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November 2001

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

CycleFX Exerciser/Video Game Controller Cage @ 12:58 Comments

Well here's something that (might) help you burn some calories and get in shape while playing your favorite Play Station/PS2 game.

CycleFX's Gamerider lets you really get inside the game. Gamerider is an exercise bike that hooks up to a Sony Playstation or PS2. Currently it supports over 40 PS1/PS2 games. Here's a pic of what the Gamerider looks like in action.

Monday, November 26, 2001

Back in Town Cage @ 23:18 Comments

Whew! I'm back in town after a great time up in Idaho. We drove back non-stop from Nampa to B-Town today, so I'm more then a little bit tired. It's off to bed for me!

If all goes well, I'll post up some impressions tomorrow night of the Simped Vario rudder pedals I just received - as well as some other goodies.

Friday, November 23, 2001

Solarism LM1503 15" LCD Monitor Nine11 @ 8:42 Comments

Finally, a LCD worthy of a true game rig. It's quick, bright, and pretty damn trick! Too bad it's hard to get a hold of and will set you back about $650.

Tuesday, November 20, 2001

Gettin' School'd Nine11 @ 8:45 Comments

In the real world, I have a job which has nothing to do with computers (gasp). I've tried to change that a few times, but various projects haven't panned out well enough for me to quit my day job which is actually a pretty good gig. Anyway, there's this National Board which dictates how everything is run, and they're changing the rules. No big deal, I'll get grandfathered in on my current license; however, if I advance to the next license after June 2002, I'll get locked into this thing called the Continuing Competency Program. It's about as fun as it sounds, trust me.

Anyway, I gotta take a class and challenge the National Board for the next license before this June. It's not life and death, but it'll make my life much easier and I'll get a 5% raise from my employer. The end result is I'll have less time to spend on CW and playing games, but I'll still be around and chipping in when I have time. My little hiatus will also give my carpal tunnel a chance to heal... damn that Diablo II Expansion!

Simped Rudder Pedals Arrive! Cage @ 5:09 Comments

Joy, oh joy, oh joy!

My brand new Simped Vario rudder pedals have arrived.

I'm just getting ready to take my family up to Idaho to see my mom over Thanksgiving, so a review will have to wait until I get back.

*If* the pedals work as advertised you should see much more sim coverage here at Cagesworld in the future.

Saturday, November 17, 2001

Reaction Reactions Nine11 @ 20:24 Comments

I had a chance to boot up the Q3A mod Reaction. Honestly, I had pretty high expectations since I had spent so much time with it's little bro, Action Quake II, and Urban Terror. Reaction has a different feel but the mechanics are the same. Start out with a pistol and pick up weapons and equipment as you go. It's a little rough around the edges, but that's to be expected for a beta; however, Reaction doesn't have that lightning in a bottle feel of the original and of UT. Some of the maps are pretty damn fugly, and it's difficult to hit anything even at point-blank range. I don't think I'll be spending any more time playing Reaction, but at least I gave it a try.

Friday, November 16, 2001

Reaction Quake 3 Released! Nine11 @ 19:43 Comments

The Quake 3 mod, Reaction, has been released! This is a pretty big deal to anyone who was hooked on Action Quake II back in the day. I should be able to rack up some quality time with the mod and post some impressions this weekend. The download weighs in at 67MB, so grease that fat pipe for some digital love... or something like that.

Shopping At Diablo*Mart Nine11 @ 19:31 Comments

I found this amusing little ditty over at Quarter To Three. Apparently, Diablo is actually a shopping simulation. Pretty amusing stuff written from a father's perspective.

RTCW Impressions Cage @ 8:50 Comments

I've had a chance to play around with RTCW a bit, and I'm starting to reverse my thoughts on it being the "next big thing." Serious play balance problems, agonizing spawn times, geometry collision oddities, and a lackluster interface make it far less fun then almost any other shooter that's available right now. In fact, if you want a good "real world" shooter, you are far better off with a mod like Urban Terror.

I'm sure RTCW will do ok, but there are some reasons for concern with longevity. Another very interesting looking shooter, C&C Renegade is due out soon. Plus, the number of servers and players is a on the low side if you go by either GameSpy Arcade, or the in-game RTCW Internet browser.

A few sessions with RTCW, and you can see why games like Civ III and Empire Earth should mop the floor with RTCW in total sales. The previously mentioned problems, and the poor initial map that comes with the demo might turn quite a few potential buyers off. Couple that with the release of two new game consoles, and RTCW might have a very tough time making sales targets.

Personally, I think I'll pass. I've already picked up Civ III and Empire Earth. Civ III definitely looks like a winner from the short time I've played with it. Right now it doesn't look likely that RTCW will be all that fun. After all is said and done, isn't that what it's all about?

Deadlands Nine11 @ 8:44 Comments

Must.... not... cut... and... paste. Aw, heck. The preview is so short, typing this thing out would take about as much space. What I can tell ya is Deadlands looks interesting (I don't even dig serious RPGs) and we'll probably be hearing more about it over the next year or two.

Deadlands is set in an alternative past in 1877 during the American Civil War. In 1868, a huge earthquake shook California and uncovered a strange superfuel known as ghost rock. Afterwards a group of mysterious supernatural beings begin to terrorize the West. Players will assume the role of one of a variety of different characters, and they must try to stop the evil forces that are spreading through the land. The game is set in an unusual boomtown environment where mad scientists are building crazy new contraptions powered by the new ghost rock fuel. It will include action elements and will be played from both first- and third-person perspectives. The game will use a modified version of the game engine being used in Headfirst's upcoming Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.

Radeon 8500 (will) Kick Bootay! Nine11 @ 8:32 Comments

Anandtech got some pre-beta drivers from ATI for their Radeon 8500 pixel pusher. The 8500 has been slammed a little because of ATI's typically flaky-buggy-poor drivers, but the new ones are giving the 8500 a serious kick. The GF3 Ti500 was forced into submission as the 8500 jumped on top of every benchmark 'cept for some with AA on... and real men don't use AA anyway, so that's moot. The drivers were still buggy, but they'll be available in a few weeks for anyone who's willing to take the plunge.

Thursday, November 15, 2001

RTCW Gold?! Nine11 @ 9:32 Comments

Stomped is reporting Return to Castle Wolfensetein has gone gold and will show up in stores on the 20th. Good thing I still have a can of Super-Strength Kraut Whoop Ass left!

Tuesday, November 13, 2001

Billy Wilson Back with New Website Cage @ 12:13 Comments

Billy "Wicked" Wilson of Voodoo Extreme fame is back with a new web site. Gaming Groove went live yesterday, and is already filling up with all sorts of gaming news, with the same irreverant Billy style. The site is still getting tweaked, but most things seem to work for now.

Simped VARIO Rudder Pedals Cage @ 12:07 Comments

Well things are starting to look up for me. The Simped VARIO Rudder Pedals that I ordered are reportedly on their way!

As some of you might recall, I've often ranted in the past about the unavailability of rudder pedals that will work with a Microsoft Force Feedback joystick. The Simped Vario rudder pedals are made in Germany by a gent who has figured out how to make them work with the MS FF stick. There are several old reviews available around the 'Net, which have led me to believe that they will work just fine with all of my favorite sims. Here's keeping my fingers crossed that the pedals arrive soon, and live up to my expectations.

LAN Parteeee! Cage @ 11:58 Comments

Well once again we had a big LAN shindig here at my place last night. There was pizza, soda, and plenty of gaming goodness.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein finally submitted, and we were all able to play on the same server for a change over my shared RoadRunner connection. RTCW still suffers from a couple of interface irritations, the biggest one being team selection. RTCW will bounce you back to "observer" status if there are "too many on the Allied side." It can be tough to figure out at first what happened, and why you can't play the game.

A couple of other niggling problems with RTCW:

The one map included with the RTCW "Test 2" feels cramped.
If someone is standing in a doorway you can't squeeze around them. This leads to a virtual death trap when the Allied soldiers are trying to advance, and someone stops at a critical choke point.
Good servers with low pings and high performance are hard to come by. The good ones fill up early, and don't have that many slots available to begin with. I tell you, I'd pay $10/month just to be able to play my favorite games on a moderated/admin'd server with plenty of players - and an absence of "l33t hacker dudes."

We then moved on to some Tribes 2, and finished off with a 4v4 Age of Conquerors cooperative game versus the computer. It was quite fun to watch the hordes roll across the map. Good fun was had by all, though Quigg will have to pay for it today. He was the only one who had to work today. Heheheheh.

New Look? Cage @ 11:41 Comments

I'm not sure how it came about, but I decided to "simplify" the look of the front page. I really liked how the forums design turned out, so I thought I'd take a step towards unifying the site design. I'll try it out for a bit, and see if it's a keeper.

Sunday, November 11, 2001

DirectX 8.1 Nine11 @ 8:34 Comments

MS has DirectX 8.1 available for download, and it weighs in at 12.1MB. The MS servers are really speedy this morning, and the download should take less than a minute on a cable or DSL connection.

Saturday, November 10, 2001

(flight)Stick It To Ya! Nine11 @ 8:48 Comments

Here's something you don't see much of anymore. Tom's Hardware has a nifty roundup of flight sticks and throttles for all you wingnuts out there. The list includes all the big boys and a OS compatibility list for Win9X, Win2K, and WinXP. The Saitek Cyborg 3D Gold failed the OS test, but not much love is lost there since it's a pretty gay stick. I personally wrapped "Rosy" around it and felt a little empty after the experience.

Friday, November 9, 2001

Voodoo Extreme Temp Link Cage @ 7:47 Comments

Just a reminder, Voodoo Extreme is finally off the UGO servers. Until the DNS updates occur and point you to the correct web site you might want to try the alternate link for VE - www.VE3D.com.

Thursday, November 8, 2001

The Killer Bean II Nine11 @ 19:13 Comments

I stumbled across The Killer Bean II which is an excellent (and twisted) piece of CG animation by Jeffrey Lew. He's accumulated a slew of awards for his work which has a dash of James Bond, The Matrix, plenty of humor, and some beans (pull my finger!). The original Killer Bean is kinda rough, but The Killer Bean II is top-notch stuff. Make sure you've got the DIVX codec installed for the 33MB download.

Wednesday, November 7, 2001

IL-2 Sturmovik Is Golden Nine11 @ 8:47 Comments

According to G-spot, Maddox Game's WWII flight combat sim, IL-2 Sturmovik, has gone gold and will crash-land on store shelves in a couple of weeks. If you haven't seen it yet, G-spot has various downloads and streams of in-game footage. Oddly enough, the IL-2 was quite the tank-buster but the flick only sports air combat... weird.

Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Sloppy Mofos... Er... Mobos Nine11 @ 8:34 Comments

Cage sent a link for Overclockers.com review of the Shuttle AK31 mobo. Their review gets more thouchy-feely with the AK31 and dabbles with how it handles real world situations like installation, BIOS setup, overclocking, and the like. Honestly, it's a damn good review and sheds some light on how sloppy some pedigree mobos can be.

"Sloppiness" begs the question of which is a better platform, Intel or AMD. Intel's i845 chipset has been referred to as the new "BX", and I haven't had a setup as solid as my old OC'd Celeron and Abit BH6 for quite a while. I know AMD has the price/performance edge, but I'm wondering if Intel would be a better bet for anyone who wants a few less BSODs. I won't be upgrading till after the holidays, but I'll probably take a good look at what Intel has to offer before selling my soul to AMD.

Monday, November 5, 2001

Return To Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer Test 2 Nine11 @ 8:49 Comments

There's a new multiplayer test for Return To Castle Wolfenstein. It sports the same "Normandy" map but has been tweaked a little and squashed some bugs. Nothing that's a big deal, but you'll need the most recent version if ya wanna get your frag on. Check the mirrors at Blue's News.

Athlon XP Creeps Forward Nine11 @ 8:36 Comments

After looking at some reviews and comparisons for the Athlon XP 1900+ and earlier processors, it's pretty clear AMD is still having issues with heat and is in serious need of a die shrink or new architecture for their flagship CPU. Let's face it, 70MHz or less separates each part in the XP line and that's just silly with today's technology. AMD can rename their parts with the equivalent Intel performance rating (that + thingie), but they're not fooling me. Here's a snapshot of the XP line:

"Baby steps" would be appropriate when describing the jumps in speed between each processor. AMD parts are notoriously hot, and you could probably fry an egg on one. Adding insult to injury, Intel will still carry the torch for speed and claim the major market share as long as they can keep 600MHz ahead of AMD despite benchmarks which suggest they've lost their edge.

In the end, it's all good. AMD will hit 0.13m sooner or later, and a 70MHz overclock is a no-brainer for a little kick in AMD processor speed. Just make sure you've got a good heatsink and fan that work, or keep some eggs on hand. I'll take mine scrambled.

Friday, November 2, 2001

Logitech Z-560 Gaming Speakers Nine11 @ 20:24 Comments

I haven't been gettin' too excited about computer speakers lately, but Gamespot took a peek at the Logitech z-560 4.1 THX speakers which seem to fill the void between the haves and the have nots. The z-560 speakers have four full-range drivers, 8" subwoofer, and 400W of power. While a separate tweeter and midrange drivers would've been a better choice for the sats, they seem to sound good enough while the sub really pounds out the low tones. The control pod lacks visual cues for volume settings, but you should rely on your ears and not your eyes when tweaking tunes. Overall, the z-560 speakers look like a pretty good value with street prices around $155.