F.E.A.R. Screenshots

Here's some screenshots from my ancient PC:

My second encounter with a Replica soldier in heavy armor.

Well, it's been a fun week, thanks to Lee and the rest of my dice-rolling barkada! Like that soldier, I'm hitting the floor. Gotta sleep!

>>>Click here to read more...

Ashampoo FireWall Seems to be Incompatible with the Updater of AVG 8.0

I seem to remember a couple of my friends use this so I'd like to put this up. Here's a thread in the forums of AVG that discusses v8.0's incompatibility problems with Ashampoo FireWall.

It goes without saying that this bug will soon be fixed. For those who are having this issue, it's a good idea to keep yourself informed about any updates in that thread.

>>>Click here to read more...

Upgrading to Spybot Search and Destroy v1.5.2 Solves the "Includes" TrojanC.sbi File Problem

I installed Spybot Search and Destroy v1.5.2 the other day, and like clockwork, eliminated the "There were problems in the include file C:\program files\spybot-search_destroy\includes TrojanC.sbi See "includes error log" for details" problem. Users who experience this problem should upgrade their Spybot SD to the current version.

Here's Spybot SD's support forum.

>>>Click here to read more...

Ad-Aware 2008 Scan Problems - Resolved but....

... I'm still reading some people having problems with it so I'll just have to wait until this persistent bug is finally dealt with. Four out of five users however, report that the bug does not rear its ugly head anymore in their systems.

For those who are curious though, here's Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 2008 forum thread.

>>>Click here to read more...

About Ingame Benchmarks

Here's my "PC Games’ Graphics Settings - Toning them Down Before the Dogs of War get Unleashed" article. It's about ingame benchmarks and how they are important for me.

>>>Click here to read more...

1Gb vs 2 Gb RAM (Hitching problem/Game Stutter)

Your video card can handle it but your machine's getting intermittent attacks of Alzheimer's.



So there I was three years ago, reading all those articles about 1Gb vs 2Gb of RAM, and all of them agreeing that 2Gb was simply not the cost-effective option. Gaaah.

What I did not know however, was that one writer wrote an article about "2Gb may not give you a substantial improvement in loading times and framerates but you can see/feel the benefits." This after I abandoned reading about the subject and went on with my gaming life firmly convinced that 1Gb was all I needed. It's so ironic since that SAME writer ALSO made a 1Gb vs 2Gb article 14 days before the second one and the former maintains that 2Gb simply isn't worth it.

Why did I not notice the past three years? Well, only my old friends know that I'm not exactly a neophiliac. I tend to play games to death and with the digital forest out there, it's going to take an eternity to chop them all down with what little time I have for gaming. Now though I just bought F.E.A.R.

Yes, after three years, I bought F.E.A.R.

(Call me insane but when I first played it on my friend's rig back in 2005 (?) I was firmly convinced that I had to get a copy. He offered to lend me it. I refused. And no, I do not like p|r@ting --- I firmly consider it a more expensive path than buying legit games. I waited. So after three years, here I am with my very own --- legit --- copy of the Platinum Edition, no less.)

Now though it mystified me right off the bat that my gaming rig is showing healthy numbers --- I'm averaging about 50-60 frames per second --- but the game hurts my eyes. I tried lowering the settings, and there were improvements of course, but the jerky movement was still there.

That's when I noticed the LED of my hard drive blinking furiously. G0ttd@mn, you should see it --- it's like a tiny Paul Revere is in there handling a gigantic LED lantern lol!

Tsk.

1 Gb is definitely not enough with 2005 or newer games --- it simply can't hold all the intensive textures these heavy hitters have. I had to lower my textures and memory-related settings before the game became more agreeable to my eyes.


SCREENSHOTS:

Here's what the graphical level that the game recommended for my gaming rig. I had an average of 34 and a maximum of 90. However, my framerate had a nadir of 13, which was unacceptable, so I dumbed it down a bit.

Min: 33; Ave: 70; Max: 147. Notice the absence of several eye-candy like volumetric smoke and shadows though. VERY playable except that...

The game still stutters visually --- even when my framerates is in the 80s!!! Above it all, my HDD's light as I've said before blinks rapidly like an SMG spitting out lead. Here's my benchmark result at 800X600 resolution. It's definitely playable but the stutter is there.

I stand corrected. I need more RAM. Shazbot!

>>>Click here to read more...

Site Renovation - My Colors are Back!

Cyan Bloodbane.


I don't know if anyone likes it, but I like this deep green background --- black is very much an "empty" color and gray is too light. White is out of the question --- I need darker colors to highlight whatever screenshots I may post.

I think I'll remove the chatbox and the article widgets though. My friends prefer YMing or texting me about D&D sessions and malling so I don't think it serves a purpose any longer. The featured article still cycles through the usual War Rock Maps and War Rock Weapons articles so it has become useless in a way; I'd rather recreate my "Featured Articles" section.

Minimal posts for the next few days; end of the month = tight schedule.

Now to salivate in anticipation of the F.E.A.R. Platinum Edition box I ordered...

>>>Click here to read more...

Ad-Aware 2008 Scan Problems and Spybot Search and Destroy "TrojanC.sbi" Scan Problem

Dual card.

Blue:

Hmm Lavasoft had released Ad-Aware 2008 but it seems it has problems judging from the feedback of users in these threads:

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=18428

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=18383

I hope they solve this soon as I am quite excited to use a product by such a renowned and reliable software company. Two weeks ago I did my part in contributing to the anti-virus community in --- along with others --- reporting a false positive that was being "detected" by A-Squared Free. That problem was expediently solved by the capable programmers of Emsisoft so I'm positive that the folks there at Lavasoft will solve this one in no time at all. Once they solve this, I'll be updating my "Best Free Anti-Virus Anti-Spyware I Use" article.

Black:

There's also a problem with Spybot Search and Destroy - scanning nowadays produces this error message about halfway through the scan:

"There were problems in the include file C:\program files\spybot-search_destroy\includes TrojanC.sbi See "includes error log" for details"

The problem has been plaguing me for some time now. The solution is in their site however and can be found here. I'll have to check it later. For now, work.

>>>Click here to read more...

Sick.

Down with a sickness


What was supposed to be a 3-hour barkada outing evolved/degenerated (depends on where you look at it from --- my perspective or that of my friends') into a full-blown 6-hour one. My friend's vehicle croaked just meters away from the mall and we had to watch for several minutes as Petron personnel doused the van's engine with several pails of water before it stopped emulating sulphuric steam vents. This was AFTER we had to go to Patag AND Bugo --- my city's equivalent of Alaska and Antarctica with respect to how they are located relative to oneother.

Now don't get me wrong I had a REALLY good time with my friends seeing all those pretty salesladies and customers strolling about in SM (with my wife alternating between pinching me and actually pointing out to ones whose facial features she admired). BUT! BUT! Given that I only had three hours of sleep before going to the office earlier that day, that city-trawling was really really bad timing. Now I'm down with tonsillitis. When I came home that night, my flagging immune system failed to quell a slight throbbing on one side of my throat. By dawn, I was burning with fever. Tsk.

Indian Jones though, was a blast. That scene --- and I hope you didn't miss what I think the director is trying to convey --- where he climbs up the mound to behold a nuclear mushroom cloud --- that was so profound; a tribute to how many years the character has seen. The mound climbing also is a proven effective medium for conveying that ominous feeling that a character is going to discover portentous. And then there's the angle of the camera that showed off effectively Indiana's size relative to the cloud. Here is a man who had piloted biplanes, who had squared off against Nazis and came out the victor --- and now he is dwarfed by the magnitude of a nuclear bomb's power. That scene for me, is the most riveting in the entire movie.

Welcome to the Nuclear Age Junior.

And welcome to the Cold War where FBI agents can pluck anyone off the streets if you so much as whisper "commie!"

Now to nuke these things that are infesting my throat...

>>>Click here to read more...

Favorite Playlists

Moloko!


I finally found a Moloko playlist at RadioBlogClub. Enjoy!

I'll be adding more playlists this evening. (Hence the plurality of the title.)

>>>Click here to read more...

Tribes Vengeance: How to Install Vanilla_b1

Saying hello to an old friend


What do you do when you can't wield War Rock Weapons nor stalk in War Rock Maps? You play your other games of course.

I downloaded this replay of a match played by someone named Odio who is renowned in Tribes: Vengeance circles as one of the best players in the first-person shooter PC game that has players using jetpacks and skiing across humongous maps. Problem was the replay won't play without a couple of files. One of these was a package named "Vanilla_b1;" I had difficulty playing this file and want to share these tips for others who might be experiencing the same problem.

1. The vanilla_b1 file found in Rapher's site (http://www.rapher.net/tribes/blogs/) is the package's source code. Do not use this one.

2. Download from some other sources like http://peacekeeper.biz/Gaming/BEML/Server_Stuff/?S=A

3. It will come in a compressed file and will contain two files. Put them here:

Tribes Vengeance > Programs > Bin

Enjoy watching replays/playing in maps where vanilla_b1 is required!

>>>Click here to read more...

How to Position 5.1 Speakers Correctly

From my other blog dated 080707

Here’s a helpful article about How to Position Your Speakers Correctly from Guru3D.com’s forums. Now Replica and Combine Soldiers can’t sneak up on you.

>>>Click here to read more...

F.E.A.R. Sequel - Project Origin

Lock and load. The gray-green walls are back again.


I surfed Gamespot last night and came across an entry entitled "Project Origin." Ringing a million bells in me, I clicked the link and a torrent of Monolith-made memories --- bullet-time, blood spatters, the voice of a madman, and the specter of a little girl --- all came back to me.

"Project Origin" is an aspect in the F.E.A.R. universe, a horror-action first-person shooter PC game developed by Monolith. I can't remember what it was since I only played the first level using a friend's PC some years back. In its entirety, I have not been able to play it since I couldn't find any shop selling the game. (P|r@ate it? No dice. Go ahead and commit sacrilege --- me? I'd rather wait. This game is too good.) "Project Origin" is a very fitting title for one that that does not bear the "F.E.A.R." label.

F.E.A.R. won Gamespot's Best Artificial Intelligence Award in the year 2005.

"Goose bumps on my goose bumps!" And --- HAHA! --- it "won't recognize 'Extraction Point" and "Perseus Mandate"! No need to buy sequels that are in essence nonexistent in the game's universe!

>>>Click here to read more...

Nexuiz 2.4.2 Incremental Patch Released!

Whoa!


I opened my mail today and got a pleasant surprise: the folks at Alientrap have released version 2.4.2 of their freeware first-person shooter for the PC!

Gamespot's news updates sure are handy!

2.4 had a problem with client prediction that resulted in some players experiencing stutter-like glitches with the game. In the game's readme file, they have listed this glitch as one of those they have rectified with this release.

Gamespot's download page for Nexuiz. You think that screenshot is good? Wait 'til you play the game!

This should be exciting as the client prediction glitch aside, this PC first-person shooter game's engine is very light and --- if your rig can handle it --- has graphics that put most games to shame if its settings are turned way up. Hell, if its bump map settings are tweaked enough, it can look almost as good as Doom 3 IMO.

The 11th. 'Should have checked out their site more often. Tsk.

I have made an article about this game back when 2.4.0 was released. It can be found HERE. I've also made an article displaying several gameplay screenshots of the first-person shooter PC game HERE.

>>>Click here to read more...

PC Benchmarking Freeware

I stumbled upon Pinoymodshop's "5 Ways to Benchmarks your PC for Free" and though old, it's a good article; I have been using two of what he suggested for quite sometime. (I stopped using 3DMark05 due to HDD space considerations though but I'm still using Cinebench R10.)

I have yet to test the other ones he suggested.

>>>Click here to read more...

The "New" CS Charlie

Not happy.



Ever since War Rock Philippines patched and reverted Charlie server back to its CS state, I've been having major problems --- I can't even get to the class-selection screen. All other games --- even games where I have higher latencies --- work fine so it's not my system. It's very odd as the first time Charlie server was converted into a CS system, I've been very happy with the game. Thing is, they experimented and converted it into a P2P system and a lot of players were very unhappy with the move. So they reverted it and poof! --- some unfortunate people seem to be having major issues with the game.

Until they fix this, no more War Rock map and War Rock weapon reviews for the next few days.

>>>Click here to read more...

May 15 -- Cabal Philippines CBT and War Rock Patch -- Glock?

... and a map with a large body of water?!!

GM JohnnyBlaze gave clues that a new rapid firing pistol is going to be integrated into War Rock Philippines with the patch today. All bets about the purported new War Rock weapon are on the Glock. No significant clues about the new War Rock map however.

Also, they changed the download screen:

4 megs of it!! I wonder what's new. I hope to the gods of gaming that super cool water effect makes it with this patch. And lookit that sniper babe! Eurasian eyes for the win!

Hmm goes with the colors of my site. Cool.

EDIT A MINUTE LATER: Oh sh|t that's an old one. That's Blue Storm, the map I derisively label as "Timoga" what with its blue-and-white cold spring resort feel. Effer. Paint colors aside, it's a good map though; I was just hoping it was something new. Owned by a perspective change. Tut tut.

Also, Cabal Philippines has just launched their closed beta test this day.

>>>Click here to read more...

Forceware Omega Drivers

Btw...



This news is old but I decided to post this as some owners of Nvidia video cards may be unaware of the fact that the owner of the OmegaDrivers website has released a tweaked 169.21. I'm continually checking the site for any new ones he might release.

I'll get back to my War Rock when this blasted storm clears.

>>>Click here to read more...

Online Virus Scanners

If you are stuck in an Internet cafe and want to send your aunt some funny pictures of you and your girlfriend but find that the cafe has dubious anti-virus software guarding their computers, you might want to check these sites out:

http://virusscan.jotti.org/
http://www.virustotal.com/

The first link scans whatever file you send it with a bevy of anti-virus software that include AVG, A-Squared, Kaspersky, and NOD32.

I am not familiar with the sites thought and do not have knowledge about how often do they update or if their security measures are substantial so I would not suggest letting the sites scan files with important data. Use them at your own risk.

They are useful in a pinch though.

Thanks to Lynx of the Emsisoft forums for sharing these.

>>>Click here to read more...

Moloko - The Time is Now

Great song!


I updated to v3.9 of the K-lite Codec Pack and again ran Aquasky's Most Wanted video clip to see if there are any changes in terms of audio and video quality. As the familiar audio tracks played, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to search for the band Moloko in YouTube. What I found surprised me --- I thought the band has a sexy, beautiful black woman singing. Instead I found that the vocalist, Róisín Murphy, is a sexy, beautiful white woman.

It's one awesome song. Enjoy.

Too bad the band split though.

>>>Click here to read more...

How to Remove Worm.win32.otwycal.ag Virus - False Positive?

Wolf.



Well, it appears to be a false positive. If you're using A-Squared Free and have detected Worm.win32.otwycal.ag in your Explorer.exe file this day (May 12, 3:32pm GMT), it may be a false positive. Check out this thread in the Emsisoft forums.

I would like to add details but I gotta hit the sack.

Do not put it in quarantine or worse, delete it. Check out the above link first and make out of it what you can. Update --- as I think they have put out a quick fix already --- and scan again; it should not appear in the list in subsequent scans.

>>>Click here to read more...

Nvidia Graphic Drivers Benchmark Tests

Updated (October 6, 2009): Tested the Nvidia GeForce 191.03 video card graphic driver. See below. (Or type ctrl-f and type "Nvidia GeForce 191.03" without the quotes.)

Settings for Nexuiz:

(Ingame) Resolution: 1024; Skins: Best; All settings off. (Nvidia Control Panel) AF: Application-controlled; AA: None; Force Mipmaps: Trilinear; Texture Filtering- Trilinear Optimization: On; Texture Filtering - Quality: High Performance; Texture Filtering - Anisotropic xx: all On.

Settings for F.E.A.R.:

(Ingame)

• CPU: Physics: Max; Sound: Max; Particles: Med; Shells: On; World Details: Min; Corpse Detail: Med
• Effects: Effects: Med; Model: Max; Water: Max; Reflections: Med; Volum: Off
• Graphics: Anti-aliasing: None; Light: Medium; Shadows: Off: Texture Filtering: Bilinear; Texture Resolution: Max; Videos: Med; Shaders: Med; Resolution: 640.
  

(Nvidia Control Panel) All settings at default except: Multi-display/mixed-GPU Acceleration; Single Display Performance Mode; Texture Filtering - Quality: High Performance; Texture Filtering - Negative LOD Bias: Clamp; Triple Buffering: off.

Update:

I erased most of the old video card benchmark tests; they won't be of much use now that I've made several more tweaks to my PC. I kept the old Tribes: Vengeance pictures though. :D

Also, I am now using Nexuiz V2.4.2 (demo1) and Lightsmark 2008.

(You might also notice the low scores of these video card benchmark tests. I am using a very old rig with only a stock 7300 GT, a P4 2.4Ghz CPU, and 2Gb of RAM. Don't ask about the mobo. It's old; it was manufactured back in the time when fish first grew legs.)

---------------------------

Nvidia 175.19

3DMark 2001 SE: 11146 3D Marks

Cinebench R10: 2252

Lightsmark 2008: 39.5

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 46 Ave: 70 Max: 100

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 17 Ave: 44 Max: 85 (23%/25%/52%)

---------------------------

Nvidia 177.40 (Leaked beta; Source: Guru3D)

3DMark 2001 SE: 11309 3D Marks

Cinebench R10: 2262

Lightsmark 2008: 39.8

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 32 Ave: 70 Max: 120

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 19 Ave: 45 Max: 85 (21%/25%/54%)

NOTE: This driver wasn't fully compatible with my system; I found out that my system couldn't play VCDs and DVDs anymore. Uninstalling the driver fixed it of course.

---------------------------

Imba awardee: :D

Nvidia 177.92 (Beta; Source: Nvidia)

3DMark 2001 SE: 11325 3D Marks

Cinebench R10: 2235

Lightsmark 2008: 39.5

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 25 Ave: 74 Max: 112

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 45 Max: 85 (22%/27%/51%)

---------------------------

Imba awardee: :D


Xtreme-G 177.92 (Source: Tweakforce)

3DMark 2001 SE: 11167 3D Marks

Cinebench R10: 2262

Lightsmark 2008: 39.5

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 25 Ave: 71 Max: 107

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 45 Max: 84 (21%/25%/54%)

It is a very rare instance when a new video driver takes your breath away with the image quality (IQ) it churns out for your system. The last one was Tweakforce's Xtreme-G 163.67 SE. The Nvidia 177.92 beta drivers made me quietly mumble awe-inspired invectives when I played games with it.

It's even rarer when a tweaked Nvidia driver makes your PC perform even smoother with IMPROVED image quality than the vanilla driver it is based from. This new Xtreme-G 177.92 driver is definitely a keeper. (The frames might be a tad lower but games play smoother.)

I've been doing video card benchmark tests for three years now and only three I consider as my Hall of Famers: Xtreme-G 163.67 SE, Forceware 177.92 Beta and --- the best so far: Xtreme-G 177.92.

Kudos to the people at Tweakforce!

------------------------------------

Nvidia 178.13 ( Source: Nvidia)

3DMark 2001 SE: 11402

Cinebench R10: 2204

Lightsmark 2008: 39.5

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 43 Ave: 73 Max: 109

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 19 Ave: 45 Max: 85 (25%/21%/54%)



------------------------------------

Xtreme-G 178.13 ( Source: Tweakforce)

3DMark 2001 SE: 11307

Cinebench R10: 2239

Lightsmark 2008: 40.0

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 27 Ave: 73 Max: 107

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 18 Ave: 46 Max: 85 (21%/23%/56%)

Better scores in F.E.A.R.; spectacular IQ --- perhaps the best so far. It's just the DV bug that's holding this and the stock 178.13 back.
------------------------------------

Nvidia leaked 178.15

3DMark 2001 SE: 11182

Cinebench R10: 2203

Lightsmark 2008: 39.9

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 27 Ave: 72 Max: 109

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 46 Max: 85 (18%/27%/55%)

Slightly improved figures in F.E.A.R.; DV bug fixed (The Image Sharpening slider still doesn't work though); slightly improved IQ.

------------------------------------

Nvidia 178.24

3DMark 2001 SE: 11212

Cinebench R10: 2252

Lightsmark 2008: 39.6

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 55 Ave: 76 Max: 122

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 46 Max: 85 (16%/26%/58%)

This version displays unprecedented clarity. It's not much but it's noticeable. The DV bug is back with a vengeance though; the DV and Image Sharpening sliders aren't working again.

------------------------------------

Xtreme-G Quadro 178.26

3DMark 2001 SE: 11371

Cinebench R10: 2178

Lightsmark 2008: 39.8

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 55 Ave: 75 Max: 121

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 46 Max: 85 (18%/26%/56%)

Mixed results; slightly better IQ; the DV slider works; still no luck with the Image Sharpening one --- the thing is still disabled.

------------------------------------

Xtreme-G 180.42

3DMark 2001 SE: 11303

Cinebench R10: 2243

Lightsmark 2008: 40.1

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 24 Ave: 70 Max: 118 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 64 Ave: 87 Max: 148)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 18 Ave: 45 Max: 85 (21%/25%/54%)

PHENOMENAL IQ; Desktop color sliders are all bugged --- talk about paying the price for something so beautiful. :D

--------------------------------------


Nvidia (leaked) 180.70

3DMark 2001 SE: 11253

Cinebench R10: 2173

Lightsmark 2008: 39.7

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 25 Ave: 69 Max: 116 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 61 Ave: 86 Max: 142)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 18 Ave: 45 Max: 85 (21%/25%/54%)

Exact same performance in F.E.A.R. but slower at all other video card benchmark tests; this is probably the best vanilla Nvidia driver in terms of IQ though.

-------------------------------------

Xtreme-G 180.70

3DMark 2001 SE: 11137

Cinebench R10: 2229

Lightsmark 2008: 39.8

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 47 Ave: 71 Max: 104 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 62 Ave: 86 Max: 144)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 19 Ave: 44 Max: 85 (18%/29%/53%)

------------------------------------

Nvidia GeForce 180.84

3DMark 2001 SE: 11200

Cinebench R10: 2262

Lightsmark 2008: 39.8

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 56 Ave: 76 Max: 123 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 62 Ave: 87.5 Max: 146.5)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 45 Max: 85 (20%/26%/54%)

------------------------------------

Xtreme-G Nvidia GeForce 180.84

3DMark 2001 SE: 11277

Cinebench R10: 2260

Lightsmark 2008: 39.8

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 45 Ave: 74 Max: 116 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 62 Ave: 87 Max: 146)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 18 Ave: 44 Max: 85 (21%/23%/56%)

-------------------------------------

Xtreme-G Nvidia GeForce 181.00

3DMark 2001 SE: 10971

Cinebench R10: 2223

Lightsmark 2008: 39.6

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 24 Ave: 72 Max: 118 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 61.3 Ave: 87 Max: 145.6)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 17 Ave: 43 Max: 85 (20%/30%/50%)

-----------------------------------

Dox Optimized Nvidia 181.20

3DMark 2001 SE: 11268

Cinebench R10: 2221

Lightsmark 2008: 36.8

Nexuiz (v2.4.2; demo1): Min: 57 Ave: 76 Max: 124 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 62.7 Ave: 88 Max: 146.7)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 20 Ave: 44 Max: 84 (22%/25%/53%)

-----------------------------------

Dox Optimized Nvidia 185.68

3DMark 2001 SE: 10743

Cinebench R10: 2141

Lightsmark 2008: 39.2

Nexuiz (v2.5.1; demo1): Min: 46 Ave: 61 Max: 100 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 55.33 Ave: 75 Max: 119)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 16 Ave: 41 Max: 85 (25%/27%/48%)

-----------------------------------

Nvidia GeForce ION 190.38

3DMark 2001 SE: 10451

Cinebench R10: 2171

Lightsmark 2008: 38.6

Nexuiz (v2.5.1; demo1): Min: 45 Ave: 61 Max: 99 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 55 Ave: 75 Max: 118.67)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 14 Ave: 40 Max: 84 (30%/21%/49%)

-----------------------------------


Nvidia GeForce ION 190.62

3DMark 2001 SE: 10623

Cinebench R10: 2173

Lightsmark 2008: 38.8

Nexuiz (v2.5.1; demo1): Min: 47 Ave: 62 Max: 101 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 57 Ave: 77 Max: 121.33)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 16 Ave: 40 Max: 85 (33%/19%/48%)

-----------------------------------


Xtreme-G Nvidia GeForce ION 190.62

3DMark 2001 SE: 10668

Cinebench R10: 2202

Lightsmark 2008: 39.5

Nexuiz (v2.5.1; demo1): Min: 46 Ave: 61 Max: 100 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 53.67 Ave: 75.67 Max: 118.33)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 15 Ave: 40 Max: 85 (30%/21%/49%)

-----------------------------------


Xtreme-G Nvidia GeForce 191.03

3DMark 2001 SE: 10511

Cinebench R10: 2174

Lightsmark 2008: 38.8

Nexuiz (v2.5.1; demo1): Min: 45 Ave: 61 Max: 99 (Averaged results from 2nd and 3rd runs: Min: 54 Ave: 74 Max: 118)

F.E.A.R. (v1.08): Min: 17 Ave: 41 Max: 84 (27%/25%/48%)


As with all software, USE THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK. What might work for me might not for you. Please use a registry backup restore software before installing 3rd-party anythings just to be on the safe side.

>>>Click here to read more...

Sequels: Far Cry 2 and Doom 4!

Fire, brimstone, and --- more fire.



While the news about the sequel to Crytek's first-person shooter PC game that awed everyone some years ago is already old news, the one about Id Software's sequel totally took me by surprise. Their official site proclaimed that the sequel is going to be in the works just two days ago. According to the article posted on their site, Todd Hollenshead, the company's CEO, has announced:

"DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth,"

I really hope it's everything I wrote about in an article in my other blog 9 months ago:

"Seriously though, when is Id gonna release "Hell on Earth"? I mean imagine this: San Diego restaurants overrun with Imps, Cacodemons hovering over Times Square, Hell Knights stomping around malls. And it’s just you and them in a desolate cityscape. Or maybe not so desolate; Half-life 2 already got the devastated cityscape atmosphere so why not blue skies and a bustling, prosperous city (New York, San Diego?) when the first portals open?

Think about it. Id! Give us Doom 4!"

Meanwhile here's a video uploaded by Origina1as; it features how fire behaves in the new Far Cry.

Fire that spreads according to where the ingame wind is blowing --- the game's engine is unprecedented.Gamespot has also uploaded trailers of the sequel. No trigens in sight though.

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The Optimism of the Pilot of the Millenium Falcon

The power of positive thinking in the face of rejection

We all heard their stories --- struggling would-be celebrities, being rebuffed by directors or recording companies and then finally hitting paydirt.

I just didn't think that Harrison Ford belonged to this common story.

I came across this clip when I was editing an article about the actor. Listen to the reply he made to the Vice President of Columbia when the veep scorned his acting skills (The story about that exchange starts at 6:05 in the clip below):

More adamant than his fictional late Wookie sidekick. (Clip uploaded by WhiteSharkFilm)

And speaking of Harrison Ford and Wookies, I remember complaining some years back "Why, oh why didn't Lucas make a movie that focused on the wars fought by the clones?" I was an avid player of Star Wars Battlefront back then, Jedi for me were getting old, and the clones' armors were so cool back when they served for a republic. Like DotA ("I'm terrible at microing, why didn't Blizzard make a game that uses heroes only?!" - me) the upcoming CGI by LucasFilms stuffed my thought down my cranium:

I don't care if they came from embryonic or adult stem cells. Republic clones for the win! (Uploaded by OnTheWing2007)

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FSB (Front Side Bus) and RAM Speeds

From my old blog; dated 072507

Okay, back when I had absolutely 0 knowledge about PCs, the front side bus was a complete black hole to me. It totally defied and all but swallowed any light I shone through its gaping maw even though friends and techies explained the durned thing to me over and over. Hell, I was never a good listener anyway. But I am a durned good reader. And so in my travels in the Information Superhighway ---- hoping to see those Tron people and 3Jane ----- I stumbled on this months ago:

Ask Ars: FSB and memory speeds

In it, you will learn how the FSB of your PC relates to the speed at which your RAM modules run. (Very important if you are planning to buy a totally new rig or are planning to upgrade your RAM)

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Dawn of War 2!!!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Wa---


---rp.

Just when I thought all was lost and was ready to kneel to Blizzard's Starcraft 2's cool graphics, THQ, just brought its Basilisk guns and blew it out of the water.

Grab your shuriken cannons my kin, it is time once again to defend the Craftworlds and teach those meddling mon-keigh lessons in humility!

Here's the official site of THQ's and Games Workshop's Dawn of War 2.

By Eldanesh, I hope to see Tyranids this time!

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Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Soulstorm

The RTS and movie industries are all jampacked with space bugs.


That's what I thought when this last installment for the Dawn of War series --- a real-time strategy game based on Games Workshop's wildly successful Warhammer 40,000 tabletop strategy game --- was released with only two additional races --- the Dark Eldar and the Sisters of Battle.

Dawn of War: Soulstorm Intro (Uploaded by BigD___Cheney)

No tyranids with their awesome Carnifexes in sight. Brett Todd of Gamespot nailed the final nail to my proverbial coffin of hope with these words:

"Soulstorm feels like a fitting end to the Dawn of War line..."

It's a shame really because of with their design and how their symbiont-based weaponry work, IMHO, they are way cooler than the Starcraft's Zerg. That's right --- even with Starcraft TWO's Zerg. Eat your hearts out Ultralisks!

I blame Starcraft's popularity for this --- mayhap Dawn of War's developers thought that the gaming community doesn't need another host of space bugs infesting their LCDs.

(Note: Lest anyone think I am very much biased, let it be known that I still hold Starcraft's ingame plot to own that of Dawn of War's. On the basis of design though, I favor Game Workshop's; years of cultivating their tabletop game have resulted in creature and weapon designs that are for me, nearly unparalleled. )

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AVG 8.0 Consumes More System RAM and Needs Tweaking?

Déjà vu.


AVG 8.0 has been out for quite some time now. AVG has stated that this new version is "faster and better." The latter goes without saying but "faster"? I have to see this first. Two friends of mine have reported that the new software is slowing down their systems . Add to this Tweakguide's complaint about it relatively consuming more resources than 7.5, and it got me to decide I'll pass up on this one until 7.5 finally croaks this May 31. My past experience with a memory-gobbling anti-virus has left me leery of software that purportedly use too much RAM. Nothing touches the FPS of my first-person shooter games. Nothing --- not even a new version of my favorite freeware anti-virus. (I know a lot of persons argue that the lack of system RAM doesn't affect your framerates but I dunno, maybe it's just my system but back when I had only 512Mb, my framerates do go down everytime my system swaps data from my HDD. Feel free to disagree with me; mayhap I'll learn something. Constructive arguments only please. No jack-a-dollar discourse.)

"FPS of my first-person shooter games." Heh. La dee da. I need the accuracy. (Lol! Sorry, I got naughty; wife was watching when I played this round. That there is a teammate; one of the best I've seen --- good support, we took turns guarding our sixes, and she healed me several times.)

Back to the topic: tweaking these days when I'm immersed in my job is too much of a hassle (considering that I don't use the company's PCs for work), but here's Tweakguide's article on how to tweak AVG 8.0 to make it utilize less system resources.

Disclaimer: As of the time of writing, I have not used AVG 8.0 nor, needless to say, have I used Tweakguide's tweaks on the software. Use them at your own risk. (Tweakguides.com is an excellent, reliable site though.)

>>>Click here to read more...

May 1: Another Foray into War Rock's Bullet-ridden Maps

Rusty.


Here's what I get for not playing this game for two weeks straight and then playing on-and-off afterwards: in one match I had a 1:4 kill-death ratio! 0_0 Tsk. Anyway, here's one of those "moments":

Three little piggies all lined up. Nah, as much as I want you to believe it to be so, I killed only two of those charging through that gap; a fellow trooper killed the first one.

Ooops. Sorry wrong multiplayer game. I suck at this. (300ms ping anyone?) Still deployable turrets, inventory stations, and mines --- not to mention jetpacks --- make this game one of a kind. Well, three actually, what with its prequels, but let me discuss that some other time. Back to the topic...

When meeting with that sexy medic date of yours, dress to impress. And make sure to use Glo metal polish. Here's War Rock's M7 combat knife with Bloom enabled. Pretty lights... can't resist...

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