And a heads up! I added a link to the links section here on the Solarum site, and it made me want to drop a note up here to remind folk about that particular section. The links section is where I post links to various and sundry things that appear to be useful or humorous to folk in one way or another. So, you might want to check it out because you never know what you might find, like today where I just posted a link to a the great game Baseball Mogul version 6 since it has been released for free by the company that makes it. Come back often and check that links section out, lots of goodies in there.
Archive for the ‘Games and Gaming’ Category
Mar
6
6
A free game and a quick link
0 Comments
Feb
13
13
Your Shader Model And You
As technology moves ever onward, getting more and more complex, it becomes more and more important to know what you have and what it can do. In this case I am talking about graphics cards and figuring out what Shader Model it supports. I am seeing more and more games that have not only memory and processor requirements listed, but also things like what Shader Model and DirectX version your hardware supports.
I ran into this recently and although the DirectX version is easy enough to find out, the Shader Model was a bit tougher. So, after working through the problem and gathering some information from around the ‘net, I have put together some instructions and a handy reference chart for you that should make figuring this out a bit easier. Read the rest of this entry »
Sep
5
5
Beware World of Warcraft Cataclysm Beta Opt In Scam
In yet another new and trendy spammer and phishing ploy, I have been getting a few copies of a message claiming to be from Blizzard regarding Beta access to the Cataclysm expansion coming out soon. This one did give me pause at first because I am signed up for the Beta, waiting to see if I get in. Luckily, I noticed some blatant signs when I inspected the message. The biggest thing was not only the Cataclysm website they wanted to send you to for account information harvesting being wrong, as in the wrong URL (not even close LOL), but I received several of these and they had different URLs between them. One other thing was that I received this to several email addresses, none of which were the one actually associated with my WoW account. Obviously these guys (or gals?) are carpet bombing and hoping they snag a few of the 10 or 12 million or so WoW players. Just wanted to pass this on, be on the lookout if this fits you in any way! In the words of Mad Eye Moody “CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!”
Mar
5
5
Portal 2 has officially been announced!
That means we can stop the speculation and start the salivation over what Valve has in store for us this time. The original Portal is a single player first person puzzle game with some action elements as well, developed by Valve Corporation, the same folks that brought us other greats like Half-Life, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, Day Of Defeat, Left 4 Dead and more. The game came out in 2007 as part of the Orange Box, or was available seperately from Steam (for the PC that is). Portal is all about puzzles, and consists mainly of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the main character and simple objects using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (ASHPD for short, but was also called simply, the portal gun), a device that can create open portals between flat planes. The game is all about the physics attained and manipulated by the portal gun. Portal has been acclaimed as one of the most original games of 2007, and went on to win 70 industry achievement awards. Portal 2, the sequel, is set for release during the 2010 holiday season.
One note of trivia, the final credits song “Still Alive” was written by Jonathan Coulton for the game. Coulton is a wonderful musician who has garnered quite a bit of Internet fame.
Check out the Portal 2 announcement here …
Nov
1
1
Left 4 Dead 2
This isn’t a review specifically, but I wanted to post some thoughts on the sequel to the smash hit Left 4 Dead, aptly named Left 4 Dead 2. At first glance, this game seems like a mod more than a true sequel. The four main characters are new and different, and there are some new zombies to fight. Don’t forget the addition of some wicked cool new weapons that allow for some more, shall we say, resourceful play. However, aside from the new eyecandy, it seems about the same. I am not sure what is in there that classifies this as a whole new release, except that since the first one was so popular, this one was sure to make Valve some money.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one of these moonbats that is boycotting the game and/or the company because they released the sequel so soon. Far from it, and yes I bought the sequel, that’s how I can have some input on it, I have access to the demo. It’s a free country and Valve has every bit the right to release a quick sequel, just as these people who are upset have not to buy it. I guess I was hoping for a little more out of a so-called sequel. Now, to be fair, this *is* the demo I am playing and not the full release, so I know there are lots of things that I haven’t seen yet that may fill it on out and make me change that sentiment. Even so, either way it’s a way fun game (both of them) and I am sure I will get plenty of enjoyment out of it. Come to think of it, I have gotten more enjoyment out of the first Left 4 Dead than I have out of a lot of the games I have purchased over the years. It’s not hard to find a game that looks good, reads good on the ‘net, but is a real clunker once you shell out $50 for it.
OK, I’ll report back more when I have it, stay tuned!
Oct
12
12
Neverwinter Nights 2 – Toolset Quick Reference
I am sure there are tons of Neverwinter Nights fans out there, for both the original and version 2. If anyone is interested in tinkering with the tool set for Neverwinter Nights 2, here is a handy wuick reference for you. Check it out …
