Gaming Daily

When Source Happens - Kersey :: CS:S

2012-01-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

This was done during a scrim. Probably the most random 3k I've ever seen.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

2011-11-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

This game is massive and has never been more in depth.

Would anyone be interested in a Lets Play series?

I'd need to get a new GFX Card, as my 8800 is already being stressed enough by BF3.

Hopefully, you guys could help me out ;)

I'm back!!!

2011-06-08T13:31:00.001-07:00

It's been a while, but this gaming year looks promising so I'll be posting more content every day. Stay tuned for a post E3 post/update.

Micro-Transitions in gaming

2011-03-13T04:29:00.000-07:00

As of lately I've seen a lot of them popping up in games.

Micro-Transitions are when you sell extra content like skins, sound packs, or even extra characters or maps.

Some examples are League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth and TF2.

I think it's a great way for the companies to earn extra money and still keep updates/content free for users. My only problem is when they conflict with the gameplay. Like LoL when you can only play a certain hero if you pay for it (which is not acceptable)

I want to be able to play the game 100% from when I purchase it.

Basically, micro-transitions are fine in my book if they don't affect gameplay in ANY way.

What's your thoughts?

It's been a while..

2011-03-08T14:56:00.001-08:00

Since I've actually composed a decent blog post. I've been busy lately with a bunch of stuff (playing HoN) but more content is to come soon.

Battlefield 3 is Beautiful

2011-03-02T06:15:00.001-08:00

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was an amazing first-person shooter. But with every Bad Company release and spin-off, I couldn't help but wonder what DICE was doing with its main Battlefield franchise. As it turns out, it had something to do with earthquakes.

The core games, including Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2, helped define what's possible in multiplayer first-person shooters. It's been more than five years since Battlefield 2 on PC, and now DICE is finally getting ready to deliver the next numbered entry. Battlefield 3 has a release date for this fall on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and from what's been shown off, it looks incredible.

That's because Battlefield 3 is being built using all-new technology developed in-house at DICE. It's the next version of the Frostbite engine used in the Bad Company games, appropriately called Frostbite 2. It allows for a range of advanced graphical effects and destructible terrain. "We actually started with the engine three years ago," said executive producer Patrick Bach. "When we finished Battlefield 2 and 2142 we talked about what's the next big step that changes gaming. We're good at technology and we wanted to create something that scaled better than Frostbite 1 did. The PCs were already -- three years ago -- starting to get ahead of the consoles. How could we make good use of that?"

The result was, at the end of a demo recently shown to members of the press, a detailed scene of a US Marine unit getting tossed around on a quaking bed of asphalt in a war-torn city on the border of Iraq and Iran. Buildings crumbled into pieces, sending up plumes of smoke and dust as the ground fluttered like a flag in the wind. One even toppled over onto an attack chopper hovering in mid-air. It looked strikingly realistic.

"We knew we could do better stuff with audio, we needed a core streaming system for the whole game," said Bach. "Everything from animations to objects to textures to audio we can stream. If you look at the consoles today they still have the same amount of memory, so how do you make a denser experience with the same amount of memory? You need to be able to flush things in and out of that memory that you have. Frostbite 2 was more or less a necessity for us to be able to build Battlefield 3. If we didn't build the engine we couldn't build the game because then it would just be an iteration instead of a big step forward."

So far DICE isn't showing off any gameplay footage of the multiplayer component, which is too bad. I really wanted to see jets streak across the sky and launch precision strikes against unsuspecting targets. But even without the spectacle of controllable vehicle sequences to gape at, the story mode still looks pretty good. The characters are in no way related to those in the Bad Company games. What you get in Battlefield 3 is a fresh start. It's set in 2014, and an early mission follows a squad of Marines as they charge through cramped, dangerous streets and take cover from sniper fire on rooftops. "It's based on a 'what if' scenario," said Bach. "We see the world as quite unstable. We see it as the shot in Sarajevo where a small event can create a butterfly effect to start a world war." Even though the mission was early in the game, it sounds as though the scale of the conflict shown is going to ripple out into the rest of the world.

Though the mission features a group of Marines, DICE notes that these characters won't necessarily be in subsequent sorties because it's not a squad-based game like Bad Company. You play as Sergeant Henry Blackburn who, at the mission's outset, emerges from an armored personnel carrier with an M16 equipped with an ACOG (that's a scope). The road ahead is packed with smoke and fire, cowering citizens, military humvees and an LAV reconnaissance vehicle.

According to Bach it's not possible to simply hop into these vehicles and start driving, as many Battlefield veterans may want to do. While there will be several vehicle sections in the single-player portion, the game makes it clear when you're meant to hop into a machine and when you're supposed to proceed on foot. "When you tell a story you need to control the player in some ways, even though we have very sandbox-y elements as well. We make sure you get to try out everything…so we pace the game as a tutorial so when you go into multiplayer you don't feel scared. If you play through single-player you will feel quite safe to go online because you tried everything once."

Little does this guy know he'll soon get hit by an earthquake.

The PC version was beautiful even in its current pre-alpha state. DICE is focusing on using lighting and animations to create a more realistic look for Battlefield 3. For animation, DICE is utilizing Electronic Arts' technology called ANT, developed for sports games like FIFA. So what does that actually mean? "We can now more or less blend from any animation to any animation without any glitches. Some animation systems are very rigid. The cool thing with this is that you can blend from one animation to another at any time. You can see that with FIFA --, it's super quick and nimble."

The animations were especially impressive to watch during a first-person hand-to-hand combat sequence. Black was underground in a bunker attempting to disarm an explosive device when he was accosted by a waiting enemy. To subdue the assailant you need to hit buttons at specific times to deliver viscous strikes and chops. The attacker eventually crumples to the ground, but not without getting in a few solid shots on Black, which causes the perspective to tilt and whip appropriately with the force.

A lot of work is being done at DICE on the moment-to-moment mechanics of gun fights too. When you open fire the screen shakes, your weapon effects dominate the speakers, and the bits of user interface flicker when . "The challenge with weapons is actually not to get them to look realistic or record sounds, the research is quite easy. The hard part is to transform the emotion when you fire a gun and turn that into picture and sound."

CLICKITY CLICK CLICKS

2011-02-27T03:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone play any games where APM (Actions Per Minute) matter?

It varies what's good from game to game, but in HoN I can get around 210 APM on some characters while others I only get like 90 (Anything above 80 is acceptable though especially in long games)

It's a whole lot different in SC2 though, because micro managing is always important.

Example

Dead Island Trailer Analysis

2011-02-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Dead Island Cinematic Debut Trailer

2011-02-21T22:43:00.001-08:00

Looks amazing and a little controversial.

I love it.

HoN :: Deadwood Clip

2011-02-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

I recorded this in HoN, just to see if I could record with out any problems in fraps.

Don't take this seriously haha.

SCARLETT♥ by ny0r

2011-02-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

One of sicker edits that I've seen.

Level 36 on Zombies.

2011-02-11T11:58:00.001-08:00

Too hungover to write anything, but I just got to level 36 on Kino Der Toten on Black Ops.

That is all.

Awesome Minecraft Cave

2011-02-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

I like to call it the 'Cave of Lost Dreams'

This was done with a mod for those of you wondering.

HoN Video Project :: I'm bored

2011-02-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

I want to make a video similar the the last thing I posted and possibly make an actual fragvid, montage or a compilation of clips, whatever you guys want to call it.

Basically, I need songs. I'm think that the one posted above would be amazing for an intro or a teaser. Tell me what you guys think.

This would be directly after the intro if it were put in.

This one would be sick for the second part of the movie.

Tell me your thoughts or give me some suggestions. I'm looking for up beat types of songs with a good tempo.

GameReplays Season 3 Invitational Teaser

2011-02-04T03:46:00.001-08:00

Awesome teaser by cCcJag and cbl. I can't wait to see all the awesome replays.

HoN Hero Teaser: Empath

2011-02-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

The teaser is pretty hard to tell what's going on, but from the looks of it, it looks like she attaches herself to other people, can apply a shrunken head and put up a wall to stop deny a certain path. Comes out Friday :)

DC Universe Online - Cinematic Trailer

2011-02-01T15:46:00.001-08:00

Awesome cinematic and if you love DC, you'll love this.

CSS 3v1 Ninja :: Video

2011-01-31T18:24:00.000-08:00

I may start posting more of my videos. I haven't touched source in a while though, may start back up.

Dead Space 2 :: Review

2011-01-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

When it comes to survival horror games, the franchise that has long worn the crown is Resident Evil. There have been many strong contenders over the years, but few have been able to maintain the level of quality needed to generate excitement for what is something of a niche market. It also hurts that for every good survival horror title, there have been some bad ones. Really awful games that tried the patience of even the biggest fan. So to stand out in that genre, you really need to come out with something memorable and well made. And for the second time since 2008, EA and Visceral Games have done just that.
Despite a few reservations (mainly to do with the reliance on backtracking-style missions), I loved the first Dead Space. The sci-fi setting was a nice twist to the survival horror genre and it presented moments of truly crushing solitude as you fought your way through a location that was isolated in deep space, as well as moments of jaw dropping awe. The first time you see the shattered moon Aegis VII through the mangled hull of the USG Ishimura still stands out among the cooler moments in video gamedom, and that was just one of several memorable scenes.
Dead Space 2 takes what works from the original game and does not attempt to reinvent it, rather it simply adds to it — sometimes to a fault. If the style of the original game was not for you, then the sequel won’t be either. Almost nothing has changed between the two games in terms of gameplay. There are a few minor tweaks, and the character movements are a bit less stiff than before, but the mechanics remain the same. The game delivers an incredible atmosphere and the pacing is designed so well that the lack of new tricks isn’t a major deal, but it is surprising. Ultimately it doesn’t matter though because the game is good enough that you overlook the minor stuff.
The campaign for Dead Space 2 plays out like a movie, forcing you through a sick and twisted world down a very linear story and path. The pacing is handled with a cinematic feel in mind, and you can tell that a great deal of care was put into the flow of the game. Often you will be alone, walking through deserted hallways when suddenly the world goes insane and you are forced to fight off waves of enemies that want to do terrible things to you. Then just as suddenly as it began, you will find yourself alone again, only this time far more paranoid. Dead Space 2 offers a few legitimate scares, and more than once you will find yourself on edge while nervously looking for supplies.
Of every survival horror title made, Dead Space 2 is among the very best at balancing the supplies versus the action, constantly keeping you nervous about your health and ammo. Several times you will leave a fight injured and with no ammo, but proud to have survived. That is due to the work of Visceral Games, and they deserve recognition for it.
As far as the negatives, there are only a handful of new weapons which is a shame, and there are sections that become repetitive. A few times you will feel like you have fallen into a pattern which robs the game of much of the thrill of the next attack or scare, but in general the game moves at a solid pace. There are a few things that prevent Dead Space 2 from receiving perfect marks, but it is still one of the best survival horror games around, and it sets a new high water mark for the genre.

Fight Night Champion

2011-01-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

This isn't your normal FN game.

This one actually has a story line, which should definitely make the game more interesting.

Rift: Planes of Telara :: Half-Ass Review

2011-01-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

Alright, I don't really feel like typing out a whole review just yet, partially because I'm busy and partially because this is just a first impression.

When I hopped in the game, I was able to understand exactly what do do, because the combat system and the controls etc are all similar to WoW, which is a good thing. Why change something up, when you don't have too.

One thing that jerked me was the graphics. They're decent, not the best, yet, I was still only pulling 22 FPS not in combat. I put the graphics down to Medium, and was able to get 40 FPS (On low I got 80). I posted in the chat, and other people had similar problems. A guy had a GTX 580 and an i7 920, and was still only getting ~30 fps on High settings. My friend had a similar situation.

Besides that one thing, which I'm going to assume will be fixed by launch or by next beta date, it was a decent game. Notice how I said decent. Being a WoW player, it's pretty much exactly like that, except you probably get a little more originality because you get to select 3 tree specs, meaning you would have endless amounts of versatility, but I'm going to assume, just like WoW there is always going to be a cookie-cutter spec, with a few points here and there.

I'll post more later on, as of now, i'm not to impressed.

Rift: Planes of Telara

2011-01-25T13:11:00.001-08:00

The beta is open from today until Friday.

It's currently downloading and it's a wopping 7gb. The level cap is only 30 atm, so I'm sure that this game will be huge when the final product comes out.

Will post my first thoughts on the game soon.

Crysis 2 :: Multiplayer Demo

2011-01-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

Looks sick and it comes out tomorrow (January 25th)

Minecraft :: First House

2011-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

Nothing much on the top, but under neath is a series of huge tunnels and mineral deposits.

DUKE NUKEM FOREVER

2011-01-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

The once unthinkable will soon be upon us. Duke Nukem Forever has been dated and it'll be hitting stores after 13 arduous years on May 3 in the US before going global on May 6.

First announced by 3D Realms in 1997, Duke Nukem Forever threatened to become one of the more infamous pieces of vapourware before Gearbox stepped in late last year to take over the reins and help see the game through to completion.

"The moment fans all over the world have been waiting for is almost here," 2K president Christoph Hartmann stated. "May 3, 2011 marks Duke's return as he unleashes his brash and brutally honest wit on the world. His return is going to be epic and one that will make video gaming history!"

Hopefully, it doesn't suck.