Thursday, January 29, 2009

GTA 4: A Review of Sorts and Other Thoughts (Part I)

Ok, I just finally beat both endings of Grand Theft Auto IV. It's getting semi-late, and I'm usually crawling into bed with a book at this point. But I have a plethora of miscellaneous points swirling in my head that if I don't get down will evaporate.

I was going to say something about how "The first thing I noticed was the story...", but that isn't quite true. The first thing I noticed was the long, tedious, and inconvenient installation. So I'm going to get the big ugly thing out of the way. The package that this game comes with is the COMPLETE definition of what is wrong with PC gaming. For starters, there were THREE patches I needed to find and download right from the get-go. Games for Windows Live... Okay, I need to take a step back here.

I've been with Steam since the beginning with Counter-Strike 1.6. I waded through the looooong download lines to get the program in the first place. And with the plethora of bugs, performance problems, and the unreliable Friend system, it really reminds me of what Games for Windows Live is now. Kinda pointless and shallow and one more thing I need to open in order to get at the game I want to play. But that being said, I had to login to Steam to access a multiplayer game, so this felt like a relatively appropriate process. I also got a server browser and automatic patching.

With GFWL, however... It feels too much like "let's pay these developers so we can force open our market share." It doesn't add anything to the experience. One more thing to login to. And when you are logged in, the interface isn't quite as intuitive as it should be. There are some fundamental options that are entirely absent (how do I close my account? How do I change it to be associated with another email address?). The fact that the official GFWL site doesn't even have support or contact information shows how unimportant this service is. So what is Game for Windows Live's crime? Well, if you look at Steam, it's so much more than a simple platform. Right now it's elegant, well supported, and has a fantastic catalogue. It gets patched frequently, and makes it so effortless to keep all the games I have in my account up-to-date.

No, GFWL feels like too much like one more attempt to spread the Windows branding to another market. I'm sure if I had an XBox and regularly used Live then this service would be of use. But I don't. I just want to play the single player campaign. The fact that you need to use a Hotmail or MSN email address summarizes everything. I need to have an inferior account to access the less-than-stellar program in order to access the content and features on the very disc I hold in my hands. A Microsoft email address. Really guys? It shows they have zero interest in PC gaming as a whole, and are just pursuing it because they need to. It's so shallow and transparent.

And as a parting thought on the subject, there's one last strike against GFWL. You can tell it isn't at the same stage as Steam right now. It's not nearly as usable or convenient. And when you decide to market a product or service in an already occupied market (see also XFire and Direct2Drive), you need something on par with those in order to offer something worth while. But no, there's nowhere near that amount of polish. What the point of entering a tight and competitive market when you're not going to make the effort to learn from your competitors?

But no, this is Microsoft we're talking about. Some big wig says "I WANT THAT MARKET THERE LOLOLOLOL" and then they throw money and manpower at it just because they can. I see potential here, I really do. But the direction and purpose behind it are so pathetically obvious that I just can't bring myself care. It highlights exactly what is wrong with these big corporations. If Microsoft really truly wants to bring the PC gaming market together under one banner, they need to drastically step up their game or step back and throw support under another existing banner.

/exhale

Moving on, there's two more things to cover regarding the software's "packaging". Rockstar Social Scene: TOTALLY POINTLESS. If you want to get into that stuff, great. But if you don't care for sharing and viewing other people's content, this program has no other use. Simple as that. Unless I'm missing something, the sole purpose of signing up for this program is sharing content. Great Web2.0 crap, but making it mandatory just further bloats your game with unnecessary junk.

Any yeehaw, I have SecuRom on my machine now. Yay. Guess what, every time I want to play the game I need to reinsert the disc into the drive before it detects. Heaven forbid they let you register or use your account info to track what disc goes where. But no, the crappy DRM that breaks things and is impossible to disable or uninstall is the best answer. Even if it doesn't actually stop any piracy. I need to look further into it to see if it does it with all games in that drive, but I'm unimpressed.

Ok, to summarize what's wrong with the entire "suite" of software... In order to access all the content you must have THREE accounts (Microsoft address, GFWL account, Rockstar Social Scene), none of which are beneficial to the person who just wants to play the single player and try out multiplayer a few times. In addition to the spyware/DRM management, you end up installing WAY more than any rational person should for a single game. At the very most, there should only be ONE program that governs the multiplayer, content sharing, and DRM. At two it gets excessive. At three it's starting to show how you lazy you are and have no idea what you're doing. There's no logical reason why all that needs it's own program for each function. Just. Plain. RETARDED.

If anyone from Rockstar or Microsoft reads this, I have a message for you. I have been a PC gamer since Commander Keen and NHL95. I truly stand behind this platform as my preferred method of partaking in my favourite medium. This is my system, and I love it. And you, fine gentlemen of Rockstar and/or Microsoft, have caused me to doubt and believe all the negative arguments against PC gaming. The next time I want to play GTAIV, the discs are going to stay in the dusty box on a dusty shelf. The next time I want to play GTAIV I will download it, in hopes that I can get around the slew of utter crap you've wrapped this game in. I hope that one day instead of the almighty dollar you'll instead try taking a quick glance at what would make an enjoyable experience. I'll see you in the torrents.

And now it most definitely is my bed time. I guess I'll make a Part II to detail the actual content of GTA IV itself.
-Cril

Forfeit the game
Before somebody else
Takes you out of the frame
Puts your name to shame
Cover up your face
You can't run the race
The pace is too fast
You just won't last

Linkin Park (feat. Jay Gordon) - Pts.Of.Athrty

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Sparks, page 2


page 2.jpg
Originally uploaded by wickedneuron

Oh, and the second page of Sparks is now up. Check it out here.
-Cril

Squish


Sketch31 copy
Originally uploaded by fnf_crilix

I found myself in an intriguing predicament this morning. The task was to come up with four symbols for a Valentine's Day theme. I was surprised at how hard of a time I was having with this. What could I do that would capture the spirit of the event? What would people find attractive? Further more, what would make them want to spend money on it? I was puzzled at how I had about zero answers to these questions, when I realized, oh yeah, I've never had a reason or opportunity to celebrate this particular "holiday".

So what did I do? Went back and forth with the coworkers/bosses, of course. It's their holiday, let them figure it out.
-Cril


*Edit* This may look remotely familiar to something I did... Four-and-a-half years ago.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

3000 Light-Years Wide

I watched FIVE movies this weekend. Okay, closer to 4.5. But still, that's a whole lot of filmography. I probably spent more time on movies/TV shows than I did on video games, which is a very odd occurrence indeed. In order, spaced over three days, I watched: (spoilers below)

Equilibrium - classic movie. I love the concept of the gun kata, and the atmosphere was a wonderful mix of 1984, V for Vendetta, Half-Life 2, and Fahrenheit 451.

Max Payne - A rather mediocre gun play movie. The connection to the game is contained solely in the character's origins. However, I loved the hallucination aspect to the uber drugs. I'm not 100% sold on the art direction, it felt like it was lacking that certain noir comic book feeling.

Ocean's 11 - This would be the original one with Sinatra And Co. Rather disappointing. The ending was quirky and deserves point, but otherwise it was relatively unremarkable. It was slow, action-less, and the music SUCKED. They used and abused that one theme way too much. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if "E-O Eleven" (or whatever the title is supposed to be) was a better song in and of itself. But no, it isn't. The verdict is strongly in favour of the new Eleven versus the old 11.

Hancock - It wasn't too bad, up until about half way through when it's revealed that what's-her-face is super-duper as well. At that point it starts to feel like the film is trying to cover and become too many things. It starts as a sci-fi comedic redemption story, sprinkles in some romantic comedy, briefly mentions some more hard-core sci-fi elements, before dipping into a tad of romantic drama. All of this lathered with a thick layer of inconsistencies.

Kung Fu Panda - The first ~45 seconds were the best. Slick and stylish animation with humorous narration. From there, the standard "believe in yourself" shtick under the guise of traditional Chinese lore with the child-friendly "animals as characters", where all of the supporting cast are 2D faces that talk. It had a few genuinely humorous gags, but relied a little too much on slap-stick for my preference.

The obligatory art:



I'm rather surprised at how well it turned out, and even moreso at the fact it only took me ~30mins to do.

I had an epiphany this last week. I realized that without computers I have zero marketable skill sets. I mean, yeah, some of the graphic design skills might be (but probably aren't) transferable to another, more traditional medium. But that's about it, really. I'm not very good at working with my hands or anything, and I'm not sure that my pathetic excuse for "musical talent" on the sax or ocarina would be of use to anyone anywhere. If all the hard drives in all the world were to miraculously cease to operate, I'm not sure what I'd be left with. That being said, however, I'm not sure what to do with this new found knowledge (or more specifically the lack thereof). If we're all drawn to practice that which we enjoy... I guess some of us could potentially be a lot more... expendable... than others.

How's that for food for thought?
-Cril

PS- "Sparks", a webcomic by Frank (writing and lines) and yours-truly (colours and lettering) has made its debut. We're planning to hit at least one page a week. (And Frank, as I know you're reading this, I'll get page 2 finished off early this week.)

Whenever life get you down, Mrs. Brown
And things seem hard or tough
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft
And you feel that you've had quite enu-hu-hu-huuuuff

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at 900 miles an hour
That's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it's reckoned
A sun that is the source of all our power
The sun and you and me, and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at 40,000 miles an hour
Of the galaxy we call the Milky Way

Our galaxy itself contains 100 billion stars
It's 100,000 light-years side-to-side
It bulges in the middle, 16,000 light-years thick
But out by us it's just 3000 light-years wide
We're 30,000 light-years from galactic central point
We go round every 200 million years
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe

The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whiz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light you know
Twelve million miles a minute and that's the fastest speed there is
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure
How amazingly unlikely is your birth
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
Because there's bugger all down here on Earth

Monty Python - Galaxy Song

Monday, January 19, 2009

Testo Numero Duo


Sketch19 copy, originally uploaded by fnf_crilix.

Happy Most Depressing Day of the Year, everyone. To celebrate, have a turtle. And don't mind me oh-so-slyly giving this Flickr cross-post shenanigans another go.
-Cril



*edit* Oh, the HORROR! I do believe I've decapitated my reptile... Oops. Looks like you can only select the total width of the image by pixels and not percentages. And rather than simply resizing it to fit the area, it crops. Go figure...

Sunday, January 18, 2009

And so it goes

Oh man, what a nice week. Weather-wise in particular. The sun is out and you can walk around in a sweater. Of course, things are melting during the day and freezing overnight - the sidewalks are caked in ice. It made the walk to and from church very treacherous.

In other news, I watched the Battlestar Galactica premiere (spoilers ahead). Man, is that show brutal - I can't believe they killed Dee. That scene was so powerful and well done. In the moment you totally didn't see it coming, but when you connect the dots through the rest of the episode it all makes sense. They are so good and ripping the heart out of the viewer and giving it a good squeeze. On the flip-side, though, the fact that Helen is the #5 makes the opposite feeling. I was personally gunning for Billy, but I doubt it would happen. Helen was my other guess and I think it worked out well. There's something comforting about the concept of such a relationship transcending time and a normal lifespan. Mind you, there's the whole other bucket of fish that is Starbuck and the 13th tribe being actual Cylons, but... That's BSG for you. I think it went well, I'm stoked to see how the rest of the series pans out. I wonder when the podcast will get updated...

I received an information package from ACAD this week. I'm feeling good about it... I think. I still need to really decide what program I want to do (Bachelor of Fine Arts or Bachelor of Design?), and at the precise moment I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around what the differences between the two are. I'll give it another solid look later this week when I have more active braincells.

One thing is for sure, though - this ain't gunna be cheap (surprise surprise). Regardless of the program, all students take the same first year studies. By bombing through the promo material I got, it looks like expenses just for the first year of school will be in the $8000 range. Which... Is pretty steep, methinks. I mean, I'm still planning on getting student loans and poking around for whatever bursaries I can nab, but still... I thought I had a solid chunk of money saved up, but it won't last long at all at that rate. With rent and a handful of other expenses... I'm probably looking at close to ~$15,000 a year.

I also need to figure out how classes are structured, and whether or not working part-time is feasible if I want to maintain decent grades. Then comes into question whether or not bringing my car over and putting in the road would be a worth-while investment. And if gas prices continue to rise (like you know they will) driving will become more expensive, and public transit will most likely follow.

Speaking of monies, I've bought a new 20" LCD monitor to replace the old CRT and new 5.1 speakers to replace the small satellites I had. Ugh. Do I enjoy these new toys? Most definitely? Was it really necessary? Could I have gotten by without them? Probably... Hrmph. Ah, Buyer's Remorse - I know thee well. Now leave me the hell alone, please.



-Cril

And there has always been laughing, crying, birth, and dying
Boys and girls with hearts that take and give and break
And heal and grow and recreate and raise and nurture
But then hurt from time to times like these
And times like those
And what will be will be
And so it goes

Jack Johnson - Times Like These

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Flickr-toe


Sketch10
Originally uploaded by fnf_crilix
This would be a test to see what happens when I cross post something from my Flickr account. I figured a foot would be appropriate, as if it's dipping a toe in to test the waters. Cool? Warm? Shark infested? Time will tell my friends. Time will tell.
-Cril

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Rather exhausted

Y'know, it's probably really bad news if you're extremely exhausted and you just got back from the longest time off you're going to get all year. Alas, I must trudge on.

I'm pretty much video-gamed out at the moment. So many games to play, but I'm having a hard time mustering enough enthusiasm to actually do so. Yeah, I have tons of good titles to play... They just aren't really appealing to me right now. The scary thing is I'm not quite sure what is appealing. If I decide I want to take it easy and relax for a while, I'm not sure what or where my comfort zone is. It's been a while since I've done something that I wish I could keep doing forever.

Speaking of time off, when I went home for Christmas we went to the local library and I met the head honcho of the branch. She commissioned me to do a promotional poster for an even they're holding for the first month of the year. So here it be:



I gotta see if there's a way for me to add images directly from my Flickr account. Right now I re-upload them to the Blogger/Picasa gallery so that it can be attached and formatted to a post. I wish there was a way for me to add image X from Flickr that links to the image's page and is resized so that it correctly fits the blog layout. Argh, there's gotta be a way.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to jump through the standard Sunday-night hoops before going to bed. G'night, y'all.
-Cril

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink
No, no, no...

The Beatles - I'm So Tired

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror

Well, this is the end of Winter Vacation I guess. I had Thursday and Friday plus the weekend off, and work resumes as usual tomorrow. I got some stuff done though - cleaned the room, started on a commissioned project, did all my laundry, played the ocarina, went skating...

...tried to change my driver's license over, but to no avail. I waded through -19c weather (that's -2.2F), took a bus, rode up to a shopping center/mini mall thingie, and walked around for another 10mins outside to find the place. No joke - I looked this registry business online and found it on at least four different listings sites. And no two street addresses were the same. They were all in the same approximate area, so I just packed up and left and hoped for the best. I found the place, but lo and behold because the NORTHWEST TERRITORIES of all places had their system down. In order to issue the new license there has to be a check against all the provincial databases to make sure I'm not a terrorist or imposer or anything. And because the one was down I couldn't go ahead and get it done. Bah. I actually don't mind them being careful and checking that kind of info, but it's rather annoying how that kind of a system could go down. Oh, and walking around outside when it's that cold? It freezes the wires on your earbuds. They were super stiff... More like 'earcicles' or something.

...played *way* too much GTAIV. Very good game. There are numerous problems with the release, but the content itself is great. I never thought I'd see this kind of story and character development in a Grand Theft Auto installation of all places. The city is massive and beautiful and... 'Alive'. It really feels like it has a pulse, and people are going about their lives. The cover system, although it can be very finicky, produces some really thrilled firefights. I haven't even unlocked all the islands yet, but there's so much content here. I will say one thing though - the socializing aspect of the game is truly annoying.

...bought new speakers. It was a bit of an impulse buy, I didn't really look into it that much. They are a set of Logitech G51's, and were marked down from $230 in the store to $115. It was a pretty good deal, methinks. I'd forgotten how nice it was to listen to music with a subwoofer. Oh man, it's so much better than those crappy box speakers I was using. On another note, though, you may notice that the controller station for the speakers has both headphone AND microphones jacks on it. This was a plus - I've been pretty unsatisfied with the performance of my onboard audio in regards to using the mic. The problem was that my headset cords are short, and the front audio ports on my case don't connect to the PCI sound card I have. Thus, I was able to reinstall the old soundcard, hook my speakers up to it and hook the headset up to the speakers. I'm surprised I didn't have any issues with drivers or anything. Nope, every thing sounds great and the mic is crystal clear. No complaints.

Well... You'll notice that the speaker set is technically "5.1 Surround Sound", and right now I'm only using two satellites and the subwoofer. While my system is technically capable, I have nowhere to put the rear channels. My bed is behind the desk, and there aren't any shelves, so... I guess I'll have to make do for now. Perhaps mount them on a wall later.

I'm kind of wondering if it was really worth it to spring on a new set of speakers. I mean, I really like this set and all, but was it necessary? Should I have just gone for a simpler, two-speaker setup instead? Sure, I can now use the soundcard and headset, but couldn't I have done the same thing with a set of $5 extension cables? This purchase may be a bit overkill and rash, but... I guess I got 'em now, so I might as well enjoy 'em.

...and the last thing I did with my long weekend was do the first four sketches of 2009. As promised, this new set can be found right here. I'll throw a link in the side navigation to the right just for kicks. Anyhoo, here's something that started off as an idle scribble, massaged into a pattern, then morphed into something with substance:



And with that, I'm off to bed. Work starts up again tomorrow. Sigh...
-Cril

Before the cool done run out I'll be giving it my bestest
And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours