Fed the Nvidia GeForce ION 190.62 WHQL to my video card benchmark software two nights ago and while F.E.A.R. played smoother this time around, 190.62 displayed some very odd gamma behavior --- in MadOnion's 3DMark2001SE, the tests were very dark. In F.E.A.R., I had to tweak the gamma level to see the "Barely visible" bar. When I did, everything was so bright as to appear diluted.
Odd. Very odd.
The link to the results after the jump.
This driver produced better framerates than the last Nvidia GeForce video card driver I tested, which was version 190.38. (Apologies for the typo; I labeled that previously as "190.83.")
Tired of the usual Quake clones? Want to try something new? What about a full game downloadable PC free FPS multiplayer shooter that lets you---no, not soar the sky on jetpacks, I already covered that---wall jump, do ramp dashes and quick sidesteps? What about a game that provides you those trick moves (and then some) and presents the whole adrenaline-inducing package in cel-shaded visuals?
In-game screenshot taken from the official Warsow site
Details of Warsow 0.5 and the download links to the downloadable PC free FPS multiplayer shooter after the jump.
Warsow is a cel-shaded PC free FPS multiplayer shooter that lets players do special moves, allowing for different game modes that are played out even faster than traditional Quake games.
Warsow 0.5 just came out and with it, the developers have brought graphical upgrades to their website.
Well, hell, those guys at MekTek.net are serious as a DCMS MechWarrior. They really are committed to release Battletech - MechWarrior 4 as a downloadable full version free FPS PC game.
MekTek has published two posts on its website that give updates about the highly-anticipated full version release.
One says that they are "gearing up for the Mercs release" while the other, well, --- does this:
"Since the announcement, we have been diligently preparing for the release of Mechwarrior4 which has all of the digital protection mechanisms removed. Along with this development we have also been working on our MekMatch software. For those of you not familiar, MekMatch is a reverse engineered protocol developed for match making services in Mechwarrior4 by MekTek. This service was developed after Microsoft terminated the Zonematch service which officially supported Mechwarrior4 multiplayer. Our MekMatch software needed a serious overhaul to handle the amount of traffic we expect on our servers when the game is released. MekTek also plans to include MekPak3.1 with the free release of Mechwarrior4 which includes an additional 100+ new battlemechs, dozens of new weapons, maps, and other content developed by MekTek. The distribution will come as a single file self-installable which will be initially downloadable via torrent trackers and later provided in multi part volumes, ISO."
pique your curiosity? Links to the MekTek posts after the jump.
Nvidia has just released version 190.62 of their Nvidia GeForce ION graphic driver.
Details and the download link and after the jump.
The 190 GeForce video card driver series adds support for OpenGL 3.1 and CUDA 2.3. The 190.62 release has been optimized for the most recent PhysX games, namely Darkest of Days and Batman: Arkham Asylum. It also installs the latest PhysX System Software (v9.09.0814) and addresses several bugs.
The Nvidia GeForce ION graphic driver 190.62 supports all "GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, and 200-series desktop GPUs and ION GPUs."
Guild Wars MMORPG fans rejoice! The developers of the long-awaited sequel to the original Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, have revealed the first details of this MMORPG that had been regarded by many as vaporware.
This downloadable full version freeware turn-based strategy game may be a WIP but nonetheless I'm actively following the development of UFO: Alien Invasion v2.3 --- being an X-Com inspired game, it hammers flat most of the retail games out there in the gameplay department.
The July progress report and what this X-Com-inspired free turn-based strategy game is all about after the jump.
It's been a while since I've made an article about the development of version 2.3 and for good reason; for several weeks, development builds of version 2.3 had had the "infamous 'harvester ramp' problem"; a bug they just recently fixed.
Some of the changes/tweaks/fixes:
Ufopedia UI improvements.
Lots of other UI improvements and fixes, including text scrolling fixes, base defence dialog improvements, more tooltips and production screen improvements.
Geoscape improvements and fixes, including autofire for defence weapons, target selection, base defence fixes, Moon displaying fixes, ammo assigning fixes, mail client fixes, transfer fixes and inventory fixes.
Updated and new textures and normalmaps.
More map prefabs split and sorted in subdirectories.
Key binding improvements.
Radiant prefab panel now has treeview according to directories.
Pathfinding fixes (including infamous "harvester ramp" problem fix and ceiling check fixes).
Fixes and updates to maps, including work on new aircraft.
A few days ago, I made a post about my YouTube channel where I was uploading the secret files of Area 51, the downloadable PC free FPS multiplayer shooter from Midway. Unfortunately, fiber breaks in several of the backbones connecting Japan and Taiwan and Malaysia and Singapore hampered my schedule --- we had to suffer days of watch-grass-grow slow Internet speeds. It was only just last night that I completed uploading the entire series.
The links---and instructions on how to follow the 21-video clip series as well as my review of the downloadable PC free FPS multiplayer shooter from Midway---after the jump.
Yesterday, the office suddenly turned into one awesome geek heaven-utopia.
Picture showing why after the jump.
One of the World of Warcraft figurines belongs to the MIS head. Our CEO---who also plays World of Warcraft---gave me the Alan Moore WildC.A.T.s volume. (Gewd loard! The twists at the climax! I wasn't able to sleep last night!)
And yes, yes, the author is THE Alan Moore, author of the Watchmen graphic novel. The "How to Draw and Sell Digital Cartoons" book is mine (hmm yes, sometimes I make digital art. Samples HERE and HERE). The Galaxy 9800 GT was bought by a Nathrezim who works in the office (he wanted a kick-behind, budget video card so I recommended a 9600 or a 9800).
So kids, what your parents say about video games is complete bull. Knock yourselves out and be a CEO/manager/MIS head one day. And own World of Warcraft figurines.
Don't look now but two downloadable PC free FPS multiplayer shooter full version games are getting overhauls. Yes, no less than two games that you can download off the Internet legally and for free have powered up from slumber.
What these games are and where to get them after the jump.
Tremulous and Warsow are two downloadable PC free FPS multiplayer shooter full version games that have been around for sometime. However these games have lain dormant for the longest time that I have lost hope in seeing new full versions of these free PC FPS come out --- Warsow has been stuck at version 0.42 while Tremulous has seemingly been nailed to a bulkhead at version 1.1.0. Lately though, these games have shown signs of life with the Warsow site announcing that version 0.5 is coming and the Tremulous developers churning out updates about the game's servers and news about the development of version 1.2.
Warsow is a free PC FPS multiplayer shooter that sports cel-shaded stylized visuals and fast-paced Quake 3 gameplay. It also features wall jumping akin to that of the recent Prince of Persia games, allowing for stunt shots and mid-air kills.
Tremulous is a team-based free PC FPS multiplayer shooter that pits two opposing sides---space marines and ravenous aliens---against each other. What sets Tremulous apart from most PC FPS is that it allows a limited form of basebuilding --- space marines can set up structures while aliens can spawn bioforms that are essential to spawning. Moreover, each side can upgrade over the course of a match. Space Marines can buy better gear and armament while aliens can evolve into bigger ones.
I will be posting my reviews of these two when their new versions come out.
Several months back the cooling fan of my power supply unit (PSU) started making grinding noises at bootup. I ignored it the first few weeks then started to oil it once a month. While the method was VERY time consuming (I had to open up the fan, peel away the sticker masking its shaft, and drop a VERY minute amount of sewing machine oil on it) and dangerous (Oboy! There are some huge capacitors in there!), it was ultimately just a temporary fix --- after weeks of this, my fan started to slow, prompting me to purchase an 80mm fan from the nearest PC shop.
Pictures of the procedure---as well as a link to a guide---can be found after the jump.
DISCLAIMER: IF YOU WANT TO REPLACE YOUR PC POWER SUPPLY UNIT FAN, PLEASE REFER TO GUIDES PRESENTED ON OTHER SITES (a link to one such guide is provided immediately below). I MADE THE FOLLOWING GUIDE AS A SORT OF A "TECH JOURNAL," AS I ENJOYED DOING THE PROCEDURE; THIS IS IN NO WAY MEANT AS AN AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE ON THE MATTER. POWER SUPPLY UNITS DO CARRY HAZARDOUS ELECTRICAL CHARGES EVEN IF UNPLUGGED. I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE IF SOMETHING DIRE HAPPENS TO YOU OR YOUR HARDWARE. FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I made the following steps according to this excellent guide by David Kroll of ExtensionTech.net. While that guide is more comprehensive than this one, I uploaded these photos just in case some anxious (I know I was!) beginner wants to see more pictures of the procedure.
After cutting out the yellow wire of the new fan (it's useless for this procedure as the yellow wire is just for monitoring the fan's RPM and besides, my PC power supply unit only has two wires connecting it to the old fan), I put the new fan in place and prepared to cut out the PC power supply unit's wires from the old one.
A problem started here: the screws the new fan came with would not fit the PSU fan's holes. It was off to the nearest hardware shop to buy screws. I bought long ones. I also bought washers to hold the new fan in place.
Note: Unless you are pretty sure the alternative screws won't touch any part of the PC power supply, I don't recommend you doing this. This is my fan, my PSU, and my apartment; if they burn down, they're mine so there's n--- wait. The apartment's not mine... Rosing's going to get furious if it happens... Think of the lawsuit... Anyway...
To ensure that the washers won't fall off in the future, I placed small dabs of super glue after the washer. Big enough to hold the washers but small enough that I can easily chip them away if I want to replace the fan again in the future. Again, I don't recommend doing this (stupid PC shop supplying the wrong screws...).
The same pic delineated:
Having installed the PC PSU fan and ensuring that its wires are not waving in the air like those of a crazed, freeloading Illithid, I proceeded to cut the PC power supply unit's wires from my old fan. Notice that I've cut super close to the fan, following the ExtensionTech guide's instructions:
I then soldered the loose ends (from the new fan and the PC PSU's printed circuit board), slid the heatshrink tube over the exposed wiring, heated the heatshrink with my soldering iron and voila! A neat-looking connection! Be careful of the polarity! Black wire of the PC power supply unit board to the black wire of the new fan; red wire of the PC power supply unit board to the red wire of the new fan.
Here's a picture showing the connection before I slid the heatshrink over the whole thing (I'll post a separate article on how I did this in the next few days just in case someone wants more detailed pics):
The same pic delineated:
The whole thing up close (you can see thicker heatshrink tube covering the soldered wire):
The PC power supply unit with new fan in place just before I placed the PC PSU cover back on.
The PC power supply unit with the new 80mm exhaust fan spinning. PC bling bling! P Diddy easy now. How did one tech site say it?
"You're my boy Blue!" (and yes, that is indeed an original No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M's Way. I thought it might make for a good background. Bought it for $16. Mint condition. Grin. Grin.)
Six years running and they still churn out patches for their aging RTS game. I just love this company. Blizzard just released another patch again, bringing up Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne to version 1.24.
There must be a blue moon out tonight. It's still very possible though, that someone used up a moonstone.
Detailed information about the download Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne patch 1.24 and how it can be obtained after the jump.
Just login to Battle.net to download the Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne 1.24 update.
According to Blizzard Support, the Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne patch 1.24 introduces changes to the Frozen Throne PC World Editor:
"Added new JASS hash table functions to replace the lost functionality from fixing unsafe type casting. - Hash Table - Save Item Handle - Hash Table - Save Unit Handle - ... - Hash Table - Load Item Handle - Hash Table - Load Unit Handle - ... - Hash Table - Get Handle ID"
It also implements the following fixes:
"1. Fixed an exploit related to unsafe type casting that allowed users to execute arbitrary code in maps. 2. Fixed the JASS unsafe type casting exploit ("return bug") 3. Fixed several World Editor crashes"
A few days back, I posted my review of Area 51, one of the free best PC FPS downloadable freeware shooters. Produced by Midway, the same company that produced the Mortal Kombat series, the game has been recently released as freeware, touting high production values (to the delight of PC FPS fans). I played it, completed it, and found to my dismay that the game kindled the completist in me.
Thanks to a GameFAQs guide, I managed to unlock all of Area 51's secret files.
I think I played the game to death though. >)_)
Links to my review, the videos, and Area 51's download page after the jump.
This is the first of a series (click the "Video Response" on the video's YouTube page to watch its sequels). It's not complete, but I should be uploading the last of it in the next three days or so.
View the entire series by clicking on the video response on each Area 51 Secret File page. (Navigate to the YouTube page by double-clicking on the video above.)
A few weeks back I made a post about the downloadable free full version RPG DOS game Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall (prequel of the popular Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion ).
Links to the guide and to freeware strategy games and free FPS full versions after the jump.
The problem is that DOS games like Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall need DOSBox to play.
DOSBox is an emulator; it creates a DOS environment in Windows allowing you to play downloadable free full versions of RPG games and free FPS DOS games. Getting the software to do what you want it to do entails that you need to brush up on several DOS commands of the bygone years. Also, you might need to tweak the freeware in order for it to render several DOS games that are finicky with regards to modern day operating systems.
Luckily for us, a user named HighPass has posted in the DOGGames.com forums a guide that lists several useful DOS commands and a number of tweaks that will prove highly useful to first time DOSBox users.
(NOTE: The guide and the freeware DOSBox are third-party resources. I did not create the guide nor the software. I do not own them. Install/use at your own risk.)
Yesterday I posted an article about MechWarrior 4, a tactical FPS PC multiplayer shooter game that's going to be released for free. All this power armor and BattleMech craze has gotten to me. I searched YouTube for footage of the 90s film Robot Jox. If memory serves, I was in 8th grade then and while the film was "goofy" (according to the one who uploaded the trailer), I drank it all in.
The trailer---and the link to the tactical FPS PC multiplayer shooter game article---after the jump.
This PC multiplayer shooter game still is not free YET but this downloadable full free FPS PC shooter game WILL BE released as freeware on the 25th anniversary of the franchise. Either that, or some company's going to lose face big time for reneging on their announcement...
[EDIT: The game is now officially freeware. Check out THIS POST.]
(Links to the official sites---the founder and the publisher's--- of the downloadable full free FPS PC shooter game are found after the jump.)
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The enemy was coming, climbing the hill that separated us at a ground-eating pace. The computer identified his BattleMech as an Owens, and by his energy emissions, it was---in all probability---carrying a couple of Medium Lasers and Long-Range Missile modular launcher pods. I moved my 'Mech deeper into the grove that I had chosen as my screen.
I knew the stand of trees could not hide me; his electronics was as good as mine and, judging from his purposeful stride, my presence had already lighted up his electronics.
He topped the hill.
I fired my LRMs while quickly maneuvering for a clear shot with my lasers. My 'Mech jerked as two salvos of smoke-trailing destruction kicked from my launchers, streaking towards the lone silhouette standing on top of the promontory. The angry swarm wove around the intervening vegetation, steel locusts hungry for ferro fibrous-covered fodder.
He automatically took evasive action, his LAM system furiously providing point defense---THERE! I grabbed the clear shot, and three shafts of coherent light stabbed out, daggers of energy that slivered and melted reactive and reflective armor…
Welcome to the world of MechWarrior, where soldiers strap into ambulatory weapons delivery systems known as BattleMechs.
Based from FASA's pen-and-paper tabletop strategy Battletech game franchise, MechWarrior focuses more on the men and women who pilot the juggernauts of destruction that walk the 30th century.
In both the multiplayer shooter PC game and pen-and-paper versions, the franchise had players tweaking their engines of destruction, replacing modular weapon systems with ones of their liking. This freedom of modifying existing 'Mech builds (within specified weight limit restrictions), held great appeal and the franchise was wildly successful in its heyday.
However, in January 2001, the company closed. What seems surprising (and painful to BattleTech fanatics) is that the company didn't fold due to financial reasons. The founders closed down the company as they felt the pen-and-paper industry was going downhill. Microsoft and Activision still continued to make games a few years after that but FASA ceased the production of BattleTech boxed sets.
In December 2007, however, one of its founders, Jordan Weisman, announced that his venture, Smith & Tinker, was resurrecting the MechWarrior franchise. On July 9, the company's site announced that they will be releasing the multiplayer PC shooter MechWarrior 4---and all its expansions---for free.
Curious, I've downloaded the demo version of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries and gave the PC FPS game a go. For its time, the free FPS offers superb graphics and an insane amount of customization. In it, players can swap weapons systems, add in different systems (point defense, jumpjets---yes, Justin! Jumpjets!---IFF jammers, etc), and choose types of armor and engines, to name a few of the plethora of tweaks available.
It might seem a minor thing compared to the whole picture, but I really like this game's audio effects for the laser weapons of the 'Mechs --- every time I fire a Large Laser, I can almost feel the very air being seared as those powerful beams of light lance out.
These are just light 'Mechs but the feel of pounding the earth and tearing apart trees as you bound through the landscape is very satisfying. Awesome? Very.
