Recreation Computer Games - Berkeley CSUA MOTD
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2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
12/24   

2005/3/22-23 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36808 Activity:nil
3/22    Has anyone played the game "Postal"?
        \_ Yes.  You know there are two?
           \_ no i did not.  explain.
              \_ Postal is a ~1997 isometric-prespective kill-em-all game.
                 Postal 2 is a ~2003 mission-oriented first person shooter.
        \_ yes, why?
2005/3/14-16 [Recreation/Sports, Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Media] UID:36691 Activity:nil
3/14    If you're bored, you can meander over to http://gamespot.com, click on
        Act of War: Direct Action, click on Developer Diary #2 movie, and
        watch as French game developers gloat over the tactical nuking of
        the White House.
2005/3/12-14 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36662 Activity:nil
3/12    New Legend of Zelda Trailer:
        http://www.zelda.com/universe/game/legendzelda
2005/3/6-7 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36548 Activity:nil
3/6     This is a pretty fun TRON game:
        http://www.gltron.org
2005/2/21-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36353 Activity:nil
2/21    Someone please point me to a web site to learn about Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh,
        and similar games? I'd like to know the rules of engagement in these
        games, like how character X beats character Y under Z conditions
        (levels, hitpoint, potions, etc). I just want to understand the
        complexity of the game, and maybe write ILP constraints and see if I
        can solve it or derive an optimal strategy using ILP solvers like
        CPLEX or something. I'm in desperate need of a PhD thesis. ok thx
2005/2/19-21 [Computer/SW/Unix, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36258 Activity:low
2/19    EQII's new /pizza command is really quite brilliant, but they're missing
        out on dozens of other marketing opportunities.  What sort of ideas
        can you think of?
        \_ /hooker
           \_ Yay!
        \_ /term paper
        \_ /shower
        \_ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/17/48hours/main525965.shtml
           http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2000dec/gam20010105003667.htm
           I recommend "/psychologist"
           \_ You mean M-x doctor
        \_ /quit
2005/2/19-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36256 Activity:moderate
2/19    Looking for DVD players that play AVI/DIVX/misc files, recommendation?
        \_ Hacked xbox (+ airport express for wireless file transfer,
           if needed). The only limitation is that xbm can only up-convert
           un-encrypted vobs, so you have to rip your dvds and re-burn or
           ftp them to the xbox before you can watch movies in HD.
           \_ how hard is it to hack xbox? and do you install linux on it?
              \_ http://www.xbox-scene.com/tutorials.php?p=14|#14
                 If you're not handy with a soldering iron, you can always
                 hire someone to do it.
           \_ The Xbox is pretty noisy.  It's not a problem for gaming, but
              it's distracting when watching movies.
        \_ The Philips 642 is fairly nice/cheap.  It tends to crop subtitles
           on some of the divx files I've played though
           \_ can I put 10 400M AVI's and make it play 10 hours? That's what
              I really need..
              \_ Seriously get a hacked xbox. Just drop in a 120 gb hd and
                 forget about wasting cds and dvds.
           \_ Right, the DVP642 is the standard DivX player currently.
              It's $63 on Amazon but sometimes back-ordered.  I have one, it's
              fine; actually, many, many people have one.
        \_ I'm still waiting for a portable DVD player that plays AVI/DIVX/etc.
2005/2/18-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Humor] UID:36240 Activity:low Cat_by:auto Edit_by:auto
2/18    http://everquest2.station.sony.com/pizza
        A sign of the times, or something
        \_ it would be cool if I could use motd to order pizza, because that's
           pretty addictive as well.
           \_ Just post your home address and credit card number, and we'll,
              uh, order something for you.
        \_ Everquest rules!
2005/2/8 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:36096 Activity:moderate
2/7     Playstation 3 preview pic
        link:tinyurl.com/6xmuj  -John
        \_ I don't see BELLS and WHISTLES.
        \_ I'd rather have a p-p-p-powerbook
           \_ I'll totally buy one, could you ship me one?  I'll pay when
              I get it.  Is overseas shipping ok?
2005/1/28-29 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35961 Activity:nil
1/28    Seanbaby's 20 Worst Video Games Of All Time, the Director's Cut:
        http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/egm.htm
2005/1/13-14 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35698 Activity:moderate
1/13    I'm looking for a fun, cool electronic gadget toy for $100 or less.
        Suggestions?
        \_ Ipod shuffle crap.
        \_ The OMRON HJ112 pedometer at Amazon for $31!
           (Or, just click Top Sellers and Electronics category)
           \_ does it work?  Is it accurate?
              \_ the user reviews on Amazon all say it's the bees knees
                 of course if you wanted to be elite, you could get a GPS
                 pedometer which will be more exact about how far you've gone,
                 but I think they're too big these days
        \_ Laser pointer.  Some dogs like to chase the dot.
           \_ i hear green ones have a really long range, enough for airline
              pilots to see ...
           \_ pet lover.
        \_ If you like to cook, I got a digital probe thermometer for $18 at
           Target.  It takes all the guesswork out of doneness and it's kind of
           neat watching a roast's internal temperature creep upwards.
        \_ GameBoy Advance SP.  $80 + cost of games.
        \_ Handheld GPS
2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
12/24   

2005/1/5-6 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35556 Activity:kinda low
1/5     WoW players, what are your experiences?  Is it soloable at high levels?
        How does it compare to other games you've played?
        \_ Come to #wow on screwdriver irc.
        \_ Come to #wow on screwdriver.CSUA irc.
        \_ Whether or not it is soloable really depends on class.  DONT be a
           mage if you want to solo!  Paladins probably work the best for that.
           Grouping isn't forced but definitely makes some things easier.
           Very addictive, very well done, great graphics and artwork.
           Crafting seems to largely be a waste/hobby.  Take up two gathering
           clases for professions, just for the money.  Occasional server
           problems, but not more than any MMO I've dealt with. -ERic
           \_ Hunter and warlock are the best solo classes.  All classes can
              solo.
        \_ My younger brother who plays it really likes the fact that PKing is
           encouraged.  Dying isn't a big deal unlike other games - you don't
           lose much time and none of your cash or items.
           And if you don't want to be a PK you can just leave the PK flag off.
           There's also a challenge/duel option where, at the end of the duel,
           the two fighters remain alive and retain their original HP.
           \_ Unless you play on a PvP server, in which case you can't turn
              off the PvP flag in contested or enemy territory.  Also, you
              don't return to your original HP after duels, but at least
              you don't die.  Anymore. -geordan
        \_ In conclusion, nerf paladins. -geordan
2004/12/31 [Politics/Foreign/Canada, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35503 Activity:low
12/30   katamari! http://csua.org/u/aj8 - danh
        \_ I will never understand why people flip over this game.  It was
           amusing for about 10 minutes.  After that it was just kinda stupid.
           \_ It's not our fault you have no taste.
2004/12/10-12 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35244 Activity:kinda low
12/9    http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/12/09/hospitals.gaming.ap/index.html
        Video games calm kids more so than tranquilizer and parents.
        \_ In other news, oral sex performed my nurses on adult males show
           profound calming effect before anesthesia takes over.
           \_ I will do my part for science and volunteer for that study.
              \_ So will Helga the East German nurse.  -John
2004/12/6 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35185 Activity:high
12/6    Are you too old for a GameBoy?
        \_ Yes.  The LCD display is too hard to see for my eyes.
        \_ No, but too old for a lot of its games. -24
           \_ what kind of games (besides Mario bros type of games?)
        \_ Advance Wars rules.  -tom
           \_ Tom, you and I had our differences in the past, but if you
              like Advance Wars, check out Nectaris for ps1.  Love that
              game. -- ilyas
              \_ will you give me a PS1 and a TV to use it with?  -tom
                 \_ You can also try nectaris for the PC or the tg16
                    emulator (although the graphics are suckier... not that
                    nectaris is about graphics), just to see how it plays.
                      -- ilyas
                    \_ tom and ilyas making up!  awww ....
                       \_ No way.  Tom has cooties. -- ilyas
                          \_ and you know that because...
                          \_ tom and ilyas are actually the same person, and
                             he is responsible for 99% of all postings to MOTD
                             \_ So, John, williamc, ausman, and meyers are all
                                just subroutines?  What about The Geordan?
                             \_ tom + ilyas = TOMILYAS -> MOSTLY A.I.
                                \_ My LOST AI!
                                \_ A, SO MILTY!
                                \_ I LOST YAM! MOIST LAY!
                                \_ MOLT, I SAY!
        \_ Check out Wario.  It's much more fun that it sounds.
2004/12/3-4 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:35164 Activity:nil
12/3    Sid Meier's Pirates r0x3s HL2's b0x0rz.  Also, HL1 > HL2 (not
        technically, of course, but as a game - HL1 was just more memorable and
        satisfying back then than HL2 today).  In this respect, The Sims 2 >
        HL2 as well.
        \_ is Pirates challenging at all? I tried it at a demo station
           somewhere and was easily capturing ships left and right. That's what
           I remember of the original too. And HL2 multiplayer is pretty fun
           (CS:S and HL2DM).
           \_ In Apprentice mode, everything is meant to be easy.  Two
              difficulty levels up (Adventurer) isn't bad.  You also get
              20% of the total lewt as opposed to 5% when dividing plunder.
              (Periodically your crew will become restless and you'll need
              to start over with one selected ship + ~ 1 year.)
              Dancing is the toughest part of this game, but it is rewarding.
        \_ Sorry, you're simply wrong on this.  HL2 is amazing.  You've just
           played HL1 more.
           \_ The new Pirates and The Sims 2 are/were just MORE FUN for me than
              HL2, which is all I'm really saying.  With respect to technical
              HL2, which is all I'm really saying.  HL1 back in the day was more
              fun than HL2 today, for me.  With respect to technical
              achievements, HL2 wins hands-down.  I guess "HL1 > HL2" is kind
              of trollish. -op
              \_ That's because u = teh gey suk!  Ehh.. nevermind.  It
                 could also be that you're just getting tired of first
                 person shooters. I got pretty tired of them back with
                 Doom 2.  I only rarely see one that I like.  (AvP
                 was awesome.)
2004/11/22 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Academia/StanfUrd] UID:35015 Activity:high
11/22   'Furd Daily:  http://csua.org/u/a2o
        "Unforeseen were the penalties and the lack of sportsmanship
        displayed by both teams, especially towards the end of the game. ...
        It wasn't only the Cardinal who were playing dirty at the end of the
        game. Defensive tackle Babatunde Oshinowo was injured on what he
        thought was a dirty block by the Cal offensive line late in the game.
        While the Cardinal did pick up a lot of personal fouls, a good number
        were offset by personal fouls on the Bears."
        \_ Sshhh.... we beat them well; we can afford to be magnanimous.  Just
           smile condescendingly if you must.
           \_ "They were playing just as dirty as we were!"
2004/11/21-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:35004 Activity:moderate
11/21   http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139213,00.html
        JFK assasination made into a video game.
        \_ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6549265        with pictures
        \_ Sweet! When's the WTC game going to come out?
           \_ 2041
2004/11/19-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:34988 Activity:nil
11/19   Saturday, 11/20, 12:30pm
        Cal will find a way to lose the game:
        \_ I prefer the phrase "Snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
        Cal Golden Bears roll on: .
        \_ Roll on, you bears!
        \_ The Stanford newspaper is already saying how this would be the
           biggest upset in Big Game history if they win. Nice big 'if'
           \_ They just want everyone to forget "The Play", where even
              having John Elway as their QB wasn't enough to seal the
              victory.
2004/11/17-18 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34936 Activity:high 61%like:30535 53%like:34200
11/17   Half-life 2:  Best - game - evuh!
        \_ Let's hear an in depth review!
           \_ Better than Cats.
              \_ I could play it again and again!
           \_ Basically:  Far Cry with a much better story, much better levels,
              better physics, better graphics, outstanding polish, and the best
              NPC emotions/animation ever.  Still heavily scripted, and still
              has intra-level loading like HL1.  Say good-bye to Doom 3 with
              its relatively small, block-like levels inhabited by NFL players.
              HL2 features which obviously need improvement:
              (1) Better, more realistic SMG or the addition of an assault
                  rifle (what, am I just going to use the Magnum or 9mm for
                  all distance shots?)
              (2) Better story (people who could tell you wtf is going on,
                  don't)
              (3) Better enemy AI (duh, you'll see)
              (4) Better NPC-ally AI (they jumble up and get in the way easily)
              (5) Realistic pineapple grenades
              \_ Yeah, I've heard the AI is a bit of downgrade from HL1.
                 This seems wierd to me, since that was a main selling
                 point of HL1.
              \_ I've only played a few hours, but this is about right.  The
                 ability to pick up just about anything in the game adds a lot.
                 The intra-level loading does break the immersive feeling,
                 especially because the load times are longer than HL1.  But
                 this is a *really* *great* game.
        \_ I don't play video games much since college, so I have no idea
           WTF this is all about. What I do know is that I have nieces
           and nephews who want a game console for Xmas. Which is the best
           to get? Are titles like HL2 available on multiple consoles?
           \_ HL2 is PC only.
           \_ PlayStation 2.
           \_ It depends, how old are they?  What kind of games do they
              like?  What kind of games do their parents want them to
              play?
              \_ Ages 5-17, most about 8-14. They like Tony Hawk, Justice
                 League, Sonic, that Dolphin game, and that stuff. Their
                 parents prefer stuff that's cutesy rather than violent.
                 They have PS1 already.
                 \_ Pretty much a toss-up between PS2 and Gamecube then.
                    Xbox is right out.  Probably PS2 is a better choice,
                    but the parents would probably prefer the gamecube,
                    since pretty much all the games are non-violent.
                 \_ If you get them a Gamecube you will forever be known as
                    the uncle who cheaped out and didn't get them a PS2.
                    Tell the parents the kids can't play Dance Dance Revolution
                    with a DDR pad and lose weight that way with a Gamecube.
                    \_ People still play with the PS2? I haven't bought a game
                       for that console in over a year. Past ten games or so
                       have all been GC or XBox
                    \_ GC has a few good unique games. Kids would be happy to
                       have both. The biggest PS2 game is Grand Theft Auto
                       which is obviously pretty violent. Big game coming out
                       is a new Metal Gear, not exactly cutesy. GC will have
                       a new Zelda game next year that should be pretty great.
                       Man how many kids are in this family? "Most" 8-14?
                       \_ 5 kids. 5, 6, 8, 8, 15, 17. It's not just the
                          kids, but also their friends.
                          \_ That's six kids.
                             \_ The 6th is a different nephew, but he will
                                be over to play it. 5 kids in 1 family.
                    \_ GTA III
2004/11/11-12 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34829 Activity:high
11/11   Okay, my bro was from UW-Madison, and he's bringing his family
        to visit our uncle in LA end of the year.  We are thinking of
        going to see Cal vs Badger in the Rosebowl since this would
        probably be once in a lifetime.  Anyone has any experience as
        to how best to get tickets and how much they would cost?
        \_ End zone tickets are selling for $250/each on EBay right now.
           I doubt they are going to get any cheaper. If you want good
           seats, expect to pay up to $750 each.
           \_ I am a little worried about fraud.  Is there a
              reputable source for getting tickets?
              \_ <DEAD>rickstickets.com<DEAD> has worked for me. rick is a cool guy.
        \_ Hope you two still get along afterwards.
        \_ Easy tiger, we've still got 3 games left. A lot can happen.
           \_ Not to mention getting picked for a bowl that isn't the Rose
              is a slim possibility even if we win out. How are people
              able to buy tickets for games that aren't decided yet? Does
              it mean they get stuck with Purdue-Texas (e.g.) in the Rose if
              that's how it turns out?
              \_ I'm sure someone will buy them off you later
                 \_ Maybe not for what you paid for them.
           \_ I don't see Cal or Wisconsin losing more than 1 of
              their conference games left.  Maybe USC will lose
              a game and bump Cal out of the Rosebowl, or Wisconsin
              may have some chance to play in the National
              Championship game if both Auburn and Oklahoma lose
              one of their remaining games.  But you are right,
              I do plan to wait for things to clear up, but no
              harm asking about it now.   - op
        \_ Limited tickets available to general public on 12/7 @ 8am. Call
           Ticketmaster (info @ http://tournamentofroses.com)
2004/11/9 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:34771 Activity:high
11/8    Why do these guys look like the terrorists in Counter-Strike?
       http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/041108/481/bag11811081424
        \_ Because they killed all the sodomizing homosexuals who could tell
           them that lumberjack shirts and checkered kaffiyehs simply do
           not match.  -John
        \_ On a side note, does it ever get cold enough in Iraq or the rest
           of the Middle East to justify owning a balaclava?
           \_ Yes.  Ever  been in a desert at night?  It gets cold.
              \_ Damn, good point.  Bang goes another theory.
2004/11/2 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34536 Activity:nil
11/2    CNN - "Bush also played gin rummy with some advisers on each leg of
        the trip [between campaign stops today]."
        So, how many games did you think he won?
        How many games did his peons let him win? -troll
2004/10/31-11/1 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:34469 Activity:nil
10/31   President Forever Game:
        http://www.computer-game.us/strategy_war/president2000.htm
2004/10/28 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:34399 Activity:nil
10/28   The Brain Game!
        http://www.imgag.com/product/full/ap/3067907/graphic1.swf
2004/10/26 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34361 Activity:moderate
10/26   PC Computer Games?  Xbox?  PS2?
        \_ Context?
           \_ what do you prefer to play/buy.
              \_ PC.  I like turn-based strategy games which are few and far
                 between on consoles, and for non-action games, keyboard+mouse
                 input is really nice to have.
                 \_ Nectaris: military madness is an awesome PS1 turn-based
                    strategy game.
        \_ Gamecube. My favorite system for get-togethers, with the most fun
           4-player games (Super Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart, etc)
           \_ gamecube = teh gay
              \_ whoops. sorry. lemme go back to my games where i blow shit
                 up and endlessly accumulate frags.
                 \_ You've been baited -troll
           \_ Donkey Konga!
2004/10/26-27 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34352 Activity:very high
10/26   I haven't played any computer games in a very very long time.  What is
        a fun game to play in cooperative mode?  I'm primarily looking for
        first person shooter type games, but would be interested to hear
        alternative suggestions.
        \_ Bubble Bobble
        \_ Star Wars Battlefront allows you to play coperatively, and you're
           part of a massive group effort.  It may start to lose appeal in
           frequent replays, but right now it's a blast.  Also, I just bought
           Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and I'm loving it.  There's a multi-
           player version, but I don't know if it's cooperative; if it were,
           that would be tres sweet. (And why did this get overwritten?)
        \_ Cooperative mode as in buddies vs AI or buddies vs other players
           over the internets [sic]? I've had a lot of fun playing BattleField
           1942 on the internets [sic] if you find a good server it's a nice
           teamwork game (4 players per bomber, 4 per battleship, etc.)
           \_ BF1942 AI is teh suck, don't bother with coop mode against the
              computer, but yeah, the teamplay is really nice.  Have yet to
              try BF2.  -John
              \_ BF:Vietnam is fairly additive.  With the latest patch, you
                 now have maps that have added tunnels and sewers.  There is
                 also a mod that updates the BF:1942 maps to the newer engine
                 with is very fun.  Another game thats fun multiplayer is
                 Unreal Tournament 2004 in Onslaught mode.  -rollee
        \_ If the last LAN co-op you played was Serious Sam 2, you haven't
           missed anything.  Not much else.
           For online team v team co-op, CounterStrike: Source is fun.
           Unreal Tournament looks fun against bots, but it looks too twitchy
           to me.  There is an Aliens UT mod strictly against the AI, kinda
           fun.
           \_ The last good co-op game I played was doom2, haha -!op
        \_ I've heard co-op in Halo is great (on xbox--co-op isn't available on
           the PC port).
        \_ MMOs like world of warcraft are good for coop play. It's required
           really, to avoid some of the tedious stuff. Still takes too long
           to play though.
           \_ Is WOW out yet?
              \_ Not yet.  Will be in open beta soon, I suspect. -geordan
                 \_ Alpha bastard. -- ilyas
                    \_ I know. -geordan
           \_ MMOs are a niche market, imho. -- ilyas
              \_ how do you figure? they have many millions of users among them
                 and make lots of money.
                 \_ Well, lots of koreans and japanese play.  A typical
                    American kid/teenager/young adult doesn't strike me as
                    a MMO type.  *shrug*.  MMOs are built on timesinks and
                    'character-building-as-work.'  I don't think that sort of
                    fun is very widespread in American culture. -- ilyas
                    \_ Your suppositions are belied by the facts:
                       http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000194.php
                       \_ Wtf?  I am well aware of MMO demographics.  What
                          does that have to do with my assertion that
                          most young people will not play everquest?
                          How many subscribers do you think everquest has?
                          Do you understand the difference between
                          'most people who play everquest are young males'
                          and
                          'most young males do not play everquest'?
                            -- ilyas
                          \_ Don't bring logic to a video game discussion.
                    \_ Video games are still basically a geek thing in
                       the popular culture. But would you consider Diablo
                       a niche market? MMOs have a lot wider appeal than
                       that with some of the same timewasting dynamics.
                       \_ Diablo is much more accessible than a typical
                          MMO.  I think Diablo is pretty mainstream.
                          It's about as close to mainstream as an RPG
                          will come. -- ilyas
                          \_ Well I've only tried WoW but based on that you're
                             just wrong. I've seen a lot of interest from young
                             males (again, only a certain class of them even
                             play PC games and a further subset stray from the
                             FPS genre). WoW is very comparable to Diablo in
                             basic "get quest, go kill stuff, keep upgrading
                             weapons/armor/skills" gameplay. The combat is
                             slower paced and doesn't have the action-game
                             aspect of Diablo (frantically clicking and running
                             around). It's just a far more rich game world,
                             and has more to do besides just constant combat.
                             The social aspect is something you can't find in
                             regular games and appeals to a lot of people.
                             The Sims is the best seller and doesn't try to
                             target the teenage boy demographic, which Diablo
                             was all about.
                             \_ Blizzard is a good company, and WoW is a good
                                game.  If any MMO has a chance at 'mainstream
                                status,' WoW is it.  I don't think it will
                                reach it in the US, simply because most
                                US gamers aren't really into these kinds of
                                RPGs.  Anyways, this entire thread is strung
                                out on dorkosterone.  I am stopping, before
                                someone trolls me into a long rant about
                                MMO design, that I will later regret.
                                Guildwars is more likely to be mainstream
                                than WoW, I think. -- ilyas
                                \_ fwiw I don't plan to buy WoW and only played
                                   a few days. just takes too much time to do
                                   anything. Playing in teams is fun but you
                                   have to play long periods to make the most
                                   of that and find a good group. Or if you
                                   make friends in the game you have to keep
                                   up with them and regularly stay in touch.
                                   I have a real life to attend to thanks.
                                   It could work by scheduling times with a
                                   friend so you keep in sync. Going solo is
                                   unrewarding and the game punishes it.
2004/10/18-19 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Science/GlobalWarming] UID:34206 Activity:high
10/18   sexy women kicking men's ass in Counter Strike:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/fun.games/10/18/games.swedishgirls.ap/index.html
        \_ Wow, it's great that women today are judged on their abilities,
           not their short skirts.  Nice legs, though.  -John
2004/10/18-19 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34200 Activity:high 53%like:34936
10/18   Half-Life 2 has gone gold.  Street date: November 16
        http://www.vugames.com/news_story.do?storyId=1963
        \_ Not released via Steam until it's available on store shelves.
           Boo!
           \_ I think this is apropos...
              http://penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-10-15&res=l
           \_ Steam purchase == activation.  I never buy products with
              "activation"
              \_ I thought steam was just a way to activate something you
                 downloaded, rather than running out to buy a physical
                 copy?  Unlike some products which require you to go buy
                 a hardcopy, then activate online.  -John
                 \_ Steam is nice in that it gives you an account, and
                    you can actually use the game from your account
                    on multiple systems.  The disadvantage is the net
                    MUST be working for you to be able to play!
                    \_ You don't get the equivalent of a cd key you can take
                       somewhere with you?  I mean, with a hardcopy, you need
                       to have the booklet/case/piece of paper with the key
                       on it along... -John
                       \_ The games you can play are tied to your password-
                          protected account.  It's just like AIM or MSN
                          Messenger.  Login to multiple PCs with your account,
                          download the full game to every PC - but only one
                          person can play at a time (using your account).
                       \_ Yes you do, but you have to connect to the online
                          service to activate even if you just want to play the
                          single-player version (only once per install).
              \_ The retail boxed version won't require product activation?
                 \_ Not as far as I know.  CD-Key only.
        \_ I wasted an unhealthy percentage of my weekend in Counter-Strike:
           Source. It's the same old thing but I had forgotten how addictive
           it is. I think I'll quit again now though. I had AK-47 sounds
           \_ AK-47 sounds cooler in real life.
           replaying in my head when trying to fall asleep. Yesterday played
           with team kill turned on which was a new twist for me.
           \_ Well, and aiming is a lot more forgiving.  You can be zipping
              left and right and your first shot will always be dead in the
              center.  Aim is primarily affected by "recoil" now.
              Plus, there are less aimbots with CS: Source.
                              \_ fewer
                                 \_ but yermom wants more
              \_ Plus there are the motivational posters like:
         <DEAD>_render_.blogspot.com/2004/10/cssource-motivational-posters.html<DEAD>
2004/10/14-15 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34134 Activity:kinda low
10/14   Duh.  CompSci team wins Prisoner's Dilemma tournament by cheating
        http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65317,00.html?tw=rss.TOP
        (Okay, more accurately, the rules were set up to allow this sort
        of completely lame win.)
        \_ One man's cheating is another's innovative solution.
           \_ I would say smart people already thought of this but dismissed
              it out of hand as lame.
           \_ If it's good enough for Captain Kirk ...
        \_ All they did was take the game up a level.  The original winning
           strategy is based on the idea of greater wins over a longer period
           for a single player; the current idea is based on the idea of
           greater wins for a *team* over a longer period without regard to
           the losses.  Future iterations of the game would need to take into
           account net wins/losses for teams or limit the number of entries a
           team could make.  What's exciting is that this is the first time
           it's been shaken up like this in 20 years.
           \_ omfg, I can't believe you think this.  This is so utterly lame
              I am ... urgh, whatever.
           \_ Not quite: The greater wins for an individual AS PART OF A team.
              if you averaged the team score, it was probably very low because
              of the sacrificial behavior of most of the team members.
2004/10/13-15 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:34095 Activity:kinda low
10/13   Here's a stupid question, can I copy playstation2 games using my
        DVD writer? DVD+R? -R? booktype?
        \_ I know DVD-R works but I think you need to get your PS2 modchipped.
           \_ So ps2 will not work with DVD-R or +R unless chipped?
              \_ I think there's some boot-disc hack also, but basically: yes.
        \_ You want to start at http://lik-sang.com--they at least used to sell
           modchips for Xbox/PS2.  I think they had some court trouble, but as
           another hint, an Italian judge ruled recently that modchipping was
           fair use and that Sony/MS could go sod off.  For some more chip
           info, go to http://www.livejournal.com/community/modchips and if
           you have some specific questions, I have a few friends who're
           heavily into this stuff who'll probably gladly help out if you
           drop me a mail.  -John
        \_ How would this even work for PS2 discs that exceed 4.3 GiB?
                                        Wow, you used THE STANDARD _/
        \_ If you have a way of transferring data to a memory card, there's
           a buffer overflow trick that will allow you to boot arbitrary
           programs (there's a similar trick for the XBOX), which I've
           gotten to run software that will backup PS2 games to a maxtor
           hd that hooks into the PS2 network adaptor.  There's supposedly
           programs that will boot DVD-Rs on the PS2, so if you can load
           that program using the boot trick, you won't need to mod.
           Please post if you can get this to work. Thanks
2004/10/6 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Academia/Berkeley/CSUA] UID:33947 Activity:low
10/6    aaron the philanthropist, now that you're a rich Googler (you've been
        with the company since 1998, no?), how much are you going to donate
        to CSUA?                     \_ no. --aaron
        \_ In the old days we got as much money as we could and spent
           the excess on nice things like volleyball equipments,
           beach party stuff, video games, etc.  I'd imagine the
           current politburo could have asked for lots of money and
           squander them on XBox, games, PDAs, and other things. The
           fact that it hasn't probably means that they've turned
           into nice honest people or something.
2004/10/1 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:33895 Activity:nil
10/1    Game over for Peoplesoft.
2004/9/26-27 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33759 Activity:moderate
9/26    Has anyone played Dungeon Siege? I know its an old game, but I saw
        it on sale and wanted to know if it was any good before I bought it.
        \_ Dungeon Siege is like a crappy, Microsoft version of Diablo 2.
           Diablo 2 is much more fun.
        \_ DS is an old game that I still sometimes load up for kicks.
           D2 is rehashed crap with zero replaybility.
           \_ Is that why people still play D2 by the thousands on
              battlenet, and why there are D2 item selling businesses
              on the internet?  No one plays DS except you.
              \_ Lots of people commit suicide every year so suicide must
                 be good.  That's the best you can come up with?
                 \_ Suicide is great, try it.
                 \_ A new twist on the "Coors" beer argument.
        \_ I so thoroughly wanted to be done with this game that I started
           just racing the characters through, ignoring the monsters.  And
           it worked.
        \_ D2 >> Dungeon Siege.  The makers of Dungeon Siege failed to grasp
           what makes Diablo fun. -- ilyas
           what makes Diablo fun.  Sacred is apparently a better attempt,
           but I never played it.  -- ilyas
           \_ I've played Sacred.  Sacred is poo.  DS >>> Sacred.
        \_ It's probably worth $5 but don't spend more than $10.
2004/9/24-25 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Domestic/Gay] UID:33743 Activity:nil
9/24    Scott Kurtz breaks down the proper use of the word "gay"
        http://www.pvponline.com
        \_ I would add another use of the adjective "gay."  Using it
           sarcastically in a context where some dickhead 17 year old
           meathead jock might, but around people who know you don't mean
           it in the same way is a subtle way of making fun of the
           17 year old meathead jock, which I don't feel the slightest
           bit bad about.
        \_ scott kurtz = teh ghey
           \_ w00t!  scott kurtz = pwned
2004/9/19-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33623 Activity:high
9/18    The Sims 2, TOTALLY AWSOME. I love how you can look at people's
        expressions. It's like being a director in a soap opera. EA is
        awsome. BTW you nuke this one more time, I'll retaliate.
        \_ how do I do a "woohoo" in Sims? My love stat is 100/100 and they
           sleep on the same bed but nothing happens
           \_ In Sims 1 at least they have to 'play' using the heart-shaped bed
           \_ have both sims Relax.  the sex option will open then.
              See http://gamefaqs.com forums if you have more questions.
              I agree it is a totally awesome game, extremely polished.
              I "beat" it yesterday and still think it's the best-game-ever,
              and I've played a lot of games.
              \_ CIVILIZATION SERIES BEST GAME EVER!!!
              \_ How do you "beat" it? I thought the sims was just an aimless
                 endless dollhouse game where you constantly tell your sims
                 to eat and take a crap.
                 \_ I've heard in this one they're a lot smarter about
                    remembering to eat and go to the bathroom all by themselves
                 \_ You're right in that there is no endgame screen.
                    I decided maxing out all my skills == beating the game.
        \_ how much will I have to upgrade my computer to play this game
           properly?
           \_ I don't remember exactly but I think you should have:
              1GHz proc, 256-512MB RAM, 3.5GB disk, Radeon 9000 or GeForce 3
           \_ Try the Microsoft Windows XP Game Advisor, needs IE:
              http://csua.org/u   otherwise just google for sims 2
              http://csua.org/u/94k   otherwise just google for sims 2
2004/9/17-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33590 Activity:high
9/17    The Sims 2 -- Best - Game - Ever!!1!!!  (really!)
        \_ I believe it's spelled EVAR!!!
        \_ But where are the guns?
           \_ I took the blue licorice and got fired.
        \_ Having spent the past 10 months of my life working on that game,
           it's somewhat weird and comforting for me to see this on
           the MOTD.
           \_ Man, that must really suck, to have to work on a dollhouse
              game...
           \_ Ignore the jobless, clueless troll above. Any Easter eggs you
              can give us the 411 on?
           \_ How did you get started in the gaming industry?  I get the sense
              that AI and graphics as taught at Berkeley aren't particularly
              helpful if one wants to work in the field.  I know people once
              got started tinkering at home or in the demo scene.  It seems
              like the teams making games today are really big.  If this is
              the case, how can one person working alone produce something
              that comes close to a modern shipping game, that is, something
              impressive enough to land a development position in a gaming
              company?
              \_ They can't.  You can get in at the bottom or you can maybe
                 publish a free game that catches on and turn that into
                 something.  A few folks made it as modders but very few.
                 \_ Okay, what's the bottom?  Tech support?  Play testing?
                    \_ I assume you want to be a programmer, not an artist or
                       other creative type?  I suggest finding a small company
                       that will pay you nothing or look for a junior job at
                       a huge place like EA that will find *something* for you
                       to do.  Why would you want to work in an industry that
                       pays so much less than anywhere else for the same work?
                       Just curious, but how old are you?  When I interviewed
                       at Maxis/EA, everyone was early 20s or late 30s and
                       older with nothing in the late 20s to late 30s gap.  I
                       was late 20s/early 30s at the time and found it weird
                       and not a good fit.
                       \_ if you want to be an artist-type, you might find
                          something at the academy of art, SF, or SF art
                          institute. very expensive if you go this route.
2004/9/13 [Computer/HW/CPU, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33497 Activity:nil
9/12    I don't play games but I want to play Beyond Good and Evil. I seek
        people's opinions as to the cheapest way to do this. I own no console
        and my computer has only the standar-issue graphics card.
        \_ What's your CPU and RAM?  Do you have an AGP slot?
           \_ 1998 HP Pavillion. 199 MHz. 128M RAM. Yes - The old
              fashioned kind.
              \_ No such thing.  The Pentium II started at 233 MHz.  Oh, and
                 there's a difference between Hertz and MegaHertz.
              \_ You'll either need to buy a console or get an all-new system.
                 6 years is long enough for an upgrade anyway.
                 \_ OK. But would it be better to buy a used PS2 or Xbox,
                     instead? That's what I'm asking, really. -OP
                    \_ If you're ONLY concern is to play the game as cheaply as
                       possible, then buy (or rent from Blockbuster) a used
                       console.  The graphical quality will be best on a PC
                       with a DirectX-9.0 video card, but that will be a lot
                       more money.  If my system was 6 years old I'd upgrade
                       for a lot of reasons, but your priorities may vary.

                       \_ Thx. It actually hadn't occurred to me that I can
                          rent consoles. That's what I'm going to do...as soon
                          as the wife goes out for awhile.
                     \_ New ones are ~$150, aren't they?  You can also rent
                        them from some video stores.
                     \_ Why don't you just look and see? They're the same
                        price new. I'd pick based on if you think there are
                        any other games of interest. But, Xbox is capable of
                        better graphics, which might be better in BG&E.
                        \_ As above, thank you both. These were useful answers.
2004/9/9 [Science/Disaster, Consumer/CellPhone, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33436 Activity:high
9/9     Ali Rahimi's dumb retro phone thing makes it into the NY times
        http://nytimes.com/2004/09/09/technology/circuits/09retr.html?8hpib
        \_ The bluetooth model would be cooler without the cord.
        \_ what's the csuamotd user id and password?
        \_ Go Media Whores of the CSUA, Go!
        \_ There's some dude in the UK who actually builds cell phones
           into old handsets.  Can't find the guy's page anymore,
           though.  They look pretty spiffy.  -John
2004/9/7-8 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33400 Activity:kinda low
9/7     Atari to Reissue Scores of Old games
        http://csua.org/u/8yb (Yahoo! News)
        \_ What I can't figure about the flashback is, apparently it's
           just an Atari 7800 with no cartridge slot, and 20 built in
           games.  Is a cartridge slot really that freaking expensive?
           What if I have some 7800 or 2600 games I'd like to play on the
           beast?  WIth a cart slot, they could even release expansion
           carts.
        \_ A few months ago I saw an Atari game machine in a store which has
           about 10 old games.  The whole machine is just one old-style
           joystick (the black one with a red button).  There is no console.
           All the electronics are packed in the joystick.  Don't remember if
           there's a name for it.
           \_ Walmart or Target might have .  $19.99
2004/9/7 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33384 Activity:nil
9/7     And touching on videogames, I've seen some people pretty excited
        for Gradius V, which comes out in spetember.  I played this game
        at the cgexpo.  It's really annoying. It feels more like it's
        mocking the 2D shooter genera than tring  to be a good one.
        You've got all the enemies flying around you, shooting at you
        from every possible angle, and you're stuck shooting straight to
        the right side of the screen.  It's like the game is saying, "If
        you were in 3D you could move around like this boss, but you
        can't.  You're only 2D.  You can only shoot at the right side of
        screen.  Too bad there are no enemies over there.  Ha, ha!"
2004/9/2-3 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:33301 Activity:high
9/2     Is it possible to download bloody patches (patches that show actual
        blood instead of a cross) and Swastica patches for Battlefield
        1942/Vietnam games? I want more realism...
        \_ Get out a pixel editor.  Anyway, good games don't require that
           stuff.  One of the best fighting games I ever played was so good I
           didn't even notice there was no blood or special killing moves
           until I'd been playing for 2 days.
           \_ Uhh... which would called?
        \_ Yes.  Google for 'blood patch.'  Also if you mail me I will dig
           out a URL that has a ton of good no-cd patches and the likes.  Be
           careful though, as patching the exe may cause trouble with things
           like Punkbuster for online play, as well as with other forms
           of verification used by the game.  -John
           \_ if I patch the enemies, would they glow bright in the jungles?
              I'm wondering if I can do this so that I can see them clearly
              and piss everyone off.
                \_ Probably.  There are plenty of "overlay" clients that
                   run behind your game and recognize certain color tones
                   (i.e. enemy uniforms) and highlight them. -John
                   \_ Use motdedit!
2004/8/31 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Reference/Military] UID:33260 Activity:very high
8/31    http://planetmayhem.org/glossary#91
        Aimbot, autoshoot, wallhack, all here. Useful if you play games.
        \_ A non-trivial intersection between motd posters and the CS
           crowd would make all too much sense...  with all of them
           'w00t' and 'omg you got pwned' crap I keep seeing here. -- ilyas
           'w00t' and 'omg you got pwned' things I keep seeing here. -- ilyas
           \_ Translation:  ilyas is talking down 2 all u l00z3rS!!1!
           \_ n00b
           \_ Yeah, I hear there are a few gun nuts on motd.
              \_ What's a gun nut?  Someone who believes owning a handgun is
                 a good idea?  -- ilyas
                 \_ you can own 20 guns and not be a gun nut.  you can hunt
                    and target shoot and not be a gun nut.  You can have a
                    gun you carry at all times for protection and not be a
                    gun nut.  A gun nut is someone who *believes* in
                    gun ownership as some sort of philosophical position,
                    not just because they want to kill deer, protect
                    themselves or practice their eye-hand coordination.
                    That's a gun nut.
                    \_ Wow, nicely summed up.
                    \_ I don't understand this summary.  Are the asterisks
                       somehow significant?  I believe in life, liberty, etc.
                       Does that make me a life nut or a liberty nut?  Of course
                       I believe in all the rights I think I have.  What you
                       are saying is coming across as 'anyone who tries to
                       defend a position I don't agree with is a nut.'  Well,
                       that's great, we found the nut in the conversation, and
                       it ain't me.  Or maybe you just object to people trying
                       to come up with principled justifications for what
                       they believe in, and rather the world was just a giant
                       meaningless compromise between competing interest
                       groups.  That's not nutty, that's sad and depressing.
                         -- ilyas
                \_ alan keyes is a "gun nut"
        \_ Anyone who uses cheats for an online game doesn't deserve to live.
           \_ "CAMELOT!" "It's only a model..." "Shh!"
2004/8/31 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Reference/History/WW2] UID:33245 Activity:high
8/31    Battlefield Vietnam is AWSOME! I just downloaded the WW2 mod from
        EA and now I can play some of the BF1942 maps. It is really really
        nice. It's like buy 2 games for the price of 1, with a LOT of
        improvements.
        \_ You did not deserve to download that mod and are unfit to play
           multiplayer. -Battlefield Vietnam Veterans for Truth
           \_ Okay that was pretty funny.
                \_ http://tinyurl.com/67x4j
                   http://www.gengamers.com/html/bv-27.html
        \_ the Napalm on the F4-- totally useless
           the mortars-- hard to aim, the range of harm is limited. USELESS
           heat seeking missiles-- totally cool
        \_ Do you get a purple heart for suffering 1 point of damage from
           your own grenade you threw when you thought someone was there,
           but actually no one was shooting at you?
           \_ Use your name, coward, so I can mug you and make an imprint
              of my dad's purple heart in your forehead with a bat.
              \_ tough guy!  reminds me of being 13 on a 300 baud modem when
                 everyone was telling their 'enemies' to show at some park but
                 no one ever did.
                 \_ actually when I was 15 and I had a fast 1200 baud
                   modem I tricked one of my enemies into showing up
                   at a restaurant (he stole my girlfriend so I made
                   up a fake girl account on a BBS that he visited
                   frequently) and he got really pissed that he waited
                   3 hours and asked me why I didn't show up and I
                   just wrote back "fuck off you pervert." That'll
                   show him not to steal other people's gf. Ah those were
                   the days
                   \_ You think you won that exchange? He waited three
                      hours in a restaurant and fucked your girl. Can
                      I get that special as well please? To go. Thanks.
                      \_ Women are property!  There's a strong conservative
                         value!
           \_ No, but you do get a silver star for valor with a "v" for valor
              on it which has never been issued.
        \_ So how many [DEM] JOhn_KErry players have you seen online?
           Do they run away after the first shot?
           \_ They kill [REP] and [VC] with their bare hands.
           \_ For some reason [REP] John_McCain always gets shot in the back by
              his clanmates.
              \_ You guys are awesome. This totally made my day.
2004/8/16 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Foreign/Europe] UID:32933 Activity:very high
8/16    Is it just me or do the Olympic Games in Greece this year seem
        to really suck? It seems like nobody is really interested in them
        and the stands are all empty. There doesn't seem to be a lot of
        promotion either. I remember the games back in 2000 sure seemed
        a bit more exciting. And it seems like the US, Germany, Russia,
        traditional Olympic powerhouses are really sucking this year.
        \_ The USA vs Puerto Rico basketball game was most exciting game!
            \_ Why do you hate America?
                 \_ "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are
                    we.  They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our
                     country and our people, and neither do we."
                     \_ Did anyone notice that on the 'Al-Qaeda hard drive'
                        they refered to the CIA and Mossad as 'Foreign
                        Competitors'?
                        \_ I don't get your point.
        \_ It would be more exciting if something blew up.
        \_ I'd be interested except I hate the coverage. I don't have a Tivo
           so it's basically unwatchable. It feels like half the time is
           spent with commercials, theme music, and random commentators.
2004/8/11-12 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:32822 Activity:kinda low
8/11    After spending over a day practicing, I can finally hover a
        helicoptor. Battlefield Vietnam is the coolest game out there.
        Much better than 1942. Go EA! Beat MS games!
        \_ I dunno about BFV, but 1942 was only good in multiplayer.  If
           you don't mind absence of toys like loads of vehicles, try
           Call of Duty--it's awesome.  -John
           \_ Agreed! Call of Duty was extremely good in 1 player. --aaron
        \_ What is your login? Let's get on a server together sometime. --aaron
           \_ Mine's "mrfluffy".  I usually play at Eudemonia in Berkeley
                --jeffwong, not op
2004/8/9 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:32793 Activity:nil
8/9     I am about to proceed to check-out on http://half.com and suddenly I got
        "The specified module could not be found." after entering the password.
        Is this a problem with my browser or the site?
2004/8/3 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:32662 Activity:very high
8/3     Doom 3 is fun and pretty, but Half Life 1 and System Shock 2 both
        had more "wow".  Doom 3 feels like a console port, what with the
        blocky levels, blocky human models, weak weapons, and other
        intangibles.  Although it has its weaknesses (especially with
        stocking enemies in illogical places for scripted ambushes -- you
        always need to turn your back since they'll just create a monster
        somewhere without opening a secret door or drawing a teleport
        effect), Doom 3 is ultimately a game you will want to play and come
        back to for the next level.  Despite its negative points, go buy it
        now now now.
        (Side note:  They had the level designer for Doom 1 come back as
        lead level designer for Doom 3 -- it definitely shows.  You'll know
        what I mean when you play, and not in a good way.)
        \_ Is it true there's a code to load the old version of Doom?
        \_ What quality setting were you using?  Supposeadly the models look a
           lot smoother if you don't compress the normal maps.
           \_ High.  When I say blocky models, all the characters are football
              players who fill up most of the corridor, even the scientists.
              I also forgot that this will be an X-Box supported game.  And
              it totally shows (everything I've written).  Yet, it's still fun.
        \_ Don't you find it really dark? I could hardly see anything. The
           only reason it was playable on my computer (AthlonXP 2500+, 9800)
           was that most of the time the gpu was sticking black pixels on
           the screen.
           \_ I set my gamma at about 40% (80% was too much) and played in
              the dark, and that's fine.  As for frame rate, 1024x768 on
              my Athlon 64 3200+ with Radeon 9600 XT is fine on High; my
              younger brother has a Pentium 4 2.26 with 9600, and he's fine
              on High as well.  What's really, really annoying is the
              stuttering when a door opens and the new textures for that guy
              who's about to waste you need to load -- try this:
              http://csua.org/u/8fq
        \_ Another point, Doom 3 feels like it is targeted at 13-year-olds,
           whereas the two other games I mentioned and most good RPGs
           feel like they are targeted at 16-year-olds. -op
           \_ Good RPGs are targeted for mature teenagers and old people.
              Youngins these days think diablo is an rpg.  *sigh*.  -- ilyas
              Consider the average age of people posting on the wizardry 8
              forums.  Youngins these days think diablo is an rpg.  *sigh*.
                -- ilyas
2004/8/2-3 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:32633 Activity:very high
8/2     Doom 3 Review: http://www.telefragged.com/reviews/doom3
        \_ OMG that review is teh suck1!!!!!!1
        \_ Someone's personal review:  http://csua.org/u/8f5
           \_ This sounds like what I expected.  ID has been remaking the
              same game since Doom 1.  Even Return to Wolfenstien was
              basically the same crap.
        \_ I played through some beginning parts. The levels are so pitch dark
           that you can barely see anything, and monsters pop out from various
           places accompanied by startling noises. It's simple but basically
           works, I started to get pretty pumped up. Graphically it taxes my
           system pretty hard. But the graphics don't match the hype IMO. The
           animation and lip syncing doesn't match Half-Life 2 video I've seen.
           The dynamic lighting looks spectacular sometimes, and combined with
           the highly detailed surfaces does achieve a great atmosphere, but
           doesn't seem so incredibly better than other recent games as hype
           would have it (Deus Ex 2 had similar technology for example, but
           wasn't as polished). It achieves a nice cinematic feel. I'll
           reserve further judgment until I play through it.
           \_ I've been thinking this same thought for the whole day:
              Why don't the marines of the future have the ability to mount a
              little flashlight on their gun?
              \_ Nah, it would give away their position. I'm sure we'll
                 have flashlight technology in the next iteration when the gfx
                 cards can actually handle a full scene without stuttering.
              \_ Or, more likely, a damn helmet light, with an infrared toggle.
                 Or at least hold a flashlight and pistol at the same time...
                 Mulder and Scully do it all the time. Pretty lame.
                 \_ Do M&S have BFG9000s? No. They don't.
2004/7/28 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:32520 Activity:high
7/27    Hey, laser-game (reflections?) playing person(s), did you get around
        that level loading problem? I get the same thing trying to go to level
        23.
        \_ try this url instead - http://www.nailmaster.ru/laser.html
           \_ thanks.
        \_ further proof that French programmars are all about aesthetics
                \_ watch out for the pop up that says your computer is
                   infected and leads you to a commercial site
        \_ further proof that French programmers are all about aesthetics
           and little function. To recap:
           http://csua.com/?entry=32455
           \_ and http://csua.com/?entry=11448
              although, i visited http://globulos.com yesterday for the first time
              in many months and it seems they're improving it.
                \_ that's because the number of users are cut in half, DUH.
2004/7/23-24 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:32455 Activity:kinda low
7/23    Cool game   http://www.ace21.freesurf.fr/gamuz/jeux/laser.swf
        \_ Godamn it this has the same addictiveness as globulos. Anyways,
           I'm stuck on level 22. Literally. The screen says "loading..."
           and it just wouldn't load level 22. Anyone else have this problem?
2004/7/15 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:32291 Activity:low
7/14    East German Arcade Game:
        http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/features/polyplay.shtml
2004/7/7 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Domestic/President/Clinton] UID:31197 Activity:nil
7/7     Yikes! Scotty has alzheimers! http://tinyurl.com/3ckj9
        \_ Dude! Scotty has a 4 year-old daughter!  Wow!
2004/6/28-30 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:31049 Activity:insanely high
6/28    What's a better 3D WW2 shooter game, Battlefield 1942, Call of Duty,
        or something else?
        \_ Medal of Honor.  Very cool, very difficult D-Day Landing.  Well,
           then it kinda gets repetitive, but there you go.  BF1942 is best
           played multiplayer with lots of people, preferably not twinks.
           \_ Seconded.  I really enjoy 1942 (loads of variety, not too
              twitchy) multiplayer, ith some clued people.  I understand
              that for single-player, CoD is brilliant though.  -John
           \_ Thirded.  BF42 is pretty awesome with good teams. -eric
           \_ Fourthed.  BF1942 also has the awesome expansion pack Desert
              Combat which is free and revolves around the first Gulf War
              (vaguely).  There are better vehicles to pilot including
              choppers and an AC130 gunship.  Also, consider BF:Vietnam
              where the terrain and tactics are more interesting.
              I say BF1942 has better graphics and gameplay than MoH.
                --jeffwong
        \_ Does anyone else think that turning genuine human sacrifice
           into a game is deeply disturbing?
           \_ nope.
           \_ Yup. Kids might get ideas, better ban it.  -John
                \_ That is not what I mean. I don't think that these
                   games are bad in and of themselves. It just seems
                   to me that most people I've met treat these just
                   like any other FPS and do not realize that real
                   men fought and died at the battles that are
                   depicted in the game. This I found somewhat
                   disturbing. I was wondering if anyone else felt
                   the same way.
                   \_ They turn it into movies, why not games? By the way
                      you just jumped from "deeply" to "somewhat" disturbing.
                      \_ He's already getting used to the violence.
                      \_ Guess you are right.
           \_ You mean like that Aztec ball game?
        \_ Don't forget the Call of Duty Russian missions.  Those were great.
2004/6/20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30923 Activity:very high
6/19    BORING ASS MOTD.  UGH!
        \_ Sorry.  Too busy playing City of Heroes.  Maybe you should get off
           your ass and do something to entertain us for once?  I'm sick and
           tired of your whining trap on here bitching about how boring the
           rest of us are.  Do something to make it exciting.
           \_ City of Heroes!?  Oh God...
              \_ Yeah like all you idiots playing nethack, BF1942 and the
                 rest are so kewl.
                 \_ Let me spell it out for you.  CoH sucks because THERE
                    IS NO EQUIPMENT IN IT.  NO SHINIES.  IT'S BORING!
                 \_ I'm still trying to think of a game that's as lame as
                    the metagame of discussing games on the motd.
2004/6/18 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30886 Activity:high
6/18    I've read a few message boards and articles from professional black
        jack players who make it seem like their only problem with making
        unlimited cash is getting kicked out of casinos.  It was my
        understanding that even with 'perfect play', the odds are still in
        favor of the house slightly and thus over time a player is going to
        lose money just like the average shlump, just slower.  How are these
        guys making money playing a game that doesn't favor them in the long
        term?  Of course they don't tell you how unless you buy their book.
        I'm just curious, I don't want to buy someone's $99 book.
        \_ With a contant size bet and perfect play, the odds are against
           you in most versions of blackjack and you will eventually go
           broke.  The key in counting cards is to bet lots of money when
           there are many high cards in the deck (this is when you have
           the advantage) and bet as little as possible otherwise.  By
           varying your bet based on the count, you can consistently make
           money.  The tricky part is (1) counting cards effectively enough
           that you don't get flustered by the lights and the action and
           make an error and (2) concealing from the casions that you are
           counting.  I've read that even one mistake an hour is enoough
           to destroy the benefit of counting.  Check out a book from the
           library for more info.  I recommend "Blackjack your way to
           riches" by Canfield as a readable intro.  -emin
           \_ Estimated edge for most systems are 1-1.5%. Conditions might
              raise that to 2%. One mistake an hour will wipe your profit.
              See http://www.faqs.org/faqs/gambling-faq/blackjack for an
              See http://www.faqs.org/faqs/gambling-faq/blackjack for an
              intro to basic strategy and simple counting systems.
2004/6/18 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30885 Activity:very high
6/18    Is this a good game? http://www.atari.com/axisandallies/us/thegame.php
        \_ It looks pretty in the demo movie and they claim historically
           accurate equipment, etc, but combat itself looks like the standard
           RTS "crank em out, rope em in, send em into enemy base, repeat
           until victory".  Not that that is a bad thing.  I like games like
           that but I don't see anything super original here.  The RTS genre
           hasn't changed in many years.
        \_ It looks interesting, but it also looks suspiciously like WarCraft
           with different units.
           \_ If you want a game which approximates the combat of the era
              better than the obviously stupid RTS model, check out the
              Combat Mission games. -- ilyas
              \_ I like RTS games but they're really best with fantastic
                 weapons, special units, etc.  The ones where they try to be
                 historically accurate always suck because it pisses me off
                 when stupid AI destroys the realism.  Like why is my American
                 soldier just standing there and not running for cover when he
                 sees a German tank coming up the road firing at him?  Why
                 does the Japanese soldier shoot at the APC with a rifle while
                 5 US marines casually stroll up next to him and kill him at
                 point blank?  ARGH!
                 \_ It's true.  Combat Mission is really fun against another
                    human though.  It is also RTS, but not like Starcraft.
                      -- ilyas
           \_ What are some of the original RTS'? Were Dune II and
              Warcraft RTS'?
              \_ yes.
              \_ Yeah, I think Dune 2 was the first one of its type.
              \_ After Dune II, there was Warcraft and Command & Conquer.  WC
                 was all about a small number of units with special powers for
                 some of them.  C&C was about piles and piles of rock/paper/
                 scissors units, building as many of each type as possible and
                 flooding the enemy base with them.
           \_ You should check out Rise of Nations.  It combines a lot
              of elements from Turn based strategy games into RTS. RoN
              rocks!!  It has completely changed the RTS genre.  It is
              THE BEST RTS out there right now.
              Gamespot Review: http://csua.org/u/7tc
              \_ RoN was ok.  Where does the turn based part come in?  Did I
                 miss some vital part of the game?
                 \_ Borders, Attrition in enemy territory, no running
                    out of resources (rather commerce limits), cannot
                    destroy cities (you assimilate your opponents
                    cities).  Single player RoN is very good, but in
                    multiplayer games is where it really shines. Gone
                    are the days where you can rush your opponent and
                    crush (although it is fun), you can choose to have
                    a peace period in the beginning where no one can
                    attack another.  You can also win the game by
                    other means than crushing your opponent by expanding your
                    nation's presense (territory victory) or create
                    multiple wonders and achieve a wonder victory. I
                    can go on, but I'll stop here.
                    \_ I think we have a different idea of what turn based
                       implies.  If I can't stop and think about my move for a
                       few minutes and beat my enemy with superior strategy
                       rather than tactics then it isn't turn based, imo.
              \_ Did anyone ever play Robosport? That was one of my favorite
                 games of all time? Unfortunately, I can't get OS X to run it
                 because the ROM I have only works for 16 color mode.
                 \_ I couldn't get the playable demo to run on my PC.  There
                    was some stupid activation issue and I guess their server
                    is permanently down or something.
        \_ Gamespot Preview: http://csua.org/u/7t5
        \_ Looks cool but I can't imagine being able to finish a game.
           5 players, multiple battles each turn,  1 RTS game within each battle.
           5 players, multiple battles each turn,  1 RTS game within each
           battle. [formatd]
           it's going to take days to finish a game.
2004/6/10-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:30731 Activity:moderate
6/10    Cal football games to be broadcast on the radio in SoCal.
        http://calbears.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/061004aaa.html
              \_ Not free. Not on Yahoo Sports, anyway. If you know of
                 a way to get it for free, let me know.
        \_ It's about time.
           \_ You can listen to the games over the Internet, though. It
              used to be free. It might still be.
              \_ Might be hard to do while you're stuck on the 405.
                 \_ Satellite.
              \_ Not free. Not on Yahoo Sports, anyway. If you know of
                 a way to get it for free, let me know.
2004/6/3 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:30561 Activity:high
6/2     Game review: Beyond Good and Evil.  Really well done, how come I
        didn't hear squat about his game before now?  Horrid title, good
        gameplay, lags a little in the middle, but what game doesn't?  Does
        a great job with the learning curve, never seems too hard.  Probably
        a bit short, but these days I appreciate a good well done short game.
        Definate renter, possible buy.  -aspo
        \_ Beyond Good & Evil sucks.  It got great reviews by most critics,
           but the public didn't buy it at all.  I did, unfortunately.  I
           played the first hour of the game and immediately put it on eBay,
           to me it's THAT BAD.  What's to not like:
           - Ugly character:  short hair, looks like a boy, no body, green
           lipstick, looks like an 80's punk girl.  In a game you're the
           character, the person has to be likable, Jade is not.
           - Boring character:  no charisma, nothing, she's boring
           - Stupid side-kick:  a pig as a sidekick?  Maybe when I was 10
           years old, not in an adult game.  Imagine if Solid Snake was
           walking around with a talking pig, insults adult intelligence.
           - Hammy:  too tounge and cheek, very hammy dialogue, the voice
           acting seems partly joking partly serious, too in-your-face.
           - Boring gameplay:  take pictures, fight, take pictures, fight...
           + Great graphics
           + Great production value
           \_ A pig for a sidekick?  That's nutty.  Really?  Does it fight or
              carry a pig-gun or something?
              \_ If you get low on energy, you get to eat it.
                 \_ Weird.  And this got rated a great game by someone?
2004/5/31-6/1 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30513 Activity:kinda low
5/31    I've decided to give in and try out DDR.  I have a PS2, what should I
        get?  DDR?  DDRMax?  What's the difference?
              \_ DDR == PSone, DDRMax == PS2. i am selling my Ignition 2.0
                 pads (two of them). e-mail if you are interested. --jwang
        \_ Throw away $2 in the arcade first.
           \_ I'd rather rent or buy a used copy than embarrass myself in the
              arcades. :)
              \_ Well, don't forget you need a dance pad as well.  The
                 cheap ones run about $20.  What's the problem with
                 arcades?  No one there will know you, or care for that
                 matter.  I've seem plenty of newbies play.
                 \_ Exactly.  I was going to say, make sure to get good pads,
                    that makes a huge difference.  The Ignitions are good,
                    someone else posted another company that makes similar
                    ones for half the price (~$50).  There are some
                    differences between Max and the older (PS1) versions,
                    I'd suggest getting Max if you have a PS2 anyway.  Look
                    at the online reviews re: song selection, etc.
2004/5/25-26 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30411 Activity:very high
5/25    Oh ilyas (and other zelda peepz):
        http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/243453.asp?site=NLB0518#Screenshots
        although the psp looks cooler than anything nintendough put out..
        that thing has usb and 802.11 on it - will it boot netbsd or linux?
        \_ I am a zelda people? -- ilyas
        \_ I am a Zelda people?  The last time I played Zelda was in the
           CSUA office like 5 years ago, amusing those present by killing
           Link's twin with a hammer: "What's that?  The twin can't mimic
           the hammer?  Well that's just too bad!" -- ilyas
           \_ You really liked the zelda line, iirc.
              \_ Hey, what else do I like, unbiased stranger? -- ilyas
2004/5/20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30316 Activity:very high
5/20    Everquest fraud:
        http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040506.html
        http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040513.html
        \_ EQ?  Who cares?  It's a stupid and _boring_ game.
           \_ Someone didn't get their Prozac this morning.
           \- are you are such a loser apparently you dont realize EQ is about
              5th in terms of what this situation is about. --psb
              5th in terms of what these articles are about. --psb
        \_ Hmm... Something is kinda telling me these people are only getting
           what they deserve for letting their fantasy life take over so much
           of their real life.
        \_ There's a real easy solution to this, just make it illegal to
           buy and sell "virtual" goods. We shut down sites that buy and sell
           this kind of crap, and people who get scammed can just
           duke it out in small claims court.
           \_ Er, but what about virtual goods like digital music?
2004/5/14-15 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/HW] UID:30231 Activity:moderate
5/14    Anyone have any experience using a modded Xbox as a "media center" PC
        and/or networked video jukebox?  Any pitfalls or suggestions?
        Can it mount external USB drives?  Can it act as a SMB server?
        \_ Don't know about the software featured on /. yesterday, but a lot
           of people use xbox as a frontend for mythtv, which is a linux
           based project, so yeah, you can do both of those with linux.
2004/5/8-9 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30097 Activity:nil
5/7     Fun site when you're working on a Fri nite:
        http://www.funforwards.com/flash/june03/kungfu_bunny.cfm
        http://www.addictinggames.com
        http://www.funnydot.com/flashgamesp/Cyber-Mice-Party.html
2004/5/4-5 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:30008 Activity:high
5/4     I want to buy 'settlers of catan' online (because the idea of
        leaving the house is abohorent to me).  Also, i'm a cheap bastard
        is there some discount game place online :)
        \_ It's called "<DEAD>www.ebay.com"<DEAD> You might have heard of it.
        \_http://www.google.com/froogle?q=settlers+of+catan&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=p
        \_ http://tinyurl.com/yrlzz (froogle)
        \_ I got it and others from http://funagain.com, they were nice/fast
           \- funagain and fairplay are good in service and price.
              if you are trying to save $, you should try to cluster
              to amortize shipping cost ... like with catan you might
              get the 5-6pp set at the same time. actually if you are
              in berkeley, i might be interested in clustering a
              game order. --psb
        \_ funagain is good. fairplay is usually cheaper but i've never
           ordered from them... i just get funagain to match their prices.
        \_ Crypto fascist!
2004/5/4 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Reference/History/WW2] UID:29999 Activity:high
5/4     Historical strategy games buffs, play these two:
        (a) Europa Universalis 2, (b) Victoria.
        Steep learning curve, but very fun.  There is also a WWII one using
        the same engine, but that's probably not for everybody. -- ilyas
        \_ Are either of these free or Free?
           \_ No. -- ilyas
2004/5/4 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Reference/History/WW2/Germany] UID:29989 Activity:high
5/3     Attention 3d 1st person shooter gamerz: Battlefield Vietnam, yay or
        nay?                      -BF1942 dude, alias "Nazi killing machine"
        \_ I'm waiting for the truly accurate military video game where you
           lay around terrified 98% of the time ... and then get insta-maimed/
           killed by a sniper or pipe-bomb.
        \_ BFV is much more immersive than BF1942.  Plus infantry actually
           stand a chance against tanks and helis.  The terrain is beautiful.
           \_ but should they stand a chance?  against a heli?  please....
              \_ With a Stinger, sure they should. If you want game
                 balance + realism, make stingers easy to obtain.
           \_ Well, this improves game balance.  All you have to do is whip
              out your RPK or M60 and start belting it out.  When they realize
              they are being shot at, they have to turn around, find you,
              aim their chopper at you and shoot.  Oh and in that time, you
              get to find a place to hide.  Most people are crappy chopper
              pilots and are not resourceful enough to pickup other players
              to act as door gunners.
        \_ I'm still waiting for Battlefield: Iraq
           \_ uh, desert sucks?
              \_ No!  Urban guerilla warfare!
           \_ it's been done in BF1942, the Red Army field (forgot the name)
              It's a nasty terrain.
2004/4/29 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Computer] UID:13452 Activity:very high Edit_by:auto
4/28    Playtested "Shinteki" last weekend. Day-long puzzle-road-rally event.
        Well run and should be lots of fun for both experienced players
        and folks who haven't done something like this before.
        http://www.shinteki.com (May 8, 15, or 22).   -jowens
        \_ This sounds like fun, but I'd like to know more.  Could you do
           a write-up on your experience?  ok, tnx
           \_ Well, that would be kind of giving away the whole thing, since
              what I playtested is exactly what it will be like. Here's a
              writeup of another one from the same group that's running
              Shinteki (in Las Vegas, and more elaborate of course):
              http://csua.org/u/744   Let me know if you want more info.
2004/4/27 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:13401 Activity:nil
4/27    Has anyone played Rainbow Six (Raven Shield)? If so, did you
        like it? Splinter Cell (1&2) seemed pretty good, so I was
        thinking about trying out other Tom Clancy games, but I'm a
        little wary because I've been told that they are very "realistic".
        \_ You want violent games that aren't realistic?  You can get a free
           download of pacman at http://download.com.
           \_ If I wanted realistic I'd join up. I'm a scrawny coder
              who likes to shoot things for a few hrs a week. Too much
              "realism" (a la SoCom) bores me.
              \_ Have you tried Serious Sam or the sequel? Very fun and surreal
                 \_ No. I'll look into them.
              \_ try FarCry
                 \_ agreed, you need a "real" computer and video card, tho
        \_ I liked SC 1&2, and also Ghost Recon.  Missions in Ghost Recon can
           take a looong time though (once I got used to it, I really liked
           it).  Never played R6.
2004/4/23 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:13347 Activity:high
4/23    Man choses playstation 2 over hot date:
        http://ps2.ign.com/articles/508/508371p1.html?fromint=1
                \-"it takes a lot of ploygons to approximate spheres" --psb
                   \_ is that some kind of obscure Flatland reference?
                  \_ Spheres are overrated. Complex curves are much better.
                  \_ Ah, but with NURBS...
        How many of you would do the same?
            \_ at least one person would choose otherwise:
               http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/mis/29328995.html
        \_ I'm happily married to a hot woman.  I'd take the ps2.
           \_ What he said.
              \_ Hotter than Jordan?  Let's see a picture.
                 \_ Jordan is fat.
        \_ Jordan is hot, but you can always get hot girls but PS2 is free
           and lasts a while
        \_ Hot chicks are over-rated.
        \_ That person is an idiot who will regret this later when he
           can't even get a woman under 40 to talk to him. All the girls
           in college who were "fat" or otherwise less than perfect start
           to look better and better the older you get. Woman aside, why
           not go out instead of spending more time in front of a CRT?
           \_ Why not pursue a relationship based on mutual interests with a
              normal person than an expenses-paid dinner with a chick who's
              crazy enough (or shrewd enough) to take an all-expenses-paid
              dinner with whichever shmuck happens to sound better in a
              random draw of the audience?  Get the playstation, then tell
              the next girl you date you took it because you weren't
              interested in some meaningless fling.  You can thank me when
              you wake up next to her the next morning.  Then you can go
              play Final Fantasy X.
2004/4/21-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:13312 Activity:nil
4/21    Does anyone archive funny/cute flash games posted on the motd?
        I really need to do something fun before I am officially laid
        off on Friday.
        \_ try this you pathetic depressed laid-off silicon valley engineer:
           http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~jha331
        \_ In my day we surfed porn and planted at bombs. Kids these days.
        \_ http://www.ebaumsworld.com/helicopter.shtml
           http://games.geekhaven.net/penguin/penguin.swf
           http://www.jfedor.org/misc2/penguin.swf (with sound)  -John
        \_ http://www.urban75.com/Punch/gates.html
           http://www.axlrosen.net
        \_ http://www.orisinal.com -- awesome
        \_ Why do you hate america?
2004/4/14-15 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:13190 Activity:low
4/14    Not that there are any undergrads left in the CSUA, but particularly
        for them: Several upcoming puzzle-fest-road-rally-scavenger-hunt "Game"
        events in the next few months. This is spurred by the request of
        the people running the Genome Game http://www.genodix.com (Jul 10-11)
        indicating they'd like more undergrad participation. Since the Game
        started at Stanford it's mostly Stanford folks who play; I'd like to
        see some more Bears on the road. Non-undergrads welcome too. It's tons
        of fun. Other upcoming events:
        - BANG 6 (Apr 18) http://www.bloodandbones.com/thegame/bang6.html
        - Shinteki (May 8, 15, or 22) http://shinteki.com
        - Justice Unlimited (Jul 31-Aug 1) http://www.snout.org/Game
        About the Game: http://www.gamecontrol.com, lots of good links at
          http://www.snout.org/Game. Questions? Lemme know. -jowens
        \_ Actually, the CSUA is doing quite well among undergrads these
           days.  Excellent leadership and enthusiasm have contributed to
           something of a renaissance over the last few sememsters.  None
           of them read the motd though.  (It's not displayed
           automatically on startup for new members anymore. :(  )
                        \_ why nopt?
                           \_ because paolo was whipped
           \_ Who knew? Cool. How might I publicize this among undergrads?
              \_ send it to csua@csua or office-hosers.  You could also
                 just send it to the Librarian and have him post it on
                 the web page calender or something.
           \_ Considering the extremely questionable nature of some of the
              stuff that gets posted here, its probably best that the first
              thing a new member is confronted with when they login is NOT
              the motd.public.
              \_ Are you saying they can't deal with open debate and a little
                 ranting?  They're adults.  They'll deal.  They don't need you
                 or anyone else to nanny them.
                 \_ They may all be adults, but the content on the motd is
                    not.
                    \_ So what?  They don't have to read it but they should
                       not be nannied into not having the opportunity to read
                       and participate.
              \_ I know that the motd is pretty questionable, but not
                 exposing new members to it basically means the motd will
                 slowly die as us allums get lives.  Which, may be just
                 fine.  But things are already smelling kinda stagnant
                 around here.
           \_ hey, some of us ugrads do read the motd; several are friends
              of mine. - erikk
2004/4/6-7 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:13041 Activity:nil Cat_by:auto
4/6     Cute little "life" kind of game:  http://www.rgb-game.com
        You build organisms out of some number of red, blue, or green blobs,
        which need to eat those colors in the environment to reproduce. But
        the blobs also impart abilities to the organism.
        \_ You bastard.  There goes my afternoon.
        \_ 69000 so far.  still got a bunch on the board.
           \_ I got 370000 but then I kind of screwed it up. Forgot for a
              second that adding something would drop my score, plus now
              the board balance seems screwed up and probably can't recover.
              I was using one blob of each color but the reds all died at
              some point. Now it's toast.
        \_ 73409 with 6red, 6green
        \_ That's really interesting getting symbiosis going.  2r1g, 1b2g is
           working pretty well. Also 1g, 2b1r
        \_ 445321, 1g 1b 1r, but I tossed some more in early on.
        \_ Fantastic and evil.  I'll never work again.  -John
           \_ again?
2004/2/23-24 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:12357 Activity:nil
2/23    I was reading about 321 Studio being sued for their DVD XCopy
        software.  I've never used it or ever owned a DVD burner, but
        I got curious and did some more reading through Google.  So
        apparently you can't use it to rip PS2/XBox games.  Now,
        would that be because of technical-related difficulties (e.g.,
        it's harder to break the code on these game discs) or legal
        concerns (i.e., Sony/Microsoft are more likely to sue us than
        Hollywood)?
        \_ I don't know about PS2, but there is not problem ripping
           XBox games using a DVD burner. In fact with XBox you don't
           even have to waste a dvd on the game, you can just rip
           the game and then copy it to the Xbox's hd and play it
           from there. I do this for all my games since they load
           much faster from hd than from the DVD-Rom.
           \_ About how many games can it hold?
                \_ The 10 gb drive that came with my xbox holds
                   about 2 games. I've upgraded to a 80 gb drive
                   and that holds about 15 games.
                   \_ Do you have any URL that has more information
                      on how to do this?
2004/2/20-25 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:12321 Activity:nil
2/20    Looking to contract out some work to experienced game
        artists who don't suck ass.  email jon@number-none.com
                          \_ What I do in my own time is none of your business!
        \_ I'm still concerned about sucking ass.  I'm an experienced game
           artist but how do I know in advance if I suck ass?  Thanks!
        \_ What exactly does it mean to suck ass?  Does it require the act of
           physically putting someone's entire ass in one's mouth while
           applying oral suction?  Would one buttock be enough?  What if the
           ass were too large to fit within the oral cavity?  Would whatever
           smaller of piece of ass one could fit and apply suction upon still
           count as sucking ass?  Thanks!
           \_ Ass sucking is not the proper nor terribly pleasurable way to
              treat an ass. See PETA argument above for more details.
              \_ Instead of looking for someone who won't mistreat an ass,
                 shouldn't poster be telling what they *are* looking for?
                 \_ I'm going to take a wild guess here, and say he might
                    be looking for experienced game artists.
                    \_ Yes, but he already says that.  So he really wants
                       experienced game artists who don't "suck ass".  I'm
                       concerned with the ass sucking part.  Before I send my
                       portfolio in I'd like to know if I've been sucking ass
                       or maybe I have been but I've been doing it wrong or
                       something.  It's good to be prepared for these things.
                       \_ I think I can say with confidence that blojo has
                          no interest in hiring you.  -tom
                          \_ you "think" you can say that with "confidence"?
                             \_ you expected better from tom?
2004/2/2-3 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:12078 Activity:kinda low 50%like:12085
2/2     I've never played Chinese Chess.  Any comments about it?
        Aside from:
        http://www.chessvariants.com/xiangqi.html
        \_ it's a good game, more like chess and less like Go or weiqi.
           Probably a little less complex and difficult than chess, but
           you need a few dozen games before you can possibly beat me,
           a decent amateur, if you are pretty bright
           \_ [ Chicom troll censored, Chinese government style. ]
              \_ I think he means less complex is equivalent to fewer possible
                 moves
        \_ Also called Elephant Chess.  Very challenging and well-balanced.
           It seems simpler than chess, at first, but takes almost as
           much skill to master, so in that respect, it's similar.
           Perhaps chess has a greater number of variations, but both have
           a greater magnitude of variation than most non-experts can
           calculate, so mastery is of a similarly high level.  Btw,
           you can play online, too: http://www.xiangqiclub.com -nivra
           \_ Darn!  I went to the site, and got slaughtered.  Those
              people pretty good.
        \_ can one calculate the complexity of both games recursively? For
           example, how many moves exist by multiplying the number of moves
           for each piece with the next move, etc etc. Maybe that'll tell you
           mathematically how complex both games are.
           \_ No.
        \_ The Horse in Chinese chess moves the same way as the Knight.  (A
           knight piece is a horse anyway.)  The Chariot moves the same way as
           the Rook.  The Elephant moves somewhat similarly to the Bishop.
           The initial positions of Chariot, Horse and Elephant are the same as
           those of Rook, Knight and Bishop too.
           \_ not quite the same as in western chess.  The Chinese Horse
              can't jump over pieces; it always moves vertically/horizontally
              and then diagonally.
           \_ which bought a interesting point.  I am long suspect the Western
              Chess and the Chinese "elephant" Chess derive from the same historical
              Origin, as a lot pieces moves in similar way and has similiar
              constraint.
              \_ I believe western chess has arab origins who are known to have
                 been in contact with the chinese so it seems likely one got it
                 from the other.  I don't know which had it first.
                 \_ Chess came from an Indian game called Chaturanga.  It came
                    to Europe (in chess form) via Arabs, and to China (in
                    chinese chess form) likely directly.  -- ilyas
        \_ thanks for the info.  Interesting how there is no concept of a queen
           in the game.  But it looks interesting enough.  I like the
           concept of cannons and palace, and palace guards.
           \_ beware the double cannon checkmate and the cannon behind horse
              checkmate
              \_ are there are a lot of resources for english speaking
                 players?  computer games?  game databases?
        \_ related question.  Anybody here play wei-chi or go?  I heard that
           the rules of the game are so simple but the strategy is so
           complicated that we still can't write computer programs that play
           the game.  Or rather a program that's any good.  Not like deep
           blue.
           \_ I play. Very amateur.  There is a Berkeley Go Club, iirc. -nivra
           \_ Computer chess works because the number of moves that are legal on
              any one turn are managable, so you can search reasonably deep.
              Go has way to many moves to perform a good search, so the better
              Go programs have to do some sort of pattern recognition, IIRC.
           \_ I play wei-chi (badly).  Always looking for more people to play.
                -- ilyas
           \_ I am a rookie go player.  Go has simple rules.  I wouldn't
              call the strategy complicated.  It's just very different.
              Go has start game, middle game and end game, moving from
              vision, imagination and creativity to the analytical, from
              my limited understanding.  Last time, I played online a few
              years back, I beat the guy who gave me a four seed advantage,
              which is huge.  He thinks I play well for someone with less
              than 10 games experience.  He didn't know I read a Go book
              from the game store on Shattuck.  And I played very conservatively,
              using the 4 seed advantage to sit on him.  Still I almost lost
              it all (one-seed slower and a big chunk of my seeds would have
              been lost).  I think making a good computer player is possible,
              but it requires a different approach than chess.  The Go book
              I bought had a game by two masters with explanation of what
              they are trying to do, and it was just very beautiful the way
              each seed is placed at just the right place which at first
              doesn't appear good, but slowly built up to a grand vision,
              with developing patterns appearing like a monster jaw, etc.
              \_ I should add that some go rules are not so simple.  In
                 particular, rules governing ko (repetition) and scoring can
                 be a real bear.  In fact, such rules differ depending on
                 the country you play in.  The strategy in wei-chi is much
                 more complicated than in chess, in my opinion.  In fact, the
                 strategy is what's hard about wei-chi, tactical aspects of
                 the game can be well-handled by known search techniques.
                   -- ilyas
           \_ cf. shogi. There are similarities to chess, but big differences
              as well. For example, when you take a piece, it goes into your
              reserves and you can play it almost anywhere on the board. Also,
              pieces can be promoted under certain circumstances, altering
              their movement. Also hard to create an algorithm to emulate.
              \_ "hard to create an algorithm to emulate?"  What does this
                 even mean?  Do you know what the words 'algorithm' and
                 'emulate' mean?
                 \_ One of those english majors who took CS to play netrek
                    and did well in neither.
          \_ Chinese Chess has the (big in my book) advantage of being a
             much quicker game.  (fewer moves per game,  king is much more
             restricted making for a shorter end-game).  I just learned to
             play and I like it alot (though i've played only few games).
             Here is a decent online Java app:  -crebbs
             http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Grid/6544/cccintro.htm
2004/1/27 [Politics, Computer/Networking, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29764 Activity:kinda low
1/26    MSFT is taking over http://MikeRoweSoft.com (CNN)
        \_ damn, this was people's last stand against the Sauron.
           Now he's going to take over the world.
           \_ resistance is futile. you will be assimilated.
        \_ Now what'll happen to http://mycrowsoft.com and <DEAD>mycrowessoft.com<DEAD>?
2004/1/15 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11788 Activity:high
1/14    Re: deep blue thread yesterday.  I actually met the designer of deep
        blue, Feng-Hsiung Hsu, a couple of times because he's a friend
        of my wife's family.  People just call him "deep blue".  :-)  After
        he left IBM, VCs started throwing money in his direction for his
        startup.  Not sure what happened to his company.  -taiwanese guy
        \_ my summary of this thread:
           <DEAD>www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/2004/01/13<DEAD>
           \_ Luddite!
        \_ I've read up on some URLs.  The Deep Blue team was allowed to
           modify the program between games in the tournament.  These
           modifications were made with the help of human grandmasters.
           Deep Blue didn't beat Kasparov.  Rather, Deep Blue with between-
           game tweaking by human grandmasters beat Kasparov.  That closes
           the issue in my book.  (That Kasparov went nuts and was incorrect
           in suggesting that Deep Blue was being modified during the game
           doesn't change the main point.)
           \_ Yes, but Kasparov consults (quite frequently) with fellow
              grandmasters during (when recessed) and between games. He also
              employs computers to look for variations. So the resources
              available to the Deep Blue team are available to Kasparov.
              Similarly between games Fischer would consult others for advise
              and modify his tactics according to past games. So it's not really
              fair to say that the Deep Blue team can't modify the program
              to reflect what essentially amounts to learning. A human tweaks
              himself between games, so why can't a computer program be
              tweaked in between games?
              \_ wait a second. he talks to grandmasters *during* games? how can
                 that be? that's like chess by committee. I think you're wrong
                 there. Or else grandmasters advising Deep Blue would be ok.
              \_ You could even argue that Deep Blue was "talking with
                 other grandmasters and improving its strategy" between games,
                 just like Kasparov could do the same.  But while it
                 sounds appealing, I'm kind of uneasy about this reasoning.
              \_ I think it would be better if neither side could do any out
                 side consulting or tweaking.
                 My gut feeling was that Kasparov was alone here, and
                 the corporate resources of IBM way outmatched him in the
                 between-game improvements.
           \_ Well in the end the machine played by itself each game. Being
              tweaked before and after games doesn't really change that. GK
              made some mistakes too. It's not like they would know what
              Kasparov would do in the next game.
              \_ Some would argue that the engine was so tweaked to play
                 Kasparov, that it wasn't a general engine, but rather a "beat
                 Kasparov" engine.  We'll never know, since it didn'y play
                 anyone else.
                 \_ That's true for any world-class chess player preparing
           the issue in my book.
                    for a match.  Such a player would spend a lot of time
                    optimizing his play for his opponent by studying his games,
                    preparing tailored opening surprises, etc.  -- ilyas
2004/1/8-9 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11719 Activity:moderate 50%like:30052
1/7     Do you compete in anything these days?  (non-sex related)
        (Sports, Netrek, board games, ...)
        \_ Basketball, Poker, board games, computer games in that order
           of frequency. - crebbs
           \_ what level are you?  Win any competitions/money?  What board
              games?
           \_ does netrek have an official rating system?  Is anyone
              on csua rated?
                \_ netrek doesn't have ratings akin to chess ratings;
                   it's closer to MUD/Evercrack with levels.  There are
                   a number of CSUA geeks who have at least one Admiral. -tom
        \_ Counterstrike, Halo.
        \_ Shooting real guns - no sim shit.
           \_ are you in competition shooting?  Biathalon?  Skeet shooting?
        \_ What do you have against competative sex?
        \_ I compete in the MOTD.
           \_ Competitive censoring?
              \_Competitive trolling.
2004/1/7 [Politics/Domestic/California, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11701 Activity:nil
1/6     Pete Rose is a liar and a scumbag.
        \_ I was shocked, shocked to hear that he had bet on baseball.
           \_ Casablanca reference acknowledged.
        \_ please tell us how you really feel about him
        \_ Why is he a scumbag, aside from betting on baseball and then lying
           about it?  I'm serious.
           \_ baseball elders get cranky when you bet on baseball,
              especially if you are managing a team.  ever
              heard of the "black sox"?
           \_ well what you mention is at the center of it.  It's also about
              him constantly pandering for attention, refusing to admit to
              truth, showing no remorse or guilt for wrong-doing.  If you
              believe Gioso, he also had no qualms about corking his bat.
              What about the insinuation that since he bet everyday on
              games, and on the Reds, who he managed, only sometimes, that
              the very act of "not betting" on the Reds is a signal that
              he thought the Reds might lose.  Oh, and perhaps the only
              reason that this news is hitting the airwaves "now," is
              because Pete stands to profit from a book, and the HOF
              announcement is today.
              \_ I hadn't heard about any bat corking.  Re: the gambling, I
                 think that although it was against the rules, it was not
                 "wrong".  Lying about it was, but not bad enough to make him a
                 scumbag.
                 \_ bat corking: http://csua.org/u/5g1
                    also, the gambling is wrong.  Again, do you really think
                    Pete would manage the same when he bet for the Reds to
                    win and when he did not bet for the Reds to win?  What
                    about blowing out a pitcher's arm in May in order to get
                    that crucial last inning when there's 5 months of
                    baseball left?  Furthermore, Pete had to know that not
                    betting on the Reds would signal the mob bosses.  How
                    hard do you think he played to win while he had that
                    knowledge.
                    \_ I would expect that rather than doing a half-assed job
                       when he didn't have any bets going, it's more likely
                       that he placed bets when he had "inside information"
                       which favored the Reds.  This would be insider trading
                       with respect to his bookie, but that doesn't bother me.
                       \_ of course he had inside information. he was their
                          manager.  What about the situation which may or may
                          not have happened where he gets pressure put on him
                          by mob bosses to whom he owes money to throw a game?
                          If the betting on baseball doesn't bother you, and
                          the inherent conflict in interest involved, whether
                          he was betting to win or to lose, and the lying,
                          public pandering, and insincere begging he has done
                          in public since 1989 don't bother you, then maybe
                          in your eyes he's not a scumbag.  These things do
                          bother me, however.  In general, it's been his
                          character, his willingness to do anything for a $,
                          and his willingness to do anything, say anything
                          to get back into the HOF regardless of what he hurts
                          or what he has to say to do it.
                          \_ some people just don't care about character.  to
                             them there is nothing someone can do that is
                             'wrong' or immoral because they don't believe in
                             morality.  anything that someone can get away
                             with is ok because they have no sense of right
                             and wrong.  you're wasting your time trying to
                             explain immorality to someone that has no morals.
                             \_ you people are incredible. we just had a thread
                                about how EVIL teachers are bleeding the
                                taxpayer dry with their 30k/yr salaries for
                                teaching kids, but when it comes to baseball
                                teams
                                subsidised by the taxpayer for the profit
                                of a few millionares all you fuckers
                                care about is who gambled or cheated.
                                \_ 30k/year?  Bullshit.  In CA, try 50k for
                                   passing the 10th grade level exam and 70-80k
                                   for taking a few night or summer classes and
                                   getting an "advanced" teaching credential or
                                   "masters" in education from *any* third rate
                                   school.  You're so full of crap.  You know
                                   nothing about the teacher's union or
                                   teaching.  You're not even trolling anymore.
                                   You're just spreading outright lies and
                                   complete misinformation at best.  Please
                                   just go away.
        \_ Is there anything more boring than baseball.  I'd rather watch
           grass grow.
           \_ Yes, there is.  It's called Cricket.
2004/1/5 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:11662 Activity:very high
1/4     Ok so what's the next bowl game for the bears?
        \_ 2010
        \_ If we don't go to a major bowl next year, it will be a
           disappointment.  We lose very little from this team, so both
           offense and defense should be better next year than they were
           this year.  We have playmakers on both sides of the ball.  -tom
           \_ so are we done this year?  We did Insight Bowl, now what's next?
              (if anything)?
2003/12/31-2004/1/2 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:11631 Activity:moderate
12/31   How do I go about getting tickets for Friday night's Cal BBall game?
        I'm an alum.  I've never gone to a Cal ball game before. -crebbs
        \_ why are you going now?
            \_ Part of friend's 30th B-day.
        \_ http://calbears.ocsn.com/tickets/cal-tickets.html
           if there are any left. If not, you can try craigslist
                \_ Isn't that illegal?
           or stubhub, or if you are really determined, buy them
           scalpers outside the arena before the game. -ausman
           or stubhub, or if you are really determined, buy them
           from scalpers outside the arena before the game. -ausman
                \_ Isn't that illegal?
                   \_ No, it's not. Scalping tickets for less than or equal to
                      the amount than the printed price on the ticket is
                      perfectly legal.
2003/12/31 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11626 Activity:nil
12/30   http://www.wilddivine.com - anyone played this? Cool or crap?
        \_ Reviewed on http://Discover.com
           http://csua.org/u/5ee
2003/12/19-20 [Transportation/Car, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11523 Activity:nil
12/18   earn some quick shopping money this weekend flyering cars for
        http://govojo.com - the netflix for games.  email brain for details
        \_ Yay!  More trash in the gutters!  Like my email and US mail spam
           wasn't enough, now I've got to toss your shit off my car at BART.
        \_ yeah, like we needed more trash in the gutters.
        \_ what's wrong with http://redoctane.com?
2003/12/14 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11450 Activity:nil
12/13   I just got a palm zire (B&W). what are some good freeware games?
        something like chess or a scrolling airplane shooter?
        \_ http://www.freewarepalm.com
           Let me know if you find anything cool.
        \_ Dopewars.  Great for meetings.  -John
2003/12/12-13 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11425 Activity:low
12/11   My latest addiction: http://globulos.com
        \_ Dude, you suck. Look what time it is. I've been playing this for
           hours now.  Hate you. -phuqm
           \_ Seconded.  I have so very rarely wanted to lynch someone so
              generous.  You bastard.
              \_ Thirded.  I was up till 3.  And it made me forget to make
                 mashed potatoes.
                 \_ Totally fucking EVIL!!!  I was up until 5am playing this
                    crap, and I've had an urge all day to play it at work.
                    Then again, maybe that is because I hate my job. -phale
                    \_ I tried it this morning but pulled myself away. This
                       seems like it will have more staying power than isketch
        \_ Are there any good, up to date "simple" game listings?  "Castle"
           was a cool one, I also like the Dismount games (simulations of
           people falling down stairs and crashing trucks).
2003/12/10-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/HW/Memory] UID:11384 Activity:nil
12/9    Anyone have any experience with the DDR RedOctane pad? I've been
        happy with my Ignition 2.0 pads, but wanted to get a more affordable
        for my brother's kids... Thx!  http://redoctane.com/ddr.html
            \_ i got Ignition 2.0's as well, but there are very similar
               BNS pads for $50. see the listing and review links here:
               http://www.buynshop.com/productinfo/44/VG-DDR-ULTDX
        \_ Are the ignition pads really worth the price? I can buy pads at
           EB Games for 1/3.
           \_ the ignition pads are *GREAT* - solid, responsive, can't
              complain at all.  After a year of hard dancing, the foam is
              still as thick/soft as new.  Well worth it if you're serious,
              but at a higher price. -op
        \_ My friend bought these, $39 for a foam pad:
           http://shop.store.yahoo.com/ddrgame/deigpad.html
           He's had it for a few months and it lasted way better than the $20
           pads.  If you look around you can get the cheap plastic ones for
           about $10-15, here is one:
           http://talkall-wireless.site.yahoo.net/playddrdanpa.html
                                                                   -oj
        \_ Every once in a great while, the motd comes through with a better
           collection of info than I've been able to find through much
           googling. I hate that.
        \_ Thanks for the great feedback!  Another DDR-related question -
           how does DDR MAX 2 compare to Konamix?  Worth upgrading to a PS2
           for? (got the PS1 just for DDR, thinking of upgrading for MAX
           and Karaoke Revolution)
           \_ around 70 songs in MAX2, freeze arrows, 60fps for the
              arrow movement, "light" mode (1-3 feet). songlists:
              http://www.ddrfreak.com/versions/listver.php
                                                           -oj
2003/12/5-6 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11320 Activity:nil
12/4    Has anyone played either "San Marco" "El Grande" or "Puerto Rico"
        (the games)?  Any comments/reviews?
        \_ Puerto Rico is very good.  At almost every turn, there's a
           "correct" move--it's a game for the analytical.  -tom
           \- Complexity?  Is it a social game or all strategy?
                \_ moderately complex.  More strategy than social.  -tom
        \_ Played puerto rico for the first time last week, it's a hoot.
           Lots of strategy, though, that we were just scratching the
           surface of, I think.  http://Funagain.com has decent prices.
           \-hola, is "funagain" the default game site on the weeb? ...
             at least for price? i am thinking of buying
             PR, EG, SM and Princes of Florence from them. There is a
             place in florida still selling MORE COSMIC ENCOUNTER(shrink
             wrap) for $30. This is a pretty good deal iff you have the
             Mayfair Cosmic. I am pretty sure you'll be able to sell this
             at a profit if in good condition. Ok tnx. --psb
2003/12/3 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11287 Activity:nil
12/2    If anyone wants to see a video of some guy beating mario bros 3 in
        ~11 minutes, look at /csua/tmp/mariobros3.wmv (~18 MB).
        \_ out of curiosity, why is that interesting/impressive?
           \_ what, is that too slow for you? maybe i'm just easily impressed.
              \_ No, specifically, what about it is impressive?  Did he find
                 a shortcut through, and then memorize the moves?  Or is that
                 the whole game?  Or ...  Basically, "what makes this
                 impressive?", from someone who hasn't played the game but
                 is randomly curious...
                 \_ just watch it, the guy makes almost no unnecessary
                    movements.  there are just some sequences that are
                    incredibly well-timed. -- !op
                    \_ no unnecessary movements except for getting nonstop
                       1-ups on the scroller levels.  that's just showing
                       off. -geordan
             \_ It's amazing because he beat the whole game in 11+ minutes when
                it should've taken an hour or so (at least with my sad gaming
                skills). Also, he did it with such minimal movements (well,
                minimal while still getting 99 lives).
        \_ Amazing. I would say flawless but one of his cards was a mushroom
           and not a star.
           \_ That's intentional. If he got 3 stars it would take longer
              to play the little anthem and award free lives, which he
              really had enough of. -bz
              \_ Genius. Pure Genius.
        \_ Wow!  Absolutely incredible.
        \_ He used an emulator to slow speed down to 1/30th, also saved and
           reloaded.
           \_ I thought it was too perfect.  You have a URL to back up that
              claim?
           \_ it looks like it was captured from a real NES.  Emulators don't
              produce the weird screen artifacts on the side.
           \_ http://soramimi.egoism.jp/emu.htm is Morimoto's web page.
              He describes doing exactly what is asserted here.         -brain
              \_ That's great, he describes it... in Japanese!
                 \_ You've never heard of http://babelfish.altavista.com ?
                    (Mind you, you need a good sense of humor to work
                    through it....)
        \_ The part where he got 74 1-up's had me giggling like a little
           schoolgirl.
        \_ You should all watch Quake done Quick
2003/11/24 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11206 Activity:low
11/24   M$ Using PPC in XBox to Kill Linux:
        http://tinyurl.com/wbrl (redherring.com)
        \_ that has got to be one of the dumbest articles I've read in years
           \_ agreed..
2003/11/20-21 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:11160 Activity:high
11/20   Does anyone else use eMule to pirate games/sw? It's great!
        \_ Don't Copy That Floppy!
           \_ Best. Video. Ever.
        \_ usenet.  the only way you can be tracked is if your isp turns over
           logs.
        \_ I like W.A.S.T.E. but you need ot trust your friends, and it doesn't
           scale too well
           \_ how do new warez get into the system?
              \_ By the whim of trystero...
2003/11/16 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Foreign/Asia/Taiwan, Recreation/Shopping] UID:11098 Activity:nil
11/16   http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/11/14/2003075781
        Gigolo school raided by police.
2003/11/12 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:11043 Activity:nil
11/12   A cute little adventure-ish game that doesn't take too long to finish.
        http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf
        http://www.samorost2.net/samorost1
2003/11/4 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:10927 Activity:nil
11/3    I'm stuck at work twiddling for 3 hours.  What easy to learn online
        games are out there?  No pay services, please, I just need to kill
        one evening.  Thanks!
        \_ http://espgame.com
        \_ nethack!
        \_ http://www.popcap.com/gamepopup.php?theGame=bookworm
        \_ http://isketch.com
           http://www.crystalnewmedia.com/gridlock/gridlock.swf
           http://www.xgenstudios.com/castle
           \_ sounds like a lot of people are on the same boat.
        \_ you all rock!  thanks!  3 hours killed.  --op
2003/10/10-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/SW/Languages/Functional] UID:10579 Activity:nil
10/10   New copy protection scheme:
        http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994248
        \_ for software, not A&V
        \_ if it's software, it can be hacked. they're just making it more
           difficult.
        \_ "copy protection" through standard-munging is lame.
        \_ This is as old as Ultima.  The game companies put in something
           which detects if you have a pirated copy 1/3 through the game.
           Crackers release a fix to the first crack later.
        \_ Now imagine (as always happens) the false positives on this?
           Everyone gets to blame the game.
2003/9/24 [Recreation/Dating, Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:10306 Activity:low
9/24    Half-life 2 delayed from Sep. 30 release.  Release date unknown.
        \_ Who cares?  It's all the same.
           \_ I've built my entire life around game release dates.  I check
              all the release date schedules on an hourly basis and auto alert
              myself via my pager and email if anything chances!
              \_ How have you not committed suicide over Duke Nukem Forever?
              \_ I bet this guy is obsessed with masturbating, too.
           \_ Heresy!!!
        \_ but I heard game cubes are now down to $99.
2003/8/22-23 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29440 Activity:very high
8/22    I just got a new computer and I wanna try out its capabilities
        (I got 3GHz, 2Gig RAM, and a Radeon 9800 vid card). I want to
        try out games where you see a LOT of blood and body disfigurement,
        preferably where you're a general or a gunner trying to get rid
        of a swarm of inferior army. What are some games that'll satisfy
        the above requirements?
        \_ Watch Al-Jazeera
        \_ use your imagination.  http://games.yahoo.com/go
        \_ Quake 3 alpha?
        \_ In Civ1 you run a vast civilization and destroy entire races.  I
           think you're looking for civ1.  On the other hand, anyone who spends
           a few grand on parts they don't need probably has a of more spare
           cash around.  I'll be your "Game Consultant".  I charge $250/hr or
           per question with a minimum charge of 4hrs/4questions and you pay
           in advance.
                \_ civ1? As in Sid Meier's Civilization? I played that on
                   my 386 game. Pretty cool. No blood though.
                   \_ Yeah, but think of the blood involved in wiping out
                      multiple enemy civs that might have a few million people
                      _each_!  That's more blood per turn than all the Quake,
                      Doom, RTCW, etc, games ever played combined!
        \_ Serious Sam
           \_ And SS2. These two harken back to the Doom/Doom2 days when
              there were a shitload of monsters all coming after you all at
              once. This one outdoor level with two pyramids took me ten tries
              to pass (but my oh my, how high the death count was)
        \_ Half-Life 2 is what you'll want next month. There's nothing right
           now to really push your system. For relatively recent action games
           try Jedi Knight 2 or Battlefield 1942 (online only).
        \_ Gunmetal (http://www.nvidia.com/object/game_gunmetal.html brought my
           Athlon 1700 + GeForce 4400 to its knees, and not even at max
           graphics quality.
           \_ his machine is over twice as fast as yours btw
              \_ It's all about the graphics card, not the CPU on these sorts
                 of games.  Stick in a 100000ghz cpu and a shitty GPU and it
                 won't run any faster.  Bottlenecks, kids.  Think bottlenecks.
                 I guess bottles aren't shaped like that anymore.
                 \_ cpu is still important. 100000ghz cpu would probably do
                    much better than any existing gpu, assuming software
                    rendering support.
                    \_ yeah plus that 9800pro is a lot more powerful than 4400.
                       easily 2x fps with anti-aliasing and aniso filtering.
                       with fewer features the games become CPU-limited.
                    \_ Bottlenecks!!!  Your memory and system bus can't feed
                       your infinite mhz cpu.  So no, it won't go faster due
                       to software rendering without some incredibly rebuild
                       of all the buses *and* hey guess what?  Your monitor
                       is hooked up to your video card (shocker!) and again
                       you're stuck with whatever copy-to-video-ram speed
                       your video card can do.
                       \_ *sigh* I had just bought the Athlon+GeForce last
                          year, and though it's plenty fast, I'm dreading
                          seeing how HL2 or Doom3 performs. Thus far, only
                          Gunmetal chokes my system... well, that and that
                          ATI-happy benchmarking program, 3DMark2003.
                          \_ I still game on a P3-700.  Until very recently
                             it was a p3-450.  The 700 was an upgrade.
2003/8/21 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:29429 Activity:nil
8/21    smurf finally writes a game: http://fa.xmunkki.org
2003/8/20-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/Companies/Yahoo] UID:29400 Activity:low
8/19    Programmer / Engineer position open in the Yahoo! Games
        group.  /csua/pub/jobs/Yahoo for more info.  -- nickkral
        \_ why did you take out the posts below. Can't handle criticism?
           \_ he didn't.
        \_ nick, you don't play games all that well and you're not even
           hip, why are you in the game division?
2003/8/19-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29393 Activity:very high
8/19    Stupid Motd Poll.
        I play video games often/allthetime: .
        I play video games occasionally (<once a week): .
        I rarely/never play video games: ...
        \_ i put "often" but for me it happens in binges. other times i don't
           play for weeks.
           \_ i'm like this too, as i suspect many are. -phuqm
           \_ About once a year I'll play video games a lot for 2-3 weeks,
              but that averages to <once a week...
2003/8/19-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29389 Activity:low
8/19    ilyas, is Command & Conquer a good game? Graphics look nice. If
        it's good tell me and I'll go get it
        \_ Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun is fun (especially multiplayer)
           -not ilyas
        \_ I hate RTS games with a passion, so I am the wrong person to ask.
             -- ilyas
        \_ C&C Generals is the most recent in the series.  It was fun enough.
           There are some balance issues between the 3 sides.  The single
           player campaign was ok but nothing fantastic and didn't have
           Westwood's more usual storyline and cut scenes.  No cut scenes at
           all in this one.  Overall its ok but lacks that certain spark that
           great games have.  Don't pay $50 for it unless you've got money
           burning a hole in your pocket.
2003/8/19-20 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29385 Activity:insanely high
8/18    Can someone repost a list of good strategic war games that don't
        emphasize on civ build-ups? Thanks.
        \_ Risk, Axis & Allies are good board games.  Anything from SSI is
           probably too complex.  -John
        \_ Avalon Hill Games
        \_ What do you mean by strategic?  True wargames differ by scale,
           and are divided into 'tactical' (brigade level, and lower), and
           'operational' (army level, and above).  A good example of the first
           group is Squad Leader.  A good example of the second group is
           Talonsoft's Operational Art of War.  I prefer operational games
           myself, but those games are no longer wargames per se, they often
           model diplomatic, economic, and geopolitical considerations
           (not to mention logistics).  Thus, they are by necessity civ-like.
           Good recent operational games are Hearts of Iron (centering on WWII),
           and Europa Universalis (centering on 15th-19th century) by
           Paradox Entertainment, both use the same engine.  An excellent
           tactical game is Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin, by
           Battlefront.  If you are interested in wargames, drop me an email
           and we can chat more.  I am always looking for more people to play
           (AI tends to suck in complicated wargames, not surprisingly).
             -- ilyas
        \_ chess.
        \_ baiting tom.
           \_ not good, not strategic, not a war game. well ok, it's good.
              and it's a game.  but it's like playing solitaire and cheating.
              you can't lose because it's too easy.
                                          \_ like yermom? -!tom
                                             \_ "i know you are but what am i?"
                                                \_ "it's too easy, like yermom"
        \_ checkers.
        \_ Settlers of Catan is a simple yet very enjoyable strategic
           game, but it's based on resources and growth not war.  There
           are supposedly expansion packs or newer versions that incorporate
           war, though.
           \_ settlers of catan is great, (even women enjoy it), but it isn't
              a war game.
              \_ odd game.  i won my first game and i'm still not sure why.
                \_ Settlers is an example of a steamroller game.  A few
                   lucky rolls of the dice, and you win:  some advantage
                   leads to more advantage, exponentially.  It's not like
                   netrek, where the more you succeed, the harder it is
                   to gain more.
                   \_ If you like Settlers check out Puerto Rico. A bit more
                      complicated, but really fun and there's almost no
                      element of luck involved.
                      \_ there is luck in Puerto Rico -- the order and
                         ability of players is important.
                   \_ With the "Cities and Knights" expansion, Settlers is
                      a much better game, because it's easier to gang up on
                      whomever's in front.  -tom
                   \_ Even without the expansion, whenever I play Settlers
                      people gang up on whoever is in front by using the
                      robber, refusing to trade with the leader, using
                      hostile development cards, etc.  If you feel that
                      Settlers is a "steamroller game", you should try
                      playing against better opponents.
                        \_ Yes, but all of those things often don't
                           make too much of a dent in the front-runner.
                           With enough of an advantage, and some good dice
                           rolls you can triumph over all possible opposition
                           in Settlers.  The robber is at the level of an
                           irritant only, if you're big enough.
                           \_ But cards like "Wedding" and "Sabotage", plus
                              futzing around with knights if you've got grain,
                              makes Cities and  Knights a lot more dynamic,
                              and it's feasible to gain 4 or 5 victory points
                              in a single turn if you plan it right.    I
                              agree that the base Settlers game tends to
                              steamroll.  -tom
        \_ Board games or computer games?
                \_ board game:  Rise and Fall fo the Third Reich ...
                        \_ Takes forever to set up, ages to get the hang of,
                           and aeons to play.  I recommend against this and most
                           Avalon Hill games unless you're willing to put in
                           a lot of time with your hard-core gamer friends, at
                           which point they are pretty decent.  -John
                           \_ how much of a hardcore gamer are you John?
                                \_ Not nearly enough to spend 3 days learning
                                   Rise & Fall...you're talking to Mr. short
                                   attention span here.  :-)  -John
        \_ Fist of Fury in My Pants.
        \_ Matrix Games is supposed to be releasing a PC version of
           the ultra-complicated Napoleonic classic Empires in Arms
           later this year.  Looks promising.
        \_ Cosmic Encounters.  After 3 sessions of CE with 6 or 7 players that
           last anywhere from 15 minutes to 8 hours you'll have earned your
           degree in Cosmic Lawyering and be ready to squish the little peons
           who normally argue in places like the US Supreme Court and the Motd.
           \_ is it a cutt-throat game?  More so than Diplomacy?
              \_ Diplomacy is for the weak.  It has set rules and a known
                 starting position.  Only the strong survive in the world
                 of Cosmic Encounter.
                 \_ Have you played CE against PSB?
                    \_ I would not dare challenge the psb.  I am beneath.
                       \_ I'm having a Big U moment.
                          \- hey i went 13 CE wins in a row ...
                             ATOMIC ENCOUNTER ... molon labe. --psb
2003/8/15-16 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29362 Activity:high
8/15    Rise of Nations is pretty cool, BUT, are there games that emphasizes
        less on build-up (technology, citizens, research, etc) and more
        on strategic fighting? Like simply moving troops, using artillery,
        etc? This build-up process is simply stupid.
        \_ "amateurs talk about strategy, pros talk about logistics"
           \_ there are games which allow you to manage supply lines and such
        \_ Nectaris: Military Madness for PSX.  One of my all time favorites.
           It's a turn-based game though, but I think that's better than RTS
           anyways.  [edit] Btw, N: MM feels a lot more like a board game
           than a video game.  If you are a hardcore grognard, try something
           like Europa Universalis or wait for Road to Moscow to come out.
           Also, check out http://grognard.com. -- ilyas
           Also, check out http://grognard.com.  [edit2] Sorry, I remembered one
           more thing: check out Combat Mission games from Battlefront.
           Yes, I play wargames a lot. -- ilyas
        \_ play regular wargames.  maybe like Hearts of Iron
        \_ agree with above. there are tons of set piece turn based games out
           there with a lot more strategic depth than the click fest you'll
           get in any RTS game.
2003/8/9-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29295 Activity:kinda low
8/10    Rise of Nations, yay or nay?
        \_ Is it like Civilization?
        \_ I hear it is a good game, but I never played it myself.
        \_ It is awesome, especially if you like RTS games.  Two
           thumbs up.
2003/8/2-4 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29220 Activity:high
8/2     Has anyone played Medal of Honor online/multiplayer?  Any good?
        The XBox version sucks.  -John
        \_ Because the Xbox is the same as buying a 3 year old PC.
         \_ not quite.  The fact that it is a single target lets you do a
            hell of a lot more machine specific optimization, and the
            bus architecture is more suited to games than a pc is.  So go with
            a year or two old.
            \_ Nyet, comrade!  Most of the high end games such as FPS and
               flight sims are optimizing for both the cpu and video card
               on PC's.  The xbox version isn't going to ever compare to
               the PC version of anything only a year old.  Two is pushing
               it.  I've played plenty of both and the xbox just looks lame.
               You can turn on *everything* on these newer games on an older
               PC system and play 640x480 (similar to the TV the xbox is
               sending output) and get more FPS than you'll need and it'll
               still look better than xbox.  What xbox has going for it is
               the console thing with game paddles, etc.  Sometimes keyboard
               and mouse just doesn't cut it.
                \_ yes they are optimized but not nearly as optimized.  It just
                   just isn't possible.  (That being said a lot of xbox
                   developers are just lazy.)  And as far your resolution
                   claims, we these days fill rate is rarely the bottleneck,
                   especially not at 640x480.  (ok, if you have a full screen
                   particle system with 100s of alphaed particles, but I'm
                   not talking about that kind of case.)
                   \_ the screen res. is a minor side issue from where I was
                      really trying to go: xbox is a console.  consoles have
                      an advantage in HID and the owners expect less as well.
                      any PC game that came out today looking as lame as the
                      best xbox game isn't going to break even or probably
                      get shelf space.  consoles are the low end of the game
                      market.  buy a pc if you want real gaming.
               \_ luckily, first person shooters and flight sims aren't
                  very entertaining
                  \_ i agree, however a few million others think otherwise.
                     what are you playing if not fps and flight sims?  ive
                     been playing NWN and C&C:Generals lately.
                        \_ flight sims sell for crap these days.  There
                           is a reason they aren't being made much anymore.
2003/7/29-30 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29164 Activity:very high
7/28    What are some of the cool games out there for PC nowadays?s
        \_ I thought morrowind was neat.
         \_ morrowind sucks donkey balls
        \_ C&C Generals if you like rts games.  Why don't you tell us what
           type of games you like?  Then we can help you better.
        \_ My brother has recently played ETM and EF2. He's currently
           working on KOTOR. All of these games looked pretty good.
        \_ Battlefield 1942.  Super-addictive online.  And you get to
           bayonet people.  -John
        \_ I played Warcraft III. The expansion pack just came out but I
           haven't played that yet. The only other games I've played in the
           past five years were Diablo (sucked) and Starcraft (great).
           \_ I just finished single player expansion for WC3. Pretty fun.
              I like the new units.
              \_ Yeah, but the new units have even more micromanagement issues.
                 I pick up War3 occasionally, but it's even more of a clickfest
                 of SC.
                 \_ I think that's the point. They want you to micromanage
                    instead of building mass grunts and sending them off to
                    fight.
                    \_ Another reason why RoN is better: You can select to
                       not allow rushing in which case you receive a huge amount
                       of attrition damage in enemy territory (in addition
                       to tons of other multiplayer options).
        \_ What genre? RTS (Warcraft), FPS (Counterstrike), RPG (Diablo?),
           Adventure (King's Quest), Action (Street Fighter), etc?
        \_ Check out Rise of Nations(RTS) with a unique blend of ideas taken
           from Turn based strategy games(like Civ 3).  Its Awesome.
           Loved Warcraft III, but Rise of Nations is much better,
           cannot go back.  The Multiplayer games rock!
           \_ I hated WC3.  I couldn't even make myself finish the single
              player campaign.  Is RoN the same deal with silly hero units and
              artificially small squads and the standard war craft deal with
              a small variety of units with heavy paper-rock-scissors?
              \_ It does have units in the P-R-S format that you mention, but
                 it has others which are not.  RoN has a HUGE variety of units.
                 It does not have hero units.  It does not have campaigns like
                 Warcraft III, instead it has a 'Conquer the World' scenario
           really good.
                 which plays out differently every time you play.
                 Check out this link to find out how it has changed the RTS
                 genre and why its waaay better than other RTS games:
                 link:csua.org/u/3rn
                 \_ As much as I hear RoN is good, I couldn't stand the high
                    speed of the units.  Reminded me of a clickfest.  The last
                    RTS I really liked was Empire Earth, although it was
                    painful whenever your ally decided to drop a few nukes
                    on you, just for fun.
                    \_ Try playing on the slowers speeds.  It has 4 different
                       speeds.  The normal speed is quite fast, but you can
                       play on 'slow' or 'very slow' and you can even select
                       that technologies are researched fast, units are created
                       fast, etc.
        \_ Play Planescape: Torment.  A few years old, but as someone else
           wrote, "the best book I ever played".  System Shock 2 is also
           really good.  Just make sure you download the patch that prevents
           your guns from degrading, and stops respawns.  You can even do
           SS2 multiplayer, although you have to stay on the same level.
        \_ been playing billy boy's Age of Empires for the past 6 years,
           the most mileage i've gotten out of a game.
        \_ been playing billy boy's Age of Empires on the zone for the past
           6 years, the most mileage i've gotten out of a game.
2003/7/22-23 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:29103 Activity:nil
7/22    Thank god for *nix millebourne(sp).  I killed a whole work day doing
        nothing but losing to the computer.  I think it cheats.  An entire
        game without a single "Go" card?
2003/7/16-17 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:29059 Activity:kinda low
7/15    Seen the Dungeon Siege II trailer?  Anyone believe that the whole
        thing is really from the in-game engine?
        \_ Sure, why not? Looks about par as far as game engines go. The Doom3
           trailer was much more impressive graphics wise, and that was all
           in-game engine driven too. If it were CGI, I'd expect a lot more.
           \_ I wonder how much hardware it takes to play a game that looks
              like that during game play without slowdowns.
              \_ Most likely ATI Radeon 9800 and an insanely fast 2+Ghz CPU
2003/7/15-16 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Reference/History/WW2/Germany] UID:29040 Activity:high
7/14    We have a lot of games that kill Nazis and Japs (Medal of Honor,
        MS Combat Flight Simulator, etc etc etc). Just out of curiousity,
        do the Germans/Japanese make games that kill the Allies?
        \_ while there is plenty of nazi paraphenalia in Japan, I have never
           seen a game where you actually fight the US.  There are plenty
           where you try to take over Asia though!  Also I believe the
           swastika is illegal in Germany.              -brain

           \_ Wolfenstein 3D is illegal in Germany for the Nazi imagery.
              Probably the original Wolfenstein was not illegal though because
              the graphics were so shitty!
                \_ Games involving killing humans are illegal there.  C&C
                   had humans replaced by robots.  There is a game called
                   'camp commander' in the underground nazi scene in .de
                   that's a resource-management game involving sending "Turks"
                   off to concentration camps.  There are a few games where
                   you play nazis/japs, like Battlefield 1942, and the old
                   Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (the sound clips in
                   BF1942 are absolutely hilarious.)  -John
        \_ i wonder how come we don't have any game like "Slave Tycoon."
                \_ that'd be REALLY cool too. I'm looking for similar games,
                   like Clubbing Baby Seals and Tiger Hunting
           \_ You should play Fallout 2.  Jet, man, Fucking Jet!
        \_ there are lots of games where you can play a Japanese Zero and
           shoot the Americans, or drive a Panzer tank and kill the Allies.
           \_ or play the iraqi killing american troops.
        \_ Not really because those Japanese and those Nazi are 'gone'.  The
           people there now (mostly) don't associate themselves with those
           dead empires.  Do you associate yourself with the slave holding
                \_ No but it's a reeeallly touchy subject in both Japan
                   and Germany.  Infinitely more so than anything you can
                   imagine here about slaves or indians.  -John
           south in this country?  The natives?  The Spanish who held CA?
           The French who held the center of the country?  The Russians who
           held Alaska?
           \_ I associate myself with cowboys who kill injun savages.
        \_ Are there any games where I can play Israeli troops and exterminate
           palestinians?  I'm too much of a pussy to join the Israeli army
           to do that, so I want to do the next best thing.  Thanks.
           \_ No, but I've seen the "Palestinian Pizza Bomber game" followed
              closely by the sequels, "Disco Bomber", "University Bomber",
              "Bus Bomber" and "Hotel Bomber" which were all included in a
              special "Push them into the sea" pack which had a special addon
              where you get to toss old wheelchair bound Jews into the sea
              from a cruise ship you've taken over.  I'm looking forward to
              "The Last Arab/Israeli War" game where the Arabs attack (again)
              and win this time and you get to play Arabs butchering Jews in
              the streets en masse while the UN passes resolutions against
              the wicked Jews for getting in the way of your axes and bullets.
        \_ Can we have an adult themed fantasy role playing game like
           ultima6 or something but with lots of kinky sex?
           \_ Write it and they shall cum.
2003/7/14-15 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:29029 Activity:nil
7/13    Real Life, Reviewed by Gamespot:
        http://csua.org/u/3m6
2003/7/1 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/SW/Mail] UID:28874 Activity:insanely high
6/30    related to the friendster thread below.  Do most of you even have time
        to 'try new stuff on the web'?  When I was a student I had time to
        screw around and surf all day.  After graduating and getting a job
        and getting married, I don't have time for that.  My web surfing
        consists entirely of a few sites like yahoo and google and some
        technical web sites like http://ietf.org or financial info like irs.gov.
        Even then I'm looking for specific info.  I don't randomly surf.  I
        stop as soon as I find the info I need.  Anybody else in the same
        boat?
        \_ Occasionally while taking a break or eating at my desk or waiting
           for a client to get back to me (when I'm at their office with
           nothing else to do.)  Not for hours on end, though.  -John
        \_ yet another reason marriage is for suckers
           \_ if you think randomly surfing the web is better than having a
              life, you're either very very young or I pity you. --done both
                \_ having a life != being married
                   \_ randomly surfing web == not having life
                      being married == having life for those with real marriage
        \_ Just don't be so PW. My wife expects me to spend an hour or
           two online a night. Beats sitting in front of the TV set.
        \_ Try friendster and you will learn.  Bye bye marriage and job
           sucka!!! You're HOOKED.  h0oK3t!
           \_ yeah, right after I get one more everquest level.
        \_ it makes it easier to set up extramarital affairs.
           but yeah, after marriage, you pretty much disappear.
           i think they call it "growing up". -sl
        \_ I see webbrowsing as roughly equal to reading magazines.
           Do you read Time/Life/NewsWeek/Harpers/Barrons/Economist/etc?
           People/Cosmo/Red's Digest/SciAm/Nature/Science/etc?
           \_ science, nature, sciam and economist are available online,
              and the other things you named are fucking trash.
              \_ The Economist and Barrons are trash?  Fucking trash?  ????
                 You must have a really amazing reading list.
                 \_ maybe you should add the motd to your reading list before
                    posting.  I did not include the Economist in the
                    "fucking trash" list.
           \_ I beg to differ.  Web surfing is highly personal and
              individual.  Reading a magazine can be a social event.  I can
              easily show my wife some interesting article when she's sitting
              next to me on the couch.  Can't do that with computers.  And
              not easily with a laptop also.  Plus with a magazine or book
              I can rest my head on my wife's lap while reading (or vice
              versa). It's a lot more fun reading while you stroke your wife's
              hair.  ;-)
              \_ though I am loth to respond to idiot trolls, let me make the
                 point that our definition of what is "social" changes with
                 technology.  When the telephone first was introduced, luddites
                 had the same idea, that somehow you weren't socially
                 interacting if you couldn't see the other person.  Most
                 of the world has gotten over that by now.  Email and other
                 electronic communications are just another type of social
                 interaction, with different parameters.  While you can't
                 "show your wife" a web page you're looking at, you can
                 mail her a URL.  -tom
                 \_ Every day I wake up and recite a long prayer thanking
                    God I don't work with Tom.
                 \_ Your redefining "troll" to mean "anything I disagree with"
                    is like the NOW bimbos defining sex in marriage as rape.
                    You make the term meaningless.
              \_ Yeah I love stroking your wife's hair while reading, too.
2003/6/26 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28842 Activity:very high
6/26    Does anybody remember ExciteBike?  That game was so rad.
        \_ I play it in Animal Crossing in on GameCube.
        \_ those small ramps that shot you straight into the air were the best!
           \_ especially when you could land on the downward ramp and just
              coast along at super speed.
        \_ I've played it pretty frequently in the last few weeks, once I found
           that it was among my 4GB of mame roms (under 'vs. ExciteBike').  I
           loved that game in the arcade, but wasn't very good at it.
        \_ I dunno man, it was fun to play for a bit, but I never really
           got too into actually trying to win the races or whatever. and
           what was the deal with the fact that there were always bikers
           ahead of you to pass, even if you were in the lead and hadn't
           made one lap yet? so lame. Now, Kung Fu... there was game.
           \_ Building your own tracks was the best.  50 laps, cooldown zones
              everywhere, and then you'd just ride the bike and knock over
              other racers.  And of course the cool jumps.
        \_ there was recently a dirt bike game that had the old excitebike
           music as something to unlock.. anyone know the name?
2003/6/26 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/SW/Graphics] UID:28841 Activity:insanely high
6/25    Has anyone attended Academy of Arts in SF? I would like to
        know if this is a good school to go to in order to study
        computer animation and modelling.
        \_ my gf worked and took classes there for years.  She decided
           that it was NOT a good way to learn 3D and ended up taking
           classes independently for a certificate with companies such
           as "Mesmer".  Note that AoA classes are NOT transferable to
           other schools, nor do they teach you what you need to land
           a real job or do your own sizeable project.  Email me if you'd
           like more details.                -brain
           \_ Magic cursed words: unaccredited school. As noted, you'd be
              better off with one of the local comp. animation schools.
           \_ Mesmer's offering a bunch of 1-5 day classes in the fall.
              If I were to go with one, which package should I look into?
              (alias, 3dsmax, softimage, maya)
              \_ Maya is the program of choice in film. Max is still
                 leading in games, but Maya is a major contender. So
                 it depends on what you want to do with the knowledge.
                 The artists I know that have used both prefer Max.
                 Then again, most of the artists I know are in the game biz.
                 Ultimately, once you learn one, picking up another
                 isn't too big of a deal. -bz
        \_ i think you should email wolberg@csua
           \_ I love you Carrie!
2003/6/21-22 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28797 Activity:moderate
6/21    Fun game we played yesterday:
        http://quiz.ngsec.biz:8080/game1/index.php
        some of you should make it to level 10 within 2 hours.  Took us
        2 hours, and yes google is allowed.  Cheers.
        \_ 2 hours?  Took about 15 minutes to zip through. Google? pshaw!
           \_ J00 R ZO 733+!
                       \_ I am so teet?  What?
              \_ I'm so 318 that I'm going to hack your keyboard and make it
                 automatically convert all your future posts to real English.
           \_ If it took you 15 minutes, then congrats, altho I was hoping
              my post would spark discussion about how you did it, rants about
              php, warnings about fopen, discussion about how this could be
              avoided.  But hey if it took you 15 minutes, more power to you.
              \_ Discussion of what?  A lot of it was time wasting trying to
                 guess fake passwords.
        \_ is this something like http://www.try2hack.nl
2003/6/6-7 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28654 Activity:kinda low 80%like:28648
6/5     SimOnline: Mobs Form:
        http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6019958.htm
        \_ UPDATE: It's a nice day outside.  -John
        \_ So here's two side-by-side items I think the typical CSUAer will
           find most the interesting:
               ``I am amazed personally as to how this whole game has become
               so real . . . I spend more time with my computer than I do with
               my friends,'' said Velie, who like about 60 percent of the
               players, is a woman.
           Which makes it clear that you *can* meet women online, just not
           playing quake, *and* those women are just as fucked up as you are.
                        We prefer to be called differently _/
                        prioritized, thank you.
                        \_ You can prefer anything.  You're still fucked up
                           as much as any other lifeless drone who spends
                           more time online than off.
2003/6/6 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28648 Activity:high 80%like:28654
6/5     SimOnline: Fobs Form:
        http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6019958.htm
        \_ UPDATE: It's a nice day outside.  -John
        \_ So here's two side-by-side items I think the typical CSUAer will
           find most the interesting:
               ``I am amazed personally as to how this whole game has become
               so real . . . I spend more time with my computer than I do with
               my friends,'' said Velie, who like about 60 percent of the
               players, is a woman.
           Which makes it clear that you *can* meet women online, just not
           playing quake, *and* those women are just as fucked up as you are.
                        We prefer to be called differently _/
                        prioritized, thank you.
2003/6/5 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28639 Activity:high
6/4     Is there a game review site that covers all these new MMOG games
        out now?  I was in compusa today and there's at least 4 new ones
        I've never heard of.  The boxes of course don't tell you anything
        about any of them.  Thanks!
        \_ ign and gamespot seem to cover the big ones eventually. i
           think they're all worthless. stick to diablo 2... no monthly
           fee and the same basic game mechanic.
           \_ Some Neverwinter Night servers have job systems implemented
2003/5/26-28 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28558 Activity:high
5/26    http://www.sirlin.net/Features/RubinsFans2.jpg
        Totally work safe but might cost a few SANity points.
        \_ I don't get it.
           \_ Yeah, what the hell is that?
              \_ http://www.sirlin.net/Features/feature_GameBalancePart1.htm
                 "Female fans of top Magic the Gathering player Ben Rubin
                 await his arrival at a Pro Tour tournament in Sydney,
                 Australia."
                 \_ There's a recognized top Magic player?! Words escape me...
2003/5/16 [Recreation/Sports, Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28461 Activity:moderate
5/15    Would someone be so kind as to post a "Complete" Gamespot ID and
        password. I want to watch some game previews and $30 is just a bit
        much. I'm actually disappointed the game companies don't post these
        on their own sites.
        \_ Why waste their own bandwidth when there are web companies like
           Gamespot who would gladly host their stuff for them?  And $25
           is chump change for a year's worth of access.  Oh, and yes, the
           Half-Life 2 videos are most impressive.
           \_ Thanks for the pointer. Now kicking in my p2p client...
              ...yes, those are pretty neat!
              \_ I don't think you even have to go that far. If I'm not
                 mistaken, some of the videos are BitTorrent'ed
                 \_ Really? I'm googling and not finding. Perhaps I suck.
2003/4/29-30 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:28260 Activity:high
4/29    This guy is awesome! Why doesn't Berkeley have cool people this like?
           http://www.ai.mit.edu/~rahimi/coolmf
        \_ We used to.
        \_ I like the d10 in the photo. It's real old school.
           \_ Yeah because people who game today have a different shape for
              10 sided dice.
              \_ No, because it's all about the d20 these days. What sort of
                 nerdy geek, are you?
                 \_ Oh.  I didn't know that.  How many d20's do I roll for
                    a dagger hit?  SHIT!  I've been gaming all wrong!!!
                    \_ Sigh. Go home and play Diablo. Leave the real gaming
                       to those who know what they're doing.
                       \_ Diablo?  What gave you the idea I play that shit?
                 \_ A true geek would use a d100.
                    \_ you mean 2d10?
              \_ the shape of the ten sided dice has changed?  I did not
                 know that.
                 \_ well there are these really annoying 10 siders
                    that look sort of like cylindars and take forever to
                    stop rolling.
           \_ speaking of which, do you see gamers using their palm pilots
              to aid gaming?
                \_ You trust the DM to tell you the truth about whether
                   or not a gold dragon can take a hit from a +35 flaming
                   sword of perpetual destruction and survive?!?
                   \_ Munchkin!  Everyone knows the flaming sword of perpetual
                      destruction can't go above +30!
        \_ hi, i'm a liar
           \_ who is a liar?
              \_ it depends on what your definition of the word "is" is
                 \_ I did not have sex with that woman!  I only inhaled!
                    It was a chemical weapons plant, not an aspirin factory
                    and I was not wagging the dog!
          \_ What's d10 and d20  ?
             \_ http://www.abookorgame.com/reviews/dice/images/blue-10-dice-set-10-a.jpg
                http://www.abookorgame.com/reviews/dice/images/gem-20-die-a.jpg
                \_ ten and twenty sided dice.
        \_ Why is "university" spelled wrong?  It's written "MIT univeristy"
           on the website.
           \_ What, like MIT nerds need to spel correcly?
        \_ Why is Ali so fat now?  And I don't mean phat.
           \_ url?
2003/4/14-15 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Academia/StanfUrd] UID:28120 Activity:kinda low 50%like:10063
4/14    Will Kyle Boller have a good NFL career?
        \_ No. He's not better than Pat Barnes (who wasn't that great to
           begin with), and look where Barnes is now (nowhere).
        \_ QB's are hard to predict; I thought Barnes was a sure-fire
           winner, and also Ryan Leaf, and we know how that worked out.
           However, it is worth noting that Boller has significantly raised
           his stock in the NFL combines, while Barnes' stock dropped.
           Boller was originally projected as a late-round selection and
           now most sites have him going in the first round.  He's tall,
           mobile and has an astounding arm (at the combine he threw a
           ball through the uprights from midfield, while on one knee).
           He will definitely get a chance.  -tom
           \_ strong arms aren't everything these days.  mobility seems to
              more important.  teams are spreading the field, and not
              putting enough blockers for the QB, and so the QB has to
              improvise.
              \_ yes, but that's why his stock is rising; he ran a 4.6
                 at the combine, the fastest time for a pure QB.  -tom
                 \_ hope he has a good NFL Career. Was Jim Plunkett ex-Cal?
                    \_ hardly: he was ex-Stanford.  -tom
                        \_ Stanford QBs seem to have greater prominence in
                           the NFL: Elway and Plunkett, for example.
                           \_ Yeah, but we have the best tight-end (Gonzalez)
                              and kick returner (O'Neal) in the game
                                \_ we also have a number of pro-bowl
                                   linemen.  In fact, Cal is one of the
                                   top schools in the country in terms of
                                   number of players in the pros.  -tom
                                   _/
                What about Pac-10 as a whole?  Looks like Miami*/Florida*/
                Ohio State have large number of top NFL players.
                \_ This factoid just seems to prove how bad our coaching
                   is. Great players, lousy record. What else coudl it be?
                   \_ Cal has rarely had depth to recover from injuries.
        \_ Who's the last Cal QB with a significant NFL career?  Joe Kapp?
           \_ Craig Morton.  -tom
        \_ QB rankings in draft:
                http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/story?page=qb_rankings
2003/3/10-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:27639 Activity:high
3/9     Interested in coding games for a living?
        Check out Three Rings Design.  They are working on a game called
        Puzzle Pirates.  It's a massively multiplayer game that's not
        'just another treadmill' (TM), and may appeal to a wider demographic
        than the traditional hard core gamer set.  They are looking for
        a kickass Java hacker.
        Job details at:
        http://threerings.net/jobs
        I met Daniel James, Three Rings' CEO and one of their game designers
        at the annual MUD-DEV dinner held during GDC.  He seems like a pretty
        cool guy, and I have it on good advice that he is a standup guy when
        it comes to business stuff.  Mention you heard about this from me,
        by way of the Berkeley Computer Science Undergraduate Association.
        If you have further questions, feel free to drop me an email. -dans
        \_ Other random info... their head art guy is Rick Keagy. Cal
           grad, and cool fellow that worked with blojo and me in the
           Bolt-Action days. -bz
        \_ I'll check it out right after I kill just one more mob.  I think
           he'll drop the stone shield of karthas for sure this time!
        \_ Oh, yeah, as an added bonus, you get to make piratey noises
           as part of your job, without having to be a warez kiddie. -dans
           \_ Is that part of the interview?  "AAARRRRR!  AVAST YE MATEY!
              SHIVER ME TIMBERS IF IT ISN'T EDONKEY SCUM!"  Like that?  Do
              I win?
              \_ I dunno.  I don't work there.  I just got a very good vibe
                 from Mr. James, and heard good buzz about the game.  Of
                 course, this begs the quest, why am I not trying to get
                 this job?  Main reason is that I'm a little busy with
                 trying to finally graduate, and, apparently, they want
                 someone NOW.
        \_ A general observation on game developers.  I'm not one and I have
           this image of game developers being a bunch of slackers who slap
           something together that sort of works and never fix bugs.  Seems
           like the nature of the industry.  It's not critical and there's never
           a version 1.1.  Another thing is commitment to the job.  Turnover
           seems high.  Can't get their ass in gear and do maintainance work
           or write specs.  That's why I haven't hired anyone with a background
           in gaming industry and is looking to switch.  Am I being too harsh?
           \_ I'm inclined to disagree with you entirely.  I work for a MUD
              company, and everyone here works his/her ASS off.  We have
              limited resources and often need to choose between maintenance
              and feeping creaturism.  This is an engineering tradeoff like
              any other with costs and benefits associated with each option.
              Unlike business/productivity software, when it comes to games,
              one can make pretty strong arguments for features over bugfixes.
              Basically, new features in games often make all users happier,
              while new features in a word processor will probably only appeal
              to a small portion of existing users.  Bugfixes in games only
              please the people affected by the bug.  That said, when a game
              crashes, what have you lost?  Some play time.  When your word
              processor crashes and you lose your PhD thesis, you're going to
              be pissed.  Like many things, ymmv. -dans
              \_ dans, you're confirming my views on game developers as far
                 as fixing bugs go.  Nothing personal, but it's the nature of
                 the industry not to fix bugs but put out features.  Fine.
                 If I need a guy to sit down and fix bugs and write specs,
                 game developers aren't a good fit.  Writing design specs and
                 test plans is more important than actually doing the work
                 for nearly all non-gaming businesses.  Are game programmers
                 cut out to do this?
                 \_ I think you misunderstand what I said.  I'm not saying
                    that game programmers choose features over bugfixes
                    because that's what they like to do (though that may be
                    true for some), I'm saying they make this choice because
                    it is often the correct engineering decision for the
                    situation.  The same can be said for folks who chose to
                    use two digits to represent the year in systems that were
                    never meant to last until Y2K.  I have seen people that
                    program games, and are capable of writing a solid spec,
                    testing plans, and following up on the project.  For
                    example, our very own appel holds the distinction of being
                    the most frighteningly good documentation writer I have
                    ever met.  He also happens to be the guy who hired me
                    at Skotos. :) -dans
                    \_ sounds like you don't know what an SDLC consists of
        \_ Considering many game engines are used by multiple teams at once
           over a lifespan of several games and possibly even for several
           generations of consoles, I think good game programmers need to be
           able to document code, fix bugs in a timely manner, all the while
           adding features to keep the engine cutting edge.  Oh and as far as
           bugs go, console games don't get to be patched and so the console
           company tends to be pretty anal at making sure there are no bugs
           in there.  (Not to mention a computer game's complexity is insane
           compared to something like a word processor.)
        \_ Game development is so much more difficult in every way than
           the puny "software development" you're familiar with, that this
           discussion is pointless.  Go try and make a modern game before
           you go slagging game developers.    -blojo
           PS: Not to say that a lot of game developers aren't lame.  Just
           like any industry, there are plenty of dumbasses.  Yet most other
           "software developers" don't even measure up to those dumbasses.
           Sad but true.
           \_ I see blojo has done some empirical studies of the software
              development industry and has come forward to present his
              results.  Hear hear!
              \_ I'd agree with him... game dev salaries are lower than
                 elsewhere in CS because the supply of geeks who want to
                 do games is high.  Companies can afford to be picky, and
                 their interview processes are usually tougher.  You can
                 argue that perhaps game developers are more willing to
                 use hacks to squeeze some more performance out of the
                 engine, but to question their overall professionalism
                 and engineering quality is probably misguided.
                 \_ Game development is all he knows.  He may be right, in some
                    limited sense (I am still not convinced) but more likely
                    he is just shooting his mouth off.
2003/2/25-26 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:27516 Activity:nil
2/24    nethack-3.4.1 installed.  You can use ~mconst/bin/nethack-convert
        to move a 3.4.0 saved game to 3.4.1; please let me know if anything
        goes wrong.  --mconst
2003/2/8-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/HW/Drives] UID:27348 Activity:moderate
2/8     I'm going on a digital photography jaunt soon and I need a simple
        way to store a large amount of images from my compact flash cards.
        Is there some sort of device (say 10G of space) that would allow
        me to transfer files from the CF cards?  I don't want to purchase
        a laptop for this purpose alone, and I also don't want to buy
        several gigs worth of CF.
        \_ you need a CF->CD Burner. lemme know if you find out that this
           exists
           \_ uh, no, he needs CF->HD.  There are a number of such devices.
        \_ http://www.interactivemediacorp.com/mediaxchange.html
           http://www.mindsatwork.net
        \_ http://www.dpreview.com  Look at Storage and Media forum.  You
           are looking for something called Digital Wallet.  Cheapest
           price without HD is about $80.
           \- are you going to be near electrical power on your "jaunt"?
              if not, what are you going to do to juice up non-disposable
              battery powered stuff? does anyone have experience with a
              solar charger? i am thinking about one for 2003 Sola Khumbu
              Expedition. --psb
              \- i gave this some more thought. i dont know where you are
                 going [what kinds of conditions you will be facing] or
                 how long you will be gone or how many pix you expect to
                 take, but i think a not unreasonable idea is to beg/borrow/
                 steal as many compact flash/micro drives as you can from
                 your friends. keep in mind some drives may not work at
                 altitude, and i'd be a little nervous about carrying all
                 on one potentially fragile digital wallet ... especially
                 under harsh conditions ... altitude, dusty, crossing
                 streams etc. are you sure you will need 10gigs? i think
                 jpegs shot at 2-3megs are pretty decent quality and that is
                 300+ shots on a 1gb microdrive. if you were an associate of
                 and you had reasonable liquidity and not a history of being
                 ass, i would probably loan you my digital media in return
                 for lunch or even a good postcard. if we are talking about
                 a 3month trip, of course that is a different matter.--psb
                \_ A microdrive is more fragile than a Digital Wallet.  Even
                   if the Wallet fails, the hard disk inside will likely still
                   be usable.  -tom
        \_ it'd be cool to be able to use an iPod to this end.
           \_ or an XBox!
              \_ well... I made the iPod remark in light of psb's
                 "what about electricity" comment. ok tnx.
                  \_ Yeah, but with an XBox it's a sleek looking digital
                     entertainment center, and you'd also be able store
                     your photos on it for just $200 and you'd be socking
                     it to Microsoft.  Modchips rule.
                        \_ how is buying products from Microsoft "socking it
                           to Microsoft"?
                           \_ supposedly Xboxes are sold at a loss.
                            \_ of course if you buy one microsoft gets to add
                               1 to the numbers of xboes sold column which
                               is a big deal.  The fact that the xbox is
                               outselling the gamecube is killing the cube.
                               Also it is giving the xbox incredible amounts of
                               credibility.
        \_ try the archos jukebox multimedia with optional card
           reader.  20gb.  http://www.archos.com
2003/1/26-27 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:27203 Activity:nil
1/24    Mech Warrior 4 Mercenaries: do not buy. Serious game suckage. The only
        thing that made the game take more than 5 hours to complete was having
        to restart a few of the "oh no instantly dead again" missions many
        times each.  When I saw the final cut scene I was thinking, "Oh cool,
        now I can really get into the game" before I realised this was an
        outro, not a cut scene leading to more interesting missions and mechs.
        The only good thing I can say is that it has God Mode so that I could
        quickly see the other 2 mediocre alternate ending cut scenes without
        a lot of replay hassle.
2003/1/24-25 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:27191 Activity:very high
1/24    Moo3 gone gold for anyone who loved moo or moo2.
        \_ Note the 1 month store delivery time. -- moo fan
           \_ Yes, but that's better than "in final regression testing, will
              be released very soon now".
        \_ i have bad apprehensions about moo3. its graphics are rather assy.
           \_ They made a real effort to remove micromanagement, the first
              such effort to my knowledge among games of this type.  I think
              it's worth checking out.  If you play games like moo or civ
              for graphics you are barking up the wrong tree, friend.
                -- moo fan
              \_ Empire anyone?
                 \_ to the person who asked which one: the original
                    computer game in the 80s (destroyers, battleships...)
           \_ graphics?  If you want eye candy go play doom3.  These are slow
              long drawn out thinking games.  The graphics are nothing more
              than place holders for information.  Maybe PS2 or xbox is more
              your speed?  I don't mean that as an insult.  Just different
              things are fun for different people.  now begins the wait for
              moo4!  :-)
              \_ i played civ1, moo1, moo2, mom, etc. i like the graphics to be
                 clear and nice to look at. it doesn't need fancy bumpmapped
                 3d whatever, but good art and UI...I find various aspects of
                 the screenshots i've seen turn me off, ie worse than moo2.
        \_ Don't kill me, but what's moo?  Is it a cow game?
           \_ Masters Of Orion
                \_ Yes.   It's fun.  Dominate the galaxy.  Meet strange new
                   species, and kill them.  Or interbreed.  Whatever.
           \_ Basic idea is thus: start with your low tech barely space capable
              race on one planet, invest planetary resources in research,
              building ships, planetary improvements, etc.  Expand to other
              worlds, other star systems, meet other alien races/players,
              trade with them, eventually crush them, rule the galaxy.  This is
              "4x" genre.  Explore, expand, exploit, exterminate.  Classic.
        \_ Hopefully it's funner than Civ3
           \_ MOO3 has built-in multi-player, and I think part of the delay
              was in fixing late-game show-stoppers in multi-player
              (sounded like corrupted game-crashing save games in SP too)
2003/1/14 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/SW/Apps/Media] UID:27091 Activity:high
1/13    http://www.looper.info/contents.htm
        Does anybody know anything about this band?  I just recently heard
        some stuff by them (like it a lot) and their website says that the
        lead guy has "disappeared" but mentions that it could just be his
        artistic temperament at play.  Is there really a police investigation
        or is it just a stunt?
        \_ main member from Belle & Sebastian, don't know much more than
           that.  -sax
        \_ I don't know anything about the band really, but they did have
           a cool song, "Mondo 77" on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack.
           \_ It's also on the XBox game that involves "Kudos".
        \_ They were the opening band for a Flaming Lips concert a couple
           of years ago (either that or Radiohead). pretty nice stuff.
2003/1/7-8 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Computer/HW/Memory] UID:27018 Activity:high
1/7     Does saving PS1 game data on PS2 require a PS1 memory card?
                \_ yes. --jwang@playstation
        I STFWed and found many conflicting answers.  Anyone has
        first-hand experience on this?
        \_ Ask Sony.
        \_ Yes.  Because PS1 memory cards use blocks and PS2's don't,
           I think.  -geordan
        \_ I'll try it tonight and post or email the results. --peterl
2003/1/4-5 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26989 Activity:nil
1/4     http://www.chroniclogic.com/toverview.html
        This game is awesome
2002/12/27 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:26922 Activity:high
12/26   What is the best way to make a Linux game (xlander) run slower?
        \_ hit the turbo button on your 386
            \_ on a pentium.
        \_ Change the program so that it doesn't run faster if it gets extra CPU
           time.  Use the Source, Luke!
2002/12/17-18 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26843 Activity:kinda low
12/16   Do you like Sega Mobile?
        http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/t-2002_10/2t2002101108.html (not work safe)
        ;-)
        \_ better link (unless you actually READ japanese) :
        http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/t-2002_10/image/2t2002101108megumi_b.jpg
        \_ what's not work safe about an oiled up chick with a big rack in
           a bikini?
        \_ Megumi.  DOB 09/25/81, T156 B94 W60 H86 (in cm).  Hot!
2002/12/14 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26817 Activity:nil
12/13   http://www.solidsharkey.com/nocturnal.html
2002/12/13-14 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26803 Activity:nil
12/12   Anyone have any ideas when the playstation 3 is due to come out?
        STFW returns a LOT of bogus links...
        \_ my understanding is not before summer 2004. the "cell" chip
           won't be done before then.
        \_ dude im leik totalley waiting for the ps-9 like in that commershul
          where itz leik totalley reel!
2002/12/13-14 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26802 Activity:high
12/12   Can anyone recommend some good non-fighting multiplayer PS2 games?
        (e.g. similar to mariokart on N64 or fusion frenzy on Xbox) Thx!- mds
        \_ head-to-head: NBA Street, Burnout 2, DDR (dance pad)
           coop: Baldur's Gate, Contra, Time Crisis 2 (GunCon)
        \_ GT:ASpec
        \_ Fusion Frenzy and good do not go together
          \_ It was definitely different/amusing... :)
             \_ Fusion Frenzy was a real crowd pleaser when i played it,
                especailly sumo  (the american gladiator style game).
        \_ Let your boys fight; they'll learn not to kill.
           \_ you're an idiot.
        \_ The Bust-A-Move series is always good (somewhat Tetris like if
           you've never seen it)
        \_ SSX:Tricky is loads of fun.
        \_ Madden Football, any sports game
           \_ Especially hockey
        \_ It's actually for my wife, and she isn't into sports...
           Sorry, should have specified that.  Bust-a-move sounds great,
           thanks! - OP
2002/12/9 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26755 Activity:high
12/8    Ice Wind Dale II: Finally finished this fucker after setting it
        aside for a month.  What a nightmare.  I don't know how this game
        is supposed to be beatable without cheating.  And the outro was
        *really* weak considering what they put you through to get there.
        When playing on normal difficulty it shouldn't take multiple reloads
        and abusing game bugs to finish the final battle.
        \_ how many hours did you spend on this?
           What are the most addicting games the rest of you have played?
           \_ I find Doom 1&2 pretty damn addicting. I've been replaying them
              on ultraviolence using the stuff at http://www.doomsdayhq.com
           \_ Nethack.
           \_ I didn't keep close track but maybe 60?  Disk space recovered.
2002/11/24 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:26620 Activity:high
11/24   Hey, I missed the big game (projects), is there any way I can
        watch the game online?  I can't even find clips...
        \_ whiny liberal scum!
          \_ It's John Ashcroft!  He's found me out!
2002/11/24 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:26619 Activity:high
11/23   Why is your stupid article about Pelosi and how
        she's responsible for high housing prices in SF
        more important than my Big Game article?
        And why the hell are you battling with me for
        control of the motd at 11PM on a Saturday night?
        Who the heck are you? - danh
        \_ It's probably the same whiny shithead that was insistent about
           claiming "all football players are rapists" was a refined debate
           tactic.
           \_ No, it isn't.  And that 'idiot' claimed no such thing.  You're
              a moron.  If you're going to use direct quotes at least put in
              the 5 seconds required to dig up what someone actually said.
              Yet another blazing idiot disgraces the motd (that's you, btw)
              and doesn't even see his own hypocritical stupidity.  Learn to
              read and then return.
              \_ If it makes you feel good about yourself to believe that,
                 then go for it.  You're still an idiot, though.  Just like
                 that other self-styled debate 'expert'.
                 \_ Both (all three?) of you have already lost. -pld
              \_ Ten to One says the message above was by the same idiot.
2002/11/22-23 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:26604 Activity:nil
11/21   For Cal football games, can you sit anywhere in your assigned section
        or must you sit in your assigned seat?  Is seating first come/first
        serve?
        \_ Know you nothing, grasshoppa?  This is Cal.  You have an assigned
           number.  Use appropriately or they'll send a dorm health worker
           around to show you how.
        \_ The student section is general admission, the rest is assigned
           seating.  In most cases, you can move around a fair amount, but
           not so much for the Big Game.
2002/11/8 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26464 Activity:moderate
11/7    Does anyone want to buy my copy of Vice City?  It is in perfect
        condition and the is fun as hell, I jsut shouldn't have spent that
        money on a game right now. -aspolito
        \_ rent it to the CSUA office
        \_ Jobless and nearly homeless?  Sell your body to strange men.
                                               parts_/
2002/10/28-29 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:26339 Activity:moderate
10/28   http://www.evilninja.net/buybush.htm
        \_ brilliant.
        \_ at least it's a bit more clever than the standard "bush is stupid
           and stole the election from that nice man Al".
2002/10/25-28 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:26320 Activity:nil
10/24   Has anybody tried ripping songs from an XBox game?  I stfw but
        only find stuff about ripping a regular cd to the xbox HD.
        \- emacs M-x extract-audio xbox RET
2002/10/7 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:26118 Activity:nil
10/6    Merchants of Andromeda is a pretty decent puzzle game --pld
2002/8/27-28 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:25706 Activity:high
8/27    Anyone knows how to get a development kit for Nintendo (n64, gc)
        from sources other than Nintendo.  (dead company?)
        \_ nintendo is dead??
                \_ know.. hope to get spare sys from dead companies
        \_ I know a GC development kit costs around $10K, good luck...
           (Oh and the compiler you need to buy from someone else and goes
           for about 5k.)
2002/8/26 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:25692 Activity:high
8/26    After doing quickie install/try/delete of about 15 recent games over
        the weekend I finally found one that's actually fun.  The Thing.  I'm
        not a big fan of FPS-style games (this is over the shoulder but same
        idea) but I like this one.  There's an actual plot, you can't trust
        your team mates, they don't trust you, and everything is classic
        military quality fubar.
        \_ does it have anything to do with the movie?
           \_ Yes, it's a game-based 'sequel' where you're the commander on the
              ground of a military unit sent to find out what happened to the
              scientists in the movie.  There's a few direct movie references
              but nothing that gets in the way of the game.  Sort of like the
              way Aliens was the military sequel to Alien but with The Thing
              instead.
              \_ Are they ever coming out with the movie sequel Thing II, or
                 did I miss it? Not another remake, but real sequel.
2002/8/16-17 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:25589 Activity:kinda low
8/16    deep-sexed by microsoft again:
        Additionally, the company took a charge in the quarter, which ended
        July 28, to write down excess inventories of Xbox and nForce chips.
        The surplus of chipsets for the Xbox, the gaming console developed by
        Microsoft, was made obsolete when the software behemoth shifted to new
        security chip codes during the first quarter.
        \_ Who was this? Nvidia?
        \_ C'mon, Bill can't reach that deep.  He's micro and he's soft.
        \_ Nice job. Write off the chipset as complete loss for tax purposes
           and take a minor hit which can be covered easily by MS cash surplus.
           Ooo and it force everyone to upgrade to the more secure version.
           \_ this would be Nvidia taking a charge for nforce chips. and
              "secure" == "better copy protection".
              \_ This was an attempt (which will be defeated) to kill mod chips,
                 which will of course be changed to work with new xbox
                 protections.
        \_ Nvidia still made money though.
2002/8/15-16 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:25578 Activity:nil
8/15    ESPN Classic is showing the 1982 Big Game again on Saturday, 9-11 a.m.
        Is someone gonna record it and digitize a good quality version of
        "The Play"?
        \_ What's the significance of that year's Big Game?  I was too young
           back then.
           \_ "The Play."
              \_ Five laterals and one trumpet player.
                                        \_trombone
           \_ The Play plus John Elways last college football game?
                The stanford band getting trampled on the field as well.
              \_ The best part is hearing Elway whine about Cal ruining
                 the end of his college career. Bwahaha!
2002/8/5 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:25497 Activity:high
8/5     A while back there was a commercial of a video game and it has a
        tank chasing and shooting at snuggles, the fabric softner bear.
        Anybody remember the name of the game?  I'm trying to find the
        commercial.
        \_ 3DO, Battletanks or something
2002/7/30 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:25444 Activity:high
7/29    Do game boy games work in game boy advance?
        \_ yes
        \_ Not particularly well, by all reports. The problem is that the
           games have to be played in a compressed area on the GBA's wide
           screen (GBC games only have a resolution of 160x140), and this
           makes them dark and hard to see. While they can be expanded to
           fill the whole screen using the shoulder buttons, the
           difference in screen dimensions means that they look stretched
           and distorted.  The best advice is to keep your GBC and use the
           GBA to play GBA games.
           http://www.gbacentral.net/gbadv.html
           \_ or do like i do and play them all on my 19" PC monitor.
2002/7/29 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:25437 Activity:high
7/29    All my favorite PC gamer news sites are dead.  I'm down to gamespot
        which is nothing more than advertising and screenshots.  What are
        the rest of you reading?  Thanks for any URLs.
        \_ whatever happened to http://gamers.com?
          \_ dead dead dead
        \_ how about http://ign.com?
           \_ I just don't know which is why I'm asking.  All PC gamer news
              URLs appreciated.  --OP
              \_ http://shacknews.com, http://evilavatar.com    -blojob
2002/7/10-11 [Recreation/Computer/Games, Recreation/Sports] UID:25324 Activity:very high
7/10    I forgot to mention it yesterday, but Rod Steiger is THE most
        connected actor in Hollywood history, in terms of the Kevin
        Bacon Game.  That is to say, if you play the Rod Steiger game
        instead, the average path length is shorter than for any other game,
        like the Groucho Marx game or the Adam Sandler game. - cody
        \_ is that like an erdos number?
        \_ "was", not "is".  He's dead, Jim.
           \_ Ted Williams is still the last person to hit .400, even though
              Ted Williams no longer "is."  -tom
                \_ Well, he also 'was' the last person to do so.  Om.  -John
              \_ Well, it all depends on what the meaning of "is" is.
                 \_ *laugh*  And we have a winner!
              \_ Ted Williams is at 77K.
              \_ But, but...you wouldn't say "g. washington IS the first pres",
                 you'd say "g. washington was the first US pres." right?
                \_ maybe.. the fact of this presidency being first does not
                        change with time so perhaps "is" is acceptable?
                   \_ no, we always refer to dead people in past tense even if
                      their accomplishments are current such as first pres. or
                      fastest runner or most records sold, whatever, etc. it is
                      the living/dead status of the person that is being
                      tensed, not their accomplishment.
                      \_ It depends on the sentence and the context.  -tom
                         \_ no, it doesn't.  you may have heard that english
                            grammar has a lack of rules.  this is false.
                            the rules are specified by a secret, anonymous
                            body of CSUA members who let the rules be known
                            by motd posts.  these rules may never be broken.
                            \_ We are the MOTD Grammarian Star Chamber Police.
                               We took English in HS and remember most of it,
                               so we aren't taking any crap about "it depends"
                               from those who don't remember and want to make
                               it all up.  --MGSCP
                               \_ well, MGSCP, surely you'll understand that
                                  the sentence "Ted Williams *was* the last
                                  player to hit .400" is ambiguous.  It
                                  implies that someone else has hit .400
                                  since then and is now the
                                  record-holder.  Babe Ruth *was* the
                                  single-season record-holder for home runs.
                                  Babe Ruth *is* the single-season
                                  record-holder for walks.   -tom
                                  \_ We'll drop by with black masks later to
                                     explain the difference to you.  --MGSCP
                                     \_ Three demerits!! Tom is the founding
                                        member of the MGSCP.
                                        \_ Speaking of demerits, anybody
                                           remember that old arcade game
                                           where you drive around and get
                                           penalized demerits? I can't
                                           remember anything else about it
                                           because it was like 15-20 years
                                           ago and I'm getting old and slow.
2024/12/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
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