Ca9ine – Gamer, Blogger, R3t@rd

by Ca9ine

Most of the people who know me, also know that I’m currently unemployed. Or, “in between jobs” if we’re gonna pretty up the sentence. So, I thought I’d write a little entry about my current and forced upon situation.

I recently got a letter from a Norwegian office called NAV, which is basically the same as many other countries’ offices that handle the unemployed, that I’m called in to something they call the Job Club. Whee! This basically is a course, which I won’t even get papers on ever completing, that will teach me to be a good applicant, use the internet and also up my assumed low selfesteem. If I don’t attend, they’ll pull my paycheck. Yay!

o_O

I create websites… I have worked in sales all my life… and I sure as fuck don’t have low selfesteem! This all proves that none of these “skills” is something i lack. And it proves this course is bullshit!

I can’t for the life of me understand why the fuck they can’t have some kind of  individual meeting with each of the participants prior to these “courses”, and then make a verdict if people are in need of this lame shit or not. Personally, I really don’t understand why the fuck I’m there. I’m not socially retarted, I actually know how to use the fucking internet and my selfesteem sure as fuck isn’t on rock-bottom levels, making me incapable of talking to other human beings. In fact,  I’m actually above average intelligent, with absolutely no need for a course in, for the most part, common fucking sense.

The work we are being given, where we have a deadline for completion in no less than 3 days, I finish in one hour. And the fucking instructor denies it being possible. That is until I walk up with the completed work, shove it in their face and say -”YES IT’S FUCKING POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE BORN WITH A BRAIN!” The instructor whispers -”welldonekimverygoodwork” and hopefully don’t misjudge me, or any other person ever again.

There are people who of course will have need for this, some more than others.
There’s a 40+ year old man attending the Job Club. At first glance, he seems quite normal and capable. This assumption is WRONG! There is nothing but empty space between his ears! AIR! Or, maybe not air, just a vacuum. I actually suspect his brain imploded, leaving him semi-retarded. Sitting there with that moron look on his face…

I won’t bother post up an example of what he says or does, because I know you all have met ‘tards like this at least once in your life. The ones standing or sitting around with absolutely no thoughts is their heads, and a dead stare straight forward. You know what I’m talking about. Commonly known as stupid.

Well, I actually do feel kind of offended being sent there. It’s a waste of my time. I could do real job searching with that valuable time. Not sit there listen to a bunch of Homer Simpson’s, only less intelligent…

Still, I make the best of it. I have to. Or else i fear my own brain will implode and make me into a socially retarted zombie. So stupid I wouldn’t even know how to eat brains…

Fuck you NAV. Fuck you nice and good… with a broken off broom stick.

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by Ca9ine

I always said I was never going to get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2).
This because of Activision’s total disregard for the consumers, Infinity Ward’s ingnoring of anyone else but the Xbox 360 gamers and the extreme overpricing of the game itself.

I have to admit now, though. I bit the bullet and got myself a copy of MW2.
I must also admit that I was always curious about the game, as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (CoD4) is one of the best titles released, and the multiplayer is nothing short of excellent. And since MW2 is a direct continuance of CoD4, I never actually doubted that MW2 would be a great game. The pre-release teasers and previews were all looking excellent.

MW2 is excellent. It has improved on every aspect of CoD4. The weapons, the gameplay, the sound -especially the weapon sounds,  the storytelling and last but certainly not least, the multiplayer. From the kill awards to the the kill-streak awards, and the new post-match Accolades, it’s all sewn together as one awesome experience. It’s all very satisfying.

But, there is a downside to it all. It’s not such a major downside which many PC gamers predicted, including myself, but it’s still something that needs vast improvement in my opinion -a PC gamer’s view. IWNET is that downside.

Mostly, IWNET works as Infinity Ward promised, no doubt about that. The private matches are excellent. The integration or rather combination with Steam is also working excellent, it makes many things very easy when it comes to playing with friends and playing together publically as a party. This works, and mostly smoothly.

What my problem is with IWNET, is that the matches are hosted on the “most suited host” ie. player of the match. Sometimes this leads to some laggy matches, high latency and host migration if the host leaves or IWNET suddenly changes it’s mind. This can all be very frustrating at times. I would also want to maybe play with the same people again at a later time, without having to befriend all these players on Steam and forming a party with them.

The matchmaking system of IWNET isn’t very satisfactory either. If it is accurate, I must be amongst the top players on the planet, which I am most certainly not! I always end up as MVP or in the top 3 spots post-game. This shows that the matchmaking isn’t very accurate, as I’m 100% sure there are plenty of way more skilled MW2 players out there than myself. This all proves yet again, that dedicated servers would be a better idea.

Dedicated servers, yes. IWNET, yes. Steam, yes. Player hosting, no.
I think a combination of IWNET and dedicated servers would be a great way to go. Include all aspects of IWNET, even the game search, party search and playlists,  and include Steam with everythingh it brings to the table. This would be ideal, as IWNET and Steam both works excellent. All this will up the experience and improve on the matches, gamers can meet up on a community hosted server and always be able to find the exact gaming experience they want. Servers can be administrated and policed, griefing and hacking will be controlled and removed. Because let’s face it, IWNET’s promise of a cheat and hack free online experience was demolished the very first week.

Lastly, just a short note of what also should be in the MW2 PC version.
Activate the console with the possibilites it should add. I’m just thinking of adjustment FOV and other settings we could adjust on CoD4. And also, in my opinion, by all means restrict a few variables, which I’m sure was the intention when removing the console.

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by Ca9ine

Great news, huh?

Steam has decided to ban all online keystore purchased Steam activation keys for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This, in my very honest opinion, has Activision written all over it. The money hungry games publisher giant once again shows the gaming community that they don’t give a flying fuck about anything else other than profit.

Apparently, the keys being sold through these keystores are actual legit Steam and MW2 retail box codes, but only meant for the Asian market. The keystores have most likely purchased large quantities of these and are stripping the licence codes and selling them on their online stores.

So, there’s no theft involved and there’s no illegal activity here as far as I can tell.
But what I honestly think is happening here, is that Activision aren’t happy with the fact that there are cheap MW2 copies around, and thus banning the Asian keys activated in the rest of the world and forcing the gamers to purchase their extremely overpriced and bug infested game via Steam or “Authorized Retailers” only.

Key factor: Money.

This is so unfair towards the end user, or consumer if you will.
Instead of shutting down the user, they should be going after the seller of these keys, if they have any legit reason to do any of this at all. The user has legally bought a key, and is not to blame.

Activision and Infinity Ward can only thank themselves for any eventual lost revenue before and after this. Their game is overpriced and scares many potential buyers away, and now many who did purchase a key from an online keystore will most likely think twice about getting the game.

One good thing is that refunds are being handed out, and for those who actually didn’t like the game after purchase, they can concider this a “try before you buy” thing!

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by Ca9ine

OK, so I’ve written about Borderlands two times earlier… But it’s such a great game!

I’ve maxed my Soldier (Roland) out now in terms of leveling, and Playthrough 2 is almost over. So, where I imagine many players call it quits and go on another search for The Vault with another class, I don’t! No, sir (ma’m?)!

I’m determined to find every little tiny bit there is to find in regards to hidden missions and and getting the 100% completion of the playthroughs with my character. May sound a little freaky, but it’s true. Never ever has a game satisfied me so much, that I can sit on my arse for an insane ammount of hours without even giving as much as a single thought towards actually going to the toilet for a little piss-break. (/me wonders if he’s in danger of getting a kidney-stone to pass soon… Ouch!)

Now, when Playthrough 2 is finished I will of course create a new class and start scavanging and looting Pandora again. But, my main will always be there, and he WILL have a 100% completion someday. I promise!

Multiplayer is awesome!
Stronger enemies and way better loot. Just this morning, I hopped on a publically available game with 3 other players,  and found no less than FOUR Dark Orange weapons. (That’s when the host decided I wasn’t allowed to keep them and kicked me out before the autosave kicked in, by the way! MAN-WANK!) Everything is so much better with a full 4 player co-op than playing alone. And not to mention all the bullshit being said on voiceover chat!

Again; I LOVE BORDERLANDS! Go get it if you haven’t!

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by Ca9ine

I have been given the privilege to talk to Gert Haar-Jørgensen, one of the founders of Zero Point Software, the developer of the upcoming game Interstellar Marines.

Jørgensen, has been surprisingly open regarding the issues ZPS (Zero Point Software) are facing, the financial restructuring and the engine IM (Interstellar Marines) is built on. But there are great news in the midst of all this. He explains that a solution has presented itself in regards to the engine licensing, and ZPS has started working on IM again. Jørgensen further explains that ZPS may very well have some IM awesomeness to present to the community as close as 6 months from now.

So, what is the solution? Well, it couldn’t be more fitting. It’s called Unity.

“Unity is a multiplatform game development tool, designed from the start to ease creation. A fully integrated professional application, Unity just happens to contain the most powerful engine this side of a million dollars.”

The people at Unity had ambitions of creating an AAA capable engine, and ZPS have been selected to be the test-pilot for the new engine. This means that ZPS are receiving the much needed licenses for free from Unity, and thus can and have picked up the development of Interstellar Marines. The only set-back is that all the development done on the previous engine, must now be ported over to Unity. And that’s where the 6 months I mentioned a little further up comes in.

Zero Point Software rises from the ashes…
For The Love of The Game

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