General Geekery

Its been a while. It has been a busy few weeks. With birthdays and christmas seeming to come all at once and the end of the year screaming towards us, I thought I would best get one more post in before the the years end. So, with this in mind, I turn my attention towards the general geekery that has been happening in my life of late. Most of my free time is being eaten by HAWKEN. Its easy to think "i'll just pop in for a quick match" and it ends up being four or five in a row and suddenly you have lost an hour or more. My FPS skills are still rather rubbish, although I have still been having a blast. The community in general is pretty good and with the standard one or two exceptions here and there, most people are friendly and seem to want to grow this game. Unfortunately, there are the ego-centric that are rude/abusive or generally childish in nature and I sincerely hope that this attitude doesn't scare off new players. Its hard enough to get n00bs to stick with the game, especially when the majority of experienced players have been playing since alpha or have twitch-skills from other FPS's. Add this to the misconception that level is an influencing factor (it is currently  =< 5% advantage) - I do worry that many who would enjoy it provided an more informed learning curve may end up rage quitting.

I have also upgraded some of my PC gear of late. First to go was the power supply. The old unit had been starting to misbehave on me and after a series of random restarts and rather distinct electrical odor, it was time to update. After a bit of research on just how much power i would need, i settled on a Corsair HX650 (v2). Primarily because i don't tend to overclock much nor run any SLI/Crossfire on the GPU's, this gold certified energy efficient PSU sounded like just the ticket. My local retailer had it in stock for cheaper than online could provide (once you included postage), so off i set to the local store. After unboxing, removing the old PSU and installing the new one, it didn't take long for a rather strange noise to start happening. After isolating it to the brand new power supply, further investigation online revealed this to be a fairly common problem with this particular model of corsair's. Playing around with the power saving settings as suggested by corsair's own forums brought no fixes, so i had no other option than to return it. If i had RMA'd the unit, it would have cost me atleast $50 in postage. This sort of problem i might expect with some cheaper PSU's - as far as i know, it's the capacitor chirping - however on a premium product such as this, I would expect corsair to recall the affected units (from what i understand its a batch issue). In the end, i stumped up more money to go for the HX750 as i didn't want to risk replacing the unit with another defective unit. Besides, RMA'ing the original unit would have taken weeks and quite possibly more than the difference in price.

This is a video of the HX650 chirping

I've also upgraded my keyboard to a Ducky Shine II. It's a mechanical keyboard with cherry switches and dampening o-rings. It is back lit (available in numerous colours), features n-key roll-over with a hefty build quality and is available "locally" in the model i wanted. It was down to the choice between the black widow ultimate or the ducky shine 2, i opted for the "lesser known" brand because it was thoroughly endorsed whenever it was mentioned/hinted at in a forum. besides, the ultimate stealth comes with cherry-black mx switches, which are generally unsuitable for typing due to their zero actuation. I also stumped up for the leather wrist rest which is essential if you intend on using it to type/game on for extended periods and want to avoid RSI. It also has some nice effects with its adjustable lighting methods and modes. I was able to get the keyboard online from a trusted online store, however, the o-rings to mod the keyboard to decrease the switch noise when typing had to come from the US. buying online, it cost me less than $30 to DIY (inc. postage).

Found inside the box is a key-puller and red back-lit replacements for WASD, other key sets or entire custom keyboards can also be purchased online (although i could not find any back-lit compatible replacements). There were some inspiring examples of these in the stores gallery, however, i enjoy my back-lighting too much - so i will stick with the stock key-cap set. Generally though, the ducky has been in the "trenches" now for over a month of solid FPS action and has earned my  recommendation as a great product. My only criticism would be the quality of the USB cable (which is detachable, thankfully). I ended up having to replace the provided cable with another, which is unfortunate on a premium product such as this one.

Photoshop-fu

<open beta begins>

12.12.12

The above image is one from HAWKEN's FANSITE kit. i have used it as the background for this photoshop-fu inspired by my clan's "patch". I have also created a generic avatar replacement for it too, also from the kit. I hope this is ok with the copyright owner/artist.... please? :)

87th Mechanised DropBears, unit 032 reporting in.

Well, its time I took a breather from all this beta-goodness I am loving at the moment. SWTOR has been relegated to a quick login to create screen-caps of the clipping issue *still* affecting armor (c'mon Bioware, this has been an issue for a while now). I've also downloaded the MECHWARRIOR ONLINE client and installed it, redeeming a bobble-head code in the process. It was only after I had done this that i realized that I would need to spend real money before I could make *any* progress in-game,  let alone see the bobble head in action. I have also been beta testing the excellent Connectify Dispatch which has been helping me deal with some of ongoing Optus Fails/DC's...

I am of course, spending just about all of my free time in HAWKEN, or talking about it here and in the forums. Personally, FPS has always been the less appealing game when compared to a traditional MMORPG. This is because you have the opportunity to level your character and increase in skill at a more sedate pace and not get destroyed by higher-level players. I enjoy a good PvE server more than PvP, although that's simply because I've never been much of a FPS fan,  and lets face it, PvP *is* essentially FPS in a MMORPG.

Don't get me wrong, I used to play a few first person shooters back in the day (Wolfenstien3D, Doom, Quake etc etc), I just never really saw the appeal to long term playability. It wasn't until LAN and of course the LAN Parties and that that my interest peaked. Trouble is, when you tried all this over old-school dialup, all it would take for you to disconnect would be for someone to pick up the phone...  Whilst most FPS are really "MMOFPS" simply because the majority of shooters these days have online modes (or use these as the foundation of the game), its invigorating for a MMORPG player like me to experience a game with such a smooth learning curve AND have it be FPS-centric.


I missed out on HAWKEN's first closed beta due to other commitments, however, playing frequently for the most part of CB2 and CB3 (about two weeks of my own beta-testing time) - i now feel ready for the fresh influx of n00b's and fuzzy bunnies that will be rage-quitting games. Or being haters-by-hating. HAWKEN opens its *beta*-doors to the general public on 12.12.12. The actual release date has been pushed back until early/mid next year, however open beta is open beta, so you can still play the game for free. I wont go into why this game is so good again, you can read more about that in older posts and online, I will instead just mention that I was more than happy to spend USD$60 on a pre-purchase pack to help support this game. Although the 10% GST (tax) charge was something i found odd (especially when you consider that it is *not* something that should have GST applied) the fact all players who paid the extra charges gained more in-game currency. The swift response to the communities outcry over other issues was handled incredibly well and its refreshing to see a game built on the feedback from its devoted community.

optimizations (skill-tree)

rocketeer <#std loadout>

rocketeer <new mid-chassis (cosmetic)>

the australian based clan (guild) I have joined

I'll quickly mention MECHWARRIOR Online here, so that this post isn't entirely about HAWKEN. I was able to download the client easily enough, installed fine and even managed to run it on a laptop with dedicated graphics. Comparing the two MECH games is almost impossible. Outside of the fact that they are both MECH based games, their play styles are completely different. The free-to-play (F2P) models they both claim, however, are also as different as night is from day.  MECHWARRIOR online is one for people who like simulators. If you want to jump straight in as a pilot of a giant robot that stomps about and shoots things, this is not your game. This is for players who are looking for an all-out mech-simulator, with hours spent navigating menu's and learning all the nuances.


I honestly did not spend more than five or ten minutes playing with this game. Why? well, aside from the fact that at the moment, HAWKEN is still in closed beta 3, as soon as I smelt pay-to-win, I left. Reading a recent PCPP article, I was astounded to learn that you needed real-money to buy "hero" mech's which were superior anything F2P could "earn". On top of this - and this is what sealed the deal for me - you could even use real-money to buy ammunition or repairs for your MECH's. This is definitely free-to-learn, not so much F2P. Maybe once HAWKEN shuts down for the six or so days before open-beta begins i will give it another shot - maybe after a few tutorial videos.

I will admit, however, the ability to look around inside the cabin by holding down a control key does make me want to see it in both games. I would even pay for a bobble-head like novelty for my cabin if i was able to customise it as such. Hmmm... better go and start a topic on the forums, especially seeming the Oculus RIFT will be compatible with HAWKEN when its released. ERMAGERD, stereoscopic 3D inside of a giant robot = epic win :)

More MECH Mayhem and a RIFT reality

With the third closed beta of HAWKEN wrapping up soon, I am writing this post while sitting in a team death match lobby waiting for enough players to start a match locally. The low population numbers are mostly due to the fact that the game is in closed beta and accounting for the fact that,  while the battle of the mech's rages around the clock, players (both local and abroad) tend to populate games whenever they have a free moment. To give credit where it is due, the devs have done well by removing server browsers to force us beta-testers to actually test the matchmaker system and while I am disappointed in the removal of the "all regions" tab when matchmaking a games, forums seem to indicate that this has been done temporarily so that players don't get dumped into games with high ping times. Having given the matching system another chance at redemption recently, it now seems a whole lot more balanced - pitting like-leveled mech's against each other. The earlier beta's did have issues which Meteor openly admitted to and thanks to this approach with the community, things are much better now. While mech-level doesn't influence the game a whole lot, there are upgrades available in both the skill tree and load-outs. This way, in a game that has numerous mech-level's on the playing field, it doesn't automatically mean that the high-level mech's can simply overrun a map.


Still, with practice, my rusty FPS skills are gradually improving. A familiarity with how the gameplay elements work in general helps builds a strong foundation, while knowledge of the different load-outs and choices of mech's and the skill-tree-like upgrade path, make customizing your mech into the ideal machine easy. Meteor have wisely kept the freemium elements entirely cosmetic (atleast as of CB3) and i am looking forward to when this game goes open-beta so that i am able to find local matches easier. There are still a few bugs, however, these are relatively minor glitches and i have experienced far worse in commercial and patched releases, which goes to show you how it should be done in this day and age of DLC. While there are still elements I would like to see, at this point I feel confident this game will be a strong competitor for many gamers.

Target practice on an empty map and familiarity with the areas definitely helps

use holograms to practice weapon lock

team dm should be played as a *team*

fuzzy bunny ;)

<#std.mechs> (closed beta 3)

(*please note: <prtscr>'s are all on medium graphics settings, i did this so that my GPU wouldnt melt in this heatwave ;)

Unfortunately, the inevitable has occurred recently and its with a slightly sad-face ( :( ) that i report that the Oculus Rift devkit ship date has now been pushed back to March-April 2013. This has been somewhat expected, given the overwhelming success of its Kickstarter campaign and issues with upgrading many components for significant gains. Not only is the Oculus team supplying nearly eight thousand devkits, they have also decided to  upgrade the screen (thus eliminating most of the motion blur) and to build their own sensor system which will now include a faster refresh rate (1000hz) *and* magnetometer (along with the accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors (accessible via the SDK)). Oculus has also indicated that the plans for the consumer version are well underway with more features planned after the dev-kits ship. While its frustrating that the manufacturer chosen for the job will shut down for four weeks over the Chinese new year,  its still only a month out of the four months it will be before i can get my hands on my very own dev-kit. For something this awesome, i am quite happy to wait :)

The latest RIFT prototype @OculusVR

For those of you out there who are mech-warrior fans, this next announcement will please you no end. The mech-warrior licence is getting a fresh reboot from Pirhana Games in the form of MECHWARRIOR ONLINE. Whilst I missed out on the closed-beta on this one, open beta has just commenced (October 29th in fact) and from the media I have watched on their website (whilst downloading this F2P), I am slightly disappointed that its been built on the CryEngine3. This is purely because the RIFT is fully compatible with the Unity engine and will soon have Unreal engine support as well. While the CryEngine is certainly a great engine with its own merits, it would have been nice to experience mechwarrior online through the RIFT. Especially seeming you can look around your own cockpit without torso rotation, by holding a key bind down and moving the mouse). Here's hoping the community get on board an engine integration for this because it would be simply stunning in SS3D.

Last but not least, there is some free in-game items to be had if this information is accurate. I wont be able to verify this until after I have downloaded and installed MECHWARRIOR ONLINE, however this is how to get some free-stuff for the open-beta...

     1. Pick up a copy of December's PC Gamer for a unique paint-scheme and bobble-head.
Update: while i am yet to get my hands on a copy of the mag, you can redeem the code here

     2. Nvidia has a promo code on their Facebook page for a "Dawn Fury" bobble-head.     
 Update: the link on FB does not work, which is most likely because it was a "limited"promo.

Optus and the Fail Whale...

As someone who likes to take the interwebs with him wherever he goes, i am forced into using mobile broadband. While the cost-to-gigabyte ratio is absolutely woefull on pre-paid (around $20 per GB), i tend to find that post-paid contracts can be alright, provided you get some included discounts and find the plan that best suits you. Used wisely, my current monthly allowance can be as much as 32Gb for about $50 a month, which is *much* better than pre-paid. However this only works if i do all my downloading during off-peak hours, if i download during peak hours, the allowance is half of that amount. Fixed line broadband is much better value, although the trouble with this is you can't take it with you and your laptop for a geek gaming session or to be used as a wifi-hotspot. While mobile phones and tablets have built in wifi hotspots these days (predominately android based systems), geeks who like to game are corralled into using mobile broadband to remain, well, mobile.

So why the Optus hate? Why the fail whale for Optus? After all, as a consumer i was quite happy to accept a limited amount of gigabytes for downloading, risk the instability of a mobile service. Granted it was primarily because i have access to an alternative fixed-line interweb with a more generous allowance (with a different telco), however, being mobile or fixed line should not have that much of an impact on the service. The fact of the matter is that it's an Optus service fault that has caused me to rage-quit a closed-beta for the night, simply because this is the third time i have had to reset the mobile broadband during this single gaming session. The fact that i am participating in a closed-beta has *nothing* to do any disconnects from the game, seeming the regular interwebs all flat-line at the same time as well. While i understand that mobile broadband can be a fickle beast, after all a technology that can be affected by external interference is a technology that will sometime "burp" or "fart" badly, hopefully  self-recovering itself promptly. It depends on how sensitive the games-server is to this sort of hiccup which deturmines whether or not you get booted from your game.

Still, i guess i shouldn't be surprised that my "alleged" HSDPA service (which struggles to get over 1.5Mbs d/load during network load) can "peak" at around 3Mbs in my city-centric location (when the network isnt congested or is off-peak). The fact that my mobile phone can cycle from HSDPA to 3G and then to G without me even moving the phone likely indicates more network problems than just disconnects and/or "burps", however,  i can counter that by saying that at on other occasions i can go hours and hours without a single interruption. In my opinion, i should only ever have to connect the mobile broadband once per session, any network collisions or errors should auto-correct and not disconnect. Perhaps it is time i consider a move - after all if the mobile broadband network is as congested and as unreliable as it is now - how bad is it going to be for a fixed line?

This sort of thing affects all types of broadband - even the fixed line interwebs with that other telco burps and disconnects randomly as well. although to be fair, nowhere near as much and when it does it manages to correct its error automatically. From the sounds of things, this happens no matter where you live, as friends have also report such experiences while gaming/interwebbing. However, it is the frequency of these disconnects, the fact that the mobile broadband doesn't "auto-correct" and requires a manual reset and the fact that i still have issues unresolved by customer support (a credit wasn't applied to my account) along with unresolved errors involving usage meters and "walled garden" false-positives (which still remains unanswered by the techies) - All of these issues have made me angry enough to post this long-winded rant. Still, i guess if i cannot find satisfactory answers from Optus soon, this post will make great evidence for the telco ombudsman when i "escalate" my own formal complaint :P

the original fail whale (HHGTTG) : and fyi - optus "burped" again during image u/load - although didn't need a reset that time :)

Mechanised Mech's

Greetings once again. Apologies for leaving it so long between posts, however, circumstances have conspired against me to keep me away from the blog for the past month. Despite having four weeks off from work and no interstate or overseas travel involved (as well as a limited amount of holiday funds), this site is usually the first to suffer when i run out of spare time. It has been a fairly hectic month, even with all the R&R i have had from my recent escape from the city... As the old saying goes, sometimes you need a holiday from your holiday (aka "didn't want to go back to work" ;P).

Those of you who fall under the title "gamer buddy" will already know what this post is all about, seeming i was quite vocal about signing up for the closed beta. For those of you who aren't really gamers you may not know what i am on about here, anyways... HAWKEN 's second closed beta kicked off this weekend. Adhesive games is behind this "free-to-play" (F2P) first person shooter (FPS) and while it seems to thus-far avoid any "pay to win" problems, it definitely falls into the category of  freemium. Not sure that that means? Its a term referring to the fact that you can use real-money to buy in-game gear for the game. While i haven't loaded up all my screenshots here, there are four other MECH's to choose from (as of CB2) with your typical customizing optional extras and skill points and XP.

WoW, these crabs look familiar? ;P

you will die..alot <#include.c  RUS.t >

Rocketeer go BOOM :)

HAWKEN launcher (CB2)

While many standard inclusions in this FPS are smooth and refined, i am an old mech-warrior from back in the day, so it feels *fantastic* to be back in the cockpit of my favorite build. Stomping about and jumping around with boosters and such is great fun and shall be absolutely glorious as soon as my RIFT prototype from Oculus arrives in the post in December (and yes, HAWKEN will be a RIFT supported game). As for whether or not you feel like a soldier strapped into a mech will be entirely up to you. Whilst HAWKEN does not go into as much detail as the old mechwarrior titles of past (eg no damage on chasis or arm segments etc), as of closed beta 2 there was four different mech's with different play styles/customizations and about the same number of randomly selected maps. In my opinion, does this feel like a mech title? the short answer... yes. the long answer, mostly. fans of the original Mech warrior game will not be disappointed, however, keep in mind that this is definitely a shooter (at least at this stage).

First up, the graphical detail is excellent. As far as i know it's built using the Unreal3 engine with both shading and particles look fantastic - on max settings i was able to launch a missile into the air, detonate it into shrapnel and watch as it rained down from the sky (and possibly onto the mech crouching behind cover). Having a good pair of surround sound gear or capable headphones is paramount to sensing any distant combat locations as the map and radar only goes so far. On the default settings, i could play for extended periods without noticeable lag on the GPU's end. Trouble is, there is no escaping the fact that as an Aussie gamer, my lowest lag is 300ms as an average - no better than 250ms on a good day.

While that doesn't sound like much of a delay, in a FPS environment where the foundation of the game stems from frenetic action, its a competitive wall that some find far too frustrating to cope with. Of course, luck plays a part in any match, however - knowing that my target reticule is aimed at where a mech was half a second ago (and not that very second (or < 30ms like most US gamers) is enough to make it hard to keep up. Having said that, playing with ping times that are as excessive as these helps build skill while dialing the graphic fidelity way back to low helps a bit with any graphical lag. This can also help those who are either n00bs (new players) develop their twitch finger or give you plenty of practice if you are a bit rusty at the FPS genre like myself ;P

on the lowest graphics settings (and a different mech <assault> pictured)

The good news is that when you cause damage to another player and then someone else gets credit for your kill, you still get XP from the "assist". Unfortunately though, if you are playing from here in AUS, i doubt that i will ever see the lofty scale of high K:D (kill:death) ratio's as some of the pro's - nor do i think i have the time or commitment to become that good at it. I had intended on posting a print screen of a results screen  (screenshots or it didn't happen right?), however none of the result-screen's i tried to capture when i print-screened have worked. This, however may be a beta-bug or maybe i have been mashing my keyboard a little harder of late. Either way, this is shaping up to be an excellent shooter in an already crowded genre. It manages to bring smooth graphics and some top-notch mech game-play elements to it while serving it all up for free. Sure, you will eventually be able to buy in-game items with real world currency, however as it stands now its anything but pay-to-win.

Prototyping with pennies

One of the great things i admire with the whole open source thing is that all blueprints, software and all the information you would ever need to produce your very own item item is freely available on the Internet. Whilst anyone can learn to build an application or create a website, open source is where technology can bridge the gap between the real world and the virtual one or visa-versa (one of the reasons why i am looking forward to receiving my Rift Dev kit in December). However, another more readily available technology is changing the way we prototype stuff.

While open source itself has been around for decades, the popularity of Android and the advent of Arduino and other similar low power, more compact single board systems, home computing has returned to the hobbyist realm once again. Many of today's computers started life out by being built in people's sheds and homes, while some of the best emerging tech these days comes from regular people using current technology in its component form and re-purposing it. While automation using computers has been an old trick that i have experimented with in the past (I've even been paid to animate Christmas displays and basic automation tasks), what's new today is this renewed interest in the hacker/maker market. The popularity of the  Hacker/Maker spaces over in the US and other countries (like the Makers-Faire) are now seeing new communities and local experiences popping up all over the world.

Personally i think it can be a ton of fun and the best way to enjoy it is to spend some time experimenting with these low cost systems. I mentioned the raspberry pi in an earlier post - i have seen examples of children using it to program their own games, others use it to create a silent custom made HTPC, Some want an open source robot or low-cost solution to a problem they have got. Its a process that is fun and easy to learn and helps develop skills that can be applied to future technology development. Programming is a good building block these days, because once you master the basics, prototyping then becomes a whole lot easier when applying it in a practical way (ie the real world). For me, the best way to learn is by actually building it. If you get stuck, the forums and resources are available online and an active developer community are always available 24/7.

So, having picked the project(s) you want to make, done your homework and have selected the items you think that will need to get you started, then what? Trouble is, you may have never seen a circuit diagram before or you don't even own a soldering iron, let alone have thousands of dollars to spend on parts. This is where today's low-cost-tech really shines. It doesn't have to be a robot, it could be a lightweight flashing EL panel belt thats worn by cyclists for visibility at night or it could be a RFID tag that alerts the owner they had left a possession behind (eg. forgotten their phone and wallet ;P).

Basic Prototyping Kit (bought online)

If the idea of making your own open source project sounds tempting, it is, at least for me. Trouble is, i don't always have alot of money left to spend on experimenting with electronics as most of my spare cash gets eaten up by gaming, geeking or the whole general mish mash ;). This was recently highlighted when i was able to acquire a raspberry pi, USB cable, HDMI cable, SD card, keyboard and mouse all online for under $70 (shipped to my door). After a quick trip to the local electronics retailer, where the basic breadboard was going to cost almost as much as the raspberry pi itself, i headed online to ebay for some electronic prototyping bargains. I am glad i did. Not only was i able to get a breadboard that was almost the exact same dimensions as a bare bones pi, it came with a bunch of components (LED's, resistors, capacitors etc etc) that would get me started. Included with the pack was a small booklet that helped identify components, perfect for those like myself (who were a bit rusty on their knowledge of electronics) or for any beginners out there.


The basic prototyping kit (pictured above) cost me about $20 to have shipped from the UK and it arrived in my letterbox inside a working week. Personally, i will still need some additional components to complete some of my particular project(s), however, all told the costs thus far are <$100.  Not sure that making your own technology is all that interesting? hold no interest for building robots or devices that interact with the real world? what about clothing that can charge your mobile devices or smart phones using the heat of your body? or a hoodie that has a built in MP3 player with conductive cloth providing built in and washable controls. while alot of this wearable technology is available now, some of it is still in development. my point is, its actually quite easy to prototype with pennies :)

Another example of the potential of this technology comes from other sources, such as the instructables website. Predating arduinos relatively new community (arduino started around 2005), the instructables website (along with many others of similar vein) lists a large number of inspiring projects. An example of a  more practical project is an open source pill dispenser that dispenses a course of seven days worth of medication at allocated times. Even sounding an alarm when pills are ready to be taken, making it ideal for elderly or the disabled. What about sonic sensors attached to embedded tech that increase in pressure, the closer it comes to an object. For example, the blind could wear purpose made gloves or wrist straps that squeezed gently to indicate their proximity to objects. This could be adapted to make clothing that could "see objects" around a person and apply a sensation light enough as to be completely painless and of no harm for long term use. Of course, these are all serious real-world projects and while you may find inspiration in robotics or wearable tech or wherever, the initial costs for these projects is low and the initial learning curve is quite moderate.


Some Handy Links and Resources.

Arduino Community
 
Make projects

SparkFun



Quick Start Guides
 
Top 10 Arduino projects for pro (w/click-thrus)


Learn Arduino from n00b to ninja video series

MMO'ing in the Massively Modern Otherverse

I have been MMO'ing for a while now. My first real MMO was WoW and it was just before the Lich-king landed.  I soon found myself with a continuous subscription, playing actively for many years, a level 85 gnome warlock was my main. After a some time-off spent reducing the number of games in my pile-of-shame, i returned to the MMO scene when Bioware launched local servers for SWTOR. Despite a recent move to the freemium/subscription model, i still have an active sub and a forty-ish Jedi Consular Shadow with a Lvl 50 Jedi Knight that i still enjoy, although freemium may soon turn out to be a better option for me now.

When Funcom released The Secret World, I thought its new gameplay aproaches and a modern-day setting might interest me. Unfortutenately for TSW, i will be un-subbing this month unless my desire to play in the "end of the world" setting returns to me anytime soon. Whilst TSW does alot of things right, allowing you to radically alter your build/weapon/skill of choice at any point (by simply learning another proficiency), is set in a modern world (leading to its superior graphical quality) and has some nice mechanics, running around in the "zombie apocolypse" is something that starts to wear on you after a while.

Then came Guild Wars 2.  After Installing the retail discs and patching the old build, i was dissapointed that the server i wanted to play on, sea of sorrows (the unofficial aussie sever), was full. Because GW2 wants you to select one and *only* one server (and pay for any changes), i had to wait until a less populated time because i wanted a specific server. While i understand that some of the limitations are for stability issues and i respect that ArenaNet has the majority of players best interests in mind (briefly closing retail sales until server deployment could cope with the overwhelming demand), this game is simply *brilliant*. After logging in, I then set about creating my first character, a process which in itself holds has a hight level of customisation. After a couple of hours, it still took me a while to realise just how good this game really is. Whilst its MMO pedigree is aparent, its not trying to be WoW, nor is it opressively complicated, however the traditional weapon of choice and build options are still present.

odd abe - necromancer (rockin his town clothes :P)

Its been a long time since i have felt true excitement in this genre. Dont get me wrong, I will still be playing SWTOR and perhaps after my experiences with GW2, i will be giving TSW another shot. Its just this game feels dynamic in every sense of the word. While i think it could benifit from some clear direction for learning combat early on in the game - i got the hang of it eventually after dropping all my preconceived notions on what it meant to play traditional MMO avatar. once i had done this, i simply fell in love with the game.

In a traditional MMO like WoW or SWTOR - revisiting a lower level area or group event meant that you stroll casually into middle of the conflict and simply one-shot anything in the area without even blinking. In GW2, your level is scaled to the event or area - which meant that a level four area handicapped my stats to match the area (downscaling them to a level 5) and with a nearby group event in progress  - this allowed me to join in and gain xp and loot while still retaining a sense of enjoyment. What also impressed me with this game is the combat that this game really does shine. double tapping direction keys allow you to dodge attacks, in-combat switching of weapons grants access to some powerfull combinations and the whole scale-down thing applies to any area of the map which means you are far more likely to encounter others willing to join in. Oh, and there is no defined healer class, meaning that anyone can revive others - even while the combat is still raging around them.

The biggest adjustment i had to make with this game came from my own established habbits. As most of my mains in previous MMO's have been caster based or ranged classes, this resulted in the vast majority of my time in combat was from fixed/ranged positions. Sure, you keep mobile to avoid AoE, but most of the heavy damage abilities outside of DoT's and burst damage required you to stand still. It took me a while to realise my full potential in GW2 - i was able to cast, then run around dodging attacks while damage was being dealt. I was able to DoT a boss, run around while i kited and syphoned health, then switch to a melee ability/weapon and finish it off with close quaters combat. While there restrictions on the type of gear you can equip, its marvelous experimenting with the different combinations and abilities. (dual weilding starts at level 7)

Before this turns into a love letter to GW2 i will finish by saying that it takes alot for me to be impressed with a game. i could go on and on about all the cool stuff it lets you do or the inovative way in which it does it (WvWvW anyone?), instead i will urge you to make the purchase if only because the game is worth it as a stand alone RPG in an MMO environment. Whilst there are some negatives with this game, i feel confident that the freemium model will work here - even if its not free-to-play because of the $60 DLC cost. I will also mention that the game really isnt designed with an "end game" in mind, with that out of the way the grind is left to goldfarmers and the game returns to what is really important about in all MMO's... the gameplay and a good time :)

Slamming support

  Having been involved with computing since the "good old days" of DOS, much of my technical knowledge has been self-taught, handed down or learnt through professional courses. Its part of what makes me a fan of technology sometimes, strange but true. you encounter a problem, you spend some time researching solutions - learning more about said tech along the way and hopefully, at the end of it all you are able to create a suitable solution for the problem. In the days of DOS with magnetic media the norm, the old "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" prompt came known to me and my colleagues as "Abort, Retry, Influence with large hammer" because it represented what you really wanted to do when you encountered a problem that seemed to hold no answer. 

  Obviously physical violence towards today's technology is counter productive. Ask anyone who's dropped their iPhone/iPad/Tablet more than three feet or someone who's Nintendo wii remote became embedded in their big-screen TV due to the cheap straps that used to ship with the console. Technology breaks so easily, unless it has been purpose built to be durable and even these have their breaking point. I don't know about anyone else, but the first thing i buy when i get a new smart phone is a pack of screen protectors and a suitable case to house it in. whilst this wont prevent breakage in extreme situations, at least if it takes a minor fall onto a hard surface i wont suddenly have a phone that's in three separate pieces, or worse, a cracked touchscreen.

  In some situations, however, physical violence seems to hold the key. Years ago, i bought one of the Logitech MX5500 desktops from my local computer supplier. I liked the bluetooth cable free design, the fact that the mouse had an inbuilt battery and the mouse had a shape and design was something that suited me absolutely perfectly. Whilst the keyboard lasted many years and was eventually replaced with a gaming keyboard (only after i had worn it out), i continued to use the MX5500 mouse. Recently, after seating it in the cradle, the green charge light would light up then stop and flash red twice. this usually indicated that the mouse wasn't seated correctly. after making absolutely certain that it was, finding the problem still existed, a slow sad sinking feeling started to creep over me. was it time my favourite mouse was due to be replaced?

  My first assumption was that the battery had simply taken too many charges and that the flashing red light on the MX5500 indicated it needed service/replacement. Fearing i would have to either purchase a whole new combo (they never sold the mouse or keyboard separately) or replace my beloved mouse - i turned to the interwebs to see if i could narrow down the actual problem. a few brief articles indicated that taking apart the mouse and replacing the battery or soldering a resistor into the circuit at a certain point could fix this. all possible solutions, just none i was willing to go with just yet, it may be out of warranty - i just felt that busting out the soldering iron was a bit premature. then i came across a blog entry on this exact problem. while the article wasn't all that helpful, at the end of it was a large number of comments. the fourth one down suggested holding it in one hand and slamming it down against the desk, hard. it seemed a risky proposition, after all, i didn't want to break the mouse open or anything. i did, however, hold it securely in my hand and give it one solid knock against the surface of the desk.

  sure enough, after just one solid knock, returning it to the charging cradle saw no red light flashing and a mouse that was in fact charging happily once again. reading through the comments that have been accumulating on the page over the years, many theorise that it could be the cradle logitech made to hold the battery and some speculate its all about how clean the contacts are. all i know is that the 100+ people (i stopped counting at a hundred) who commented on the success of this technique will now make this a serious technical support option that may save an otherwise excellent mouse from the scrapheap.

i for one, will be one of them :)

Crowdfunding Conundrum

Whilst relatively new to the whole crowdfunding scene, having only supported a limited number of projects in the last twelve months, i think this is a fantastic alternative to more traditional methods of raising capital. Instead of jumping through hoops for banks or venture capitalists, whose only "interest" is to make money of your idea, crowdfunding allows you to source that capital from anyone and everyone via the Internet, gaining free market research in the process. Got an idea for a project or product? create a crowdfunding campaign on a site like kickstarter or indiegogo, set a goal and a time limit and you could potentially have all the capital you need, provided enough people support your venture. simple, right?

yes and no. personally, i have only ever pledged on kickstarter, so i cannot speak for any of the other sites out there - however - the problems inherent with such a method are universal regardless of which crowdfunding site you think is the best. As far as i know, the two biggest sites, Kickstarter and Indiegogo are "hands off" when it comes to successful campaigns that fail to deliver the promised rewards. That's right, a project may reach its funding goal, you hand over your cash and never see your reward. Kickstarters ToS specifically states that it does not offer refunds and while it mentions that project creators are required to offer refunds if they are unable to fulfill rewards, they can in no way enforce this ruling. I imagine Indiegogo and others user agreements reflect similarly held views in this matter.

Don't get me wrong, i have been fortunate in that all my projects that have reached their funding goal have so far delivered on-time or have had project leaders who have been in constant communication with backers over any delays or problems. Whilst some projects encounter delays and some creators may be slow with updates, others - like the Mythic video game (which was canceled after being exposed as a scam) - seem  to slip through the net. Whilst certain risks are involved in any new product or project, crowdfunder's must be aware that in no way is it an investment or pre-order of any kind. Also, any backers who consider themselves scammed after not receiving stated rewards within an allocated time frame, may be shocked to find that any chance on a charge back has expired.

So, what can a n00b crowdfunder do? do your research, be prepared to write off any pledges as a loss, make sure you are aware that just because a website says a creator is bound by a ToS - doesn't always mean that a creator will honor said agreement. The project video showing a "in game screenshots/game play" or "product prototype" can easily be faked, forged or stolen from other sources and it only takes a moment or two to google-fu a potential project to expose any potential dubious actions. Overall, be a cautious backer, scammers are going to scam, just as haters are going to hate. The "next big thing" may indeed be something you are keen to fund, just be aware that it is still effectively donations-with-rewards, not an investment, not a pre-order.

An interesting side note to the already potentially dangerous waters of crowdfunding is one specific to IndieGogo - Flexible funding. This is an option anyone can select, so that despite setting a goal and a timeline, if a project falls short of its funding goal - the creators still get your money. This may be OK for low-cost or help-me-out campaigns, but i shudder to think how dangerous this can be when dealing with start up based projects. With any campaign that delivers a physical reward, the goal set is often the minimum funds required for production runs to bring the rewards into existence. By allowing creators the option to set their project as flexible, this opens up a whole new ballpark of potential problems. Personally, i think this, along with the fact that indiegogo allows you to post almost anything as a campaign - is why i will be avoiding this particular crowdfunding site. That's just my opinion mind you but if i could advise anyone two simple words of advice, it would be this - Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware - or in this case - backer beware)

Raspberry Pi

as technology grows more advanced, most manufacturers have been obsessed with shrinking the size of the tech as much as possible. whilst, for the most part, this still tends to be the case - in some areas we are seeing a reversal of this initial trend. the last time i upgraded my GPU,  i had to modify my gaming case by way of repositioning the lower drive bay so i could fit my newer graphics card into the PC. mobile devices have also seen a reversal in the "smaller is better" trend - each generation of the Galaxy S has grown larger in screen size, as has the iPhone and other mobile devices. big screen TVs are another example of modern tech out sizing old.

obviously, not all technology fits this trend. the raspberry pi (and other alternatives) are not only shrinking the footprint of working tech, they are reshaping the way we look at potential future-tech roll outs or real-world applications. whilst not all are a powerhouse of computing brilliance, these SBC's or single board computers, are starting to emerge as viable replacements for traditional computers. 

my raspberry pi (running the wheezy distro)

while these systems (such as the raspberry pi, oval elephant and other open source SBC's) offer the basic computer requirements (word processing, emails, web, networking etc) - these tiny computers are capable of 1080p video - making them ideal for cheap HTPC setups. these tiny computers are not only whisper quiet, they can run off a low-voltage adaptor or even be powered by a modern day LCD TV or screen with a USB port. add an external hard drive (powered either through a hub or independently via adaptor) and you have a networked HTPC that can run as a media centre or even act as a second computer. 

The raspberry pi has the addition of a 26-pin GPIO connection, which allows some external IO options - which means that like the arduino boards available on the market, you can add switches, sensors and a host of other goodies - all of which can be powered from a low-voltage DC option (such as battery packs) or from just about any modern day USB or DC adaptors. at the moment, i have the Linux distro wheezy loaded on the SD card and have a bunch of programs Ive pre-loaded over the network. the cost of a raspberry pi? AU$38.

more powerful SBC's are available - such as the dual-core oval elephant - however, some of these do not offer any sort of GPIO and are more akin to the cheap 7" android tablets and mobile devices that can be had on ebay for <$100, just without any sort of screen or touch interface. however, such is the case of the oval elephant and its dual-core tech, some are just as powerful as a cutting edge smart phone, albeit on a SBC instead of a phone. while i still have every intention of exploring more of the arduino world when i have a chance, i think this is as good a start as any to work with prototyping some unique devices and hacks.

i bought my raspberry pi from element14, although there are several authorised distributors listed on the pi's website - just be sure to select a local distributor to ensure prompt postage :)

Palmer luckey & the oculus rift

  as an "old-school" geek and general tech-head, virtual reality is one of those technologies that i have always had an interest in. at some point in the previous century, i had a stint in a game-store that rented, that's right *rented*, computer games for members to play overnight or by the week. this was well before the days of DRM or online verification/persistent connection and it was here that i got to sample some fairly cutting edge stuff. one of those gaming titles was packaged with a 3D HMD (and no, it was not the virtual boy). it took hours to get everything patched and working, consisted mostly of vector or texture-mapped graphics and made you feel sick if you used it for too long. yet there was something about strapping on a pair of "goggles" and becoming immersed in a game that took full advantage of the 6DOF as a game play element and vr experience (even if it was still controlled manually)

most of these HMD's cost anywhere from around a thousand dollars to well over $30k for even the most basic of models and they all have less-than-stellar FOVs, are bulky and are in no way really VR experiences. when Sony announced its HMZ-T1 - it was the first time i had seen real promise from a company offering a HMD that was not only under a thousand dollars, it also had high definition thrown in along with built in audio and adjustable focus. to be fair, Sony does sell these as an "immersive cinematic experience" and while it does make reference to playing games, in no way does it try to sell it as a virtual reality experience. unfortunately, the next-gen HMZ-T2's aren't a whole lot better based on early reviews, improving mostly on comfort factors such as weight, adjustability and so forth while retaining the first-gen's 45 degree FOV.

sony's HMZ-T1                                                  oculus rift (dev kit)

then, almost by chance, i came across palmer luckey's kick starter campaign for the oculus rift. here was a geek after my own heart... a tech-head who, unsatisfied with what was commercially available, decided to hack/build his own. i would never claim to be an expert in this field, yet the staggering 40+ HMD's palmer has eluded to owning (along with at least one omni-directional platform) seemed a little OCD to me. yet another geeks obsession in a niche field is quite often other people's gain, and from what i have seen of it - this rings true in every sense of the word. what makes this particular kickstarter campaign unique is the fact it was done not so much to raise money to develop the unit, but to get the dev kit into the hands of developers early so that when the commercial product is finalised and released (rumoured to be <$500 at launch) it will have an extensive library of games and community support for drivers and such. kudos to you mr. luckey, this geek thanks you.

while initially hesitant to commit to a developers kit, what ended up selling me was the already functional early prototypes which seemed to be nothing more than bits of tech, cardboard and duct tape - add the backing of john carmack (iD software), epic games, unity and many more industry heavyweights, throw in a low-latency 90 degree FOV and i was pledging along with indie studios and game companies wanting to start developing. whilst the commercial version of this amazing piece of tech is probably a year or more away from release, judging by the overwhelming response on kick starter (of the $250k goal - over $2.4million was pledged), this is the first time in a long time that i feel that VR has a real shot of success.... lets just hope i don't jinx it by saying so ;)

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