Game loads: Overlord

A second game I’ve been trying to play lately is Overlord, which, despite its lack of hype (that I’ve heard of, anyway), is actually a pretty great game (then again, it came out almost six months ago). I’ve been told by my fellow blogger that it’s extremely similar to Pikmin, which I, of course, never bought.In short, you play as a dark overlord (who would guess?), and you do battle by sending in your minions, who are a little like demonic gremlins, to fight for you. You have a huge axe you can fight with too, but according to your advisor, you’re too good for that.

An appealing part of the game is the number of uses for the minions, and the awesome ways in which they’re applied. Aside from fighting (which can get pretty awesome, what with your minions jumping onto your enemies’ backs and pretty much riding them around), the minions can do things like move large obstacles out of the way (which will require x minions to do depending on the size of the object; this makes for the revelation of new areas pretty smooth as you can command more and more minions at once), turn big wheels to open doors or drop drawbridges, and fit through or across small areas like tunnels or coincidental bridges made of small tree branches.

Your minions also pick up random stuff that can help them along their way, ranging from makeshift weapons (like pieces of fences, if I remember correctly) to pumpkin helms. That’s right; if you tell your minions to attack random things (which they will sometimes do on their own if they’re in the area) — like pumpkins — they’ll do crazy stuff like put them on their heads, even if it doesn’t help them one bit. That’s one of the things that really brings them to life: they’re not just mindless creatures who obey your every word and only your every word (although they are quite loyal) — they like to have some fun, too.

You also have a huge castle that you can customize with enough money — a nice perk, but (so far for me) has served no super-meaningful purpose.

And the last thing I’ll mention is paths. Lots of games have been adding this lately to dynam-ify storylines — you can choose your character’s personal path through the the actions you perform. In most cases, your actions end up deciding whether you’re good or evil in the end (Dark Messiah is an excellent example of this), but since Overlord’s whole concept is pretty much based around being evil, you get to choose between evil and really evil.

As you might guess, killing innocent people leans you towards the really evil side. Every time you kill someone who would otherwise befriend you, you get their life force, and 1 life force = 1 more minion you have available to summon. You also get some decent cash from their pockets.

The disadvantage to doing this, as your advisor states, is that to rule an evil empire, you actually have to have people to rule over — so killing everyone isn’t too much of an option. I have yet to complete the game, so I’m not sure of the gameplay differences between the two paths yet, but I’m sure there will be some.

One last thing, because I know you’re waiting for it: graphics. They’re very decent. If you’re talking about sole graphics, they’re up there with Half-Life 2, but that doesn’t take into account physics, the actual use of the graphics, and the cooperation between the two. And some unrelated things could use some work.

For instance, you can set fields of dry grass on fire once you get the appropriate spell, and the trees in that field will switch to a dry and burnt model when the fire spreads to them (which all is very cool to see happen), but the trees just swap from one model to the other, and the instant change is very noticeable. At least cross-fade between the models or something.

Definitely not something to cry over, though — from the first time you set foot into non-evil lands, you can feel the happiness vibes emitting from everything from the sheep to the swaying grass — one of which you will slaughter and the other of which you will set fire to.

Game loads: Crysis

I’m one of those people who pretty much just has to play any game I’m excited for (a recent example of this is when I bought Halo 3 with no 360 to play it on and had to get a friend to lend me his, so long as I give him the game afterwards). And being a pretty heavy gamer, I get excited for quite a lot of games.

So often times I approach a sort of pickle in my gaming life, much like the one I’m in right now. I’m sure many others have encountered the situation: a slew of new games all come out within a few weeks of each other, and you simply don’t have enough time to play them all as much as you want. It’s a weird situation, having too much of a good thing.

This was originally going to be a post about all of those games, but let’s split it up into chunks:

One of the games I’ve been trying to work into my schedule is, of course, Crysis. I won’t waste keystrokes trying to explain the awesomeness of its graphics and physics (I’m no graphics whore, but hey — a good thing is a good thing), because I’m sure everyone who’s heard of Crysis has probably heard about it in some reference to graphical detail. Rather, I’d like to explain somewhat the opposite: the lack of possible graphics.

Before I start trippin’ up all in your grill, I’m talking about the DirectX9 version here. And I’m in no way trying to criticize its capabilities; in fact, I’m trying to bring them out. It’s been circulating around the ‘net that when Crysis runs on DX9, its graphical intensity is purposefully not as high as it can be, presumably to make people say “Oh man, DX9 sucks compared to DX10, now I’m going to go spend some money on Vista and a new graphics card so I can experience the awesomeness.”

A (somewhat) recent comparison of the DX9 and DX10 versions of Crysis somewhat reveals this — throughout the page, screenshots taken on DX9 Crysis are shown, and on rollover you can see the DX10 versions of the exact same screenshots. But at the bottom, some instructions are mentioned to allow DX9 to run on some high-end settings that supposedly only DX10 can handle — apparently Crytek has “chosen to artificially limit some of the game’s graphics effects to only the DX10 version in order to create a bigger perceived difference.”

Not cool, man.

DX10 is still (I hear) much better than 9, but why would Crytek choose to disallow DX9 to work up to its full potential? Are they trying to encourage people to get DX10 cards to prepare for the future, or did Microsoft have some say in this?

A Revolutionary Link Fest- 2007 Edition

Alright people, listen up, I’ve been around on the internet since I was 5 years old, and I’ve seen a ton of things, probably more than what you will ever see in your entire life. So I have decided to share a small portion of my bookmarks to entertain you. Allow this to a disclaimer- you will spend a lot of time going through it- so you better have either- A- Nothing better to do or B- Bored. They are both the same thing pretty much- but whatever. All the links I’m giving you are pre-approved by me as cool and worthy of linkage. So watch the time. God help you.

Also I highly recommend you read my other posts about My Shower.

Thank me later,
Neverhitboxes

p.s- If the tag cloud looks like were link farming- were totally not- every tag is relevant to the article XD

North Korea- Photos from the inside
This russian guy got a visa to go into North Korea. He took alot of pictures that he was not supposed to. Heres his original site thats in Russian. Its got more pictures, but you cant read the descriptions.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82755

Why the future is in South Korea
Just an interesting read on why Korea is on the bleeding edge of internet development etc..
http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/06/why_the_future_is_in_south_kor.html

Gravity Wave- Weather
I have no idea what a Gravity Wave is, but apparently they are very rare. The pictures are really cool!
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/3195031.html

Koreas Super-Gaming-Oriented Culture
I don’t know why I have so many Korea articles, but this is a pretty interesting article on Korea’s geek culture. (the top starcraft players in Korea are equivelent to our movie stars)
http://rossignol.cream.org/?p=284

A very cool college prank
A guy left his dorm room for 1 week, and while he was away, they took all of this stuff and screwed it to the ceiling. It gets pretty disorienting. Video included.
http://www.lightsideup.com/pics.html

The most detailed digital painting ever
Quote, “It took eleven months (close to 2,000 hours) to create.” Its pretty incredible.
http://www.bertmonroy.com/fineart/text/fineart_damen.htm

The Broken Laptop I sold on Ebay
The story starts when a guy sold his laptop on ebay. The guy who bought it- claimed it was broken when he recieved it, so to get his revenge, he used photos and information he found on the hard drive to shame him to death.
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/amir-massoud-tofangsaza/the-broken-laptop-i-sold-on-ebay-177101.php

720 MegaPixel Photo
Super detailed photo of Sydney. You can see peoples hotel rooms! Ridiculous!
http://www.docbert.org/SydneyByNight/

Sony’s Blu-Ray party screw up
Quote, ” Apparently even Sony can’t get its hands on Blu-ray content!”
http://www.gearlog.com/2006/05/16/index.php

Street Installations
A guy creates dummies that are put in unusual positions.
http://www.xmarkjenkinsx.com/outside.html

Windows Vista- Deletion
The picture shows that it takes 7 steps to delete a single shortcut off your desktop in Vista.
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=151250154&size=o

Quick Change Artists
I’m pretty sure you guys have seen them before. But its still incredible to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-wUgnyGv0

24- Monitor Setup
24 monitors all hooked together. Playing Quake 3. Video included. He also did 50 monitors.
http://www.plastk.net/highres/50mon/

Awesome Rainbow Photos!
Some of the most incredible photos taken of a rainbow!
http://www.missouriskies.org/rainbow/february_rainbow_2006.html

Aerial Pictures of Mexico City
There are some cool houses in Mexico.
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PhotoAlbum31.html

Highest Resolution Picture of our sun
Its very hot.
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/PIA03149.jpg

Google’s April Fools
Quote, “Just found an April Fools joke on Google Earth. Area 51 has some visitors.”
http://www.jarnot.com/wp/archives/2006/04/they-come-in-pe.php

Vietnamese man, goes 33 years without sleep
Self explanitory
http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=12673

What language do deaf people think in?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/031226.html
Good question.

Writing in water with waves
“The device consists of 50 water wave generators encircling a cylindrical tank 1.6 meters in diameter and 30 cm deep (about the size of a backyard kiddie pool). The wave generators move up and down in controlled motions to simultaneously produce a number of cylindrical waves that act as pixels.”
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/water-writing-with-waves-we-wonder-why-189476.php

Pointer Kites
Become the geek of the beach.
http://www.windfiredesigns.com/timbofolio_pages/PointerKite.html

Worst Laser Etching
Not to mention- If you look closely- they spelled some words wrong on it too
they ruined it.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/worst.-laser.-etching.-ever.-187892.php

Cool photographs of China
Reminds me of Myst.
http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7301

Amazing Hole in One!
Yeah that seems impossible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyJTtQm_O1w

Google’s snack room
A heaven for late night gaming.
http://www.valleywag.com/tech/google/google-snack-rooms-152676.php
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brettlider/sets/154249/

Things that you don’t want Google to find
Hmmm…..
http://www.siliconvalleysleuth.com/2006/02/things_you_dont.html

What scientologists believe
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DAmEO-oLHzA
even read wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

Stick Figures on Crack 3
Its a really crazy series that is somehow entertaining. Out of 3- this is my favorite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyKWWLsxk0s

Ever wonder about the mysteries of Quantum Physics?
Well here is a video that is easy to follow and understand
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc&mode=related&search=

Rare Cloud Formations
Yeah, its still cool
http://leenks.com/link70511.htm

Crazy Ferrofluid
Fluid that reacts with magnetic fields- it looks unreal
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qX6clRC21vo&mode=related&search=

Japanese Food Fight
But its all cool and slow-motion like-creative and weird- like most Japanese people
http://www.geekologie.com/2007/05/japanese_food_fight.php

Weird Vista easter egg
There is a picture of 3 guys in the hologram….how did they pull that off?
http://fulgerica.com/2007/06/13/windows-vista-dvd-easter-egg/#more-611

Whale Penis
Yeah, well if you ever wanted to know what it looked like- then here it is.
http://www.seancoon.org/wp-content/postimages/whale-penis.jpg

A really good idea for a clock
I want this on my site.
http://blog.pixelbreaker.com/upload/polarclock/polarclock.html

Nice Mac Rig
Really nice.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68008792@N00/378716985/

MIT Sketching
Guy at MIT creates a program you can use thats like….a dynamic cad program….that how I would describe it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZNTgglPbUA&eurl=

Unicycle
One of the best unicyclists in the world. I would know- I am one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl9avxJC76o

Drums
This guy is nuts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqUFBe3qmQc&mode=related&search=

Aqua Teen
This is the best episode I have ever seen of this show- and this is the ONLY one I’ve seen- its totally weird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U_fxyuZ5TQ

Frozen Tidal Wave
How did this happen?
http://www.chickencrap.com/specials/arctic.htm

Learn Awesome Magic Tricks
They are actually possible! Video!
http://ei-am.blogspot.com/2007/01/top-10-magic-trick-tutorial-videos_21.html

Hardest Video Game Ever.
You would have to be a masochist to play this game and have fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP-mePr1-ZQ

One of the funniest videos I have ever seen.
Seriously
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/302101/cheating_wife/

Stupid Wheel Of Fortune
Stupidest contestant ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPi588QohEg&NR

Yo Yo Master
He is asian.
http://gprime.net/video.php/yoyomaster

Great Stop Motion!
Awesome to watch!
http://gprime.net/video.php/tonyvspaul

Rubix Cube Fastness
Fast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOo9pFin65Q

Huge Wave
Big?
http://www.ferket.com/jvlt/images/teahupoo_1.jpg

ZOMG I am SO TIRED of typing! Ok so if you brain hasn’t completely imploded from all of the link-age- you can spend more time looking at www.gprime.net- That place has some of the best stuff. Seriously.
Well I hope you enjoyed it!
Kudos anyone?

All I can say is, “Holy Sh**!” 40+ Views.

Well readers, you have done it again. Since yesterday, our traffic has spiked a ridiculous amount! 40 Views today! And for us, thats truly amazing! Were actually being read! Woot! Although, if that many people visited today, why haven’t any of you posted comments?! Seriously, is it THAT much to ask? Anyhow, both me and Skoh appreciate your readership (and yes we mean you [uncle sam point type thing])! Thanks much!

-Neverhitboxes

-Skoh-Fley

My Shower v2.0!

    I apologize for my recent hiatus, I was busy NOT BEING CLEANED BY MY SHOWER! [cue cheering audience] So let me fill you guys in. If you haven’t already read my previous post about My Shower, I suggest you do so before continuing.

SO, I haven’t exactly used my bathroom shower. I have refused to touch it. For the past two years or so I have used my parents bathroom which is FAR FAR superior to my bathroom shower which sucks ass! Today I was forced to use it because my parents had already fallen asleep and I’m not desperate to the point where I sneak my way around their room and into the bathroom JUST to take a shower. So I decided to just give my shower another try.

Horrible HORRIBLE mistake! When I turn the dials to get the water going, the first thing I hear is this awful, awful high pitched whining sound- which makes no sense because first of all, its water and how can water make such an irritating racket?! And second of all, thats just ridiculous. So after the hot water kicks in and and I pull the pin up to get the pathetic flow of water up to the shower head, I find my self awash in a huge torrent of water consulted by a small trickle of water. Great. You know, a bad shower is like a getting a massage from a really weak person, you feel worse and its a real waste of your time (especially if the person who is massaging you always says that they are good giving out massages, but they totally aren’t; so now he/she is lying to you right to your face back) So now I’m huddling once again under this shower head like a hobo/box maven, and now for some apparent reason there is a high pitched whining sound. Basically I’m being peed on, annoyed by this awful sound and I feel less clean because all of the oil from my hair is slowly coating the rest of my body from top to bottom in a thin layer of teenager sweat (yeah it sounds bad, but I assure you it WAS bad). The pressure from the trickle does nothing to help me get rid of dead skin or even wash away sweat from the day which is the total purpose of taking a shower. Overall I think the shower didn’t clean me at all, in fact I know it didn’t. All it did was slowly distribute my dirty sweat evenly over my whole body so every part of me now feels like an overweight person after a labored breathing session. AGH GOD! SMITE DOWN THY SHOWER!

So yeah. Here I sit at my computer, fresh nicely dirty from the shower writing to you people on the internet about my troubles with my shower. If you’ve read this far, you clearly have nothing else better to do, so I suggest you leave me a comment that relates to showers- your own perhaps or at least something that will cheer me up and make me feel like people are actually reading this. Thanks!

-Neverhitboxes

Fun with hardware (OR: The physical world and you)

I was right. It was something stupid.

I had burned Ubuntu onto a DVD and was trying to read it with a CD drive. BLAHG!

So I reburned it and it installed fine. I actually wasn’t expecting that Ubuntu Server would be as command-line-dependent as it is (no desktop environment whatsoever), but it makes sense. I’ve just got to look up anything I want to do at another computer, write it down, then run upstairs and type it in, since my own computer isn’t at this house and I have to use the family’s.

So far I’ve gotten it hooked up to the ‘net and running Apache, MySQL, PHP and an FTP server, although I’ve only had the chance to test the FTP server so far. But before I get too bogged down on getting it all ready-to-go on the software half, I actually have to get everything in that case.

What I did (or am attempting to do) with the case is kinda stupid, actually. I just took the old case, ripped out the HDD and CDD bays with just a screwdriver and my now-cut-in-several-places hands, repositioned the former, left out the latter, and fastened (if you can call it that) the power supply on top of the bay using a seriously-bent piece of metal and a screw.

In retrospect, all this did was make the final assembly one power-supply-worth-of-height shorter and give me a computer that was held together by nothing more than twisted metal and a few of the original screws. Not to mention, now the power supply is on the other side of the case compared to the graphics card and motherboard — so I’ll end up plugging in the power cord into the front of the computer.

Talk about deranged.

Oh, and just an update on one of my previous posts: we never actually lost a cat like I thought; she was just hiding somewhere. I sure as hell don’t know where, because I pretty much used all my wallhacks to look for her, but whatever; she’s here and safe.

I’ll finish off the post with this: almost every day I have a song stuck in my head (usually a good one). Today it’s Time Warp from the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show (which was made after a musical containing the same song), and I can’t figure out where I’ve heard the mini-chorus part of it before, but I have to say, it’s a really good song, despite its unusual containment in this movie. I just want to get up and do the dance. It’s kinda weird. But good, too.

But weird.