Month: January 2008

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Промоакции для игроков не только в шутерах — воспользуйся промокодом Vavada от наших партнеров и получи бонусы, которые подарят азарт и атмосферу, сравнимую с игровыми победами.

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Monitors of the Future

Why waste money on that big monitor when you could have two tiny ones?

Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.

That’s right, we are on our way to Rainbows End with augmented reality. If you want immersive gameplay, project the game onto your retina. Tiny solar cells can bring power and your new monitor can also correct your vision, or why not go beyond that to built-in image-enhancement, binoculars, or wireless input from cameras in the area? Bonus points for the first guy who puts his vision as an ongoing real-time webcast, which will get surreal when the live broadcast is him editing that web page.

This will revolutionize porn.

: Zubon

Lord of the Rings Online: Book 12

The gigantic Book 12 patch notes have been released and I thought I’d highlight the interesting stuff.

The Burglar and Guardian classes get major updates, with the Champion getting a “part 2” lighter update. All the other classes get minor updates.

Outfit system and a barbershop to make cosmetic changes. Includes new social clothing and cosmetic weapons. Examples: backpacks, quivers, hauberks, dresses, tunics, shirts and pants. Look how you want to look!

Additional level 10-20 content with solo focus, some quests being redesigned for solo as well.

Lots of Angmar changes.

Housing changes including allowing all of your characters to share ownership of your house including fast recall. Also: usable items (light your candles), object rotation, and housing owner name displayed as you approach.

New anti-spam tools.

Over an hour of additional music added.

I have to say, they are really cranking out the updates. There are lots more, visit the LotRO site for the full patch notes.

– Ethic

Flash Games as Metaphor

Areas reflects a certain perspective on existence. There are tools that are necessary for your survival. There is no explanation of how they work, beyond what you can work out through trial and error. Trial and error may get you killed. The tools and challenge change with no explanation. Nothing guarantees that you will not be crushed to death before finding any of the tools you need to survive. Hostile forces grow inexorably, and you can only hope to hold out for a certain time.

: Zubon

Update: I should note that Areas also has an unfortunate anti-learning curve. What you learn in one level is probably not applicable to the next. As the game gets harder, it requires luck in finding the randomly placed power-up rather than better skills. Stop playing before level 50.

I Love Comments

Over at my book blog, I received the following pair of comments last night. I am reprinting them in their entirety because I love that the internet lets adolescent girls express themselves fully when someone gives their favorite book an insufficiently positive “read it” recommendation. Arguments are soldiers, so there is no daylight between “agrees with me unconditionally” and “villain who must be silenced permanently.”

Anonymous said…
OK, I’ll tell you this right now..reading this ‘spoiling’ reveiw was a waste of time I’ve read this book and it is amazing the reason it is so long is amazingly obvious, the author has drawn out the book so everyone no matter how large or small the attention span can read and understand her yearning and longing, Stephenie Meyer is an amazing author and I deeply look forward to reading another book by her i have read all of them Twilight, New Moon, and the amazing as usual Eclipse to follow, I can’t really believe that the writer of this review can say such a thing it is utterly ridiculous and i pitty anyone who agrees with or for that matter reads this putrid discription of New Moon….I hope you fully understand my hatred for you and your obviously slow mind….you shouldn’t be aloud to voice your opinion online, in the world or ever honestly.

Anonymous said…
never ever say anything outloud, ever again you don’t deserve to be able to talk.period.end of story.i personally dont care if you dont like this book i just cant believe that you would say such a think…i pitty you and i hope you understand that i fully and utterly hate not you but your horrid outlook on this completly wonderful book…

I have honestly never been prouder of any feedback I have received. I wonder how she would feel if she knew I have an advance copy of Stephenie Meyer’s next book.

: Zubon

Loving Lady Grey

Last month’s searches included someone looking for Lady Grey porn. This struck me as odd. I have never had fantasies about the head of CoX’s Vanguard. Maybe folks are going for the schoolmarm/librarian, “take your hair out of that bun and let loose” thing, or maybe it is because she can summon tentacles.

I developed a different sort of fondness for her running her task force recently. I decided that I sold it short in my previous discussion of Issue 10, so I want to discuss the awesome fun. The task force uses interesting new concepts to make otherwise standard content interesting and rewarding. Spoilers abound below the fold.

Continue reading Loving Lady Grey

New Computer Bleg

I would like a new gaming rig, and it will be new because my current motherboard is not going to let me upgrade usefully. I have not looked at specs at all in the past two or three years, so I have no idea what I should be getting, what is a good deal, etc. I would like a system that will run most current games at high graphics settings (say City of Heroes/Villains, the Orange Box, maybe The Lord of the Rings Onlineâ„¢: Shadows of Angmarâ„¢ or something similar) and could be expected to run the next generation at medium settings. I don’t think I have anything resource-intensive except for games, and I don’t need to be at the bleeding edge there.

Any recommendations? I would prefer to stick with Windows XP (no install CDs from last purchase, grumble) and not need to put it all together myself. Dual monitors could be neat. Pricing a Dell XPS put me around $1500, which is not an unreasonable amount for me, but I don’t know enough to know where to look for better these days. Systems, specs, sites, deals, friend-of-a-friend who can hook me up, whatever: I welcome your input.

: Zubon

Character Contemplations 6: Furious Badger (Katana/Super Reflexes Scrapper)

She fights for ponies This Scrapper is loosely modeled on my wife. My wife can be a very angry badger. Furious Badger was the name I picked for my first beta character, and she was intended to be something simple and safe my wife could play. My main priorities there were passive powers (fewer buttons to worry about) and high survivability. I went with an Invulnerability/War Mace Tanker. That character, particularly solo, was very weak. I became very tired of six-shotting white minions, so switched to a Scrapper for live.

I do not think that I picked Katana to mirror my wife’s Scrapper, PrettyPonyLady. She went with Invulnerability, and I took Super Reflexes. Both sets have four passive powers; combine that with Fitness and an auto-power, and you need not think about one-third of your powers. Convenient, that.

Continue reading Character Contemplations 6: Furious Badger (Katana/Super Reflexes Scrapper)