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Archived old news: August 2003
News: 23/08/03
Nostalgia...
Funny thing reading back through this site after a 2 year break. Gives me quite a different perspective. Most of what went on here I'm proud of, some of it is clearly bollox I'm almost ashamed of, some of it was pertinent at the time and now irrelevant. Almost all of it was, as Gwog said, categorisable under "incredibly arrogant spew". A record of an idiot's progression through gaming and website running. In some ways I miss doing all that stuff, but equally I am very aware I cannot force it, it happened then because I was inspired then. Now....just gaming and a few odds and sods. Best get back to Giants eh =).
Hello Halo!
I had the opportunity to witness Halo in action on one of those kiddie console thingies recently. A game I paid little attention to with the XBox-only fiasco. But it actually looks rather cool....things of note:
• Graphics are good. Overall look is kinda....UT tech a bit, in the places I saw. Clean and shiny. A bit cartoony. Repetitive inside but fairly impressive outside as per the screenshots. Pretty cool effects. Textures are good - detail textures and bumpmapping, for example the ice is excellent.
• Gameplay is....arcadish I guess. Simple, in a way, standard weapons and cartoony enemies. Recharging shield. But for all that, the AI is kinda cool, things don't just charge at you.
• Vehicles and stuff. The vehicles seem to spice things up pretty nicely, giving some varying gameplay possibilities and tactics. As do your teammates, in theory. The highlight I saw was commandeering the excellent looking Scorpion tank, and having any nearby teammates jump on and sit on the sides and ride around with you picking off enemy as they feel like it - funky.
All in all it looked really quite entertaining - arcadey rather than deep, but good-looking and fun. As for the PC version well I've read comments they don't have bump-mapping which would make a fair difference. Dunno why not really. But maybe something I will look out for.
C'est ça
Run out of stuff to ramble about. A relief one suspects.
News: 16/08/03
More fucking lists.
The 2003 version. It's worth noting that many of the games in the "Might play in the future" list are quite uncertain, they are things I'm considering potentially but probably won't play in the end =). The "big name" sequels are pretty certain though. I would also like to perhaps be able to try one inspiring game from each genre that could interest me, e.g. proper RPGs etc (anything but sport games, real-life themed games, or ugly isometric shite really), we shall see. Demo time baby!!
Currently playing:
Giants - Pretty, sunny, exotic, funny and fun.
Yet to play or finish:
MechCommander 2 - Splendiferous amenable RTS controlling big badass mechs.
MechWarrior 4 - A proper mech game and all.
Partly played probably won't complete:
Black&White - Awesome engine, concept and design. But more complicated than fun.
Demos installed:
Aquanox - Not sure why really but it is still pretty.
Sacrifice - Holding on to this as part of my eternal quest for inspiring RTSs.
S.W.I.N.E. - Probably the same reason.
Might play in the future:
Breed - Still looks great, holding out hopes they might get the feel and gameplay to work.
Deus Ex 2 - The formula is great, hopefully the presentation will match.
DOOM³ - Can't argue with this really.
Dungeon Siege - Wanting to try a proper RPG thingy, this is one good looking contender. Or maybe wait for DS2?
Enclave - Proper fantasy action. Good to have a bit of that really, after how intriguing Blade was.
Gothic II - 3rd person RPG. Apparently very good indeed. Will try maybe.
Half-Life 2 - Another one you can't argue with. Comes out of nowhere looks good and really quite intriguing.
Kreed - Bog standard FPS. Looking worse as time goes on. Probably not going to happen...
Neverwinter Nights - The other RPG contender.
Quake 4 - I know naaarrthing. But I like the idea.
Sigma - Again I'll try the demo just in case this is one of the few RTSs that is actually interesting.
Stalker - I.e. Venom2. Looks cool but will it have *soul*??
Unreal 2 - I will make up my own mind. If it looks good and is fun, well, that will be okay.
Warhammer Online - If I must play a bloody MMORPG, it has to be this one,
obviously.
There we go, that is a bit more managable eh. Of course many of these, even released games, will have to wait until I've upgraded this heap of rust =). Soon...! For more info, ToTheGame is a good place to start (info on games that is not info on my upgrading slothfulness).
Random thoughts...
...you may have noticed this site is currently pop-up ad hell. That is thanks to Telefragged, you may blame them not me...
...one thing I may be using this site for is a space for storing random stuff, we shall see...
...been getting quite into dark ambient and other weirdness recently thanks to the Russian master of evile you-know-who. Was listening to a fair bit of Biosphere before, now enjoying a new cd by R|A|A|N which is pretty cool. I have also found a good UK resource for such twisted sounds: http://www.coldspring.co.uk/...
News: 14/08/03
Gaming...
Thus continuing from last time, I have been getting back into games a bit. After I closed all the sites before I played Alice, Undying, RTCW and 1/2 of MechCommander2 (all great). Then took a break and returned to:
AVP2 - tres cool beaucoup indeed. Excellent atmosphere, captures the proper Aliens vibe and nicely split into 3 distinct character sections. See PlanetAVP.
1/3 of Giants - still playing this....a nice contrast to dark and grimy FPS gaming, bright, cheerful, exotic, outdoor fun and sometimes funny. And the English accents are great =). See PlanetMoonCentral.
Trying out UT_beta_patch_with_prettier_graphics aka UT2k3 - Ummm yeah UT with a few minor gameplay disprovements, prettier graphics and generally worse maps (DM at least). Still, Totara Forest is awesome and it's close enough to UT gameplay. Not going to buy it though.
Not yet playing MC2 nor MW4 I might try to play these in parallel for obvious reasons.
Not finishing Black And White ummmm. Too complex.
And a little bit of...
My first Quake Deathmatch in, errr, fuck me, a very long time. 4 years?? This was to celebrate analising my much renowned atrocious connection and succumbing to the joys of Broadband instead. Which means I can actually play online games with something approaching enjoyment, well, aside from sucking that is =).
My first speedrun (on an as yet unreleased map) in quite a bloody long time too. Somewhat of a weirdly cathartic process, sitting for 4 hours thrashing through the same 20 seconds of gameplay until my eyes melt. Unfortunately broadband doesn't help with that :P.
...and the gaming community
Things have changed a little bit...
Everyone has moved on from mapping and they all spend their time watching anime, drawing anime, or swapping anime over bittorrent.
Oh most people now have jobs mapping for crappy PS2 games though.
The few remaining mappers are mostly Q1 SP obssessed, despite the fact QExpo1 killed Quake and the recent QExpo2 merely confirmed it's death. Speedmapping is still popular though as people don't have to put any effort into anything remotely non-sucky and can quickly get back to anime or watching SPOG recreate gaming technology in his own deranged image.
#terrafusion is now full of cunts and modders and people with clan nicknames and other such trivial low-lifes who invariably idle and/or watch everyone else talk about anime. But at least scampie owns the channel which is something.
Oh and people posted some views (mostly gaming concerned) on here: http://celephais.net/board/view_thread.php?id=2492 but further investigation revealed it was all lies.
Sorry to blatantly copy that but I can't sum it up any more accurately =). Thx to the people who replied in that link, BTW, I had a fair bit to catch up on.
Gaming interest predictions and actualities:
2 years ago I posted a list of games I was playing or might play...2 years on...old comments as they were posted, current comments in italics:
Currently playing:
Mechcommander 2 - RTS game with Mechs. Fun, amenable, good graphics and effects, customising Mechs is cool.
>>> Didn't get any further but still a great game, will get back to it.
DS9: The Fallen - 3PS Star Trek game. Some cool features and maps, but gameplay is boring me - playing just to finish off.
>>> Finished, not a bad game, certainly well executed but not memorable.
Yet to play or finish:
Alice - 3PS weirdo gothic Alice game. Demo was cool and spooky, haven't got round to the full yet.
>>> Was cool and spooky if a little crude gameplaywise. Nice "psychological" touches. Great music, but the retail music CD is inferior.
Black and White - RTS/RPG/God game/Tamagochi etc etc. Looks superb, innovative and inspired, but novelty has worn off.
>>> No change there eh =)
Giants - FPS/3PS action/RTS game. Sunny, very pretty, and amusing. Will get round to it at some point.
>>> And indeed am getting round to it.
Undying - FPS gothic game. Cliver Barker themes + Unreal engine = cool. Shambler = lazy.
>>> Played, and it was damn cool, really good atmospheric and imaginatively themed game.
Partly played probably won't complete:
Deep Fighter - FPS underwater game. Nice setting, pity about the random crashes at the end of unsavable 2 hour missions.
>>> Unplayed and given away.
Descent 3 - FPS flying vehicle game. Kinda cool but very soulless.
>>> Unplayed and given away.
Demos recently played:
AvP 2 - FPS Aliens game. Never played the first, this is pretty stylish and fun despite glitchy physics and controls.
>>> Played the game, great game, atmosphere proper Aliens theme varied characters blah blah.
Codename: Outbreak - Tactical near-future FPS previously known as Venom. Better demo, still got loads of neat features and ideas.
>>> Well it was pretty cool but a bit cold and uninvolving hence I didn't get it.
Ground Control - Futuristic RTS. Couldn't get through this on Easy before, still can't now. Only trying because it looks pretty.
>>> Gave up. Do I need lots of frustration in gaming? No.
Project Eden - Squad based sci-fi FPS. Neat squad controls, unexceptional looks.
>>> Yawn.
Red Faction - FPS. A half-arsed version of Half-Life made with a pre-alpha Deus Ex engine.
>>> Snore.
Demos I'm trying soon:
Colobot - 3PS strategy game. A cute game for kiddies. I dunno it just looked nice.
>>> Didn't bother.
Homeworld - Space RTS game. Thought I ought to try another RTS and this looked one of the coolest.
>>> Didn't inspire me.
Homeworld: Cataclysm - Same as above.
>>> Same as above.
Hostile Waters - RTS/ vehicular action game. Looks pretty cool, controls are fucked, gotta see how it goes.
>>> Can I be bothered with shitty controls? No.
Mechwarrior 4 - Mech sim. I blame Waddy from PDKT for this, god knows how I'm going to control it.
>>> Can I be bothered with shitty controls? Errr, yes. I managed to play it and got the game - should have one mech game, really.
Sacrifice - Fantasy/weird RTS/3PS game. Very cool looking, rather complex to control. Maybe more RTS experience will help.
>>> Tried it again and although the weirdo fantasy bit is cool it somehow hasn't grabbed me yet.
Tribes 2 - MP-only outdoor FPS. Won't buy it but it will be nice to see what it's like.
>>> Burp.
Might play in the future:
Aquanox - FPS underwater game. Looks cool, have to see how it controls.
>>> Played the demo, awesome graphics but uninvolving. Now there's an A2, which looks worse somehow...
Aquarius - RTS/FPS sci-fi game. Certainly no BZ2 (but what is?), but looks pretty cool and might be worthwhile.
>>> Cancelled boo sob. Played some more BZ2 instead.
Atlantica - FPS sci-fi game. Strange settings on globular worlds, looks cool and interesting.
>>> Still going although the setting is changed, not very interesting looking.
AvP 2 - See above.
>>> See above.
Breed - FPS/RTS sci-fi game. Looks very cool, could be really good.
>>> Still looks cool but reports on the demo are entirely uninspiring. Other gamers complaining about the headbob? Must be bad...
C&C Renegade - FPS sci-fi game. Never played and C&C, this looks neat and I like the sound of the setting.
>>> Played the demo, it sucked, Unreal 1 style terrain with bad fogging. Yuck.
Codename: Outbreak - See above.
>>> See above.
Darkened Sky - 3PS fantasy/gothic game. Based on Skittles adverts but despite that ridiculous premise, looks cool and surreal.
>>> Eh? What? Was released, looked vaguely nice but of little interest.
Deus Ex 2 - FPS/RPG game. Sure this is going to be good.
>>> Probably still going to be good despite the screenshots looking decreasingly good over time.
DNF - FPS game. If it exists, of course.
>>> ROFL.
DOOM3 - FPS game. If it's any good.
>>> Looking forward to this a lot more now. Looks great and I like the whole "back to basics" ethos.
Halo - FPS game. Haven't been following this but it seems to be quite promising.
>>> Ummm. When it finally comes to the PC, 8 decades late, maybe the demo will be worth a try.
Medal of Honour - FPS game. Looks very nice, have to see how it plays.
>>> It plays like a bag of last week's shite. Ugly controls and boring gameplay and not nearly as enjoyable as RTCW.
Morrowind - FRPG fantasy game. Looks superb, if the FPS controls are proper, it could be an amazing game.
>>> Yessss. Initial reports were variable and it seemed too involving so I didn't get round to it.
Nomads - RTS/3PS action game. Set on "steampunk" floating islands, which looks and sounds very inspiring.
>>> The reviews state the controls are unchangable. Thus the game can fuck off.
Ozzy's Black Skies - 3PS dragon sim. Bring on the Ozzy flavoured dragon sim already!! Looks very cool.
>>> Moved to consoles instead, bletch, arseholes.
Parklan: Iron Strategy - RTS/Mech game. Promising premise, looks good, have to see how it controls.
>>> Tried the demo, kinda interesting but too garish and living in BZ2's shadow.
Quake 4 - FPS game. If it's any good.
>>> Still looking forward to this, more so now despite not checking the leaked shots. The old skool ethos, you see...
Return to Castle Wolfenstein - FPS game. Looks pretty cool. Maybe I should try the demo to see how it feels.
>>> Just went straight for the game itself. Great! Old skool vibe + nu skool technology in a refined package.
Sigma - RTS game. Mutating and combining animals to make units - sounds brilliant, looks good too.
>>> Not well acclaimed but I might still give it a look as the premise is still more interesting than the average RTS.
S.W.I.N.E. - RTS tanky game. Pigs and rabbits in control of tanks. Sounds potentially charming, looks good too.
>>> Tried the demo, kinda neat but like most RTSs, the units- and indeed whole setting - have little inspiration.
Unreal 2 - FPS game. Sure this is going to be good.
>>> Apparently it is not. But despite that I am still looking forward to trying it.
Warrior Kings - Fantasy RTS game. Generally looks cool, seems to be lots of units to control though.
>>> Hmmmm. Looked crapper over time. Didn't grab me.
Zanzarah - 3PS RPG game. Cutey cutey game but nice graphics in a fantasy setting. Will the 3PS control be good?
>>> Apparently quite a pleasant game in a cutey cutey way.
Zero-G Marines - Tactical zero-gravity FPS game. Hmmmm not sure. Very austere looks are losing their charm.
>>> Cancelled!
Quite entertaining to see how some things changed radically (e.g. C&C Renegade was a bag of suck) and some things haven't at all (still no DNF). Next time I will do another, mercifully much shorter, list, for the current state of my gaming inspiration.
News: 13/08/03
Good evening...
Site open.
Well, well. I checked my access to the Telefragged FTP and by some minor miracle it still works. Thus it seems I can post an update. Ah yes, an update. 2 years after the site closed. Well, I got out of running sites, then I got out of gaming, then I got out of being anywhere near a computer. Now I've got back into gaming a bit and feel like idly tinkering with this site and maybe posting a thing or two. Very strictly casual, though, I don't plan on doing anything specifically for the community/public - although maybe something will have some tangential interest. Equally I don't plan on reopening any other sites because I neither have the time, motivation, nor appropriate desire.
Working demo downloads!!
Perhaps the highlight of me updating - http://www.3ddownloads.com/ have changed their download directory structures to something remotely sensible so the links to my demos should now ACTUALLY WORK (albeit via an intermediate window which is typical of gaming download sites). Quite a novel idea, working downloads =). So go grab what you fancy if it was too much of a hassle before.
And non-working links...
Firstly, Nali City and my Unreal/UT SP reviews: Nali City have moved to Nali City, upgraded to a new site, and deleted all the Unreal maps and with them all my Unreal SP (and most of my UT SP) reviews. Cheers NC, nice to know my work for you is appreciated. I emailed QAPete and he has no plans to re-add Unreal to the site. I am somewhat pissed about this, firstly because (as should be obvious) I do not agree with abandoning older games simply because they are old (especially where a fanbase still exists), and secondly all the work I put into reviews is now....irrelevant. Thus none of the Unreal-related links work. I may well do something with all the reviews but I'm unsure what. Ideas are very much welcome (email address below).
Secondly, various other links: As FTP sites change and disappear, lots of the map links and some other links too will no longer work (in fact several now go to sites selling domain names which I find somewhat distasteful). I can either put a fair bit of effort into searching out maps and changing the links....or I can trust that visitors will be able to find the material if they desire. Hmmm. Yeah.
Email:
New email address in case anyone wishes to send random abuse: teamshambler [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk
A blast from the past:
2 years ago I was desperately trying to stop Flash working on my computer without getting pop-up warnings. 2 years later I still loathe the fucking stuff but thanks to Scampie, chief bastard of #terrafusion, I now have this weapon in my arsenal against it: NoFlash - not 100% effective but a damn sight better, also this FAQ seems very useful.
Upcoming stuff...
I'm going to go through the list of games I was playing or thinking of playing or looking forward to or whatever and post my up-to-date thoughts on them, which will amuse me a fair bit. Might work on something with those Unreal reviews too, gmph.
Unrelated, but:
<Vondur> nu smabler propaganda
Quite.
Shambler
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