So I spent the entire afternoon playing Crysis.

My God... it's... breathtaking! O_O

I literally cannot believe my PC is actually rendering this stuff in 
realtime! It's kinda laggy - and oddly this doesn't appear to change if 
I turn the graphics settings up or down, so I'm guessing the CPU is the 
bottleneck. (They recommend a faster CPU than what I have.)

FarCry was a pretty amazing game, although it clearly was a "game". Even 
with all settings to maximum, it was clearly a computer-generated 
environment with lots of crafty use of polygons and texturing.

Crysis is the same, except... woooooaaaaahh! Hell, I've seen people try 
to make grass look this good with POV-Ray and not really succeed. Damn. 
This stuff is *mental*! O_O

Now, if I could just figure out how to play the game... ;-)

Seriously, I'm loving the funky suits we all get to wear. Whoever 
designed that thing... awesome! And I figured out that there's several 
different modes to it, and I'm slowly discovering what all the HUD 
elements mean. But I'm still puzzled as to how to survive the game.

All the weapons I have seem completely ineffective. Every time I meet an 
enemy, I get cut to pieces before I can do any real damage. The weapons 
just don't seem to work from more than point-blank range. I did try 
using the cloak mode to get close, but you can only walk about 10 paces 
before the cloak runs out.

I have, however, discovered that sometimes the simplest way to get past 
the enemy is to just run. Speed mode seems to do that quite well.

As yet, I have no idea what on earth strength mode might be useful 
for... ;-)

PS. I also love the way that all the weapons you can pick up look 
*completely identical*, so you can't tell them apart. That's really helpful.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> So I spent the entire afternoon playing Crysis.

I can't figure out why Valve would remove the demos from their download site 
once the real game comes out. I might like to try Crysis, but I'm not going 
to buy it without ever having tried playing it.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

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I just pressed the "view credits" button. BIG MISTAKE!

Jesus, I thought I'd be an old man by the time that lot finished 
rolling! I mean, they didn't just list the names of the people who 
programmed the game, they listed the names of *every* PR person in every 
country where the game is sold! O_O

Also... so this is a game about a bunch of Americans running around 
killing North Koreans? And... it's also on sale... in Korea??

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:55:49 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> I just pressed the "view credits" button. BIG MISTAKE!
> 
> Jesus, I thought I'd be an old man by the time that lot finished
> rolling! I mean, they didn't just list the names of the people who
> programmed the game, they listed the names of *every* PR person in every
> country where the game is sold! O_O
> 
> Also... so this is a game about a bunch of Americans running around
> killing North Koreans? And... it's also on sale... in Korea??

South Korea is not an export-controlled country.  North Korea is. ;-)

Jim

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"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message 
news:498b3674$1@news.povray.org...

>
> Seriously, I'm loving the funky suits we all get to wear. Whoever designed 
> that thing... awesome! And I figured out that there's several different 
> modes to it, and I'm slowly discovering what all the HUD elements mean. 
> But I'm still puzzled as to how to survive the game.

    Well, your suit is the key. As you go through the game you'll find a 
need for all elements of that suit.


>
> All the weapons I have seem completely ineffective. Every time I meet an 
> enemy, I get cut to pieces before I can do any real damage. The weapons 
> just don't seem to work from more than point-blank range.

     Using the FY71 with a scope and silencer is probably the best general 
weapon to have. Don't forget that you can pick up weapons from dead enemies, 
so always keep your eye on what they were using because if you find one that 
has all accessories, you'll also get things like the 'sleep dart', (press 
'x' to rotate through them, and press 'c' or middle mouse button to select).


I did try
> using the cloak mode to get close, but you can only walk about 10 paces 
> before the cloak runs out.

    Yeah, you'll get used to that but generally, when in cloak mode, don't 
run and try to stay as still as you can until you decide how you're going to 
tackle the next problem.


>
> I have, however, discovered that sometimes the simplest way to get past 
> the enemy is to just run. Speed mode seems to do that quite well.

   Speed mode is great. :) Try running and jumping at a rock in speed mode. 
WEEEEEE! ;)


>
> As yet, I have no idea what on earth strength mode might be useful for... 
> ;-)

    Have you grabbed an NK yet? Hit 'f' when it says 'grab', switch to 
strength mode and punch him (or throw him)! Punch the cabins, punch 
everything. Jump up rocks, jump up ladders, jump over your enemies and 
whilst in mid-air, switch to cloak, turn around and kill 'em all! :)


>
> PS. I also love the way that all the weapons you can pick up look 
> *completely identical*, so you can't tell them apart. That's really 
> helpful.

    Huh? Which ones?

    So what's your FPS? Bring the console down in-game, and type: 
r_displayinfo 1

     ~Steve~


>
> -- 
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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>> Also... so this is a game about a bunch of Americans running around
>> killing North Koreans? And... it's also on sale... in Korea??
> 
> South Korea is not an export-controlled country.  North Korea is. ;-)

Yeah, but...

OK, let me put it this way. If there was a game about North Koreans 
killing US troops, how popular do you think that game would be in the US??

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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>> Seriously, I'm loving the funky suits we all get to wear. Whoever designed 
>> that thing... awesome! And I figured out that there's several different 
>> modes to it, and I'm slowly discovering what all the HUD elements mean. 
>> But I'm still puzzled as to how to survive the game.
> 
>     Well, your suit is the key. As you go through the game you'll find a 
> need for all elements of that suit.

The only really useful elements I've discovered so far are speed (so you 
can skip the boring bits - or just run away once you've been spotted) 
and stealth. Turn on stealth, walk 10 paces, hide, turn off stealth, 
wait, turn on stealth, walk 10 paces, hide, turn off stealth, wait, turn 
on stealth, walk 10 paces.... it gets repetative very quickly.

(Also, I've discovered that people apparently can still kinda see you if 
you're moving. Fortunately, stealth lasts almost forever if you stand 
still. Not sure what happens if somebody actually walks into you...)

The binoculars seem surprisingly unhelpful, and it's generally extremely 
hard to tell if there's anything hostile around. Which means you 
basically play the whole game covering ground using the 
stealth-walk-wait routine.

>> All the weapons I have seem completely ineffective. Every time I meet an 
>> enemy, I get cut to pieces before I can do any real damage. The weapons 
>> just don't seem to work from more than point-blank range.
> 
>      Using the FY71 with a scope and silencer is probably the best general 
> weapon to have. Don't forget that you can pick up weapons from dead enemies, 
> so always keep your eye on what they were using because if you find one that 
> has all accessories, you'll also get things like the 'sleep dart', (press 
> 'x' to rotate through them, and press 'c' or middle mouse button to select).

Love the way all the weapons have names like FY71. How memorable.

Anyway, I discovered the multiple firing modes, but I have yet to figure 
out what any of them do. I have at least figured out how to turn off 
iron sights and get a propper sight that you can actually use to hit 
things. That made the game significantly easier.

You'd think with infinite armour and health, the game would be quite 
simple. But I've already died several times. (Especially when trying to 
figure out how to take down a tank using only an SMG...)

As for "pick up the guns the bad buys have", that's what you do in 
FarCry. Unfortunately, in Crysis everybody seems to be armed either with 
pistols or shotguns, neither of which are very useful.

>    Speed mode is great. :) Try running and jumping at a rock in speed mode. 
> WEEEEEE! ;)

I must admit, I haven't tried jumping in speed mode yet.

>> As yet, I have no idea what on earth strength mode might be useful for... 
>> ;-)
> 
>     Have you grabbed an NK yet?

Er, no. Because if I got that close to one, I'd already be *dead* :-P

> Hit 'f' when it says 'grab', switch to 
> strength mode and punch him (or throw him)!

Well, that's what happens in the video. (The 20-minute video that plays 
every time you launch the game and doesn't appear to be skippable... 
including the 16 sponsors of the game and the retarded "online 
experience is not rated" message. Let me guess, it also contains nuts, 
right?) But it turns out *most* of the stuff in the video can't be done 
in the real game.

> Punch the cabins, punch everything.

Won't that just result in injury?

> Jump up rocks, jump up ladders

Haven't seen any ladders yet. I have, however, seen a really freakin big 
flying monster, BTW...

> jump over your enemies and 
> whilst in mid-air, switch to cloak, turn around and kill 'em all! :)

Yes. Because you can get that close without dying. And, during the 0.5 
second flight time, you will be able to execute the 5-second "change 
suit mode" procedure. Not to mention that the guy's buddies will all be 
shooting at where they last saw you.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just, you know, shoot the guy in the face if 
you're that close? One shot and you can hardly miss...

>> PS. I also love the way that all the weapons you can pick up look 
>> *completely identical*, so you can't tell them apart. That's really 
>> helpful.
> 
>     Huh? Which ones?

Well, there's a pistol - which looks like a pistol. And then there are 
several shotguns and machine guns, which all look... like a long black 
weapony thing. One of them is a shotgun (so it fires slowly, reloads 
even slower, needs reloading constantly, and has no ammo anywhere). Of 
the remainder, one of them fires accurately, one of them fires 
inaccurately, one of them is loud, one of them is quite quiet, one of 
them takes hours to reload, one of them takes a clip with 31 bullets, 
one of them takes a clip with 41 bullets... and I have no idea which is 
which!

>     So what's your FPS? Bring the console down in-game, and type: 
> r_displayinfo 1

Depends. I've turned all the graphics settings up to "high", and 
antialiasing to 8x, and it's playable. With AA set to 16xQ, it became a 
little bit too laggy. Even with all details set to "low" the game lags a 
little, so I think it's the CPU load that's the problem, since the 
graphics settings don't make a huge difference either way (until you get 
*very* high up). The motion blur lags noticably, and the characters 
don't quite lipsync properly.

(BTW... The characters look friggin *amazing*! And turning the graphics 
up to "high" really does make the game look even more awesome...)

I'll let you know about the framerate. Which key is it to access the 
console?

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Ah yes, as with so many games, I have now reached an impass. :-}

Maybe I'll just reply it from the beginning...

(Also, today the game is jittery and keeps locking up. Weird!)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message 
news:498c31e4@news.povray.org...

> The only really useful elements I've discovered so far are speed (so you 
> can skip the boring bits - or just run away once you've been spotted) and 
> stealth. Turn on stealth, walk 10 paces, hide, turn off stealth, wait, 
> turn on stealth, walk 10 paces, hide, turn off stealth, wait, turn on 
> stealth, walk 10 paces.... it gets repetative very quickly.

     Heh, well it will get repetitive if you play like that. :)



>
> (Also, I've discovered that people apparently can still kinda see you if 
> you're moving. Fortunately, stealth lasts almost forever if you stand 
> still. Not sure what happens if somebody actually walks into you...)

      They will detect you when close and will start firing at you. The 
thing to do (if you have enough charge left) is to move fairly quickly, and 
away from them. They then 'lose' you again.


>
> The binoculars seem surprisingly unhelpful, and it's generally extremely 
> hard to tell if there's anything hostile around.

   No, they're quite good, if you get it right, the noc's will highlight an 
enemy in a building.


> Love the way all the weapons have names like FY71. How memorable.

   That's my favourite weapon, it will become your friend. (Well, until you 
find the Gauss that is...)  O.O


>
> Anyway, I discovered the multiple firing modes, but I have yet to figure 
> out what any of them do.

  Oh, well, let's see now. You'll have the 'sleep dart' - which puts enemies 
to sleep for a while, and then there's the grenade launcher attachment, 
(very handy against small vehicles, groups of enemies), and then you have 
the incendiary bullets for the FY71 which apparently hit with a bit more 
punch and catch things alight, (which I've never used).



I have at least figured out how to turn off
> iron sights and get a propper sight that you can actually use to hit 
> things. That made the game significantly easier.
>
> You'd think with infinite armour and health, the game would be quite 
> simple. But I've already died several times. (Especially when trying to 
> figure out how to take down a tank using only an SMG...)
>
> As for "pick up the guns the bad buys have", that's what you do in FarCry. 
> Unfortunately, in Crysis everybody seems to be armed either with pistols 
> or shotguns, neither of which are very useful.

    Yeah, you'll have to look for one. If it's a big group of enemies, then 
there's usually one with something different - it might be a SCAR with a 
better scope. Or when you're in a village, there's usually a better weapon 
hidden in some back room, or out on the porch. Just look around basically. 
;)


>
>>    Speed mode is great. :) Try running and jumping at a rock in speed 
>> mode. WEEEEEE! ;)
>
> I must admit, I haven't tried jumping in speed mode yet.

    And switch to other powers when doing it. :)



>
>>> As yet, I have no idea what on earth strength mode might be useful 
>>> for... ;-)
>>
>>     Have you grabbed an NK yet?
>
> Er, no. Because if I got that close to one, I'd already be *dead* :-P

    Oh, you can, just speed up to the guy with no weapons in hand and hit 
'f', you don't have to have the 'grab' text showing. Then whilst holding 
him, change to strength mode and throw him in the air! Lol...


>
>> Hit 'f' when it says 'grab', switch to strength mode and punch him (or 
>> throw him)!
>
> Well, that's what happens in the video. (The 20-minute video that plays 
> every time you launch the game and doesn't appear to be skippable... 
> including the 16 sponsors of the game and the retarded "online experience 
> is not rated" message. Let me guess, it also contains nuts, right?)

     After the first logo, just tap the space bar continuously until the 
main game HUD comes up. This also skips the vid.



But it turns out *most* of the stuff in the video can't be done
> in the real game.
>
>> Punch the cabins, punch everything.
>
> Won't that just result in injury?

   Not a lot, but it's fun smashing their poor ickle homes with just a 
coupla punches..  :)


>
>> Jump up rocks, jump up ladders
>
> Haven't seen any ladders yet. I have, however, seen a really freakin big 
> flying monster, BTW...

   Ooooo... They're comin' to GET YA!

    Ladders, steps, yeah, there's loads of them.




>
>> jump over your enemies and whilst in mid-air, switch to cloak, turn 
>> around and kill 'em all! :)
>
> Yes. Because you can get that close without dying. And, during the 0.5 
> second flight time, you will be able to execute the 5-second "change suit 
> mode" procedure. Not to mention that the guy's buddies will all be 
> shooting at where they last saw you.

      Are you using the middle mouse button to change suit modes? You should 
as it's much faster. You just click and move your mouse in the direction of 
where the suit mode is on the Hud. So if you want cloak, then click and move 
the mouse back towards you and east to west diagonally until the suit mode 
hilights. Release button and repeat often.


>
> Wouldn't it be simpler to just, you know, shoot the guy in the face if 
> you're that close? One shot and you can hardly miss...
>
>>> PS. I also love the way that all the weapons you can pick up look 
>>> *completely identical*, so you can't tell them apart. That's really 
>>> helpful.
>>
>>     Huh? Which ones?
>
> Well, there's a pistol - which looks like a pistol. And then there are 
> several shotguns and machine guns, which all look... like a long black 
> weapony thing. One of them is a shotgun (so it fires slowly, reloads even 
> slower, needs reloading constantly, and has no ammo anywhere). Of the 
> remainder, one of them fires accurately, one of them fires inaccurately, 
> one of them is loud, one of them is quite quiet, one of them takes hours 
> to reload, one of them takes a clip with 31 bullets, one of them takes a 
> clip with 41 bullets... and I have no idea which is which!

 Ah, you'll get used to it.  :)

   Here's a tip: Go into strength mode when using your scopes and about to 
fire, it holds the rifle steadier for a better aim.




> (BTW... The characters look friggin *amazing*! And turning the graphics up 
> to "high" really does make the game look even more awesome...)

     <green>


>
> I'll let you know about the framerate. Which key is it to access the 
> console?

      Left of the 1 key.

       Here's a whole list of console commands:

       http://www.incrysis.com/images/stories/mocib/crysis_console_commands.txt


       ~Steve~



>
> -- 
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message 
news:498c432d$1@news.povray.org...
> Ah yes, as with so many games, I have now reached an impass. :-}

      Which part?

>
> Maybe I'll just reply it from the beginning...
>
> (Also, today the game is jittery and keeps locking up. Weird!)

      No idea. :)

      ~Steve~


>
> -- 
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> OK, let me put it this way. If there was a game about North Koreans 
> killing US troops, how popular do you think that game would be in the US??

  With some Americans I think it would be really popular.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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>> The only really useful elements I've discovered so far are speed (so you 
>> can skip the boring bits - or just run away once you've been spotted) and 
>> stealth. Turn on stealth, walk 10 paces, hide, turn off stealth, wait, 
>> turn on stealth, walk 10 paces, hide, turn off stealth, wait, turn on 
>> stealth, walk 10 paces.... it gets repetative very quickly.
> 
>      Heh, well it will get repetitive if you play like that. :)

Well, I don't see how else you can play it, really. You're weapons do 
little to no damage to the enemy, and you're wildly outnumbered. As soon 
as somebody spots you, you've got about 20 seconds to get the **** away 
from there, or be surrounded by 25 people in a circle all shooting you.

If somebody spots you, even killing them (assuming you manage to) won't 
prevent backup rushing to their aid. About the only time you can do it 
is if there's just (say) 3 people in the middle of nowhere. Creep up as 
close as you can, kill them all as rapidly as possible, you might not die.

(Seriously... I would have through an SMG to the face from 6 feet would 
be pretty fatal. But apparently not. It just makes them fall over. Nice 
trick for making you think they're dead when they're not though...)

Given how hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned you are, stealth seems 
the only feasible tactic. It's getting harder and harder though; how do 
you stealth across a 60-foot rope bridge? Stealth doesn't last 60 feet!

>> (Also, I've discovered that people apparently can still kinda see you if 
>> you're moving. Fortunately, stealth lasts almost forever if you stand 
>> still. Not sure what happens if somebody actually walks into you...)
> 
>       They will detect you when close and will start firing at you. The 
> thing to do (if you have enough charge left) is to move fairly quickly, and 
> away from them. They then 'lose' you again.

Yeah, I figured. Occasionally if you're in the middle of a firefight, 
just cloaking is enough to make them leave you alone. Although usually 
you don't have enough power to do that...

>> The binoculars seem surprisingly unhelpful, and it's generally extremely 
>> hard to tell if there's anything hostile around.
> 
>    No, they're quite good, if you get it right, the noc's will highlight an 
> enemy in a building.

Hmm. Mine don't hilight anything. Except the LZ you're trying to get to, 
which is usually behind half a kilometer of mountain range or something.

>> Love the way all the weapons have names like FY71. How memorable.
> 
>    That's my favourite weapon, it will become your friend. (Well, until you 
> find the Gauss that is...)  O.O

I prefer the one you start the game with. It has a better scope, and it 
reloads much faster. I've died several times from having to reload the 
FY71 - i.e., it takes months to reload! >_< But unfortunately there's 
never any ammo for it, only for the FY71.

Still, that's nothing. I just spent 20 minutes working my bum off to get 
hold of a sniper rifle. And you know what? As soon as you fire it, the 
entire neighborhood knows exactly where you are. *And* it doesn't even 
kill people - isn't that great? What's the point of a non-fatal sniper 
rifle??

>> Anyway, I discovered the multiple firing modes, but I have yet to figure 
>> out what any of them do.
> 
>   Oh, well, let's see now. You'll have the 'sleep dart' - which puts enemies 
> to sleep for a while, and then there's the grenade launcher attachment, 
> (very handy against small vehicles, groups of enemies), and then you have 
> the incendiary bullets for the FY71 which apparently hit with a bit more 
> punch and catch things alight, (which I've never used).

I tried the sleep dart. Unfortunately, enemies still hear it, so it's 
not really much use.

My HUD indicates that I have some grenades, but I can't figure out how 
to use them. (Probably just as well - most likely I'd kill *myself*!)

>> As for "pick up the guns the bad buys have", that's what you do in FarCry. 
>> Unfortunately, in Crysis everybody seems to be armed either with pistols 
>> or shotguns, neither of which are very useful.
> 
>     Yeah, you'll have to look for one. If it's a big group of enemies, then 
> there's usually one with something different - it might be a SCAR with a 
> better scope. Or when you're in a village, there's usually a better weapon 
> hidden in some back room, or out on the porch. Just look around basically. 
> ;)

It takes long enough to sneak through a large village at 10 paces a shot 
as it is, without doing extra millage to see if you can find something 
worth having.

I did briefly find a rocket launcher. But then 3 tanks came along, and I 
only just had enough ammo to take them out.

>> I must admit, I haven't tried jumping in speed mode yet.
> 
>     And switch to other powers when doing it. :)

I tried jumping in speed mode. It's no different to armour mode, as far 
as I can tell. You'd think you could jump really far moving that fast... 
but no.

>>>     Have you grabbed an NK yet?
>> Er, no. Because if I got that close to one, I'd already be *dead* :-P
> 
>     Oh, you can, just speed up to the guy with no weapons in hand and hit 
> 'f', you don't have to have the 'grab' text showing. Then whilst holding 
> him, change to strength mode and throw him in the air! Lol...

I'm sure my amusement would be very short-lived given that I'll be long 
dead by the time I've reconfigured modes. (Not to mention having no 
power left to start with...)

It seems like a lot of effort to do something extremely difficult and 
complicated which doesn't produce a particularly useful outcome.

>> Haven't seen any ladders yet. I have, however, seen a really freakin big 
>> flying monster, BTW...
> 
>    Ooooo... They're comin' to GET YA!

Nah, just freeze everything, apparently.

>>> jump over your enemies and whilst in mid-air, switch to cloak, turn 
>>> around and kill 'em all! :)
>> Yes. Because you can get that close without dying. And, during the 0.5 
>> second flight time, you will be able to execute the 5-second "change suit 
>> mode" procedure. Not to mention that the guy's buddies will all be 
>> shooting at where they last saw you.
> 
>       Are you using the middle mouse button to change suit modes?

*Is* there any other way to change it?

>    Here's a tip: Go into strength mode when using your scopes and about to 
> fire, it holds the rifle steadier for a better aim.

OK, well I guess that makes sense...

In general, my problem isn't aiming. It's that I cloak, sneak up to 
within 4 feet of an enemy, position the scope exactly in the middle of 
his chest, pull the trigger, and it takes about a quarter of an hour of 
shooting him before he dies. (WTF?)

It just seems strange to me that you're this hyper souped-up metal man, 
but you don't have any guns that kill things...

>> (BTW... The characters look friggin *amazing*! And turning the graphics up 
>> to "high" really does make the game look even more awesome...)
> 
>      <green>

Oh, it *is* a little laggy. But it's a little laggy no matter what 
graphics settings I pick, so I think it's the CPU not the GPU that's 
overloaded.

>> I'll let you know about the framerate. Which key is it to access the 
>> console?
> 
>       Left of the 1 key.

Heh. Yeah, I found it. (But by then I couldn't remember the command!) 
Most Source-powered games give you autocomplete...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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>> Ah yes, as with so many games, I have now reached an impass. :-}
> 
>       Which part?

I'm at one end of a large valley. I need to get to the other end along 
the river. Except that that's the way I just came, and the entire KPA is 
already looking for me there.

I've tried everything I can think of, but I can't find any way out of 
the valley without going past all the patrols. It could take months to 
stealth past them all - and one wrong move and I'll be instantly cut to 
mincemeat by the hopelessly outnumbering hordes.

Still, I guess this is what hardened game players call "fun". 
(Personally, I prefer having a possibility of victory. When defeat is 
certain, that isn't fun for me.)

>> Maybe I'll just reply it from the beginning...
>>
>> (Also, today the game is jittery and keeps locking up. Weird!)
> 
>       No idea. :)

Likewise. I rebooted and it went away.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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St. wrote:
>     Well, your suit is the key. As you go through the game you'll find a 
> need for all elements of that suit.

Not unlike James Bond's gadgets. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> (Also, I've discovered that people apparently can still kinda see you if 
> you're moving. Fortunately, stealth lasts almost forever if you stand 
> still. Not sure what happens if somebody actually walks into you...)

I suggest you avoid the Thief series of video games. ;-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

On Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:33:20 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> Also... so this is a game about a bunch of Americans running around
>>> killing North Koreans? And... it's also on sale... in Korea??
>> 
>> South Korea is not an export-controlled country.  North Korea is. ;-)
> 
> Yeah, but...
> 
> OK, let me put it this way. If there was a game about North Koreans
> killing US troops, how popular do you think that game would be in the
> US??

Probably not very in the US, but it arguably might be popular in North 
Korea.

North Korea and South Korea don't generally get along, in fact, they've 
been at war off and on for some time now.

So I don't think many South Koreans would object to it.

You can fill that argument in with any countries, though - how about 
Northern Ireland and England?

How about Germany and England, in fact?  There are plenty of games like 
this, in fact.  Castle Wolfenstein, anyone?

Jim

Post a reply to this message

>>     Well, your suit is the key. As you go through the game you'll find 
>> a need for all elements of that suit.
> 
> Not unlike James Bond's gadgets. :-)

Ah yes, whatever toy 007 gets, you know it's going to somehow just 
happen to be useful at some point. ;-)

Surprised he never got a big box of condoms. :-P

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Surprised he never got a big box of condoms. :-P

LOL!

I can just see it.
<Desmond_Llewelyn>
"And here, double-oh-seven, is a secret compartment with fifty gold 
sovereigns, three rubbers, and a canister of exploding aftershave..."
</Desmond_Llewelyn>

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Ah yes, as with so many games, I have now reached an impass. :-}
> 
> Maybe I'll just reply it from the beginning...

Well, I replayed it from the beginning. This time I found a sniper 
rifle, but only 3 bullets. Oh well, they don't do much to their victims 
anyway. :-P

So I managed to get past that. Let's see what happens next!

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Well, I replayed it from the beginning. This time I found a sniper 
> rifle, but only 3 bullets. Oh well, they don't do much to their victims 
> anyway. :-P

Maybe you *should* try Thief. There are several levels where you fail the 
mission if you actually manage to inflict any damage. :-) On expert 
difficulty, there are missions where you fail if anyone even sees you. Your 
most powerful weapon doesn't work if the person knows you're there.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> How about Germany and England, in fact?  There are plenty of games like 
> this, in fact.  Castle Wolfenstein, anyone?

  Don't forget Japan. Most WW2 games are about killing Germans or Japanese.
Sometimes even Italians.

  (Some of those games, like the Medal of Honor series, base their levels
on actual WW2 battles, so they might be more excused from having actual
real nationalities.)

-- 
                                                          - Warp

Post a reply to this message

On Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:13:23 -0500, Warp wrote:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> How about Germany and England, in fact?  There are plenty of games like
>> this, in fact.  Castle Wolfenstein, anyone?
> 
>   Don't forget Japan. Most WW2 games are about killing Germans or
>   Japanese.
> Sometimes even Italians.
> 
>   (Some of those games, like the Medal of Honor series, base their
>   levels
> on actual WW2 battles, so they might be more excused from having actual
> real nationalities.)

True, Japan, Italy, Germany - someone's gotta be the bad guy, and when 
you get into historical reenactment (whether it's IRL or in a computer 
game), the opposing forces are kinda necessary.

Jim

Post a reply to this message

>> Well, I replayed it from the beginning. This time I found a sniper 
>> rifle, but only 3 bullets. Oh well, they don't do much to their 
>> victims anyway. :-P
> 
> Maybe you *should* try Thief. There are several levels where you fail 
> the mission if you actually manage to inflict any damage. :-) On expert 
> difficulty, there are missions where you fail if anyone even sees you. 
> Your most powerful weapon doesn't work if the person knows you're there.

Sounds like... a very tedious way to spend 4 years. I mean, man, just 
repeating the same 20 seconds of game over and over and over until you 
manage to sneak past everybody successfully? That doesn't sound like my 
idea of fun. :-P

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

"Jim Henderson" <nos### [at] nospamcom> a écrit dans le message de 
news:498c8b50$1@news.povray.org...
> So I don't think many South Koreans would object to it.

Actually they do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/arts/07game.html

G.

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Sounds like... a very tedious way to spend 4 years. 

Nah. Usually, there's not more than one or two people there at a time. If 
there is, you go a different direction. Or you throw something down the hall 
to distract them, then run past. It's a very well balanced game, overall.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Sounds like... a very tedious way to spend 4 years.

BTW, there's a playable demo of one of the levels out there if you search 
for it. The graphics are dated, but the gameplay is fine. Once you figure 
out how to work the cosh, you're good.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Oh good. I get to drive a tank.

Unfortunately, a tank is impossible to manouver, and fires one shot per 
hour. I've just spent 20 minutes screaming "SHOOT!!" at the screen. :-/

Time for bed...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> >> Well, I replayed it from the beginning. This time I found a sniper 
> >> rifle, but only 3 bullets. Oh well, they don't do much to their 
> >> victims anyway. :-P
> > 
> > Maybe you *should* try Thief. There are several levels where you fail 
> > the mission if you actually manage to inflict any damage. :-) On expert 
> > difficulty, there are missions where you fail if anyone even sees you. 
> > Your most powerful weapon doesn't work if the person knows you're there.

> Sounds like... a very tedious way to spend 4 years. I mean, man, just 
> repeating the same 20 seconds of game over and over and over until you 
> manage to sneak past everybody successfully? That doesn't sound like my 
> idea of fun. :-P

  It's not that difficult. It's actually fun.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

Post a reply to this message

Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
> BTW, there's a playable demo of one of the levels out there if you search 
> for it. The graphics are dated, but the gameplay is fine.

  Btw, that's one curious problem about 3D games, compared to 2D games:

  Graphics of 2D games are like paintings: They never get "dated".
A 2D game which had beautiful graphics 15 years ago will still look
beautiful by modern gaming standards.

  The same cannot be said of 3D games, where less than 10 years is enough
to make once-beautiful graphics look ugly.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

Post a reply to this message

On Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:41:39 +0100, Gilles Tran wrote:

> "Jim Henderson" <nos### [at] nospamcom> a écrit dans le message de
> news:498c8b50$1@news.povray.org...
>> So I don't think many South Koreans would object to it.
> 
> Actually they do.
> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/arts/07game.html

The same arguments there could be made for WWII-era reenactment games.  
And similarly, Germany, for example, does have restrictions on some of 
those games being distributed in Germany, particularly if they depcit 
Nazi symbols.

Jim

Post a reply to this message

Warp wrote:
>   The same cannot be said of 3D games, where less than 10 years is enough
> to make once-beautiful graphics look ugly.

Perhaps it's because it looks bad compared to reality? Are there 3D games 
that aren't attempting to model reality? What was that vector-graphic one in 
arcade games that looked like a tunnel and you ran around the outside edge 
dropping things on those coming up?

I imagine if a 3D game were abstract enough, it wouldn't look dated after a 
while. Imagine something like Jumpman or Donkey Kong done in 3D. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Darren New wrote:
> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> Surprised he never got a big box of condoms. :-P
> 
> LOL!
> 
> I can just see it.
> <Desmond_Llewelyn>
> "And here, double-oh-seven, is a secret compartment with fifty gold 
> sovereigns, three rubbers, and a canister of exploding aftershave..."
> </Desmond_Llewelyn>

Ha! No point, surely, most of his ladies were goners by the end of the 
movie.

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Sounds like... a very tedious way to spend 4 years. I mean, man, just
> repeating the same 20 seconds of game over and over and over until you
> manage to sneak past everybody successfully? That doesn't sound like my
> idea of fun. :-P

You kids and your video games these days.  Tedium?  Tetris is all I'll ever
need.  I never thought boxes, space shuttles, and Bach could stay so fresh
after twenty years, but here we are.

 - Ricky

Post a reply to this message

On 2/6/2009 9:10 AM, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> In general, my problem isn't aiming. It's that I cloak, sneak up to
> within 4 feet of an enemy, position the scope exactly in the middle of
> his chest, pull the trigger, and it takes about a quarter of an hour of
> shooting him before he dies. (WTF?)

Never shoot the middle of the chest.  I haven't played Crysis myself, 
but I'm assuming that they have body armour.

Aim for the head :)

-- 
...Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com

Post a reply to this message

Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> And similarly, Germany, for example, does have restrictions on some of 
> those games being distributed in Germany, particularly if they depcit 
> Nazi symbols.

  I find it rather ironic that by banning nazi symbols from a piece of
art based on historical events, they are actually censoring history,
which is something nazis themselves did a lot.

  I can't help but to get the feeling that by banning everything related
to nazis, they are pretending that WW2 never happened. Then, at the same
time, they outlaw holocaust denial.

  Talk about contradictory behavior.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

Post a reply to this message

Am Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:31:44 -0500 schrieb Warp:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> And similarly, Germany, for example, does have restrictions on some of
>> those games being distributed in Germany, particularly if they depcit
>> Nazi symbols.
> 
>   I find it rather ironic that by banning nazi symbols from a piece of
> art based on historical events, they are actually censoring history,
> which is something nazis themselves did a lot.
> 
>   I can't help but to get the feeling that by banning everything related
> to nazis, they are pretending that WW2 never happened. 

Oh come on - the display of symbols of unconstitutional organizations  
(like the swastika - note that the law doesn't mention the swastika 
explicitly) for educational purposes is not forbidden. It would be pretty 
ridicolous to pretend WW2 never happened - and it is taught quite 
detailed in school - and images of that time with the real Nazis and 
swastikas are in the history books.

Then, at the same
> time, they outlaw holocaust denial.
> 
>   Talk about contradictory behavior.

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> Unfortunately, a tank is impossible to manouver, and fires one shot per 
> hour. I've just spent 20 minutes screaming "SHOOT!!" at the screen. :-/

It's extremely frustrating when you repeatedly press the fire button, 
over and over and over and over again, and the tank doesn't fire.

OTOH, I'm now trying to fly an aircraft. This is absurdly hard. I still 
can't figure out how the controls actually work. But most importantly, 
I'm trying to shoot down enemy craft that have infinite manouverability, 
whereas my craft will only turn at a maximum rate of 3° per year.

Still, at least it's not *quite* as disorienting as floating around in 
zero gravity... Man, that was crazy! o_O Some serious graphics happening 
in that mountain. (And my computer seemed to struggle with it.)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

"Warp" <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> a écrit dans le message de 
news:498d9b50@news.povray.org...
> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>  I can't help but to get the feeling that by banning everything related
> to nazis, they are pretending that WW2 never happened.

Germany doesn't ban "everything related to nazis", far from it. The ban on 
nazi symbols doesn't affect works created for educational or artistic 
purposes and mostly concerns situations that glamourize (or trivialise) 
those symbols. There was one game banned, Castle Wolfenstein, because 1) it 
featured swastikas as cute design elements (the levels were swastika-shaped) 
and 2) it used the nazi anthem as the game music.
Actually, Germany has been producing an incredible amount of quality, 
insightful work regarding WW2, from documentaries to fictions. They don't 
exactly shy away from the topic. One wishes that other countries would do 
the same for their own skeletons-in-the-closet...
Just for the fun of it, a 3D animation by German cartoonist Walter Moers
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KufHGYKqH9E (English version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Jg1Jjzwoo (German version, with karaoke 
subtitles)


G.

Post a reply to this message

Gilles Tran wrote:
> Just for the fun of it, a 3D animation by German cartoonist Walter Moers
(Love the coffee mug with "A" on it.)

So did they ban this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfkDxF2kn1I

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Ah yes, the ever popular "now you must fight an enemy the size of a 
small city even though you now have no ammo left at all". Gotta love 
that. :-/

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Ah yes, the ever popular "now you must fight an enemy the size of a 
> small city even though you now have no ammo left at all". Gotta love 
> that. :-/

I will admit the number of video games where you're expected to fight off an 
entire army by yourself is pretty common. :-)  I mean, really, can you 
expect Gordon Freeman to really do what he does, even with the suit?

Incidentally, what's up with the number of video games that separate armor 
from health? Is there really any benefit to that? Does it actually make the 
game more interesting that you sometimes find first aid kits and sometimes 
find armor shards?

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

Post a reply to this message

Darren New wrote:

> I will admit the number of video games where you're expected to fight 
> off an entire army by yourself is pretty common. :-)  I mean, really, 
> can you expect Gordon Freeman to really do what he does, even with the 
> suit?

Well, how many times does Dr Freeman actually come face to face with 
more than about 3 enemies at once? Not very often. If anything, that's 
where the realism is lacking.

 From a game design point of view, it's a bit tricky. In a real battle 
with 30 people vs 30 people, the battle isn't won or lost by any one 
individual person - but for a single player computer game, it needs to 
be, or the game isn't real interesting. If your buddies are too good, 
you don't really need to do anything and you can just stand around and 
let them do it all. If they're too rubbish, you won't stand a chance.

> Incidentally, what's up with the number of video games that separate 
> armor from health? Is there really any benefit to that? Does it actually 
> make the game more interesting that you sometimes find first aid kits 
> and sometimes find armor shards?

Crysis is one of the few (only?) games I've seen where you don't wander 
round collecting health and armour. Your suit continuously generates it, 
so just as long as you can find some cover, in theory you shouldn't ever 
die.

Unfortunately for the last several hours I've been surrounded by 
airborne hostiles that you can't hide from. :-/

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Ah yes, the ever popular "now you must fight an enemy the size of a 
> small city even though you now have no ammo left at all". Gotta love 
> that. :-/

Apparently that's the final battle though. Well, until Crysis II or 
something, I guess... o_O

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message

On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:31:44 -0500, Warp wrote:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> And similarly, Germany, for example, does have restrictions on some of
>> those games being distributed in Germany, particularly if they depcit
>> Nazi symbols.
> 
>   I find it rather ironic that by banning nazi symbols from a piece of
> art based on historical events, they are actually censoring history,
> which is something nazis themselves did a lot.
> 
>   I can't help but to get the feeling that by banning everything related
> to nazis, they are pretending that WW2 never happened. Then, at the same
> time, they outlaw holocaust denial.
> 
>   Talk about contradictory behavior.

I suppose you could look at it that way.  The friends I have in Germany 
have described it more as suppressing hate speech.

Jim

Post a reply to this message

Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> Apparently that's the final battle though. Well, until Crysis II or 
> something, I guess... o_O

16.7 hours of playing time, according to Steam. It seems like a month...

I wouldn't even want to imagine how the hell long it took to *make* the 
game. I surely haven't explored even half of the map. (Mainly because I 
spent most of it running away very fast trying not to die!)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Well, you got me - I had to try it now.

With all settings set to "High", my Radeon HD4850 can get 30-40fps 
consistently :)

And yes, it is a VERY impressive game, visually!

-- 
...Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com

Post a reply to this message

Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> I suppose you could look at it that way.  The friends I have in Germany 
> have described it more as suppressing hate speech.

  There's a fine line between suppressing hate speech and suppressing
freedom of expression. It seems that European countries in general are
slowly but steadily probing how much they can extend the latter in the
name of the former before people get angry.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

Post a reply to this message

On 2/7/2009 4:56 PM, Chambers wrote:
> Well, you got me - I had to try it now.
>
> With all settings set to "High", my Radeon HD4850 can get 30-40fps
> consistently :)
>
> And yes, it is a VERY impressive game, visually!
>

Doh!  It had changed the screen resolution on me without my noticing :(

OK, at 1280x1024 (my monitor's native resolution) I get 15-20 FPS with 
everything on high, and 40-45 with everything on medium.

Unfortunately, it's crashed my computer twice now.  I have to try the 
latest update to see if that fixes anything.

-- 
...Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com

Post a reply to this message

Chambers <ben### [at] pacificwebguycom> wrote:
> Unfortunately, it's crashed my computer twice now.  I have to try the 
> latest update to see if that fixes anything.

  Can you monitor the GPU and CPU temperatures somehow?

  I have never heard how common it is, but I have the strong suspicion that
at least sometimes the computer crashing when playing a game is caused by
overheating, rather than any bug in the game (or other software) itself.

  After all, a game like Crysis probably stresses the GPU (and the CPU)
quite a lot, and they tend to gain temperature when overworked.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

Post a reply to this message

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:59:21 -0500, Warp wrote:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> I suppose you could look at it that way.  The friends I have in Germany
>> have described it more as suppressing hate speech.
> 
>   There's a fine line between suppressing hate speech and suppressing
> freedom of expression. It seems that European countries in general are
> slowly but steadily probing how much they can extend the latter in the
> name of the former before people get angry.

You have to admit that Germany is something of a special case, though - 
one of my friends there works in government (not as an elected official, 
but as an IT guy) and he's stated that that chapter of German history is 
something that should never, ever be repeated again.

I think that's something that most people would agree on.

Jim

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