Nightshine On

What I hate about Battlefield 1

2016-12-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Battlefield 1 is the only Battlefield series game I have played.

Here are the things I hate as a new player.

Extremely cheap deaths. Be prepared to die multiple times in a row right after you spawn. This is what turns me off because it is such a large waste of time coming into a match and dying several times before even being able to move or fire a weapon.
No team-balancing. Enter a game and see the enemy team overwhelmingly outscoring you and has 10 more players than your team. Not even fun and there is not point in even playing because they have you pushed against spawn.
No teamwork. Battlefield 1 feels more like a large Call of Duty map where people are running around doing their own thing without helping each other. I left Call of Duty to play a game that has organization and teamwork but Battlefield is just more of the same. Most of the time you are out solo warrior running across a field with no support and a random enemy gets the drop on you.
Long times for everything. Long load, menu, and deployment time. Incredibly annoying if you are stuck in cheap death mode.
Forget about joining a squad if you are a scout. Want to be sneaky and pick off the enemy team? Don't join a squad as your squad mates will spawn right on top of you shooting like Rambo drawing attention to your position.
Lack of stationary weapons. This is definitely not like Planetside 2 where there is a plethora of weapons and defensive items everywhere. There may be one or two machine gun or artillery pieces, but make no mistake, it is just Call of Duty on a bigger map.
One directional maps. So far most of the maps are more linear with conquest points all lined up in a row. How about a perfectly square or round map with points not in a straight line?

The game is fun, but there are a lot of things that need to be ironed out before I convert into a Battlefield fanatic.

Mikasa World of Warships

2016-07-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

I received the Mikasa after completing the Independence day challenges in World of Warships.

I didn't think much of the ship while playing, until I scored a detonation hit on a South Carolina with a single HE round. It was unbelievable.

World of Cowards

2016-07-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

World of Warships should be renamed to World of Cowards.

World of Warships is a team game that requires people to work and communicate together to win matches. However, the majority of games are filled with people doing their own thing or hiding in the back which is detrimental to the team.

Too often have I moved with a fleet and started engaging the enemy only to find I get focused and die almost instantly because everyone else has turned away and ran in the opposite direction or to the edge of the map.

Here I will break down the cowardice of each class:

Battleship drivers are the absolute worst and biggest cowards in game. Hiding in the rear and pathetically trying to snipe other warships. You can tell if you will get a victory or defeat based on the quality, or lack of battleship skill in match. They are the biggest frustration in game and it screams "wuss". BBs have the most amount of armor and HP yet they are so scared to engage.

Cruisers that run away from destroyers and assisting other battleships and cruisers because they are scared shouldn't be playing. Cruisers are not meant to be rambo and sail straight onto the enemy, they are there to assist others. Fast firing cruisers that are scared and run away from destroyers should uninstall the game.

Destroyers that don't fight other destroyers are next to worthless. If you see enemy DDs pursuing slow moving battleships, help them out and set a smoke screen or engage them. Running around the map without doing damage makes you worthless in the match.

There are other frustrations such as AFKs and Teamkillers. Every ship counts, so having a single AFK can ruin a game. Teamkillers are the worst and Wargaming hasn't done enough to prevent this behavior.

It's a team game. Move together, communicate, and help each other out. Quit being selfish pricks that turn tail as soon as you receive damage.

Borderlands 2 - Loader #1340 in Moxxi's radio "Out of Body Experience"

2012-10-28T12:37:00.001-07:00

Borderlands 2 - Scooter's Love Poem

2012-09-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Borderlands 2

Scooter asks the vault hunter to run around Thousand Cuts to find inspiration for his love poem to Daisy. Freaking hilarious, check this video out.

Funny Black Mesa Source video

2012-09-15T13:21:00.005-07:00

Scientist is too concerned with fashion at Black Mesa facility

Black Mesa Source Train

2012-09-15T13:20:00.001-07:00

Train ride at the beginning of Half Life, redone with the Black Mesa Source mod. The music is wonderful.

DCS A-10C IR laser and night

2012-08-26T11:41:00.002-07:00

IR laser from the TGP in DCS A-10C. Pretty neat for night operations and harassing other players. It is slewable just like the other modes. It must be in IR mode and not laser for it to work.

DCS Combined Arms: My first kill

2012-08-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

My first kill in DCS Combined Arms. Entered an open server and quickly shot down a A-10C

Cluster bomblet and other bugs in DCS World 1.2

2012-08-22T18:54:00.002-07:00

Patch 1.2 for DCS World has many bugs involving munitions. The strangest bug I have found is that cluster bomblets will shoot upwards to the sky and do not stop. Pretty cool that Eagle Dynamics has simulated the darkening of the sky as you approach space. Perhaps it involves the future DCS fixed wing aircraft?

Here we have a SAM frozen in the sky. The missile does not explode or fall towards the ground. This bug affects all sorts of rocket propelled munitions such as Mavericks and AGM-84 Harpoons.

Instead of bomblets, the entire cluster bomb flies upwards or is stuck!

DCS World P-51D - Dying in a fire

2012-07-27T14:27:00.004-07:00

Ejecting on ground while the plane on fire might not be a good idea.

Taken with version 1.2

DCS P-51D is still in beta

My eyes!!! The goggles do nuzzing!!!

The flame spreads!Canon T3i 18.0MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm IS Lens - Digital

DCS World - A-10C module is now available!

2012-05-18T10:28:00.003-07:00

No more playing DCS A-10C separate from DCS World. The Module for the A-10C is out for DCS World 1.1.2.1, you can download it from the link here . Keep in mind DCS World and the module are in beta.

Black Shark module is also available for download

Some improvements I have noticed:
-Water is much darker
-Different types of explosion animations
-Gun smoke seems to be lighter and better animated

Fire is more realistic and is larger on hit ships.

Smoke looks much better in DCS World.

Skyrim - Ugly, blotchy, square shadows

2012-05-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

Screenshots taken inside Proudspire Manor at Solitude. As you can see there are some really ugly and disgusting looking shadows on Hiroki (Wife). These blotchy shadows only appear in this area and happens to all characters as you can see in the last picture (Aela the Huntress).

I am running a 7970 with the latest drivers (12.4). In the notes these shadows and flickering boxes were supposedly "fixed" but as you can see they are not. I have had enough with the crappy AMD video drivers and I will only buy Nvidia graphic cards in the future. Some other issues I have been having include: loud obnoxious coil whine, stuttering, flickering, crossfire issues, etc.

Click on the pictures for full-size

edit: As of the latest 12.11 AMD Catalyst driver, these bugs are still there!

League of Legends - Things your team members do that make you rage

2012-05-16T15:15:00.003-07:00

We've all experienced it before, terrible team members that make you rage and want to quit LoL forever.

Riot has made games unnecessarily long, a game in Summoner's rift on average can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes to complete. That is a SINGLE game and a lot of time/ In the past players were able to do a surrender vote in 15 minutes, now it is 20 minutes. Why has this happened? Because of the constant nerfing of items, players, summoner abilities, we have to be dragged through this very long and sometimes boring fight. So much time and energy is spent on ONE game that it makes many players angry when one person starts to troll, feed, or not communicate with the team.

Here is a list of the things that makes me rage when playing solo que:

Communication
-Players that don't speak English
-Players that don't say a single word during the game. You might be stuck in a team with poor composition and at a disadvantage, however if you can communicate and move together as a group, winning in endgame is easy.
-It is a TEAM game, yet there are people that run off and do their own thing completely mindless or ignoring what the rest of the team is doing.

Game play
-Players that don't buy wards. Buying wards in LoL is a necessity, not an option. Catching the enemy team off-guard while they are doing Baron Nashor, Dragon, buffs, etc. can be a winning move. Too often one person will be the only person buy wards, and worse no one buys wards. Losing a game because team members will not help pitch in 75 gold to buy wards is really stupid.
-Ping spam. Riot has limited the amount of ping spam, but it still happens. Trolls work around this buy doing a slow ping spam, or burst of ping spam.
-Players that only farm. Farming in LoL is a required, however there are some players who farm, and that is it. They do not help during team fights, do not attack enemy champions, they just sit there and farm all day. What is the point of farming if you lose the game? The objective of the game is to win, not to see how much gold you can earn. It should also be noted that killing champions, assists, and taking down towers earn much more gold than farming, yet some players do not see this simple fact.

Team composition
-Having no ranged AD. Absolutely stupid, you need ranged to win, unless you are playing against noobs. With no ranged they can kite you all day long, this is so obvious yet I see it happen all the time.
-All suishy. Teams that are all glass cannons are really stupid. Nobody can take the initiative or dive. All that happens is a bunch of running around scared where the enemy team can pick you off one by one.
-No Tanks. Similar to all squishy.

Comment below if anything about your team makes you rage in League of Legends.

DCS P-51D - Inside the cockpit

2012-05-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

Various screenshots of how detailed and accurate the Mustang is in DCS P-51D. DCS P-51D is still in beta so anything could change.

Left Wing

Right Wing

Take off from Batumi Airport at dusk

Engine and Propeller controls

With the pilot added. To show the pilot press Shift + P

Very good detail of all the switches

DCS A-10C - Hovering/Floating A-10C

2012-05-15T14:49:00.003-07:00

DCS A-10C is a game that claims to be a realistic simulation, yet you can land and taxi with all tires blown out. Fairly ridiculous that the developers would let this kind of thing happen. As you can see the plane just floats across the tarmac as if the tires were still there. At least make some sparks or have the aircraft skid around.

There is a Youtube video of a A-10C flying with both wings blown-off and on fire, yet the Warthog flies perfectly fine. These sort of things makes me shake my head, at how such a game company can get such simple things, terribly wrong.

DCS A-10C - Multiplayer Screenshots

2012-05-13T15:57:00.001-07:00

Flying inbound to way point

There are always trolls and impatient people in every game. Here is a person attempting to take-off and has already got clearance from the tower, however another pilot decides he is going to land anyways. The time it takes for someone to take off is probably less than a minute, but this person could not wait.

Pilot landing closely from the one taking off.

I joined a public server and found myself in a Canadian A-10C. The woodlands digital is pretty interesting. I guess this is Canada's take on the A-10C if they had them.

DCS A-10C - Helicopter Screenshots

2012-05-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

Various screenshots of helicopters in DCS A-10C

(click on screenshot for full-size)

I have not figured out how to make Kiowas attack targets. They are meat shields or just crash into the ground for some reason. If anyone knows how to edit the mission creator to have them attack, please comment.

Great detail on the panels

It would be pretty sweet if there were more load out options for the Kiowa. For example, having cannons or machine guns instead of rockets.

I really love the camouflage skin on the AH-1 Cobra

Two Apaches passing each other.

DCS A-10C - F-15E model

2012-05-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Cool screens from AI F-15Es on a ground attack mission. I hope Eagle Dynamics creates a playable F-15E that would be very cool. I would love to go Mach 2 to the target, drop off some bombs and then speed away.

(click on screenshots for full-size)

Shock rings and flames on full afterburner

AA damage all around and leaking fuel. Missing panels show avionics and components underneath.

DCS A-10C - Damage detail

2012-05-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

Some screenshots of a damaged A-10C in a quick mission. I flew too close and low on a strafing pass and was hit by AA fire from T-80s and BMPs. I am surprised at how much punishment the T-72s and T-80s can take in DCS A-10C.

The screenshots below show how much detail ED has put into DCS A-10C. Everything is accurate, down to the last rivet. Look at the engine that is on fire, how all the components are in the right area.

(click on screenshots for full-size)

Look where the GAU-8 cannon is, the panels are blown away from AA fire. The barrels will spin when the trigger is pulled and the chutes will show the spent rounds! Amazing!

Enemy tracer rounds coming in close. I had extinguished the fire in the left engine, but after taking more fire it caught on fire again. I love looking at the nose and seeing what is underneath the panels.

DCS P-51D Beta - First Impressions

2012-05-06T15:23:00.001-07:00

First Impressions

Sounds - Absolutely amazing

The supercharger whine while turning is wonderful.
The six .50 caliber machine guns firing in unison.
Starting up and full RPMs.

.50 caliber machine guns are too weak

It takes many strafing passes to destroy a BMP or AA emplacement. After watching real WWII gun cameras, the six .50 caliber machine guns can easily take on trains, ships, and vehicles.

Graphics - Spectacular

I love watching the bullet trails and ricochets. It is very realistic, just like the actual gun camera footage from WWII. I would like to see ED implement these graphics in DCS A-10C.
Improved explosions, fire, and smoke. Explosions from DCS A-10C are really weak, ED did a great job of making them bigger in DCS P-51D.

Controls

Very sensitive. Requires much more care compared to DCS A-10C.
Rudders are a bit tricky. Sensitive just like the X-Axis and Y-Axis.

Overall - I really enjoy the beta. It is worth the $39.99 just to hear the supercharger whine and watch the bullets ricochet off the ground. ED did an amazing job recreating the P-51D and there is great attention to detail just like all their games. For example: flames shooting out the exhaust, AI pilots will turn their heads to where they are heading, and the reflection of the sunlight on the bullet trails.

Also included is DCS World and a flyable SU-25T.

The only thing that bothers me is that it takes place in modern Russia/Georgia and there are no other WWII warbirds. This is only the beta the full product will probably be in a different setting, more planes, etc.

Below are some screenshots that I have taken from the beta

(click on screenshots for full-size)
Exhaust Flames

Spent bullet casings

Strafing some armored targets

DCS P-51D - Open Beta Photos

2012-05-05T17:38:00.002-07:00

(click on screenshots for full-size)

Check out the cool ricochets off the surface of the water.

Trails from the bullets

Very cool paint schemes

Eagle Dynamics has done a great job paying attention to detail. Check out the firings out of the exhaust. What is also neat is the propeller pitch will change as you increase and decrease RPMs.

Most of my landing attempts have been disastrous failures. Trying to gently land and use smooth braking pressure has been a real challenge as you can see below.

Very cool Moonbeam Mcswine skin on the Mustang.

A bug I have noticed in DCS World. Apache helicopters will pair up for some reason and then shoot Hellfire missiles at the same time, and maneuver wingtip to wingtip.

DCS A-10C - Not everything looks great

2012-04-05T02:39:00.000-07:00

Not everything in DCS A-10C is as detailed as the Warthog.

The hangars are downright hideous for a game that was released over a year ago. It looks like something out of the original Doom game. It is embarrassing to look at, especially the inside. Also the grass is really boring and flat, however there is a mod to add more detail to the ground. The super detailed A-10 looks out of place with such bland background textures. Graphic settings are all on high in the below screenshots.

Heavy aircraft such as the B-52, B-1B, C-17, etc. are not very pretty to look at and really bland. For example, take a close look at the windows for the flight deck, the panels on the planes, and tail of the B-52.

Better detail on the Viking, such as the inside of the bomb-bay, the tail hook, and munitions.

This is what really irritates me. The engines, good lord do they look ugly as sin. They do not rotate like the A-10C, they are completely still. Also they look like they were rendered in the past decade, can we get a round engine instead of some blocks? The flight deck windows look just as nasty as the B-52s.

Engines are ugly as sin

The turbojets on the B-52 in DCS A-10C do not rotate, just like the Viking. They are completely still and lifeless. Panels are not as detailed as the Warthog, just some really simple lines that look like they were painted on with MS Paint.

I hope these planes are redone sometime in the future.

The award for the ugliest model in the DCS world goes to the TU-22M Backfire. Look how pathetic the pilot model is.

Look at the gun.

TU-95 is pretty damn ugly. Look at the engines, they look like cocoons. The guns at the tail are two black lines!

The engine of the KC-135 is a spinning circle, not individual blades found in the F-15E, A-10C, etc.

Coming across these kind of textures is a disappointment, when you see how greatly detailed the A-10C is. A similar game I can think of is Duke Nukem Forever where you have some items that are really done well, and then mixed with extremely ugly old textures. Is it right to compare these two games? Absolutely not, DCS A-10C is a wonderful game that I love. It is probably the most fun I've had in games for a very long time and it is my favorite simulator. The issue is when you are flying along, completely immersed in the game and you come across these textures and you say to yourself "Damn that is ugly".

These models are taken from the 1.1.1.1 patch.

Update: Zaino Leather conditioner and cleaner

2011-08-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

After six months of testing the first and only Zaino products I have ever bought, I have come to my conclusion. The Zaino Z-9 leather cleaner is really weak and underwhelming. For only a meager 8 oz. of cleaner at $8.95 you are better off going to the store and buying some over the counter leather cleaner. Z-9 did not remove any stains better than Lexol or some store bought Meguiars leather cleaner and they are a lot cheaper. The only pro that I can think of is the smell is not offensive. I feel like they put some dishwasher soap and some water in a bottle and labelled it Z-9. Don't be fooled about the perfect 5.0 rating on their website, of course it is going to get the highest score.

Zaino Z-10 leather conditioner is a little bit better. I like the cinnamon smell and it does an average job of making the leather supple. However, like most leather conditioners it just sits on top of the leather and doesn't really penetrate and make it soft like leatherique or leather masters leather conditioner. The downside of course is that Z-10 gets all over your clothes and you smell like it.

My conclusion, don't waste your money on these overpriced products. They are expensive and come in insultingly small containers compared to the competitors. The name Zaino can only carry a product so far, the results are what matter and Z-10, and Z-9 are average at best. If you want the same performance go to your local auto store and pick up some Lexol, Meguiars, or Mothers.On a final note, I believe Zaino and Duragloss are the same product only relabeled. So if you want Zaino for cheap, buy the Duragloss equivalents.

Properautocare.com closing!

2011-08-04T18:49:00.001-07:00

Properautocare.com is finally closing!

I am not surprised at all. In the past I have never received items and have had improper billing statements. In my opinion they were purposely not filling out orders in order to cut costs and try and raise profits. The last and final time I ordered they left out a couple of items. I called them, e-mailed them, and didn't get a reply back until three weeks later. They said they would ship it out and guess what? It never came.

I am glad they are closing because they are a shady company and consumers have gotten smart and shopped elsewhere. It they had done the right thing in the beginning I believe they wouldn't have gone out of business and I would have kept ordering from them.