Monday, September 29, 2008

Two-day Hiatus on Video Card Benchmark Tests

Spider-man.

A lot of work has come tumbling down on me so no go on video card benchmark tests for the next two days. Damn, if the video card benchmark tests of v177.92 are any indication, this new driver must be more than good. It's a shame really; I've already downloaded the Nvidia GeForce 178.13 and I can't do anything but stare at its installer icon.

I can swear the damn thing is grinning at me.


>>>Click here to read more...

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Nvidia GeForce 178.13 Video Card Benchmark Test...

Video Card Benchmark Test



... in 24 hours.

Gaah. Just when Nvidia releases a new WHQL, our company decides to hold a teambuilding get together. Gaar. The continuum is too small for two exciting events.

Gdamn, I'll have to put off another video card benchmark test for tomorrow.

When I get home... yummeh!


>>>Click here to read more...

Friday, September 26, 2008

K-lite Codec Pack Update?

DivX has just updated. I'm expecting a new version of the K-Lite Codec Pack in the next few days.


>>>Click here to read more...

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Xtreme-G 177.92 Video Card Benchmark Test

Video Card Benchmark Test


How do you improve an Nvidia driver that boasts of jaw-dropping image quality in gaming and in video card benchmark tests? Make a tweaked version of it!

I tested the Xtreme-G 177.92 and ohman! It's very rare when your wife and gaming friends take a look at your CRT monitor and quietly utter drawn out "waowwwwwwwwwwwww..."s. Even my cousin who owns a gaming cafe that sports 19-inch LCD monitors complained that my monitor churns out better images in gaming and video card benchmark tests.

What the eff did they do with F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate? For the same amount of performance, the graphics of this game sucks! Luckily Xtreme-G 177.92 saves it (and more). I wonder how my SWAT 4 and Tribes: Vengeance will look like with this driver. (*Evil grin*)


>>>Click here to read more...

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Nexuiz's Ingame Video Card Benchmark Test

Video Card Benchmark Test



(This is actually a little note for myself as I keep forgetting the command.)

Here's how to load Nexuiz's ingame video card benchmark test:

1. Launch the game.

2. Press SHIFT + ESC.

3. In the console that drops down, type "timedemo demos/demo1" without the quotes.


4. Press enter. At the end of the timedemo, the game will display its minimum, average, and maximum frames per second.


IMO, this is one of the best Quake 2-based freeware downloadable PC games.


>>>Click here to read more...

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Nvidia Video Card Benchmark Tests: Updated

Video Card Benchmark Test


I made some video card benchmark tests with the following Nvidia drivers:


Nvidia 175.19


Nvidia 177.40


Nvidia 177.92


The link HERE.


>>>Click here to read more...

Saturday, September 13, 2008

I Finished F.E.A.R. Extraction Point at Extreme Difficulty Without Using SloMo



F.E.A.R. Extraction Point



***WARNING: SPOILER SCREENSHOTS***











HAHAH!

I did it again with the expansion! F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is definitely more difficult than the first F.E.A.R. game but masochistic me finished the expansion without using bullet time at Extreme Difficulty no less! (Actually, I enjoyed the games this way; SloMo made them somewhat boring in several firefights.)







>>>Click here to read more...

Friday, September 12, 2008

I am Happy.

Rewind to the year 1995 and I was an Atenean high school student, desperately memorizing the last stanza of the Xavier Pledge. Students were slinking back into the safety of their classrooms like sea anemones to rocks at low tide. Word was spreading like wildfire: Fr. Ampil, for the next few weeks, will be walking imperiously around the campus, snatching students like so much ripe apples from an orchard and making them recite the Pledge. Anyone not being able to recite the damn thing by heart will be shot where he stood.

Those weeks were terrifying. The Gestapo treatment was so effective that now, 13 years later, I can still remember the last two lines:

"To give meaning to the lives of others.... .... and with that, I will have given meaning to my own."

Oddly enough, the lines grew on me. So much that at one time, I drew blood for my beliefs. My knuckles still has scars from that event. I am not proud of it but sometimes one needs to do something for other people to wake up.

I am proud however, when best friends say "you had a part in molding me." I am proud that my wife is not the same person she was when we first met, so adamant I am that she become a devourer of knowledge (lol!) like me.

I am also happy that I imparted something to someone. It is my hope that in the immediate future (Whoa! Oxymoron?!) , I'd see changes.

To that person, thank you for sharing, thank you for listening; you made me feel alive in a different way that brought back memories of bygone years. I'll never forget. I hope I did something meaningful for you too. Thanks.










"Shallow." Solanthar Ilitha'knos, the Hammer of Praetoria, stood on a hill, his metallic legions spread out behind him. "All they ever stood for, is to destroy and defile. No life, no meaning." Below, demons amassed, a gibbering wave of corruption that whispered promises of pleasure and suffering.

The wizard-king put on his battlecrown with his left hand. The right --- still wrapped with the colossal Gauntlet of Titan Strength --- gripped Shadowsmite.

"Kahailakk!" He spoke the word of summoning and a hundred archangels appeared overhead, their Gigablades humming.

"FOR THE LIGHT! AND FOR PRAETORIA!" He charged, his midnight blue armor and white cape shining in the midday sun. The army made up of celestial beings and gnome-made constructs speared headlong into the dark wall, disintegrating everything it touched...


>>>Click here to read more...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

"Falling in Love" is not Love



Trust me, this one isn't anything about PCs.



And so there I was, sitting across a table made out of bamboo, facing the girl of my dreams. We were beside the beach, the mid-afternoon sun lancing through the canopy of the kalachuchi that was sheltering us from its glare. The sunlight glinted off her dark brown eyes, a gentle breeze tussled her hair. Somewhere nearby, I could hear a radio playing the Corrs' "What Can I Do."

It wasn't a resort; we were in a dreamy, rustic subdivision. We were alone. My friends, who have --- as far as I cared --- melted away in the wind, saw to that.

She smiled, her lips bending in an Andrea Corr/Agot Isidro arch, and all that interplay of sunlight and shadow, all the leaves that fluttered past our faces in that magical mid-afternoon, paled. I could hear the yapping of puppies in the next house, the blaring of that cheap radio with its woeful speakers but they all got drowned out by that smile, those eyes.

I reached out for her hand, holding her gaze. She took it. I stood up, sat on the bench she was sitting on and drew her close to me. The wind blew again and that close, her hair framed my face, eclipsing the sunlight in a silky tangle that smelled of flowers. I closed my eyes, made a show of breathing it all in. She giggled demurely.

I drew her closer still.





And so that scenario repeated everyday for several weeks. It was magical; I was ecstatic. There I was with my childhood crush in a place that more than perfect. It was more than what I asked for.

Yet...

After several more days of this, I began to question myself: do we have things in common? (None) What were we talking about? (Sweet nothings) Do I really know her? (No. My barkada set the whole thing up.) Does she know me? (No city boy, she doesn't.)

The euphoria faded, the mysteries got solved, the allure diminished.

Fast forward several days more and the semester had just started. We were in the mall. And I was bored. I flipped over to page two, found nothing of interest. Flipped to Chapter 22, page 540; I found nothing of interest. I tried delving deeper and found bedrock.

I got confused. Where was all the mana? The sunlit patches of weeds sprouting out from that beach? The province was so far away that time, like fabled Eressea closed from prying mortal eyes. We were Beren and Luthien, human and elf, but without the attraction.

I had "fallen in love" for a person I didn't know and now that the initial magic has dissipated, there was nothing for the both of us.

She stood me up the next week.

I didn't show up the week after that.

Another week after that and I was back playing Magic: The Gathering at the now defunct Cyberpoint cafe with my friends. The Urza's Saga expansion had just launched and I completely forgot all about her.





Really, why is it that some people think they are in love when they have not acquainted themselves fully with the object of their affections? True, the first few hours/days/weeks (I don't effing care how long) are magical but after that, what then? Do you really know him? Have you even considered what he/she likes?

What if he spends his time reef snorkeling and you don't know how to swim and consider crustaceans as icky things? What if he reads the Dialogues of Plato and you favor noontime shows? What if she parties like there's no tomorrow and you are a homebody? What if she likes flashy cars and you consider them a threat to the environment?

What if you are a Zerg and she is a Protoss?

And then there are other factors. Are you of the same beliefs? Is he free? Will she be staying in the same region in the next three or so years?

I don't mean to sound so pessimistic but really, why take up extra baggage?

If you have a motorboat, why paddle?

"Falling in love" is not love; chemicals are just addling your brain. Weigh. Consider.

We all have our lapses, chinks in our armor. We are not perfect but running around desperately, your core being burned out by your sense of loneliness, entwining yourself with every person you take a fancy to, will only get you a truckload of jackasses instead of that diamond you so long to embrace.

It's ironic --- some of us adamantly insist that everything's fine and yell out "Carpe diem!" but show them something brighter, make them feel genuine warmth, or a yellow brick road that will lead them back home and then they go all mushy and reveal that perhaps, everything is not as fine as they want you to believe.





Just sharing my thoughts. Goddamn. Me imparting wisdom. I've grown even older! Tut.

Anyway, fix things. If it can't be fixed, start anew. Take things slow and you'll get there eventually.

Don't settle for anything fleeting; whirlwinds most of the time destroy.


>>>Click here to read more...

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

What Ever Happened to Halo the Movie?

Halo the Movie

What with the deluge of (oftentimes horrible) movie adaptations of popular PC games like Hitman, Doom, and Resident Evil, one often wonders what happened to the one that would have trounced them all from here to Timbuktu: Halo the movie. A movie adaptation of Microsoft's wildly-popular PC first-person shooter game would be awesome to say the least.

Halo has been, for me, the only game that has struck a perfect balance between plot and gameplay what with the jaw-dropping revelation at the last part, the (then) impressive AI, and the amount of freedom the developers gave to the player. The game also implies a deeper background than what was presented in the single-player campaign, giving players the feel of being involved in an intergalactic war. Certainly, the atmosphere was so involving and tangible that you can almost feel the Covenant elites' steamy breath everytime they bellow "Wort wort wort!" at you, the genocidal filth.

After all has been said and what with the clamor of a million gamers worldwide to see their favorite game on the silver screen, the question still remains: what happened to Halo the movie?

David Konow and Rob Wright of Tom's Games give us details on what went wrong with Halo the movie. The details: HERE.

Here are also some resources about the topic:

Halo The Movie


Halo Movie Chronicles




To be released 2009? We wish.


>>>Click here to read more...

Monday, September 8, 2008

What is Net Neutrality?


What is net neutrality?


I've heard about this issue for several months now but I never gave it much thought. Now however, I saw a post of Tyler Mulligan, a blogger who commented in my "Nexuiz 2.4 Screenshots" article, that has a video about what is Net Neutrality and ohman, you should read the resources below.

Rather than drone about the issue, I'll just post snippets from resource that you really should read.

This is in danger:

"Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet." - Google

"
This principle is the reason why your blog is as easily accessible as a video from TimeWarner. " - WhatisNetNeutrality.ca

Why?

"Today, the neutrality of the Internet is at stake as the broadband carriers want Congress's permission to determine what content gets to you first and fastest. Put simply, this would fundamentally alter the openness of the Internet. " - Google (same article)

The video:


>>>Click here to read more...

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Cute ICanHasCheezburger Pic

Aaaaw...


>>>Click here to read more...

Gamespot's - F.E.A.R. Project Origin Preview

F.E.A.R. Project Origin Preview


Gamespot has released a F.E.A.R. Project Origin preview and while I am excited about this sequel to one of the best PC first-person shooter games I've played, the sequel's color scheme has so far failed to impress me.

It is strange though, the screenshots in Gamespot's F.E.A.R. Project Origin preview display saturated colors while the color palette of the gameplay video is realistic. Odd.


The bullet ricochet sound from the first F.E.A.R. game is back. :D

One thing that bothers me is that the F.E.A.R. Project Origin preview reveals that Alma will rapidly age in the game. What?! No more apparitions of a sexy, skyclad female?

These really spoiled the game for me:

And I thought she was supposed to be emaciated?

I didn't know the "less is more" approach to horror games and movies could be applied to clothing. After this sighting, I didn't get scared anymore (and played F.E.A.R. more frequently...)

No, that's not Manson.

And oh, I finished the first F.E.A.R. game without using SloMo (bullet time) at Extreme Difficulty:

Ghostbusters skillz --- I has them.

1 point of damage lolz!


>>>Click here to read more...

Friday, September 5, 2008

Malware alert: MS Antivirus

Getting rid of MS Antivirus

A cousin of mine asked yesterday how he should go about doing the above. Why was he asking this?

It's malware.

This is probably the fourth time I heard of malware disguising as anti-malware. Getting rid of MS Antivirus should be a priority as it generates warnings that your computer has been "infected" with several computer viruses and that you should register (pay for) the product in order to successfully "remove" them.

Think of it as a deranged psychologist who, in order to get rid of your imaginary friends, prescribes an imaginary pill.

What is alarming is that the thing is popping up in Google AdWords. PC Mag covers this in greater detail.

Nth lesson in life: only download and use software from trusted sites. Getting rid of MS antivirus can be a hassle since I heard it can't be removed by AVG (I have yet to confirm what version of AVG; a lot of people still use ol' 7.5).

I made an article about the best free antivirus programs I use. The links found there lead to trusted sites.


>>>Click here to read more...

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Gamespot's Spore Review


Spore review


Gamespot has just released a Spore review. Spore, the highly anticipated massively single-player online game from developer Maxis, lets players create a spacefaring civilization from scratch. And from scratch I mean unicellular organisms.

The game actually lets players take control of a microbe, guiding and protecting it until it evolves into a sentient being. Gamespot's Spore review reveals (to people who didn't follow its development --- case in point: me) that the creatures that will be encountered in the game world by the player's microbes will be in fact, creations of other players around the world.

Talk about good replay value!

(Disclaimer: The picture is not mine. It has been posted here for the purposes of promoting the game.)


>>>Click here to read more...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Intel's Upcoming Core i7 can Overclock Itself

This might be old news for hardcore hardware geeks, but to some who do not follow tech news on a weekly/daily basis, Intel's upcoming "Nehalem" CPUs can overclock themselves.

I made an article about that in a community blog. It can be found HERE. (Nothing very informative about it though, just a way of spreading the news to some of my friends who are ordinary non-gamers who aren't click-happy. :D)


>>>Click here to read more...