Journals
Alright, so after a ton of testing, file transfer, buying a new hard drive, and setting that hard drive to work with the motherboard, the verdict has come in for the family computer; The capacitors on the motherboard seem to have deteriorated and no longer work.
Hopefully we will be getting either a replacement motherboard or a replacement computer soon.
And then I can come back regularly.
Hopefully we will be getting either a replacement motherboard or a replacement computer soon.
And then I can come back regularly.
I'm inclined to believe they edited out those that answered correctly, but a part of me wants to believe they were a minority anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE
Yeah I know it's old, but I'm still amazed at the incredible ignorance of some people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE
Yeah I know it's old, but I'm still amazed at the incredible ignorance of some people.
Back to good old man+woman sex.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-24/defense-of-marriage-act-obamas-gay-marriage-backfire/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-24/defense-of-marriage-act-obamas-gay-marriage-backfire/
For anyone that cares, today I celebrate 23 years of celib--existence. Let's make a toast and wish for another 23 
Yeah I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Yeah I'm not ashamed to admit it.
How come no one has posted this yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRtYpNRoN0
Well lets discuss it here then.
Looks awesome, each area looks diverse and the animations look pretty awesome. Oh and the sound effects really hit the nail.
P.S. Giant spiders, my arachnophobia is tingling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRtYpNRoN0
Well lets discuss it here then.
Looks awesome, each area looks diverse and the animations look pretty awesome. Oh and the sound effects really hit the nail.
P.S. Giant spiders, my arachnophobia is tingling.
I just played Half-Quake Amen, an Austrian mod featuring unique aspects of puzzle gameplay never before explored by any other modder. For you, the player, this can be both a good and bad thing. Note that this is the second in a trilogy of half-quake mods and has prolly nothing to do with the retail Quake games.
The story is the same in all these titles. You are to be punished for no real reason and you will be killed solely for the entertainment of the modders. Now that sounds just like the premise to some troll mod, but believe it or not the third title in the series (Half-Quake Sunrise) was a candidate in the moddb "mod of the year" awards. This means that the mod is either really good, or that many players enjoy being killed in new and exciting ways.
ANYWAYS lets first get to the texturing. For the majority of the mod, you will be seeing textures that are black, white, and simplistic. Like the ones that Dimbark is practicing to make. So then, the first part of the mod is a big field of English letters with almost no clues about what to do. All the wrong letters are landmines that instantly kill and of course it will take you about 10 minute to figure this out. That's 5 minutes for looking for the modders' website and 5 minutes to find the walkthru for the mod. Pretty fun so far.
Story for this mod is conveyed thru diaries left behind by someone who experienced the same fate as you. It gets really intense as you read his entries because you can see how his mental state goes down and down until [spoiler hidden]. Anyway.
This isn't an action oriented mod at all. In fact, you will never get a HEV suit or any suit for that matter. For the majority of the mod, you will be using a crossbow fighting slaves. No variation. However, you do get a 'better' weapon when you get to "ambience" chapter.
Which brings us to the fun part of the mod. Ambience and Sapience goes 180 in mapping-style and replaces the simplistically-textured world with some rural medieval countryside. This is also where you get your "better" weapon. Sapience also has one of the most unique 'puzzles' I've ever seen in a FPS.
Unfortunately, where the good parts end, the even better parts begin. The next chapter is undoubtedly my favourite and will most definitely be your favourite as well. This chapter is called "Patience". Now, don't you trust the ten four or hangar 16 reviews concerning this particular chapter of the mod. This part is more fun than entire mods that I've played in the past. What better way to play a game than waiting for a train in a grayscale trainstation for what was it, 20 minutes? Yeah, now that is fun, even more so that the 20 minute boat ride in Swiss Cheese Halloween! Because you can just noclip to the end and skip the boat ride. Can't do that here! You will wait there for that train, and if when it comes, you will get on it, and proceed with your trivial endeavors.
Well, after that epic part, you are treated with a small dose of action and finally brought before your giant robot friend, Somos. Somos amigos. All you have to do then is press his buttons and get it on with him. Then you will be given a choice to pick 1 of 20 endings. Yet another mod that you simply cannot miss, and after you play it, simply cannot forget.
Play it. And play it legitimately. No cheating, no godmod, no noclip, and ESPECIALLY NO SKIPPING THE TRAINSTATION.
The story is the same in all these titles. You are to be punished for no real reason and you will be killed solely for the entertainment of the modders. Now that sounds just like the premise to some troll mod, but believe it or not the third title in the series (Half-Quake Sunrise) was a candidate in the moddb "mod of the year" awards. This means that the mod is either really good, or that many players enjoy being killed in new and exciting ways.
ANYWAYS lets first get to the texturing. For the majority of the mod, you will be seeing textures that are black, white, and simplistic. Like the ones that Dimbark is practicing to make. So then, the first part of the mod is a big field of English letters with almost no clues about what to do. All the wrong letters are landmines that instantly kill and of course it will take you about 10 minute to figure this out. That's 5 minutes for looking for the modders' website and 5 minutes to find the walkthru for the mod. Pretty fun so far.
Story for this mod is conveyed thru diaries left behind by someone who experienced the same fate as you. It gets really intense as you read his entries because you can see how his mental state goes down and down until [spoiler hidden]. Anyway.
This isn't an action oriented mod at all. In fact, you will never get a HEV suit or any suit for that matter. For the majority of the mod, you will be using a crossbow fighting slaves. No variation. However, you do get a 'better' weapon when you get to "ambience" chapter.
Which brings us to the fun part of the mod. Ambience and Sapience goes 180 in mapping-style and replaces the simplistically-textured world with some rural medieval countryside. This is also where you get your "better" weapon. Sapience also has one of the most unique 'puzzles' I've ever seen in a FPS.
Unfortunately, where the good parts end, the even better parts begin. The next chapter is undoubtedly my favourite and will most definitely be your favourite as well. This chapter is called "Patience". Now, don't you trust the ten four or hangar 16 reviews concerning this particular chapter of the mod. This part is more fun than entire mods that I've played in the past. What better way to play a game than waiting for a train in a grayscale trainstation for what was it, 20 minutes? Yeah, now that is fun, even more so that the 20 minute boat ride in Swiss Cheese Halloween! Because you can just noclip to the end and skip the boat ride. Can't do that here! You will wait there for that train, and if when it comes, you will get on it, and proceed with your trivial endeavors.
Well, after that epic part, you are treated with a small dose of action and finally brought before your giant robot friend, Somos. Somos amigos. All you have to do then is press his buttons and get it on with him. Then you will be given a choice to pick 1 of 20 endings. Yet another mod that you simply cannot miss, and after you play it, simply cannot forget.
Play it. And play it legitimately. No cheating, no godmod, no noclip, and ESPECIALLY NO SKIPPING THE TRAINSTATION.
The 5th mod that people nee... SHUT THE HELL UP AND DO SOMETHING BETTER WITH YOUR TIME. Thnx. This journal will probably be removed, but I made my point.
5 mods that people need to start making
in response to a previous journal by Urby
Different Genre Mod
A great majority of Half-Life mods are FPSs. There are a few exceptions like HL Rally, Bumpercars, Flat-Life and International Online Soccer. Those were all great. I'd like to see a Half-Life rail shooter or flight simulator (with the Apache and the Osprey). Maybe a role-playing mod in the same style as Deus Ex and KotOR, but that'd require good voice acting.
The Oddworld cross over mod
With Gordon as Abe, scientists as Mudokon workers and G-Man as Glukkons.
The Deathmatch Mod
Mindless killing FTW. Regular HLDM doesn't do it since you have to reload your weapons, the maps are too large and the crossbow is too effective.
The Social Networking Mod
So you can add people you find in games to your Facebook friends list and Twitter about how much fun you're having. Don't worry, I am only joking.
Did I say 5 mods? I lied.
in response to a previous journal by Urby
Different Genre Mod
A great majority of Half-Life mods are FPSs. There are a few exceptions like HL Rally, Bumpercars, Flat-Life and International Online Soccer. Those were all great. I'd like to see a Half-Life rail shooter or flight simulator (with the Apache and the Osprey). Maybe a role-playing mod in the same style as Deus Ex and KotOR, but that'd require good voice acting.
The Oddworld cross over mod
With Gordon as Abe, scientists as Mudokon workers and G-Man as Glukkons.
The Deathmatch Mod
Mindless killing FTW. Regular HLDM doesn't do it since you have to reload your weapons, the maps are too large and the crossbow is too effective.
The Social Networking Mod
So you can add people you find in games to your Facebook friends list and Twitter about how much fun you're having. Don't worry, I am only joking.
Did I say 5 mods? I lied.
I'm a computer geek. As such, it turns out I suck at socialising. Lately, the hermit in me has been growing and I've been losing my will to actually get together with anyone. I wonder (and I'd like to be correct) if this is just "the holidays effect", and it'll go away within a few weeks of class?
My birthday is next Friday (Feb. 25, I dare anyone here to remember about it that day :P). I only invited two friends over for dinner, I really didn't want more than 4 people around. I still have no idea why. I just don't feel like it.
I'm afraid that, as I grow a recluse, I will eventually lose my grasp on reality and become a hostile NPC-- I mean, er, become completely antisocial. I'm not sure I can do much about it, I suck at all but the most essential social activities. What can I do, it's the essence of the geek.
My birthday is next Friday (Feb. 25, I dare anyone here to remember about it that day :P). I only invited two friends over for dinner, I really didn't want more than 4 people around. I still have no idea why. I just don't feel like it.
I'm afraid that, as I grow a recluse, I will eventually lose my grasp on reality and become a hostile NPC-- I mean, er, become completely antisocial. I'm not sure I can do much about it, I suck at all but the most essential social activities. What can I do, it's the essence of the geek.
So I have a few things in regards to my mapping.
#1 I have left the HL 1997 and Half-Life e3 98/97 Dev teams, mainly because I don't have time to put out content for a mod right now.
#2 Although I don't have time to put out sufficient content for a mod I am working on two maps right now, the first is another Metroid Prime Hunters remake, this one is bigger and more complex than Combat Hall. The other map is going to be a small Singleplayer adventure for Opposing Force that I started awhile ago but never completed much past the first area.
#1 I have left the HL 1997 and Half-Life e3 98/97 Dev teams, mainly because I don't have time to put out content for a mod right now.
#2 Although I don't have time to put out sufficient content for a mod I am working on two maps right now, the first is another Metroid Prime Hunters remake, this one is bigger and more complex than Combat Hall. The other map is going to be a small Singleplayer adventure for Opposing Force that I started awhile ago but never completed much past the first area.
5 mods that people need to stop making
The 'Horror' Mod
Dark hallways, small quantities of weapons and ammo, cheap scare tactics. There are so many so called "horror" mods already out there and very few of them actually manage to pull it off. Far too many people are using darkness as a scare tactic, whereas for the most part, it is just annoying and disorienting.
The Zombie Mod
They Hunger did it well. They Hunger 2 and 3 got old fast. Every other zombie mod since then has been dire. Zombies are all well and good but there is little variety in the combat throughout. Slow shambling enemies make for slow shambling mods.
The engine upgrade / downgrade mod
Black Mesa looked incredible back in the day but now the level design is starting to show its age before the mod has even been released. Then there are the ones that go for the opposite approach. Take a new game and remake in for the old engine. The word 'downgrade' is rarely a good thing and more often than not implies that the 'latest' version is not stable enough to work with. HL2 works fine on it's current 7 year old. HL2 would not work fine on an engine that is 7 years older than that.
The Halo cross over mod
Nobody wants to play Halo in the Half-Life engine. Nobody wants to play Halo in the C&C Generals engine. Nobody wants to play Halo in the Homeworld engine. Nobody wants to play Halo on the GTA:San Andreas engine. This doesn't just apply to Halo, but it's certainly the most common culprit.
The "realism" mod
Mods that claim to bring realism to a game never EVER do. Real world weapons? That's a model pack. Better textures? That's a texture pack. Updated sounds? I... I have no idea what the hell that is, but it is not a mod. A true realism mod would make bullet impacts inflict more damage, resulting in instant death or bleed-outs. Health kits would be removed and instead, wounds would need to be tended to by a doctor / surgeon. Fall damage would result in broken / sprained limbs, reducing speed and inflicting pain damage the more you move around. All of this would make most games impossible. HL1 for example, Freeman would not be able to enter the test chamber because his suit is lacking a helmet. If he did, as soon as the experiment starts, he would drop dead of radiation poisoning.
There are probably more, but these are the main culprits...
tl;dr?
Don't FUCKING post then.
The 'Horror' Mod
Dark hallways, small quantities of weapons and ammo, cheap scare tactics. There are so many so called "horror" mods already out there and very few of them actually manage to pull it off. Far too many people are using darkness as a scare tactic, whereas for the most part, it is just annoying and disorienting.
The Zombie Mod
They Hunger did it well. They Hunger 2 and 3 got old fast. Every other zombie mod since then has been dire. Zombies are all well and good but there is little variety in the combat throughout. Slow shambling enemies make for slow shambling mods.
The engine upgrade / downgrade mod
Black Mesa looked incredible back in the day but now the level design is starting to show its age before the mod has even been released. Then there are the ones that go for the opposite approach. Take a new game and remake in for the old engine. The word 'downgrade' is rarely a good thing and more often than not implies that the 'latest' version is not stable enough to work with. HL2 works fine on it's current 7 year old. HL2 would not work fine on an engine that is 7 years older than that.
The Halo cross over mod
Nobody wants to play Halo in the Half-Life engine. Nobody wants to play Halo in the C&C Generals engine. Nobody wants to play Halo in the Homeworld engine. Nobody wants to play Halo on the GTA:San Andreas engine. This doesn't just apply to Halo, but it's certainly the most common culprit.
The "realism" mod
Mods that claim to bring realism to a game never EVER do. Real world weapons? That's a model pack. Better textures? That's a texture pack. Updated sounds? I... I have no idea what the hell that is, but it is not a mod. A true realism mod would make bullet impacts inflict more damage, resulting in instant death or bleed-outs. Health kits would be removed and instead, wounds would need to be tended to by a doctor / surgeon. Fall damage would result in broken / sprained limbs, reducing speed and inflicting pain damage the more you move around. All of this would make most games impossible. HL1 for example, Freeman would not be able to enter the test chamber because his suit is lacking a helmet. If he did, as soon as the experiment starts, he would drop dead of radiation poisoning.
There are probably more, but these are the main culprits...
tl;dr?
Don't FUCKING post then.
Arduino is great!
I learned how to make a led blink, then I applied the procedure for more leds to flash them rapidly. It was like Christmas lights on steroids.
Then I made a RGB led change colour when selecting a color channel with a button and adjusting it with a potentiometer.
Today I made an EMF detector. No phantoms though :)). The most intense EMF I detected was near the TV. It was cool to let the detector near a cellphone, and when calling that cellphone the LED started blinking.
Oh well... it's fun but the problem is that I'm short on some basic materials like transistors ( to isolate the logic circuit from controlling a motor for example). I have some transistors but they only support 100 mA. I need something above 500 mA for small DC motors or running a HDD disk.
I learned how to make a led blink, then I applied the procedure for more leds to flash them rapidly. It was like Christmas lights on steroids.
Then I made a RGB led change colour when selecting a color channel with a button and adjusting it with a potentiometer.
Today I made an EMF detector. No phantoms though :)). The most intense EMF I detected was near the TV. It was cool to let the detector near a cellphone, and when calling that cellphone the LED started blinking.
Oh well... it's fun but the problem is that I'm short on some basic materials like transistors ( to isolate the logic circuit from controlling a motor for example). I have some transistors but they only support 100 mA. I need something above 500 mA for small DC motors or running a HDD disk.
There was a crazy preacher guy on my train today. I think he was one of those crazy black Christians that want to exterminate white people? He was randomly shouting at every white person in the train, and then he started shouting at me, I have no idea what he was talking about, the only bit that I understood was "sex toys"? He was coming closer and closer to me and shouting at me randomly, but the train stopped at a station, and some like 70 year old man tried to get off, but the preacher was blocking the way (he was facing towards me and the older man was behind him asking him to let him pass). The man behind the preacher was constantly touching him and asking him to let him pass, and then the preacher just randomly shouted "THE MAN BEHIND ME SHOULD STOP TOUCHING ME" or something like that, and then he just flipped out, turned around, and pushed / threw the older man onto the floor, shouted, and angrily walked out of the train. D: The older man was okay but I didn't really want to say anything to the preacher, cause he had so much golden christian bling all across him, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a gun in there as well.