger, slower, ram-eating word processor. I don't really use either as an application to do work in, but I use them incessantly as buffers between other applications or documents.
They're sort of like pockets. My pockets don't get any work done for me, but if I'm out in the shed to find some bolts I need for the car, I can cram the bolts in my pockets, walk out front to the car, and proceed to completely mangle the car since I'm an awful mechanic. The pockets got the bolts there so I wouldn't need to take the car directly to them.
Eh, some of these URLs might not be right since they're from memory, but my recommendations would be:
First, I second Starscape, Gish, and Fate, they're all good.
And some new ones:
Alien Shooter http://www.sigma-team.net/ - The most incredible isometric shooter ever made.
Star Monkey http://www.smallrockets.com/ - A great (though very short) vertical scrolling shooter. Ultra Assualt, from the same company, is also very good, and longer. I just prefer Star Monkey for some reason.
Zombie Smashers X2 http://zsx2.totallyscrewed.net/ - The most incredible side-scrolling beat-em-up ever made.
Lux http://www.sillysoft.com/ - An excellent online or offline Risk game, which allows the Risk ruleset to be applied to user created maps, and also allows for large scale scenarios which would be extremely difficult using a traditional board. Has a good following, and some excellent map makers.
Demonstar: Secret Missions 1 http://www.mking.com/ - The best of the 3 Demonstar games (SM2 is also good). A good vertical scrolling shooter blatantly inspired by the Raiden arcade series. I've been hoping for a modernized sequel (either higher-res sprites or polygonned), but I think Mountain King has sort of stopped making games.
And, the best for last:
Jets n' Guns http://www.rakeingrass.com/ - The greatest shooter of any kind since Tyrian, and arguably better than Tyrian.
If you're interested in some of these, I'd recommend Jets n' Guns first, then Starscape, then Zombie Smashers X2, then Alien Shooter, and definitely Lux if you like Risk.
If I've only got one hand free, I usually do. The juice from the peels makes my tongue all numb and tingly though. They're another good example of something that, to be operated well, takes one hand to hold while the other operates.
Of course, it would be awesome to say, stare at the banana and use my mind to make it peel itself, but my species isn't really known for that either.
No, this means we can finally have Lobster Computer!
I've had an Xbox since day one, with no trouble, and love it, but even I can't understand all the 360 hype (nor the PS3 hype for that matter). There's really nothing terribly appealing in either company's launch lineup, and there's already a terrific stock of games for either company's existing system. I just got a PS2 a few weeks ago (a friend gave me a 'broken' one and bought a new slim one), and I've been having a blast playing R-Type Final and Gradius V. There are other games, that have been out for years on PS2 and/or Xbox, that I haven't had a chance to play, and that look more appealing that anything announced for the new launches. So I dunno... where is the real appeal (and the reason for the rabid hype and anticipation) for these new, still-unreleased, systems?
I once tried to convince my boss to put Typing of the Dead in the middle and high school typing labs here... he wouldn't have any of it, of course, but I had to try.
Ipods have never been designed for the pocket... its my main problem with them (and the reason I never bought another after mine died). The touch sensitive controls and interface that requires one hand to hold while the other operates make their devices impossible to operate without taking out of the pocket and staring at them. For an excellent pocketable interface, look at an old Rio 500. The buttons have different shapes, have a good tactile press about them, and are hard to push accidentally, even if its in your pocket with your wallet or knife or whatnot.
What I will say for the Ipod though, is that its the finest thing ever made to leave in your car for music. Its weird though... I've had an mp3 player around since the first Rio, but now that the Ipod died I've not replaced it; I've been walking about with no portable music, and I feel better than before. Though I can't get that song about a desert and a horse with no name out of my head... maybe that was the reason I started listening to other music all the time anyway?
There's a stigma around white collar employees carrying a lunch? Judging by the fridge, we must all be weird here.
House of the Dead 2 sold a lot of lightguns for the Dreamcast (though the best lightgun game on it was Confidential Mission, I think). There was also some cop game on the Genesis that came with a revolver-styled lightgun, which was very good as well... but I can't think of its name. I think it was from Konami.
Catchier like Ebola, perhaps, but not in any good way.
no no no
Elvis is King
Er, a Dell is a real laptop?
Rabbit made of steel!