LadyCrimson

I bought an Audigy2ZS not too long ago, I really like it, sounds even better than the SBLive I had for years. I don't really notice a performance hit in games, but guess that depends on your rig and how observant you are, heh. During one computer build, it came with onboard sound (some kind of realtek) and tried it for a while. While ok for general usage, I thought it sounded muffled, like there was 10 feet of foam rubber around the speakers, and went back to the SBLive. I definitely notice a difference in games. Footsteps, echoes, effects, all sound better/richer and at lower volumes, treble is less screechy, monsters sound scarier, all that. As mentioned, if you have the speakers (or even a good pair of headphones) I'd get a seperate card. I'll agree that many cards are overkill for the average person tho - doesn't cost much for a basic one these days. Just my 2cents.

The National Zoo of Extinct Wonders Presents The Gweat & Terrible OZ...

Ok, I did the starter town and first main quest. Feels more like Sacred to me...and by that I mean, it feels awkward control and viewpoint wise, even tho it's a familiar 3/4 top-down perspective. Visually not that impressive IMO, but not horrible either. Dont like the limited camera controls, can't evn rotate your view, this is 2006 not 1996. Gameplay - eh, not enough to really tell, but certainly the typical action-rpg with skill points/skill trees etc. It would appear that you do not have pre-defined character classes ala Diablo but rather choose masteries as you lvl up and that defines what you are. From that it seems like maybe you could kinda dual class, if you picked one Mastery the first time and another the 2nd oppurtunity, but maybe that would gimp a character too much. I'm not that impressed with the little bit I've seen so far.

Ah...I apologize...checked the web reciept, it was $37. It's Hypersnap that was $20, mix up. See that phrase under my avatar? Yeah...that's me. :D

Here's an old thread that's actually better for user-discussed info about the cut stuff. http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=30726&hl=

About the ending: From people digging around the files, it appears some of the original conceptual ideas dealt with a lot of those questions. Not completely of course, but the seeds were there. For example, IIRC, there's unused/cut dialogues that have the characters arguing about whether or not to go after you when you go off by yourself after the crash - and Atton was supposed to go after, get caught, and be tortured by Mr. BadSkin. Read the Restoration Project thread and/or their website information for more on some of those. As to personal interpretations....well, others can discuss those, I don't really have any.

I find Mothman's avatar rather mesmorizing... On topic...if this is true, it's a good thing. Course, I'll probably be dead by then and won't notice. I want a time machine so I could see what the planet looks like 1000 years from now. Then again, maybe not...

There's a seperate interface icon for every individual unit when you can have that many? That would drive me a little insane.

Hmm...thanks for that review of the demo. That's pretty much what it looked like to me from the website/screenshots, but if it's done well, it could still be fun. One gets tired of playing D2 every time you want a hackslash fest. Btw, the demo seems to have some pretty high system specs, just to let people know.

Discounting some early generic brands from years & years ago... A couple Voodoo cards (still have the VooDoo3 2000) an early geforce2MX (it was crap & taught me not to buy 'MX'...) geforce ti4200 geforce 6200 geforce7800gs (just bought) maybe one or two others in there somewhere, I forget.

http://www.fileshack.com/login.x?fid=8790 (you can do the non-registered download, it's twice as slow but you don't have to register) For an action-RPG I like the setting and stuff, tho it looks pretty much like all the rest of it's genre. Downloading now but it's an hour to finish on the non-registered...heh

Bah...eventually it'll all be Matrix-like or Multivac-like anyway. Did you know you can currently get yourself 'chipped?' Personal info in a scan-readble chip implanted under the skin!

I thought some of the eventual unreadable burned CD problems came from incompatability of later software/drives/burn formats or something...but as usual I'm a total confused nub tech-wise, that's just an impression from reading some stuff.

The circle of plastic isn't the big cost factor - it's the labor that goes into what goes onto that circle of plastic. That and greed, of course.

The words 'novel' and 'fiction' usually clue me in....

All the more unusual features I've really liked haven't become standard far as I know. ala Majesty's units that you can't control or give orders/command queues. I don't think anyone's done that since? I don't buy lots of games tho, maybe I'm wrong.

The only glitches that bother me are game-stopping ones.

Hahahaha.... :D ...more seriously...I think BG was the last one I played where I actually had to swap CD's mid-gameplay.

I'm not hearing great things about it, like it's slow/talky/boring. I'll probably still go see it however...I'm curious. I haven't read the book, is it bad enough I won't 'understand' the movie if I haven't?

I have a floppy drive. I don't use it. Well, except I still have a few old archives on floppies somewhere.... I have a DVD-RW...tho I don't really care about the multiple disc thing in terms of just installing. If it means I have to switch discs to play, I don't like that tho. Some older games I'd install everything to the HD so I wouldn't have to switch. Bleh.

btw, at least if you have a nivida card, even Fraps won't take a movie with AA/Bloom on, even tho it will take a screenshot. I just tried. Edit: oh bloody hell, now it will. This is really weird, I didn't change anything. Whatever.

15 can feel ok if you're just walking around and not staring at the little FPS number in the corner and getting psyched out by the low digits - but it's too slow for combat. 20 is more optimum tho. I find it odd that Oblivion seems set up where AA only is noticable if you set it in-game. Every other game I've ever had I just set it in the vid card menu, and it applies to the game even if in-game it says it's off. Guess they really didn't want people making pretty screens on their own or something so they did something unusual.

Reading around, looks like the printscreen thingie doesn't work w/bloom, perhaps, just HDR..sorry, I remembered wrong...thought I'd used PS w/AA from the game menu on, guess not. So yeah, FRAPS. Free version puts a small logo & such, $20US to buy it and get rid of that. I have another program I use a lot, but it doesn't work w/Oblivion...which surprised me.

Not sure what you mean...print screen or something like Fraps works for me w/those things on.