T w e n t y S i d e d
The battle continues. Which game will win? Actually, I guess I sort of gave that away back in the first post. Still, let’s go through the motions together.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “GTA IV vs Saints Row 2: Story”
Left 4 Dead Server Update
The feedback I’m getting is that the Twenty Sided Left 4 Dead server is in some way providing people with entertainment. Lacking the ability to play myself, I am at least happy that others are enjoying the game. We have MrTact to thank for that. If you see him in game, do try to keep from shooting him, since he’s paying the rent.
It’s traditional to have a forum to go with a server or a group like this, but my first instinct is that providing one would be poisonous to the community that has arisen here. A forum would take some of the conversation and move it into a walled-off area, and suddenly there would be two “classes” of readers. It could have the side effect of causing the comment threads to wither, and I am keenly aware of the value they add to the site. If anything, I’d like this new thing to add to the site in some way, even for people who never play the game. Barring that, I want to make sure we don’t upset this rare mix of thoughtfulness and civility.
But sometimes you need a way to communicate asynchronously with the group. So perhaps I’ll do a weekly gaming thread. People can say whatever needs to be said about in-game events, or report problems, post their Zoey / Francis romantic fanficion, or whatever. I guess we can consider this post one such thread.
And just to satisfy my curiosity:
What’s your preferred game mode? Normal, Expert, and Versus seem to be three distinct experiences, and I’m curious what the break down is among players. Normal seems to be the most popular, but it may be that’s it’s simply a neutral middle ground between Expert and Versus players.
The New PC
Due to popular demand, I’ll show you my new machine. Be warned, it’s not terribly exciting.
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| Left: The venerable ten year old Dell, now a wise and genteel Linux box. (Ubuntu. It’s still young at heart.) Right:The new unremarkable gray box. |
The machine is this one. Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.4GHz – 4GB DDR2, 250GB SATA HDD.
The last few computer purchases have been Systemax, and I guess it’s only dawned on me now that they have a terrible survival rate. My wife’s Systemax Laptop bricked after 3 years. My previous PC was also a Systemax, and it bricked after 3 years as well. I helped my brother set up a Systemax three years ago, and that one is still in service. (Although it doesn’t see a great deal of use.) I have a favorable impression of the machines because they’re always so nice out of the box. (Not loaded with demos and crap.) If this one doesn’t go the distance it will be our last Systemax.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “The New PC”
TwentySided L4D Server
A reader* was kind enough to rent some server space, so we now have a dedicated Left 4 Dead server for the Twenty Sided group on Steam. This means Twenty Sided members can play together without needing for everyone to add everyone else as a friend, which was quickly becoming an untenable solution. (157 members as of this writing.)
The server should show up in the server list for all members, so you can jump on and know you’re playing with other people from the site. This should keep out the riff-raff. (He said, adjusting his monocle.)
A new graphics card is on order, and as soon as that arrives I’ll be joining in. I tried using my integrated graphics card in L4D yesterday, and:
1) The results were hilariously bad: No lighting. No fog. Abysmal framerates. Graphical artifacting. The smell of brimstone and the sounds of children weeping.
2) So bad, in fact, that I can’t believe it worked at all. Kind of impressive that I got the game to run. Although full-bright no-fog L4D is sort of pointless.
Once I have some civilized hardware in this thing we can resume our zombie-killing adventures. I’ve had a great time playing L4D and Team Fortress 2 with other Twenty Sided members. Maybe I’ll formalize it a bit with a dedicated thread on Friday nights. We’ll see. As always, I have to balance these games against my need to play, review, and lampoon other games on a regular basis.
* I forgot to get permission to print a name or pseudonym. Since the name I have looks like a real one, I don’t want to put it out without permission.
$5 Fan Kills 100 times its value in hardware
My new computer is here and I’m slowly hammering it into some sort of usable shape. I’ve performed an autopsy of the old machine and its accoutrements. The butcher’s bill:
- My power supply.
- Motherboard. (And without the motherboard, I can’t say if the CPU survived. Not that it matters. I’m not going to go shop for a compatible motherboard (a complex task even if the CPU is brand new and you know the exact make, which it isn’t and I don’t) so I’m calling it a loss as well.
- Everything plugged into a USB port. (My wireless Mouse & keyboard set.)
- My video capture card. (Nooooooooo!) That is going to be a nightmare to replace.
- My AGP graphics card is most likely dead, although that’s no big loss as I no longer own an AGP compatible machine.
Silver lining: The hard drive survived. I have backups of the critical data and patchwork backups of the less-critical stuff, but the drive itself is far better.
I’ll post more about the new machine later.
Off-Brand Intel Single-Core 3.0Ghz passed on this weekend as the result of prolonged internal cooling difficulties. It was 3. Services will be held at the Greater Pittsburgh Recycling Center this Thursday. Born in 2006, Off-Brand is survived by a lone Western Digital hard drive.
GTA IV vs. Saints Row: Missions
Let’s look at a couple of typical missions from each of the games:
Grand Theft Auto IV
You (main character Nico Bellic) are working for some crazyman who sends you to kill a member of a biker gang. Like most of the missions in this game, the events here are bound up in the main story arc and the things you do here will have repercussions down the road. The cutscenes are wonderfully executed, with no less strength and drama than you’d find in and Quentin Tarantino movie. The camera work is stylized and compelling. While 3d models aren’t quite able to emote with the potency of a real live actor, I am constantly amazed at how far they’ve come.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “GTA IV vs. Saints Row: Missions”
Stolen Pixels #75: Interview With the RAM Pyre
I knew that making jokes about the Xbox bricking itself would likely attract flames. So I decided to make the title of the comic such an offensively horrible and inexcusable pun that the resulting outrage would head off any bickering over people’s chosen self-esteem containers console platforms.
Also, Travis makes peace with the PS3 users after enraging them by repeating the unflattering things Sony executives have already admitted. I mean, I guess he makes peace with them. Honestly I don’t know what gets people so riled up in the first place, so maybe this won’t do any good.
From The Archives:
Programming Vexations
Here is a 13 part series where I talk about programming games, programming languages, and programming problems.
The Plot-Driven Door
You know how videogames sometimes do that thing where it's preposterously hard to go through a simple door? This one is really bad.
Game at the Bottom
Why spend millions on visuals that are just a distraction from the REAL game of hotbar-watching?
Silent Hill 2 Plot Analysis
A long-form analysis on one of the greatest horror games ever made.
What is Vulkan?
What is this Vulkan stuff? A graphics engine? A game engine? A new flavor of breakfast cereal? And how is it supposed to make PC games better?
Philosophy of Moderation
The comments on most sites are a sewer of hate, because we're moderating with the wrong goals in mind.
Control
A wild game filled with wild ideas that features fun puzzles and mind-blowing environments. It has a great atmosphere, and one REALLY annoying flaw with its gameplay.
Why The Christmas Shopping Season is Worse Every Year
Everyone hates Black Friday sales. Even retailers! So why does it exist?
Pixel City Dev Blog
An attempt to make a good looking cityscape with nothing but simple tricks and a few rectangles of light.
Denuvo and the "Death" of Piracy
Denuvo videogame DRM didn't actually kill piracy, but it did stop it for several months. Here's what we learned from that.