Wistrik

Obsidian needs to do some serious code optimizing for 1.05 (they apparently did nothing in this regard for 1.04) or I won't be playing the game again until whenever I decide to upgrade my computer (despite the game's graphics, it's heavily CPU-bound; 2Ghz doesn't quite cut it, but OC 2.22Ghz is much better). Everything else I enjoy playing gives me good frame rates with all options maximized and no need to OC, so NWN2 gets to collect dust on the shelf. The trees look better thanks to 1.04 but that's about it. I saw three buttons in the Options screen that had no text labels, so I have no idea what they're for. Possibly camera settings, since I wasn't able to get the camera down to ground level in my brief test. I was too disgusted with the performance (having played HL2 and EP1 for the last two weeks) to play any further. On the plus side, this gives me time to work on my D2 sets. Thanks for that much, Obsidian

I do it mostly for personal use. The closest online effort to mine is Nobbie's Classic Style mod at http:\\www.lurkerlounge.com. He hasn't updated it for patch 1.11, but you might try it anyway. You'd miss out on a few runewords, but Hell Fangskin would once again drop something when killed. (Blizzard broke his Hell treasure class reference. Oops.) Nobbie's mod also lets you do thousands of things with the Horadric Cube, such as create runes, gems and items. Want to try out a set? Create all the base items then turn them into their set equivalent. Same for uniques. I'm using it to test my new set. (Changes made to sets don't happen automatically. You have to respawn/recreate the item to see the new changes.) If you're comfy with the SP editor, you might visit the Phrozen Keep sometime and grab some tools. To modify D2 like I've done, you'll need an MPQ editor (for extraction purposes mostly), a list file that the MPQ editor can use to identify the files inside the MPQs, an editor like Excel for editing the TXT configuration files you need to extract, and I use AFJ's Table editor for editing the TBL files, which contain most of the game's text (NPC conversations, item names, item mod descriptions, hireling names, etc.). I can't post links to any of the stuff because I'm not at my home computer right now. The Phrozen Keep has almost everything though. Just Google them if you're interested. I can post a link to a near-complete list file when I get home.

That's one of several nice runewords. I've been working on making my own sets and runewords for singleplayer because it makes no sense to me that a single runeword can be better than an entire complete set, which is often the case. That and the exceptional sets are only exceptional, even though some of them use elite item bases. I'm going to make truly elite sets, with fitting abilities. They'll be hard to collect, but you won't wear anything else once you complete them.

I wish they'd just write a good operating system and quit trying to play police. Linux is getting more and more user-friendly while Windows is going the opposite direction. I can see myself switching in the next few years at the rate things are going.

The Big Red X (BRX) on those zons indicates they have been squelched by the person who took the screen shot. I haven't seen that problem much on the USWest servers, though there was a day when 50% of the characters in the channel were spam bots. There is still the problem of spam bots entering a public game and making a mess of the screen before timing out. They aren't as numerous though.

Assembly is nice when writing extremely fast shaders, and code optermisations. I don't see much need to use it anywhere else, but bare metal coding is always fun. It's also used by BIOS and driver developers and folks involved with special hardware. I'm considering Power Basic for non-critical code because I don't care for the variations of C. Diamond, I've known what your sig does for some time, but declined to comment on it until now. MOV AH,9 ;DOS 3+ output string function (must have '$' delimiter) MOV DX, OFFSET String Loop: INT 21h JMP SHORT Loop String db 'Boobies!', 0Dh, 0Ah, '$' Going from memory. A hex dump displays what is called machine language, as that is what the processor sees and uses. Assembly uses mnemonics (memory aids), such as what I've put into the code window.

Bourne Supremacy

32/64 bit Assembly Language on the Windows platform. Been coding at the processor level since the 80s, so it's second nature to me.

Well, when WinME came out, Whistler was on the horizon. Whistler was the codename for Windows XP. I'm unaware of any other consumer operating system in development by Microsoft at the moment. Yes, that's commonly known history. I meant to say I currently consider Vista to be an unnecessary upgrade, like I did WinME. There'll be another edition of Windows so long as Microsoft continues to exist. It's just a matter of when. I see no reason why they should stop now; they've had a regular upgrade schedule (more or less) since releasing their first DOS product back in the 1980s.

Not until I have to, which may be never if I hold out until Vista's successor arrives, like I did when WinME came along. I'll play the wait and see game, and keep my eyes on reviews.

No. Back then there were no such things as "open source" or "GPL" though there was "Public Domain", but not for commercial products. However, I had Ultima III and IV on the C64/128 before I got my first Intel-based PC (a 12mhz 286 with EGA), and disassembling the game code was very easy to do. They didn't have EULAs back then either, so such hacking wasn't really frowned on so long as you weren't redistributing the game. In fact back then, the word 'hack' didn't have a negative connotation. Anyone who coded an assembler program was considered a hacker. The bad guys were called crackers, phishers, pirates, etc. As usual, word meanings change over time, so now 'hack' is a taboo word. Sigh. Warning: tech-talk alert. The C64 versions of the games stored data on the disk without directory entries; only the boot program could be seen if you read the directory. All else was accessed by direct sector reads. I didn't change this functionality. However, I noticed there was a lot of unused space on both sides of the disk (back then each disk side was treated like a separate disk) so I edited the game code and rearranged the files to fit onto one side. To assist in this effort, I implemented a simple compression algorithm (now known as RLE or Run-Length Encoding) for the full-screen title bitmap and user interface overlay. I removed the copy protection because back then a drive's response to a read error was to deliberately slam the r/w heads into a movement limiter in an attempt to re-align the drive, as if that might be the problem. This made quite a racket and resulted in numerous misaligned drives, so I generally removed the offending code from the games I played regularly. I also installed fast-load code, which combined with a sector interleave of 2 gave me an 8 second load time. The disk drives were full-blown computers with an OS, I/O chips, and RAM so you could send programs to them and then run those programs. I also completely rewrote the opening title sequence because the code was rather sloppy. It wasn't compiled, but rather hand-coded assembly language, and by then my skills were greater than those of the person who originally coded the game. That and every bit of optimization helped on a 1Mhz computer. (However, the C64's 6510 processor was more efficient with clock cycles; a 1 Mhz C64 performed about as well as an 8 Mhz 8086 PC. Most of the 6510 instructions executed in 2 or 3 clock cycles, which didn't happen for the Intel chips until years later.) Re: the forum update: I see Obsidian doubled the max single upload size. It used to be 1 Mb.

Hey, wow, that sounds neat <{POST_SNAPBACK}> More than that, I had loads of fun doing that with one of my favorite games. It was great seeing it load in 8 seconds, compared to the 2 minute loads that were common back then. If anyone here still has copies of Ultima games or enjoyed the Ultima games way back when, you might check out Ultima: The Reconstruction run by Voyager Dragon. There are Upgrade Packages (under the patches heading on the left) that give you VGA 256-color graphics in Ultima 3, 4, and 5. They also include midi music (ehhh...) and frame limiters :joy: to keep the games running at their original speed on newer computers. I've had no trouble running them in Win XP Pro's default command line 'dos' box, though that may not apply to everyone. The site also features links to and info about several fan-made remakes using newer game engines. Anyway, here are some screenshots from Unreal 2. I know, it's an older engine, but I think it does an adequate job of rendering a 3D environment. I like the vibrant colors, and the story is somewhat interesting. Plus I can play it with everything maxed out, which is always fun. Unfortunately, the built-in screenshot key creates mangled BMPs that can't be used, so I used the Print Screen key instead. Here's a scene from a TCA outpost. They're the folks you work for in this game. You get to be captain of your ship, and Aida here is your second-in-command. She gives you all the mission briefings. Her VO actress has a nice voice. (For that matter, all of the VO is pretty good, in an 80s sci-fi movie fashion.) This is your engineer and weapon load-out officer. That thought-controlled welding/cutting device sticking off of his shoulder doubles as a cigarette lighter. This is a shot of a mining facility you visit on your first mission. Tried to get a shot showing the rich coloring of the fauna and architecture. I mentioned copious comments earlier, but I'm too tired now.

City 17 as location, a machinima in your signature, a correspondingly huge post about HL 2 that exerts a fine bouquet of fandom ? All check. Yeah, you're a fanboy. Don't mind it that much, we've all been there. I had somehow got the understanding that the Dragon-title had to be earned in the community. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> From Wiki: I like HL2, and I dislike some parts of it, but I'm hardly immature or obsessive about it. (Hopefully not, anyway.) I could easily have been an Ultima Dragon, except that they didn't exist in 1985 when I rewrote parts of Ultima 3, compressed it onto a single disk, and added high speed load/save functions. It took them until the mid to late 90s to do anything comparable. (The UDIC was founded in 1992.) I tend to use my forum 'location' to reflect the game I'm currently playing. It was "Meredelain" when I was playing NWN2, and (on another forum) "The Wood of Sharp Teeth" when I was fiddling in Baldur's Gate, and so on. (It's "L1 Cache" at a programming forum I visit.) You think my HL2 post is huge? Have you seen Jarulf's Guide to Diablo? Granted, I'm not going to make a 160+ page post; the point I'm trying to make is that it's not out of the ordinary for me to write a large post, especially when I'm getting technical or writing commentary. I enjoy this HL2 machinima because Paul did a good job with the editing and I like the music he used. He could have used Unreal 2 as well, but he didn't. Which reminds me, I have an unfinished save in that game. There I go again, making a large post. Sigh. Well, this discussion has been fun, regardless. Perhaps I'll post some Unreal 2 screenshots next, with copious amounts of technical commentary. :crazy:

I wonder if they have any plans on using future features of the Source engine that Episode 2 will introduce, like bending models (bridge collapsing; can't remember the technical phrase at the moment) and better outdoor representation. The screenshots look good, but I'll probably need a supercomputer to get that quality and good framerates (60+ fps).

I tried to keep them (the pictures posts) positive, since many times I tend to complain about what bothers me in a game. HL2 aggravates me in several ways, but I like it enough that I haven't tossed it in the trash. I don't consider myself a fanboy of anything, except perhaps the singleplayer Ultima games, which I still have after all this time. However, I have not become a 'dragon', and have no plans of ever doing so.

The internet is global in scope, and many 'guests' visit the plethora of forums such as this one (they usually outnumber the 'members'), so I posted comments on the off chance someone might not be aware of such things despite having played the game before. Not that I need to explain myself, but there you have it.

I'm looking forward to playing this. HL is a fun game, but is showing its age. This is a worthy upgrade.

Nope, I decided to wait until I could afford to upgrade the whole box. My 6800 renders older games just fine, but I plan on having at least one 8800 by mid-year for the newer games that are coming out.

Yes, that's the technical term for it. I used layman's terms for the general populous.

By the way, all of these screenshots are taken at my play resolution of 1280x960, which preserves the 4:3 ratio the game was primarily designed for. I also use 8xFSAA (and all else maximized too), which makes for nicely rendered maps. I was able to turn off Levels of Detail (LOD) without suffering a performance hit, and this helps models look better from a distance. I've also doubled the distance for rendering various things, at a slight loss of performance, but it's been worth it. This is a power substation located near the beginning of Route Kanal. I had to use noclip to reach this vantage point for taking a screenshot. This is "Station 7" of the underground resistance, and also a place to see the Gman. Here is an interesting image that caught my eye for some reason. None of these images look as good as being in the game. There are times when I feel like I'm really there, and this location made me feel that way more so than some others. This is Black Mesa East, with Eli's lab on the left and the dam's power station on the right. The game has built in global lighting rather than a dynamic day/night cycle. When you first get off the train, it is morning. By this point it is evening, and it will be night time when you enter Ravenholm. All in all, the events of Half Life 2 take place in just nine days, seven of which are lost to "slow teleportation". Finally, a popular spot for the screenshots and movies I've seen, and for good reason. Ravenholm is a fun place to blow things up and cause all sorts of mayhem. All the interactive devices are a lot of fun. That's it for now. It's harder to find places to take scenic screenshots in after Ravenholm, as the maps tend to be more crowded and designed for fast action rather than sightseeing. I initially set out to take screenshots to help me identify which maps I was in, since online lists of maps are rather vague. I ended up trying to get decent screenshots that showcased a game feature or graphics display, though I'm not a professional photographer so these efforts are amateur at best.

Here is the Gman during the introduction sequence. The test chamber and portions of the Citadel that appear in this sequence are actual models floating in map space near the train station map. You can visit them by using noclip. This is a scene of the train station you arrive in, taken from outside the fence and facing back toward the building. I used noclip to arrive at this vantage point; a fence prevents you from leaving the station otherwise. You arrive near here (behind where I'm standing) later on, after achieving "miscount" status, only to find a large forcefield blocking access to the train station. Here is your only encounter with the icthyosaur from the original Half Life. This underwater area is part of a large outdoor map that hovers far above the train station map (out of camera view). The only way to get here outside of a teleporter malfunction is to use noclip and fly to it. The 'desert' Heddy escapes to is on the back side of the same outdoor map. These images of the Citadel show it during normal operations, and again after entering high alert status. It enters high alert status just before Barney gives you a crowbar, and that is how you see it for the remainder of the game, and throughout Episode One as well. The streams of scanners you see leaving it are merely overlays; they aren't actual 3D models. In fact, the entire citadel model is projected onto the background. Valve uses projection throughout the game to give the illusion of depth of field. In reality, the 'world' you run around in is very small indeed.

Big cats are somewhat secretive, but by no means cowardly. In the animal kingdom when a weak animal falls to a predator, others in the animal's group run for safety. Note in the article that the cougar attacked the man who was following behind his wife; the cougar apparently sized the man up and felt he was the weaker of the two, and then did what cougars naturally do. The fact that it was a pair of humans made no difference, as cougars (and other large cats) often attack creatures larger than themselves. The cougar had no reason to think the man's wife would stay and fight, as that is not the normal course of things in the animal world. The cougar is a predator doing what predators do. When humans invade cougar territory, they often drive away the cougars' prey. This leads to trouble because humans fall within the size range of a cougar's prey. Thus it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone when these attacks occur. Alas, ignorant people assume wildlife will adapt to their presence, and people will continue to die as a result. Despite that, it is the wildlife that loses in the long run, as humans continue to mercilessly exploit and mismanage the earth. Hmmm, I could have been a ranger or druid.

Here's a wiki article on the "Mountain Lion" for some background on the big cat with many names. Others have not been so fortunate. These two did research and planned ahead, then kept their heads and worked as a team when attacked.

The Token <ethnic group> Guy - Typically the only representative of his ethnic group in the entire cast. This cliche is a remnant of darker times in America when racism was more widely accepted and practiced. It happened with black male actors more often than not, and mostly in movies made prior to the 1990s. I'm glad to see more variety today.

Well, somehow I got helicopter mixed with stealth in my head, so don't have a coronary over it. Helicopter hull strength is a realism feature, stealth would involve avoiding the helicopter entirely by vigilantly hiding from scanners and anyone with a radio, which is largely impossible in the default game. Even if I could, the game doesn't allow such actions to affect what's coming. This weekend I was at the point where I was given the hazard suit, but I loitered instead of taking it in order to see how people would react. Among the funnier comments was one from Alyx: "I promise I won't look." I'm modding the so-called squad of human meat shields so they won't auto-join me and then follow me around, getting in the way and finding ways to insta-kill themselves. They repeatedly blow my cover and then proceed to die quickly, so they're no use to me. Just started Anticitizen One last night. Adjusted a few settings to double the render distance for most things. The game chugs now and then because of it, but it feels less claustrophobic now (grass popping into view a stone's throw away was a bit distracting). The bridge was especially nice to look at. I love that particular part of the highway more than any other.