Left 4 Dead

In the last few months, I have been swamped with training and work.  So, finally have some time to write again.  I have moved my desktop and now have a direct wired connection. 

HP Mini 1030NR
My remaining HP Mini kicked the bucket a few weeks ago - following an install of Windows 8, the hard-drive controller died.  There were a few things I could have done to save it, but I'd spent enough money on it and felt it was time to move on.  I get get two good years of use out of it, which wasn't bad considering I'd spent all of $120 on it.  Right now, I just don't need an ultra-portable computer and with prices low on netbooks, I have no doubt I could find a great deal if my needs change.

PSP 1001
I picked up a used PSP from Pawn America.  I already have most of my old PSP library back, only spending a few dollars per title between Pawn America and Amazon.  I was pleased to find PSN had released the PSOne Classic version of Command and Conquer and C&C Red Alert.  I also have Hot Shots Golf, another favorite.  My primary use for the system has been as a MP3 player.  I found I could fit the entire Beatles Remastered Edition on my 4GB memory card.  I only have three more games to buy and I'll have all of the games I used to have. 

Yes, I could have bought the PS Vita, but didn't want to pay the extra $100 for it, at least at the pawn shop - I can buy a brand new one for the same price without the worry of getting a dud.  This was the second PSP from the shop too, the first one the speakers were dead and the headphone jack damaged.  It made me glad I had gotten the 1 year warranty, because I'm fairly certain they would have hassled me coming back to try to exchange it.

Fall Steam Sales
Steam has had some really great deals this fall.  I've picked up Kane & Lynch, L4D 1 and 2, and a few others for almost nothing.  Be sure to keep track if you have any items on your Steam Wishlist because there's a massive Black Friday sale coming up.

Bye Bye Compaq, Hello Desktop!

Earlier this month, I decided to sell my Compaq laptop.  It was a tough decision but the heating issues I'd mentioned previously and on the other blog really had me worried.  You shouldn't have to spend $40 on an accessory to properly cool your computer considering I spent $500+ on the computer in question.  ($420 on the laptop + $80 for 8GB of RAM).  It wasn't a bad purchase by any means, just unfortunate Compaq flubbed an otherwise good design.

It really was a great machine, but not being able to upgrade the processor to anything beyond a 2.4GHz X2 - sorry that's just sad. Overclocking was not an option as it already had heat issues.  The only other solution would have been to invest in an SSD - that was too expensive.

The money from the sale was used to buy a larger hard drive for my Dell Laptop - 750GB.  I had also purchases a refurbished 19" Dell Monitor and networking gear to connect up my Desktop.  The only thing left at this point would be the upgrades to toss into my desktop.  Actually not gonna upgrade the machine itself, am going to go for outright replacement to a higher model number, majorly upgrade the processor to quad core, upgrade the RAM to 8 gigs, and install a 2gig Nvidia GFX Card.  I am thinking of using a 1.5TB hdd internally.

I would like another laptop, but right now, between the desktop and Dell lappy, I don't really need anything.  I still have my netbook for portable computing.  My two DC7600s, I will prolly strip down and sell on craigslist.  They are good machines.

Revisiting the Classics

June has been a hectic month so far.  I started a new job and have been going through a few old classics from my back up archive.


Age of Empires 2
I dug out my back iso from AOE2 and played quite a bit.  AOE2 does not work well in Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit) but the expansion "The Conquerors" works very well and will allow you to access the original content and missions from its launcher.  I don't care much for the missions and usually just play random maps against computer opponents.

As posted on my Facebook page, AOE2 DOES work in Windows 7, but you must launch the game, the (ALT+TAB) back onto the Windows Desktop, (CTRL-ALT-DEL) into Task Manager, exit "explorer.exe," and then (ALT+TAB) back into the game.  If you don't do this, you will get some image distortions in-game.  The reason it does this is issues with DirectX 10/11 (actually 9 as well) and Aero - at least, this is the reason I have found given.

Freedom Fighter
This is one of my favorite games.  Its a tactical third person shooter from the makers of the Hitman Series which chronicles an alternate timeline in which the USSR did not collapse, but moved forward to attempt to take over the US.  The game has a system that allows you to recruit up to 10 NPCs to command.

This game was much better on the Gamecube, but I enjoyed the PC version.  The game looks dated on my dekstop, but run extremely well.  I only got tot he second level before calling it quits.


Age of Empires Online
I am a huge fan of Age of Empires, with the exception of AOE3, which I felt was awful - the interface was awful, the game looked awful, and I feel it really got away from the things that made AOE fun to focus more on areas of play more geared towards fans of Civilization and Sim City.  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those games, but they aren't what I like.

Age of Empires goes back to its roots by basically rehashing all of the missions from AOE 1 and 2, but in a new "Online" Free to Play that allows you to play through Windows Games for Multiplayer and Co-op games.  Unfortunately, you have to be online to play the single player campaigns as well.  This does, however, give you the added bonus of being able to play from ANY computer.  But if you were stuck offline you're SOL.

Rune Online
My brother sent me a copy of Rune Classic from Steam.  The game is a Viking 3rd Person Hack and Slash based on the original Unreal Engine.  I played through a few of the missions in single player, but work really had most of my attention.  All it really did was make me want to dig out UT GOTY Ed.  Which I did. :)

Unreal Tournament '99
I wish I had my backup isos, but they somehow did not survive the trip from Sanderson to Amarillo.  I believe they are either on my other backup drive or one of the three drives on the desktop I'd left behind.  What did survive was a complete backup of my fresh Install of UT GOTY from the desktop I left in Sanderson. 

I had wiped the primary drive, installed Windows and Office, and then a few of the games I'd played.  I had done a full install of UT with all Expansions, patches, and several dozen (read about 100+) maps.  Once I had finished, the UT directory was right around 980MB and I did a backup.  This meant i could install all contents to pretty much any computer - great idea, right? 

Well, I had forgotten to install the voice packs, so in order to have my game colored with comments from Samuel L Jackson and Frank Booth's memorable "Heineken?  Fuck that shit!  Pabst Blue Ribbon" or "Daddy's back, where's my bourbon?"  I'd have to dig back through my UT files archive - on the same drive as the UT backup, but - meh...

Work and Gaming
Right now am still job hunting for an IT job, so gaming has to take a back seat to working at home right now.  The job I'm working right now is telemarketing/sales and while I am glad to at least have this job, I am not sure this is something I can see myself doing for very long.   I just have to hang in there until something else comes along, I suppose.

STALKER Complete 2009 Mod

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl Stalker Complete mod

Having finished the game with the "bad" ending, I've now gone back through a couple of times to pick out the undone missions and pick-ups.  I also decided to try to download the "Stalker COmplete 2009" Mod my brother had suggested.  The mod is available at the link listed below.

 

http://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-complete-2009 

 

This mod makes graphical, effects, sound, and some balance changes to the game that really do improve gameplay.  I am impressed with the changes they made to the game and there is a 2012 Update in the works.  The improvements don't seem to have any negative performance problems and I've noticed some of the buggy play has been fixed with this mod.

 

Complete 2009 Mod adds graphics, sound, and effects improvements as well as addressing some game play issues with the original game.  The graphical fixes are simply awesome.

 

The changes to the graphics make me wish I had a better monitor and is quite close to tempting me into putting the game on my laptop.  The gameplay fixes work quite well and I'm glad to see the often buggy freezing and lagging is gone.  I was already quite impressed with the graphics in the game and this mod add even further refinement.

 

A word of warning during download, Firefox did not like the install file and did some strange things when downloading the install file.  It caused my system to hang up several times, requiring me to reboot and delete the downloaded file.  I tracked this back to an issue with Microsoft Security Essentials - I had to disable the program to download.  This was on my desktop machine which is running Windows XP Pro SP3 - am not sure why this happened, but it did cause me some trouble downloading.

 

I eagerly await the next version of this mod and am on my way back through the game.  Thanks to my brother for suggesting it shortly after buying the game for me!  :)

 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - shooter RPG

So, I am engrossed in S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Shadows of Chernobyl, thanks to my brother and what he calls "Glorious Russian Christmas" in thick Russian Accent.  Here's a taste complete with the Theme song, sung in Ukrainian.

Customizable weapons, lootable, stackable, draggable corpses, mutants and...  no women.  Where tha women at in this game?  They could have added bar wenches.  :(


Half Life "Gordon Freeman" Easter Egg/Cameo  in Wild Territory area
This game relates to Half Life in that there is a cameo character "Freeman" found in a tunnel in the Wild Territory next to the downed helicopter.  You can find two Desert Eagle pistols, some health, and ammo.  Getting to his body requires you to jump on the overturned vehicles, spools, and various boxes to get past the "lightning" barriers.

Getting out of the tunnels requires you to, first, jump on the edge of the fire barrel to back yourself out the same way you came in.  The "Family rifle" - shotgun, is found inside the red container next to the container in which you find "Black Kite" and Big Ben." You will have to maneuver your way around to get to it, but it is not overly difficult.  There is nothing else in the back of the tunnel but death by electrocution.



The rewards in the tunnel are two Desert Eagles - "Black Kite" and a custom variant "Big Ben," some ammunition and health supplies.  Both guns are worth 2500RU if you decide to sell them.  There are also AK74s, L85, LR300, and a SG550 to be picked off the locals.  Many of the LR300 (TR301) are fitted with removable optics which you can sell separately.  A few of the AK74s are fitted with optics as well, these scopes will also fit on the AN94 (Obokan/AC96/2).

"Big Ben" chambered in 9x39.

There also appears to be a crate/stash on top of one of the barriers you use to cross the tunnel, but it is empty.  The crate/stash on top of the building hulk, mentioned earlier, is a handy place to store weapons you pull off all the dead Mercs, Scientists, and Bandits in Wild Territory - at least until you wipe out enough of them to begin making regular trips from here back to the bar to sell items.

"Freeman" character yields some nice swag.

Another crate of goodies is found between two containers close to the tunnel containing two first aid kits.  There is another crate atop the building hulk containing 4-5 snipers.  Their weapons are all LR300 fitted with removable optics.  It's another good place to stash away excess equipment.  Behind the train station, directly across from the sniper's tower is where I encountered a bandit with the SG 550 (Sg1 5K).

You can also pick up an RPG in this area of the map by the downed helicopter.  You can find it with one of the downed Mercs along with 1 remaining wound.  These are heavy items so you may wish to put it into your storage box until you can move it somewhere else.

Ammo-Gathering Strategy
So far, I pick up every weapon I run across.  When I get to a place that has good cover, I unload all of the weapons gathered, stripped any optics they have, and then put them in a crate.  Once I have secured that area of the map, I run guns back to a shop keeper to sell them.

I don't use the shotguns at all, so typically stockpile the ammunition.  The pistol ammunition, I end up with quite a bit, so will dump most of it into storage, carrying about 200-300.  Health kits, food, and bandages, I carry very few of, so excess go into storage as well. 

This strategy has worked quite well in providing me cash.  It also will occasionally bring unexpected items - I've picked up a Sig 220 and 1911 along with ammo for both.  Some bandits respawn into areas bringing more ammunition and supplies.


Am still working through the beginning so will post an update.