After many, many hours of gaming with good friemds, I must put a glowing reference to the remake of Doom that has kept us going for so long.
Witness ZDaemon, a multiplayer client/server port of Doom, with capture-the-flag mods available. It includes features such as auto-WAD find/download, as well as an Internet game-finder.
Add cross-platform compatibility to the list of growing features, and you have an excellent combination of modern-era Doomage!
(Things sure have progressed since the days of SuperSer serial-cable networks...)
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Linux Gaming: Just Not There Yet
I'd like to think that I'm a relatively competent Linux geek. I can admit it by now. I even did my part to contribute and test out the forefront of Linux gaming, through a subscription to Transgaming, a company that specializes with a product that builds off the non-Windows-emulator WINE.
The verdict: we're not there yet. The final straw came for me when the much-advertised Half-Life 2 utterly failed to work out of the box as advertised. (Heck, they even came out with a special release of the software specifically for the game!
My opinion: emulation simply isn't going to work in the long run. We need games that run natively on Linux, period -- as sad as that makes me to write. I suppose my Windows partition can get dusted off to play the latest and greatest that I've gotten my hands on this season -- but from now on, my wallet is going to be voting for Linux-compatible games, such as Id's Doom 3.
The verdict: we're not there yet. The final straw came for me when the much-advertised Half-Life 2 utterly failed to work out of the box as advertised. (Heck, they even came out with a special release of the software specifically for the game!
My opinion: emulation simply isn't going to work in the long run. We need games that run natively on Linux, period -- as sad as that makes me to write. I suppose my Windows partition can get dusted off to play the latest and greatest that I've gotten my hands on this season -- but from now on, my wallet is going to be voting for Linux-compatible games, such as Id's Doom 3.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Note to Self: Buy Good Power Supplies
Fires can be fun, but not when they are from computers -- or when said computers are spewing smoke into your bedroom! I'm just glad I was around this evening right by the computer when it happened -- so as to catch it before it became much, much worse. After airing out the place, I performed an autopsy of my recently rebuilt gateway machine. Diagnosis: power supply melting down, vaporizing a plastic inductor sheath.
Let this be a lesson: buy high-quality power supplies for when you're rebuilding a computer from spare parts. Don't just use "that one I've got in my closet." That, and have a fire extinguisher on hand if you need it.
Is random stuff blowing up / catching on fire the curse of the graduate student? I don't mind it when it happens in the lab, but I do mind when it follows me home from work!
Let this be a lesson: buy high-quality power supplies for when you're rebuilding a computer from spare parts. Don't just use "that one I've got in my closet." That, and have a fire extinguisher on hand if you need it.
Is random stuff blowing up / catching on fire the curse of the graduate student? I don't mind it when it happens in the lab, but I do mind when it follows me home from work!
Monday, December 6, 2004
Retro Gaming + Assembly + Spare time = ...
I'm a big fan of the good old-fashioned 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. I enjoy the fun of playing the classics with a real Nintendo controller, as opposed to on emulators. That's why I built an interface to my computer to do just that.
However, I've been one-upped by many people who have taken further steps. People such as those who are writing the emulators we all enjoy. People such as those who are devoted hardware hackers.
I was so impressed by one of them that I had to give it a glowing review -- meet the Devtendo! Who wouldn't want to couple their PC to the NES through its controller port?
High on my wishlist is a programmable flash-ROM based NES cartridge... and it seems like people are working on it.
However, I've been one-upped by many people who have taken further steps. People such as those who are writing the emulators we all enjoy. People such as those who are devoted hardware hackers.
I was so impressed by one of them that I had to give it a glowing review -- meet the Devtendo! Who wouldn't want to couple their PC to the NES through its controller port?
High on my wishlist is a programmable flash-ROM based NES cartridge... and it seems like people are working on it.
Thursday, December 2, 2004
More Bush Science
Ok, even though we have a majority in the federal government that frowns upon sex in general, under any circumstances (except when it's for making babies, when it's less sinful), I'd at least expect Congress to support measures to reduce teen pregnancy and STD transmission.
Heck, morals aside, it can be seen as a pragmatic position! Teen pregnancy and STD's are bad things for the US.
That said, it seems like the radical right have been up to it again. I'm sick of seeing deliberate misinformation being propagated in textbooks designed for children -- especially ones who have been demonstrating that they desparately need simple facts that could save their lives!
Who would have thought that saying something like the following would be so controversial: "Condoms are not foolproof. Abstinence from _all_ sexual activity is the only 100% sure way to avoid pregnancy. But, condoms are proven to reduce the chances of pregnancy and STD transmission." Getting basic biology facts wrong at this point should be near criminal.
I suppose it's just the first of many examples to come in the next for years to blur religion, school, science, and politics in a move that gets Congress and the Administration short-term political gains at an untold cost to an entire generation of American children.
Heck, morals aside, it can be seen as a pragmatic position! Teen pregnancy and STD's are bad things for the US.
That said, it seems like the radical right have been up to it again. I'm sick of seeing deliberate misinformation being propagated in textbooks designed for children -- especially ones who have been demonstrating that they desparately need simple facts that could save their lives!
Who would have thought that saying something like the following would be so controversial: "Condoms are not foolproof. Abstinence from _all_ sexual activity is the only 100% sure way to avoid pregnancy. But, condoms are proven to reduce the chances of pregnancy and STD transmission." Getting basic biology facts wrong at this point should be near criminal.
I suppose it's just the first of many examples to come in the next for years to blur religion, school, science, and politics in a move that gets Congress and the Administration short-term political gains at an untold cost to an entire generation of American children.
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