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. S T R A N D S .
. 05/26/01 . Well, it's been a while since updates and it looks like it's time to reveal the reason...
DarkHaven is moving to my own domain, rothrin.net. Yep, that's right, I've gotten myself a domain name and set up a new site with some cool
new interactivity, forums, surveys, the whole bit. I will use this addy for something in the future, but for now the focus will be on rothrin.net. So go check it out! And join up! As always, you'll never know what you might find. ;-)
. 04/29/01 . In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves "Whoa...". 3dMark 2001 has one of, if not THE coolest graphic demos ever created. Using the engine from the soon to be released Max
Payne, MadOnion have constructed a lobby shootout inspired by The Matrix, and let me tell you,
this thing is pure cool. It even has a Bullet Time segment. ;-) If you want to see the future of computer graphics and gaming, then get this. Amazing.
I finished Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. It's a very cool 3d game created with the Quake3
engine so it's graphically stunning. What's better is that there is actually a good storyline that really pulls you in and makes you feel like a part of the show. This is a must for any fan of Star Trek. Get it.
I've also been playing through Thief and Thief 2 again. Those games still hold up extremely well,
and I can see why I picked them for my game of the year picks when they were released. There have been some great fan missions released that are on par with the original games so if you're a
fan of Thief 1/2, then check The Circle for more info.
Mirablis has once again updated ICQ. You can get it here. As usual be sure to get updated
versions of your plugins if you need them.
With X-Drive's changeover to pay only customers, you might be looking for another online storage option. I-Drive (where do they get these names) is a completely free service and is
comparable to X-Drive in functionality. They do seem to have much faster downloads from your storage that X-Drive did.
After the demise of Skinz.org, Stardock has opened up Wincustomize.com and it's turning out to
be a great resource for all kinds of skins for different apps. Along with Deviant Art and Deskmod.com, you can find pretty much anything to fit your skinning needs. For wallpapers, I'd
like to point you to Digital Blasphemy. This guy is one of the best digital artists around. Definitely worth the browsing time.
Here's a weird link for ya: Memepool.
Need a fast search engine? Try Google. They kick ass. And they now run Deja.com and have
nearly the full usenet archive online. ;-)
A true classic of science fiction is about to be re-issued next month. Dhalgren, by Samuel
Delaney. This is one of those books that has stuck with me over the years and my copy is about to fall apart from readings. Check it out.
Krull has been released to dvd finally. A fantasy movie with a mythos of it's own, it doesn't have
the best actors, or best effects, but somehow, everything adds up to a pretty darn cool movie. It's always been a favorite of mine and the dvd edition is excellent. Full commentaries and a 'making
of Krull' documentary/promo round out the extras. Video/sound is excellent. Worth checking out for fantasy fans.
In other dvd news, don't forget that the 3rd Season set of X-Files will be released in a couple
weeks. And if you're a Monty Python fan, you can get the entire (yeah...EVERY episode) series in one box set. ;-) Now those guys knew what comedy was. ;-)
And about the new music...I couldn't resist. ;-) lol
laterz
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. 03/31/01 . Another absolutely excellent game has been released. It's Black & White, a new god
game from Lionhead/EA. Definitely one of the most addictive games I've ever played. You are a new god and your goal is to influence the people of the land to worship you instead of other gods
through good (or evil ;-} ) means. You also get an avatar creature. A huge version of some animal of your choice (cow, monkey, and tiger at the start unless you've gotten the bonus creatures that
are on the net). You can teach it all kinds of things and some of the stuff it does without your intervention is simply incredible. Whoever programmed the AI of this game is a genius. In one
case, the animal saw me moving rocks away from the village, and I came back later to find all the rocks had been thrown into the ocean. ;-) It's like having a virtual pet in a way. The whole game is
just amazingly cool and there is nothing like it out there. Get it and play it. A perfect 10, and definitely a candidate for game of the year. Check out Planet BlackAndWhite for more info.
Also, if you haven't checked out Serious Sam yet, go check it out! Some Best Buy's have it for only 15 bucks! You won't be sorry. Croteam also released the SDK and monster models for anyone who wants to create a new mod for the game. As a side note, I just finished the game and
I'm massively impressed. The Sacred Lands secret level has to be one of the coolest 3d shooter levels ever created, and the end boss...well, let's just say you won't ever forget him! This game
really is a must have for action fans.
In yet more gaming release news, Maxis has shipped the new Sims addon, House Party. More
stuff for your Sims. I think I'm having a game addiction overload this week. ;-)
Time for some sad news. We lost Looking Glass Studios last year, and now Origin is gone. A true
giant of the industry I never thought they'd end up being mismanaged out of business. They created some of the best games ever, including the Ultima series of rpg's. I am hearing the Lord
British (Richard Garriot, one time head of Origin) has been contacting former Origin members. Perhaps Origin will live on in spirit. Only time will tell.
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. 03/25/01 . There's a new game out that is taking the gaming community by storm. Serious Sam!
I haven't seen so much shooter action since the original Doom! There is nothing bad to say about this game. The levels are cool. The monsters are cool. The weapons are cool. And best of all...it's
only 20 bucks! It even comes with all the tools to make your own levels right on the cd. Seriously, this game is a blast to play and there are a couple of 'whoa' moments that will really make your
jaw drop. The first time you turn around to see the first 'boss creature'....well...I'll just leave it a surprise. ;-) For only 20 bucks you can't go wrong with this one. Better hurry though, I'm hearing
it's selling out in most markets. It's made by Croteam, but you'll want to check out Serious News
to get the latest scoop.
And a quick update on Gunman Chronicles. I just finished playing through it and it's most
definitely worth playing for 3d fans. Very entertaining and a good game overall.
Have you ever went looking for a book only to find that it's out of print? Well, you could use Amazon's or Barnes & Nobles out of print services but they are much more expensive than AbeBooks. I've managed to locate a few books that have been extremely hard for me to find and
at much less cost than the other services. AbeBooks is a network of used bookstores throughout the US and Canada. In fact, I ordered some books through the site from a Canadian store and
they showed up in only a few days!
Speaking of books I've just got the last book of Gene Wolfe's Short Sun series, Return To The Whorl. This ties together his New Sun, Long Sun and Short Sun series (<-Those links are to the
first book in each series, 12 books in all). Gene Wolfe is truly a master writer. Nearly all of his works have won awards and accolades of the highest order. I can't recommend these books
highly enough. With the recent issue of the new Tor editions, this is the first time the entire series has been in print at once. Start off with Shadow & Claw and if you like that you'll be hooked for the entire 3 series.
Stay Wired
. 03/11/01 . Napster has lost the court case, but if you've been using Napigator to connect to the Opennap network, you've seen as many or more users online at all times. So, go grab your favorite songs. ;-)
There's a new version of ICQPlus out. Many improvements for skinning the Icq window including
full transparency support. Cool stuff. Go get it. In other skinning news, Skinz.org seems to be back up and working.
Couple of quick game reviews this time around. First up is Gunman Chronicles. Based on the Half
Life code base, this is a completely different setting as opposed to Half Life. The game takes place on a space station and on a planet filled with dinosaurs and other niceties. Pretty cool so far
and worth playing for 3d shooter fans. Get it and try it. Next is American McGee's Alice, based
on Alice In Wonderland and using the Quake 3 engine. The levels are absolutely amazing. So bizarre in some places that it's hard not to just look around for a while. However, the gameplay is
only so-so. Good for a fix if you're looking for something to do. Then we have Space Empires IV. This is one cool empire building/conquest game. Excellent in fact. In the same vein as Master
of Orion and the also excellent Ascendancy, this is one game you won't want to miss if you're a fan of the genre. Get it now.
There's an update for Photoshop 6 that fixes numerous bugs and adds a few enhancements. It's 6.5 megs and here's a direct download link from Adobe's ftp site.
My old computer speakers were having some internal wiring problems so I picked up a set of Altec Lansing ACS54 gaming speakers. It's a 4.1 setup (subwoofer plus 4 surrounds). So far I'm
extremely pleased with the sound quality. It's excellent even at fairly high volumes. ;-) A good buy if you're looking for new speakers.
TTIOT
. 03/04/01 . Well, it hasn't happened yet, but Napster is supposed to put in place a filter system
to block most songs from the service. Plenty of alternatives are available! ;-) Napigator allows you
to connect to unofficial servers, bypassing the Napster system entirely while retaining the ease of use. Download.com has some alternatives on this page as well. So, go check them all out and
keep downloading! ;-) And contrary to what the record companies propaganda says, the only markets that have decreased sales last year are: cd singles and cassette tapes. All other markets
are up at least 10-20 percent! Napster is not hurting cd sales.
Do you like flight sims? X-Plane is a very good one that has been around for a few years but has
just lately started to take off. The newest versions are easily comparable to MS Flight Simulator and surpass it in some areas. Check out the homepage for more info.
Toms Hardware has one of the most complete Nvidia Geforce 3 reviews around. This article is
huge and details pretty much every new feature of the card. A lot of it is fairly technical so it's definitely a good read. ;-)
A great new mod for Quake 3 has been released called Alliance. It includes 26 new maps that are unique to say the least. Go check it out.
Stay wired
. 02/26/01 . The Nascar race at Rockingham was rained out yesterday. Today Fox broadcast it
on their FX channel. FX is not exactly prevalent on cable systems so this is a blatant attempt to get the cable companies to carry the channel. I guess you can tell that I don't get FX. ;-)
This site is hilarious. A complete description of The Endor Holocaust. Guess that answers where
all that debris from the Death Star went after it got blown up at the end of Return of the Jedi... Speaking of Star Wars, I've got it from a good source that the dvd of The Phantom Menace will
be out by Xmas. However, the other 3 dvd's won't be out for at least 2 more years. Of course, if you live in China, or you visit Ebay a lot...you never know what you might find...
Since the first sighting of Doom3 I've downloaded the video of the footage. Simply amazing. Truly
a leap up from current technology. If you can stand the Mac propaganda from Steve Jobs (who, by the way, lies about the Geforce 3 being out for Mac first, it won't), then you've got to see this.
The true per-pixel lighting is really impressive. Considering this is the tech for Microsofts XBox, we're going to be playing some utterly incredible games later on this year. Be aware that this
movie is in ASF format which requires the newest video codecs (if you have Windows Media Player 7 installed, then you already have them).
Tranzmit has put up a bonus page of graphics demos to celebrate his 3 millionth visitor! 46 new
demos to download and wonder over. ;-)
For all you programmers, Microsoft has released a new service pack for Visual Studio 6. This is the direct download link (133 megs). Too many fixes to mention.
Be seeing you
. 02/21/01 . If you've been visiting here for any length of time, then you know by now that I'm a
big Nascar fan. Unless you've just landed on Earth, you've heard about Dale Earnhardt's death in a last lap crash at the Daytona 500 this past weekend. Any Nascar fan knows this is such an
enormous tragedy and loss to the racing world and that Dale's death leaves a void that will never be filled. Earnhardt personified Nascar racing. The sport will not be the same without him.
...
In some amazing news from the MacWorld conference today, John Carmack of Id Software demonstrated the new Doom3(yes that link is registered to Id Software, the UAC returns it
seems) engine on Nvidia's newest video card, the Geforce3 (NV20). Apparently, Doom3's baseline video card will be the GF3 so it looks like we'll all have some upgrading to do when the
cards street in April. ;-) And remember, I'm predicting a downloadable demo of Doom3 on Dec 10th. ;-) Trust me.
Time for a laugh. ;-) This is one weird, but funny, flash animation movie. Anyone who's been a
video game player since the old NES days will certainly appreciate it even more. ;-) Watch it here.
Napigator is a program that works in conjuction with Napster and allows you to connect to
unofficial servers. The OpenNap network has almost as many users online as the official Napster servers most of the time. You can use this if those idiotic record companies have their way and
shut Napster down.
Stay wired...
. 02/11/01 . It's the first weekend of Nascar Winston Cup racing. I hope all of you are fans. ;-)
The Bud Shootout was a good one today.
This is the 'X-Files' update. Lots of X news for you this time around. If you don't know, the X-Files series is about UFO's, the paranormal, unexplained mysteries, and the central mytharc is
about the grand 'shadow conspiracy' that is behind everything. Currently in it's 8th season and still going strong, it continues to pump out excellent episodes week after week and even the new
spin-off series The Lone Gunmen.
Fox is going to eventually release every season on dvd. So far, Season 1 and Season 2 are out, and Season 3 will be released this May. I have the first two season boxes, and they are amazing.
If you're a fan of the series, you will love the dvds. I have never seen the X-Files so clear. Not as clear as the reference quality video of The Abyss or Terminator 2 dvds, but as clear as you will
ever see a made-for-tv episode. The sound is great too, and has been slightly enhanced for home theater systems. The extras are cool. ;-) Some ep's have deleted scenes available for viewing and
the entire 7th dvd of each set is packed full of extras including interviews with Chris Carter. All in
all, they are definitely worth the money if you're a fan. I'd also like to mention that there is a new version of the X-Files movie (Fight The Future) out that has been enhanced over the old edition
with DTS sound and a few extras.
A couple of cool X-Files sites are the official site, and this site, that has full scripts of every
episode online. Cool stuff. And hey, what X-Files link section would be complete without the CSM's homepage. ;-)
Ok. Back to our regularly scheduled news...
Nascar 4 is out! After playing it quite a bit... ;-) ... I can say that the only way to get closer to
reality would be to hop into a Cup car and roar off down the back stretch at Talladega. This is a real step up from Nascar 3 and Papyrus has done a great job of bringing the real feel of racing to
your computer. Everything about it is better. Graphics, sounds, AI. You can now get airborne in bad crashes. ;-) It's also possible to have many more equipment failures. I managed to lose 3rd
gear at Bristol because of a missed shift, but I was still able to race. Very cool. All the car set up options are there too, tire pressure, wedge, trackbar, everything. Any Nascar fan will drool over
this new version. Get it now.
There's a new version of ICQ out. If you use ICQ, get it. ;-)
The Truth Is Out There...
. 02/04/01 . Did most of you watch the Superbowl? I'm not a big football fan myself (Nascar
Winston Cup is my thing), but I did manage to catch the event. Mostly for the commercials which are hyped as much or more than the game itself. I liked the squirrels at Pamplona, the Gary
Kasparov Pepsi commercial, and especially the alien dog Wassup commercial. ;-) I liked the new 3d Eyevision replays but they didn't use it enough for me.
Are you into screensavers? Then get the new version of Galaxies. It's a pretty cool saver that flys
you through space and around various galaxy particle systems. Nice.
I also downloaded a very cool 3d demo from Tranzmit called Love Creation Max. Really cool demo and worth the 11 meg download. Get it here.
Go and visit Everything2.com. It's a far out site created by the people who visit it. You can sign
up and add 'nodes' of your own. There are a lot of weird ideas and thoughts there. Just head over and surf around. I'm sure you'll read something that will make you think.
Got a couple of new desktop customization sites for ya. Deskmod.com and DeviantArt.com. Similar to Skinz.org you can find all sorts of cool things at those pages.
Nothing to link to for this, but I picked up some new Memorex cdr's in their new 'slimline' jewel
case packaging. What a cool idea! They are now selling their cdr's in cd single jewel cases which are about half as wide as a normal jewel case. I used to buy spindles but didn't really like the fact
that they didn't have jewel cases. This is a great solution if you ask me. The price is comparable to the spindles also.
Haven't done too many dvd reviews in a while so I thought I'd review the re-release of Seven in
New Line's Platinum series. It's a 2 dvd set. One for the movie, and one for extras. First of all, this has got to be one of the best serial killer films ever made. On par with Silence of the Lambs.
All the actors are excellent, especially Morgan Freeman who is always outstanding. What really shines in this set is the second disc packed full of extras. If you're a fan of the movie, you'll be
drooling watching all this stuff. ;-) Most of the far out photos taken by John Doe (the killer) are presented in a slide show with commentary by the photographer. Also, you get some deleted
scenes which are cool and a new unused beginning and two alternate endings to the film. Those are killer. All in all one kick ass dvd set. Cheap too. You can get it for 20 bucks at most outlets.
Weird link of the week.
Stay wired.
. 01/13/01 . Here's a very interesting story about an abandoned NSA site. Definitely a good read.
;-) And you thought I was joking about the X-Files being a documentary... lol
Need some new levels for Quake 3? Then check out Nunuk's Fragopolis. He has some very cool
space style levels up for download. And don't forget LvL for all the cool Q3 maps you could want updated several times a week.
You might want to check out the Drudge Report site. There are always some great news stories there. ;-)
Napster has been releasing new beta version left and right the last week. So if you use Napster you'll prob want to head over to their site to get the newest version.
For you Windows 2000 users, MS has released a new Critical Update on the WindowsUpdate
site. No matter what version of Windows you use, you should check out the site to get the latest patches and updates for your operating system.
Iron Maiden has always been one of my favorite bands, but back in '94 I lost interest when Bruce
Dickenson left the band. No matter how good, no one could ever replace his distinctive voice. Now, after 6 long years and 2 less than good albums, the full Maiden lineup has returned with
Bruce at the helm for a cd titled Brave New World. And by God let me tell you...Maiden is back!
This is a true standout cd and Maiden is even up for an award for the song Wicker Man. Two thumbs up.
TTIOT
. 01/01/01 . Hope everyone had a good Christmas! Happy New Years also! ;-)
Epic has released a 4th bonus map pack for Unreal Tournament. It's pretty cool and worth the 14 meg download. You can find it on the UT homepage. You might want to pick up all 4 packs.
Some great stuff.
There was also a pretty cool 32 level megawad for Doom released this week called Vilecore.
You do remember Doom don't you? ;-) It's only a small 2 meg download. Get it and play some Doom. I'd highly recommend getting a windows port of Doom, either ZDoom or PrBoom.
Tranzmit has some absolutely kick ass new 3d demos available for download and a huge archive
of any you might've missed. A lot of these things are really incredible. Go and browse around and download a few to show off your 3d video card.
A new version of Mame, THE arcade game emulator is out. It now supports over 2500(!!!) arcade games. Roms are available here.
And now...the year in review:
2000 started out not with a bang, but with a whimper. All the constant media hype of the Y2K
bug amounted to nothing with no real problems reported anywhere. The media pushed the story so much, that some people with brand new computers were scared into buying Y2K protection
software. Many people went out and bought stores of food and survival gear in case the power grid and other utilities failed. Kinda reminds me of the '50's Civil Defense scare tactics. Duck and Cover. ;-)
Gas prices went way up...then down a little so the oil companies could make a huge profit and still
put out their propaganda that they did manage to keep the prices lower than over the summer.
Microsoft lost it's anti-trust court case to the government but immediately filed an appeal.
Apparently you're a monopoly if you grow your business by having better products than the competition. Yet, at the same time...the govt is going to create the biggest company in history by
allowing the Aol-Time Warner merger. Is it just me or do both of these things seem diametrically opposed?
Violence in the middle east erupted yet again, with US led peace talks failing on more than one
occasion. I guess Clinton should've given Arafat more of those cigars... The violence continues and last week Iran stated that if Israel attacks rebel elements in it's neighbors that Iran will have
quote "an astounding and unexpected retaliatory strike" on Israel. I kinda sorta think he was alluding to atomic weapons there.
Finally we had the Presidential Election. This proved A) that our entire system is inexact and fully
corruptible, B) that nobody involved is unbiased, nobody, and C) that image and propaganda matter more than the actual election. This was nothing more than a pure struggle for personal power.
Some personally significant stories of Y2K for me include the announcment of a new Doom game
by Id Software after an internal political struggle at the company. Rumors have it that the game (more likely a test demo) will be released Dec 10, 2001. Pong began the video gaming era, but
Doom redefined it. Without Doom there would be no 3d cards and the electronic gaming would would be very different.
Principle filming was completed on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy of films by Peter Jackson.
Current bugdet estimates put the cost at about 400 million US, making this one of the most expensive productions in history. Hopes are high for the movie and the hype surrounding it is fever
pitch. So far the prerelease stills look incredible. The first film will be released Dec 22, 2001.
DVD video finally reached the breakthrough level this year, with more than 18 million dvd players
being sold in the US. Definitely the wave of the future, look for VHS to be scaled back in the next few years, especially in the rental chains since dvd doesn't wear out like vhs tapes. So far ONLY
George Lucas has resisted the dvd trend by not releasing his Star Wars films on dvd, but instead raping the public's thirst for SW by releasing not just one, but THREE different VHS versions of
his films. Not exactly a nice thing to do if you ask me.
Best of 2000:
Best new audio cd: Marilyn Manson, Holy Wood. Quite simply one killer kick ass hard rock
album. With references to everything from the Beatles to JFK, Manson pulls of an amazing piece of work. A must have if you're a rock fan.
Best new dvd: Tied between Fight Club and Terminator 2: Ultimate edition. Both of these are
literally jam packed with every bit of info available on these films. T2 contains 3 versions of the film! Either of these is a film buffs dream.
Best new hardware: Microsoft's Intellieye mouse. The first retail optical mouse, this thing is great.
Much more accurate than normal mice and perfect for gaming or graphics work. Not to mention it's got a cool red light on the bottom so it glows in the dark. ;-)
Best new software: MS Windows 2000. Hands down the winner. With improved performance
and compatibility this is one killer operating system. Most importantly, stability is incredible. I've still only crashed it just a very few times in the last year.
Best utility software: Tied between NextStart/Workshelf and Stardock's Object Desktop. Both of
these are excellent and I couldn't live without them now.
Best game: In a lackluster year for computer gamers, only one title stands out as unique, and that's The Sims. Taking the virtual pet idea to it's ultimate conclusion, The Sims will hook you for hours
upon hours of gameplay. Build your own virtual people, the houses they live in, give them jobs. It's almost perfect. One of those rare games that once you start playing, it's hard to stop. The
runner up this year would have to be No One Lives Forever. Though not as graphically beautiful
as the Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament engines, gameplay is the thing, and there's plenty of that here. Some truly unique levels and missions make this a worthy addition to any gamers library.
I've probably forgotten or skipped over something. But it's a new year, so have a safe and prosperous one and this time next year read my page again. ;-)
What will we see in the next 12 months? Whatever it is, I'm sure it won't be boring. ;-)
Stay wired.
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fly caught in Rothrin's web.