Computer Games and Web Design

Web Design Cafe

2010-01-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

After scouring the web for good free image editing software, free web design software, and free graphics, I've finally decided to make a web page devoted to such- A quick directory for anyone needing web design oriented things, which include links to all of the necessary tools above.

These tools can be great for bloggers too.

You can find them all at the
Web Design Cafe
Thank You

Any suggestions are welcome.

Picnik - Free Web-Based Photo Editing!

2010-01-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

I love this website. I had come across it before, but never did I appreciate it until the other day.

Here's the quick story; I formatted my computer and I needed to crop an image that was too small. I hadn't yet downloaded a free (client side) photo editing program like GIMP or Paint.NET, so I panicked. I googled.

Picnik

Free Web based photo editing!

This website lets you upload your photos (of pretty big file size I might add, mine was almost 6MB!)

It let me crop my image to a suitable size, control the JPG file compression during save, file type, and adjust exposure, rotation, red-eye, etc.! This was perfect. I turned this >

Into this>
Which was just what I needed for my Twitter account.

Rebuilding and Moving Site

2009-05-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

Scratch this post
At least for now. Things not going as planned. New host has too many restrictions for my plans.

This post is to let everyone know that the posts on Computer Games and Web Design will be at the new Chexed.Net. Blogger was great for the time being, but I require something more customizable and scalable. I have not the time to build a new website myself, so I've chosen to run the content management system/blog software, Serendipity on a rented portion of a (shared) server through 1And1.com.

I compared many hosts considering cost, Terms of Service, and features, but in the end, I signed up with 1And1.com because their optional software package was quite appealing; Offering Adobe GoLive CS2 as "included" with their business hosting (appx $130) package for a year for only the additional cost of shipping/handling (appx $8.00) when GoLive CS2 retails for over $200 by itself. Adobe Golive is web design software that should enable me to save a lot of time to build a completely custom version version of this website.

While signed into the 1And1 server control panel, I clicked the "Click-N-Build" link and with a few mouse clicks and some blanks typed in, Serendipity was easily installed. So far I like it, but this is my first time using Serendipity, so I'll have to put it to the test and let you know how it feels. I'm going to be testing other Content Management Systems (CMS) at the same time at other websites. Some CMS I'm considering are PostNuke, XOOPS, and Joomla- All systems I can install using the easy "Click-N-Build." With 1And1 however, I must choose wisely which Click-N-Build applications I want, because they allow only a limited number. I assume I can swap them later on by uninstalling one thus freeing up a space to install another one. I think uninstalling a CMS could be rather time consuming though if transferring of set-up and design are wanted or necessary.

Will Starcraft 2 be a RTS and FPS combination? I don't think so.

2009-04-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

I don't think Starcraft 2 will be a RTS & FPS combination, but that doesn't matter until after I get this bit out of my system about Starcraft. The real issue is; is it doing anything at all?

In the past, Blizzard has been known to spend a lot of time perfecting a game, creating a lot of hype about it, only to suspend it. - Ghost. - Nuff said there.

Now they're sharpening Starcraft 2 so much that competitors will have all the time in the world to get a better "edge." And in the process of "sharpening," their game may end up being be so structurally sound that once it cuts, there's no going back - no balancing patch may fix it without totally changing major game elements.

Blizzard did an April 1st Fools joke for Starcraft recently, so I assume it's still very much in their hearts and at their designers finger tips (yes, that includes you programmers!). Is the game going to be much different? Probably not; without intoducing something drastically different poetntially debasing part of the current fanbase, they probably can't do it, unless they were real careful about it, making it optionally different: Like this version of an RTS / Combination I came up with:

In my opinion, the best way Starcraft 2 could have ever had a major game change was something I suggested years ago, by combinding RTS and FPS elements into the game. This would make multiplayer SO much more interesting. They could even put Ghost to use.

I could elaborate on an RTS and FPS combination greatly. Bringing RTS and FPS gamers together? Of course, you would need good AI controls for both the FPS and RTS for 1vs2, considering Starcraft 2 is traditionally a RTS though, the most powerful position should remain the RTS player. That shouldn't leave you to underestimate the role the FPS user can have though. Being able to make multiple quick head shots, pick off enemy special units, perhaps plant bombs on enemy vehicles? - The ways the FPS player could contribute are endless and can turn the tide of a battle or game. However, they can not win the game alone, considering the large scale of units can not be managed simutanteously for a long enough time.

If only a single player were playing, there should be an AI bot that can be turned on or off and taken control of by the user at any moment.

If an FPS player loses a unit, which may happen quickly for a single unit in the world of Starcraft games, he will go into a top down view, like the RTS players standpoint, only he will not be able to command any units from the top-down, he'll have to "become" one of the units, be going into him first person. I suppose you could could say "possess" the unit, hehe.

To keep it from being frustrating or boring to either player a second game mode where the players can "phase" in and out of roles in the game can be offered, the RTS player can possess a single unit for FPS view too, but for only 15 seconds, once that 15 seconds is up, the FPS player can (by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+CLICK (or other assignable arrangement) permanently become the RTS player. The RTS player also may become the FPS player permanantly, if the FPS player remains a RTS player for too long (not counting the "top down possesor view to choose a unit after death in transition between), they are automatically phased back to their primary role, FPS or RTS. Those timings can be tweeked in game settings with familiar names to be viewed in the available server list, like "Fast Phasing, Unlimited Phase," etc. A slider bar can also be used, but that would denote "custom."

The normal method should allow no phasing between roles once set in a given game, unless of course a player leaves, then someone else may gain that role in combination with their natural role, having unlimited phases. - This way both the opposing and defending team can have the same number of available roles, even if the number of players is unven.

I imagine 1 on 1's would most popularly be Unlimited Phasing, while more multilpayer matches would most popularly be No Phasing, or Strict RTS (old school) No Phasing (No FPS spots).

An advanced setting could be strict RTS (old school), or strict FPS in which there can be adjustable15 second phase to RTS settings, no phase settings, or no RTS going on during the same time at all.

Unless it's a "closed" setting game, if a player leaves, another player should be able to join at any time frame during the game. The player who was in the game first though should have the option set with a hotkey to transmit to the server list whether he is looking for an RTS or FPS spot to be filled, so only a player who actually wants to play in that position can be played.

This feature can be applied to many styles of multiplayer games: If a teammate is completely idle for more than 30 seconds, a partner may gain control, but gain the ability to give control back.

I get excited with the thought of combining my two favorite game types seamlessly. If you would like more elaboration on any aspect of this combination, feel free to contact me. I'm sure this is a little bit confusing, since I'm hapily helping tend to a two year old whiile writing this.

I hope Starcraft 2 doesn't go down the gutter with them waiting too long. I'll be happy if it's remains an RTS only as long as the competition, balance, and controls are good. I hope the technology of the game doesn't get outdated before it's released... IMO, that's what happened with Starcraft Ghost - They spent too much attention on one kid; e.g. World of Warcraft - All the while giving the other babies (Ghost, Diablo 2, Starcraft 2) the little bit of milk and backwash left in the bottle. Maybe that's not what's happening here though, maybe.

Starcraft II Valentine Wall Paper

2009-02-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

I like Starcraft and the second one I'm surely looking forward to. They have valentines day wall papers up now. Who knew all of the races were so loving?

Protoss, Zerg and Terran! OH MY!

I liked the Zerg one, so that's what I put here. I don't want to put them all here os you have something to look forward to at the Blizzard website. They have more free wall papers for Starcraft 2 out now!!

http://www.starcraft2.com/downloads.xml#wallpapers

I like free software but...

2009-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the open-source movement... I really enjoy GIMP for image editing and Inkscape but for some reason the Adobe Master Collection still makes my heart pump harder.

That in mind, I'm going to start making more tutorials for GIMP and Inkscape AFTER I re-download them. If I make more tutorials, it should add to the overall support and user-friendliness of these programs. By the way, I only have to "re-"download them because I just reformatted my computer, which as many of us know, is always an experience with a few surprises.

Free Commercial Use Fonts!

2009-01-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like fonts? Without fonts, we wouldn't be reading very much on the internet, that's for sure! The most standard font to my understanding is Times / Times New Roman and for the internet, it's generally Arial or Verdana. Don't get me wrong. I know there's other fonts being used, but now you can use even more!

Font Squirrel!
Free Fonts (Even for Commercial use)

I found this link on another designers blog who I just happened to of stumbled across after stumbling across another designers website. The sweet (well sometimes bitter) but almost always uncredited and ever important chain of events!

Just don't forget that unless the person viewing your website has the fonts installed too, they'll only see a default font (such as Times New Roman in place of your Fancy Flames Font). That doesn't mean you can't use the fonts though, because you can use them in graphics, such as logos :)

New Public Domain Pics Link

2008-12-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

I came across a new source for public domain imagery. As always, try to do a little research on the individual images to make sure sure someone isn't breaking copyright to upload them to the "public domain" sites to begin with.

Looks promising though!

Public Domain Pictures.net

If you know of any good ones to share, let me know, but first check the list I've made on the left hand side of this page to see what all is there already.

Laura Croft Alison Carroll

2008-09-02T15:32:00.001-07:00

IMG_0592, originally uploaded by HAL.9000.

Alison Carroll, a British gymnast is the new Laura Croft! I've got to say that she fits in pretty good too ;)

This is my first post about what many would consider a "video game babe," but I know a lot of people like the video game ladies, so I'm giving them what they want! Only I'm calling it *dun dun dun* VIDEO GAME LADIES!!!

Alison Carroll ladies and gentlemen! The New Laura Croft! of Tomb Raider!

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe

2008-08-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

DC Comic book characters, such as the dark knight (batman), superman, flash and more are going to be colliding with Mortal Kombat characters.

It's going to be bloody, it's going to be gruesome, it's going to be totally freaking sweet.

See more gamer videos at PWN or DIE

Everything about this game seems amazing. No one knows how it feels until they actually play it though. There's one other big question that remains though, will there be fatalities for the DC Comcis characters? The answer is YES! The superheroes wont, but the super villans will. That's good enough in my book. Superman and batman don't kill people anyways, it would make them completely out of character, thus rendering the whole coolness of "superman" being in a Mortal Kombat game pointless, it would be like a fake superman.

Tell me, can you taste the awesome?

Don't Compress your C-Drive

2008-08-11T04:23:00.001-07:00

I've recently learned that it may not be a good idea to use WINZIP, WINRAR, 7-ZIP* or something of the other to compress you're entire c-drive. I've learned this from Yahoo Answers.

I'm pretty sure the only solution to save the data is to open up that compressed hard drive on another computer, copy the zipped file over to another computer, format the original hard drive, uncompress the files, then copy the uncompressed files onto the newly formatted drive... Then hook the hard drive it back into the computer.

The compressed hard drive in this instance can't be uncompressed in this instance, because there's not enough room on the hard drive in the first place.

*7-Zip is in bold because it's my favorite free compression utility.

Added Two New Free Image Sources

2008-08-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

On the left side of this blog I just added two new sources for public domain /royalty free images that you may like to use in your graphics and designs.

Clker
(Royalty Free Clip Art)

Republic Domain
(public domain wallpapers and photos)

I do hope you enjoy! Post any links to things you've made with a link to the original image too and I'll be glad to approve them!

Change Hair Color GIMP Tutorial

2008-07-31T01:21:00.000-07:00

This video tutorial will show you have to change someones hair color in a photo using the path tool.

I didn't make this video, but I watched the whole thing to make sure it was valid. Looks good! Now you can change someones hair color!

There's a photo of me when I was joking around with some interesting hair cuts. If you want to practice changing hair color, you can use this picture. It will be especially fruitful since there's a funny hairstyle to play with and some facial hair too :)

Making a COD4 Video in 5 Steps!

2008-05-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Things you'll need:
Windows Movie Maker (Comes with Windows XP)
COD4 Player (For playing a demo)
FRAPS (For recording video)
COD4 Game (Doh)

Step 1:
Open console (with ~ button) while playing and type "/record DemoName" (without the quotes). Close console.

Step 2:
When finished, open console and type "/stoprecording" then close cod4.

Step 3:
Open Fraps and make sure you know the button for recording video, where the videos save to and set the recording to 30 FPS and Half Screen (no sound if you're putting music with it, it doesn't record sound well from COD4 Player on my computer anyway).

Step 3:
Open COD4 Player, find the demo in your COD4 folders, Open it up...

Step 4:
Start recording with FRAPS (don't worry about catching the perfect moments just right... That's in step 5. Stop recording and close COD4 when done.

Step 5:
Open Windows Movie Maker, import the video file saved where FRAPS saved it and edit it as you wish! (Tip: You can even put the same file on the film-strip to allow for editing the clip multiple times and cutting out certain sections). Save the file with the highest quality you can.

Check out my pro cod4 gamer video I made using this technique and click the "watch in high quality" link under VIEWS on YouTube.

COD4 Pro Gamer Footage!

2008-05-04T01:50:00.000-07:00

As it stands, this is my best quality COD4 video on YouTube so far... I'm still new at getting videos on YouTube without losing quality... In fact I suck at that so far lol. But I'm getting better and I'm learning new things, such as saving the file with specific settings.

This video is of a pro gamer.

Rappelz Online!

2008-04-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

That's me on my mount to the left, so I can move around faster and a cute little pig thing with a flower tail on the right that just roams around. I didn't bring in any pictures of the monsters because I don't want to spoil too much ;)

I've played Rappelz for about a week now for many hours (don't tell anyone) and I've decided it's a really good game, great for being free. I barely noticed lag on the server I played on (which was a PvP, or Player vs Player server). My understanding is that it's a Korean game, so some of the in game text is a little incorrect-grammar wise.

All in all it's a great game though. The biggest exception to that in my opinion is variety of monsters... It seems that most of the monsters are just the same monsters repeated with different names and different stats. I haven't played many MMORPGS, but I'm pretty sure they at least make the similar monsters look different, not just give them different names. Just make the monsters head bigger ok!

8/10!

Free games, exclusive betas, and PC-game demos for every gamer

The Witcher RPG PC Game Review

2008-04-14T05:50:00.001-07:00

A big fat 9.5/10!

I just finished playing the DEMO of The Witcher, and let me tell you, it is definitely a great RPG! They're put so much thought and time into this game ensuring a fun and exciting game for many hours.

At first I thought the fighting was going to get repetitive and at first it was. Howevery shortly into the game I realized it was much more awesome than I had thought, there's such a wide array of fighting attributes to be toyed with that it's just astonishing.

Now try the demo out for yourself and kick some demon butt! Be sure to assign your skill points when you meditate (or rest as it's known in other games- but I prefer meditate).

Oh yeah, this is definitely a stereotypical "mans" game. You sleep with women along your quests, rescue them, and collect cards showing that you've been where probably some men have been before. I didn't expect that, but it was a pleasant surprise! :-)

Soul Storm RTS Video Game Review 9/10

2008-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Warhammer: Dawn Of War: Soul Storm from the DEMO I downloaded and played is a great game. If you like Starcraft and are an anticipator of Starcraft 2, then you'll probably like this game. It actually seems a good bit more involved. With the full verions of the game, there's many more races to choose from.

I give this game a 9/10 because it's a great game, with the only flaw being complexity. The complexity isn't bad, except for when first learning the game it can be a overwhelming. The tutorial to teach you isn't encaptivating and feels like doing a math problem. If you've played the previous Dawn Of War Warhammer games, then this is right up your alley. Any fan of real time strategy games (RTS) is going to enjoy this if they have the patience to learn it.

Note: The character in the picture in this article is actually a playable character who's quite strong. ;)

Never wait to download game files. Join FilePlanet today!

Project Wonderful

2008-04-03T02:12:00.000-07:00

I've found a great way to get some cheap hits and an excellent way to monetize your website. To advertise go straight to ProjectWonderful.com, to sell advertising space go to the same place but check out these project wonderful tips I wrote first.

Top 5 Basic First Person Shooter Tips

2008-02-23T09:47:00.001-08:00

These are very important tips for anyone who plays First Person Shooters (FPS) brought to you by Pro Gamer KhRoNE.

Reload whenever you get the chance. The number one killer of noobs is having a near-empty clip just before a fire fight.
Make sure your headphones are on properly. As silly as this sounds, it's very important because you should be able to hear enemy fire near by and be able to judge where it's coming from, or hear their footsteps and know where they're at.
Take a moment for headshots. Headshots really matter a lot. Even if you're not going for a headshot, take a short moment to aim before you fire, because it's better to take that moment rather than emptying a clip and not hitting the enemy once. This happens often. If you ever hear someone say "are you invincible" sarcastically or "how could he not die" then you can know this is because they don't take a moment to aim, and they're likely missing with most or even all of their shots.
Familiarize yourself with the maps. There are places where people camp, places you may fall to your death, and places where you can hide for a moment to reload if you need to. Don't consider anything cowardly if it's something that might work... Remember, all is fair in love and war.
Use melee attacks. Whatever the melee attack may be for the FPS game you play, it's almost surely a very powerful weapon. Whenever you run out of ammo, it's usually faster to strike with melee than to reload. When you're close enough to the enemy, use a melee attack to save ammo... Even if you have a lot of ammo, still use your melee if close, because you may not have time to reload for two more unseen enemies around a nearby corner.

Great Cheap Games for Older Computers

2008-02-10T11:59:00.001-08:00

These games don't need expensive new hardware to run. I've picked two of my favorites that I personally play and still enjoy.

* Starcraft
*Starcraft: Broodwars (Expansion to Starcraft)
You can usually get Starcraft and the expansion for about $20 total. It's a real time strategy game.

*Red Faction (1, not 2)
In my opinion, one of the best FPS games ever made, they just made a newb mistake such as not selling Red Faction 2 with multi-player support, the whole reason most people liked part 1. You can usually find this game for about $10 bucks.

There are many more games listed on this unformatted list which inspired my choosing of two favorites. I'm sure many of them are great, I just picked two so you couldn't blame me (this time) for making your eyes hurt at the end of the day.

Library of Congress on Flickr

2008-01-17T00:55:00.001-08:00

According to the Library of Congress Blog, more than 3,000 photos are being put on flickr without copyright restrictions. That means bloggers and artists can use these images for graphic design, print, or wherever their imagination forces them by the ears to go. That means we can be lazy AND have uality work at the same time WITHOUT stealing. I know I know, all of the fun is taken out of it that way (just joking), but I think this will turn out very interesting!q

Find those Royalty Free Images Here

Quote from: http://www.loc.gov/blog/?p=233
"Out of some 14 million prints, photographs and other visual materials at the Library of Congress, more than 3,000 photos from two of our most popular collections are being made available on our new Flickr page, to include only images for which no copyright restrictions are known to exist."

They do this in accordance with their mission: "The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations."
http://www.loc.gov/about/mission/

How Do I Write A Copyright Character?

2008-01-11T10:58:00.001-08:00

That's something people wonder. The answer is here.

Hold down ALT and press 0169 then release. ©

You can find many other ascii codes on Chexed.com too. This Copyright character is special for web designers though, because we often put that little Copyright symbol at the bottom of our pages.

Banking off of 404

2008-01-06T06:35:00.001-08:00

When someone visits your web site, sometimes they get that dreaded "404 Page Not Found" error. Hopefully, you should have those pages present a custom error message, preferably with a link back to your home site for your guests.

So how do you make money off of this? By sharing paid videos. Over at Chexed.com, I've made a video so each time someone gets a 404 error message, it plays a comedic video I made to let them know the page isn't there. Each time the video is watched an ad is displayed and I make a little moola. You can use this same video to make money with while providing your visitors with some entertainment. You don't even have to make a new video, though you can if you want.

See the 404 page not found in action.

3 Steps: Sign up on Revver, get the embed code.

Blogger Buzz: 2007 Roundup

2007-12-30T03:21:00.000-08:00

A most awesome year for blogger it has been! There have been some great upgrades, improvements, and adjustments this year!

Blogger Buzz: 2007 Roundup