Well for the first bit today: Go Stars! For the first time in a long time we are going to the conference finals after a grueling bout of nearly four complete OTs. That game is one of the most incredible I’ve ever seen played. Turco was immaculate, making saves that were both unbelievable and in some cases gravity defying. His percentage, an amazing 0.984 with 61 saves.

It was a well deserved win after a very tough series with a group of Sharks that would not go quietly. Totally worth getting to bed at 2 am. Paying for it this morning though.

Caught Ironman this Sunday as well. An exceptionally good movie considering my low expectations going in. Who would have thought Ironman would make one of the better comic book movies? The movie was pulled off with style and all the characters were solid, save Obadiah Stane, which I can forgive for the one-dimensional villain aspect. Lots of good humor in there as well. It’s a cool flick and I recommend a look if you are so inclined.

There are so many neat looking movies coming out this summer I may start to believe that the days of the mid 90s are back and Hollywood has recovered a bit from the horrid over special effects / under writing problems.

Not that movies like Speed Racer look to skimp on the special effects, but it does look like they are pushing the edge in several other regards (like making the movie a live action cartoon). That said, I am easily entertained.

I reserve all comment on BSG until the end of the series. But I will say this. Things look bleak and I am not pleased.

Current Mood: Tired

Listening To: We Are Alive - Paul van Dyke

Okay, I just used some code from my H3ST (Halo 3 Stat Aggregator) for something at work. I can’t describe how cool it is to know that my work on something for fun increased my skill set for my actual job. Awesome.

For those interested – it was the use of an SQL summary cursor to step through aggregated data.

Oh, by the way, raisin/carrot muffins rock.

Current Mood: Rock’n It

Listening To: Broken Wings - Mr. Mister

Hello all. Had a fairly good weekend but we have some real muggy weather now. Adobe CS3 is one hell of a product suite but it takes FOREVER to uninstall. I guess they really want you to keep it.

GO STARS!!! That’s right we are going to round 2! It has been, so long… GO STARS!

One of the entertaining things about working in retail IT is the people that you meet, in particular the people from the creative departments. I just sat in a meeting with Richard (who’s totally Asian and yet totally American) who has one of the most bizarre haircuts I’ve ever seen. It’s isn’t dyed, but its mohawked along the center and alternates buzzed and spiky on the sides. Richard is one hell of a guy, brilliant and pretty cool to work with. Across from him at the meeting sits Joe who looks almost exactly like ZZ Top and has a voice like Walter Cronkite. Only in retail IT…

I’m still waiting to borrow Dave’s Assassin’s Creed so I started up a second normal run through of Mass Effect this past week. The game remains a whole lot of fun. I’m playing an Engineer this time and let me tell you, nothing tears through Geth like a powered up Engineering. AI Hacking, Damping, Overload, and Sabotage just rape them. It’s really cool to just wave my hand and have an Ampature fly across the screen in pieces.

So we went against all better judgment and got copies of Vegas 2 this weekend. All of us experienced a plethora of errors, though none of them similar. The game includes the following robust features:

• Worse graphics than the original game.
• A run feature that’s pretty standard.
• A glitched achievement system (of course).
• Very few low level clothing customizations.
• No Co-Op Campaign with 3 or 4 players.
• A much improved leveling system.
• A good selection of maps.
• Some of us experienced CQB problems similar to earlier games.
• A horrible AI on computer team-mates.
• Some of us experienced spawn problems - like into friendly fire.
• And as always - enemies spawn wherever the hell they want to.

Needless to say I am happy I bought the game used and did not contribute to the coffers of Ubisoft for this one (I merely support that awesome Gamestop we give our patronage to).

For those of you watching, BSG continues to trend water and suck. I find the writing to be absolutely horrible - yet continue to watch because I would like to see how big the train wreck can become. One good scene does not cancel and episode of inept filler material. Why must you destroy and kill characters simply for drama’s sake? The tactic can even be done correctly, but that isn’t the case here.

That’s all for now. Have a good week!

Current Mood: Happy

Listening To: Newborn Friend - Seal

My computer is not cooperating with me this morning. Combined with the network being slow at work, the morning is not turning out to be very productive. I’m trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends.

Just a thought on computing in general. Why the hell does an installer have to verify the installation before uninstalling? And, more to the point of my annoyance, what do you do if the verification fails? Because you certainly can’t use the uninstaller then?

Finished up my Fallen Sun campaign this weekend. Last game was a long stretch into the AM which I have come to expect from my final episodes. Fallen Sun 3 lasted 50 episodes, and took just over two and a half years (we started in August of 2005). Looking back, that’s quite a long time. But I think we ended up fairly strong.

In making the credits for the final game I’ve learned a few things about the visual editing tools I’ve come to use. First, I moved away from PowerPoint because you cannot make a timeline in it or get music timing perfect no matter how much time you invest. I thought ProShow was a God send. After having done a complete film with ProShow, I have come to hate certain aspects of it.

• You cannot create text boxes, transparent or otherwise.
• You cannot control the animation features of a text item with any advanced timing.
• You cannot animate a picture object at all.
• Importing movie files in any format but basic AVI causes major problems.
• The program is unstable and crashes often.

So all in all I’m come to use a blend of both programs to do what I do. I animate complex action in PowerPoint. Save the PPT into an AVI using a number of other tools and import the whole thing into ProShow for DVD construction. It’s a giant pain in the ass but I think the final product is worth it.

Okay, well that’s enough complaining for the week. I’m going to fix the old computer and try to get some work done.

Current Mood: Frustrated

Listening To: Lift - Poets of the Fall

Checking in. Sort of a busy week coming up. My work on the secure ASP page for work continues to move smoothly. I think I have everything down but the SSL now. Also doing some major prep for the end of Fallen Sun this coming weekend. So it’s a fairly concentration intensive week.

I finished Lost Odyssey and got my full 1000 points from it. Final time was 72 hours and my party was level 54-71. This game is most definitely the best RPG on the 360 and I’m fairly certain it ranks in my all time favorites. All the characters were wonderful, the story was great, and the ending was touching and well worth the play through. This is also one of the first games I have played through where I didn’t need to spend time leveling once. I basically just played through it straight. Superb design credit there.

June approaches as does the release of the 4th Edition D20 core books. I’m deciding if I want to pre-order them and have them shipped to me or go pick them up on release. Enworld has compiled an excellent Lite edition booklet with all of the known material for 4E in one place. It’s pretty cool and it’s updated daily.

We went with DJ to the last regular session Stars game yesterday for his birthday. There were over six fights in the first period alone - 95 penalty minutes the whole game. It was insane. The stars pulled out the victory too, 4-2. Pretty amazing game to catch.

Seems the Olympic Torch relay is being mobbed. I think the relay is a cool idea, even if the torch does go out a lot. And I can understand wanting to protest China from a human rights stance. Don’t mob the athlete that’s running the relay. It isn’t his or her fault. And certainly don’t mob some poor dude in a wheelchair! What is wrong with some of these people!

Not much else to report right now. Just know the Jeremy Soule kicks ass. I worship at the altar of his orchestral music.

Current Mood: Concentrating

Listening To: Do What You Want - JASEfos

Just a few things here before I continue with a very busy morning. My performance appraisal went very well and I’m very pleased with the outcome. Now I’m still working on putting together a secure web application. It’s very tough, but still pretty cool. I will say its awesome being able to use the skill set I tuned up to make fallensun.net for something I’m getting paid to do. Got a big meeting this morning over its architecture.

Did some steaks last night - tried a new bottom round cut. Wasn’t too bad, but I need to find a better tenderizing solution - the marinade I use for the thinner low-end cuts didn’t work as well. Live and learn.

I’ll have my 1000 in Lost Odyssey this afternoon, got everything but the final skill learned and the last boss. I’ll post my opinion of the overall after I finish it but so far, still very impressed. Three things:

• The Temple of Enlightenment sucks. It reminds me of the crashed dungeon in Lufia II only this is in 3D. Not particularly fun especially if you are looking for treasure. Sorcerer Fu… Easy even at level 68.
• The Immortal wasn’t too hard but he took some getting used to. I got him on my first try at level 69. All I can say is that double cast Reversa (with Ming and Sarah) and HP Max 3 Reversa (with Kaim and Seth) is essential to beating his 175,000 HP in 30 turns or less. I think I did it in ~20. Persistence is a must, as is careful timing of your revives so you don’t get wiped out. I didn’t bother healing, because it just makes Reversa stronger.
• Treasure Trove is not a good achievement. I have it now, but I still think it is not a good achievement. Fair warning - not every item is in the Prima guide. And also - there are 24 under sea treasures, 2 under sea treasure hunts, and 1 undersea pirate. Yes, they count.

I finally played some Halo 3 Heroic Maps. Not much to say about Rat’s Nest. Foundry is not my kind of board. I hate having enemies come at your from behind and this happens to me constantly on Foundry. I’m in love with Standoff though. Pretty awesome map: warthogs, bases, a variety of other weapons, and no sniper rifle. Simply cool.

That’s about it for now. Have a great Monday!

Current Mood: Busy

Listening To: This is Your Life - Switchfoot

We have a door here at the office that has been broken since early last week. The only thing wrong with it is that the pressure hinge is cut so it slams closed… loudly. We, day one there was a small post it note sign informing us to not us the door. And sure enough throughout the day I heard nothing but bang, bang, BANG! (I sit next to the door) Well as the week went on the sign went from a small note, to a bigger note, to a full sheet of paper with high lettering.
   So I come in the office today to find no less than three sheets of paper informing us the door is broken. I anticipate this will still not be enough and will surely find the entire door covered in paper by tomorrow.

It got a little colder here today. I stepped outside and it was freezing! I thought we were done with that? Happy belated Easter to you and yours, I hope you enjoyed the weekend.

I finally nailed a Pot Roast last night after some three or four failed tries. As I suspected, previous failures resulted from not budgeting in enough cook time (my 3 pound rump roast took about 4 hours stove top by the way). I also have a meat thermometer now (a simple poke and read affair) which has aided greatly in the cooking of succulent meat. I recommend a good horseradish and worcestershire rub for the roast itself. Braising liquid is much a personal choice - I may try a cheap red wine next time.

On the gaming front, we had an excellent little Halo run last night. This was following a horrid big team affair over the weekend however. I’ve also decided to update my stat algorithms for the Halo Stat Tracking. This is for several reasons, such as placement in team games isn’t a good indicator of performance and I was using it as a keystone in a lot of calculations. Not sure when the changes will be up but I’ll send out FTA notes with more info.

It’s confirmed Rainbow Six Vegas 2 doesn’t have 4 person co-op. When you remove this feature, which you already had implemented, even if poorly, I think you have made a poor design decision. Users always get upset when you take functionality away. Other than that I here it is a Vegas 1 clone with a run button and new maps. Probably won’t be dropping the $60 on this one.

Lost Odyssey is still cool, but you probably knew this. I’m about 38 hours in and on disc four. I still love all the characters. My only major gripe has been the English voiced songs are for the most part not so good. I of course have been spoiled with good game music from Playstation hits like Metal Gear Solid and Xenogears. Compared to those, the full voiced songs in Lost Odyssey are cheap and empty. Of course the in-game music is very good. And that’s my only complaint so it is still my vote for best RPG on the 360.

I just found out you can share Pandora stations with friends. I totally am going to have to do this. Of course I’m presently on a Techno kick as its extremely easy to code to.

I’ve got my one year performance appraisal coming up now. Wish me luck!

Current Mood: Pondering

Listening To: As the Rush Comes - Motorcycle

I had a really fun weekend hanging out with Dustin who was down for the week. We are finally getting some normal rain here Dallas. My car was getting dusty so it’s nice. Trying out a new blog post layout.

A few updates:

• I haven’t had time to play Lost Odyssey in a week. This irks me.
   
• Fable 2’s concept art over on IGN is truly scary. It would take a substantial miracle for me to have any interest whatsoever in this game.
   
• Hackers suck. Designing a secure web application that is hacker safe is VERY tough and tiresome. ASP.Net makes things a little easier.
   
• My wife is going to make me some new socks! That’s right, make them.
   
• If you haven’t seen this All Your Base Video. You need to. Now.
   
• Pandora Radio is like the coolest thing since MP3s in college. It’s an online radio that customizes itself based on the sound patterns of songs you like. Very rocking. I’ve got seven stations for different moods.

That’s it for now. Signing out.

Current Mood: Focused

Listening To: We’ve Got Everything - Modest Mouse

Had a very good weekend but not much overall going on. Couple of updates all around.

I’m a little late on the ball of this one, but I wanted to give a moment to honor the passing of Gary Gygax, one of the founding fathers of D&D. I have read many others speak to his life and achievements far more elegantly than I could express so I will only say that his works changed my life in a very real way and his spirit for the game will be missed.

In some happier news, my cousin Blair and his wife Andrea are going to have a baby! This is the first of my cousins to have a kid so this is kind of cool. Of course, my wife’s side of the family has been doing this for years.

From the Ashes has some new stuff up as of last week. Dustin and DJ have both added some pictures to the gallery. Also, we now have After Action Reports for the Halo 3 statistics section. I’m pretty proud of that little setup (full of Bungie website graphics for the weapons and medals too).

The more I play of Lost Odyssey the more I am convinced it is the best RPG for the 360, period. It’s also good proof that a Japanese RPG can be done well on the American platform. A few things I have noticed that I like:

-The story is good.
-The plot is pretty standard but more than acceptable.
-The characters have pre-existing relationships.
-The love story is not some sappy teenage affair (big plus).
-What I thought was going to be a series of depressing events has turned into an uplifting experience.

In sum the game is fucking fantastic and I recommend you play it now if you are even a partial fan of RPGs. I think it is probably better than FFXII but it’s a close call.

The rumors and release material for 4e continues to impress. I’ve seen some pre-release character sheets and I am very eager to see more. Were I a rich man (which I am definitely not) I’d consider purchasing the developer’s OGL SRD which runs about $5,000 but will allow developers to put out material for 4e faster. A good idea for a publisher. The rest of us will have to chomp at the bit until June 6th.

That’s about it for now. Have a good week!

The amount of spam that comes into my blog staggers the mind.

Had a fairly good weekend. We are now bracing for the one day of cold and rainy weather before returning to some semblance of normal. Well as normal as Texas ever gets. All this pressure shifting is playing hell with my head though.

My mother’s computer is still not finished as UPS attempted to deliver the memory to my door (I wasn’t home) marked it delivered and then failed to drop it off at the office. This creates a unique problem in that after it’s marked delivered there isn’t anything I can do. I have to take it up with the shipper (NewEgg). This, for the record, sucks and is a horribly inefficient process.

Couple of updates on the gaming front:

Lost Odyssey remains fucking awesome. I’m still on Disc 1 (there are four) and feel confident that this may be the best RPG to hit the 360. The voice acting and graphical expressions are amazing and the story is fairly intriguing. I can’t wait to get some more characters.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 comes out this month. Supposedly the character creation is both more in depth and easier to manage. The Co-Op improvement they worked so hard on are apparently only for 2-Player Co-Op (ouch!). However, it’s also been stated that ALL of the multiplayer modes (and two more) are available in the new one. So hopefully this means Mission will be open as well. Oh yeah, they have stat tracking too, which I’m always a big fan of.

Microsoft has reported that 360 sales are falling but profits are climbing. I think we all know WHY this is occurring (call it the red-ring effect) and I pray this trend doesn’t continue. It’s time for the PS3 to put some pressure on them so we have some real market competition. Maybe Blu-Ray’s victory will assist.

A few of you might find this interesting. The most popular games for the 360 based on logging in to XBOX Live (whether multiplayer or not) for February:

.

A couple of observations: First, it seems that 65% of the online community is only ever playing two games at a given time. Second, holy crap a lot of people still play Gears of War. Also, Mass Effect seems to be pretty popular. Finally, why the fuck aren’t any of these people playing Lost Odyssey? (admittedly I bet a lot of RPGers aren’t online).

I follow a webcomic called Erfworld where a wargamer from present day is thrown into a fantastic world of a turn based war game. It’s slow paced but extremely good with pop culture references. Well, we dropped an All Your Base reference in the last one that about floored me. Cool stuff.