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[Real-time strategy:]

So-
I was thinking about my gaming habits and found that I often play games that little of people know, but somehow shine over the genre. Yet-to-be-found gems or simply good case of underdogs...

For example:

Real-time strategy:
Act of War: Direct action and Act of War: High Treason


It's kind of weird how I simply picked this one up from discount game bin at local supermarket. I usually don't shop like this and I didn't even take a good look at the game disc. I though it would simply entertain me for an evening or so... boy was I wrong!

It became one of my very favourite games in genre - a RTS with modern, realistic touch, which always appeals to me. This game has units of modern day and even very realistic future, such as US Future Warrior combat gear or Stryker multifunctional troop carrier. Plus, it's all built onto a quite solid techno-thrillerish storyline.

And it's a RTS that stays true to original formula, having almost everything that made original Command & Conquer such cool game, unlike new games that try to change formula even if it makes game suck, just for the sake of having some "new approach to RTS genre".

Turn-based strategy:
Castles II: Siege & Conquest

It's quite simple game, best replacement for solitaire or other hour-to-waste filler I've ever seen.
Plus, there's not much games that have such wonderful music or option "behead him!" when enemy sends a messenger with peace offerings...

Adventure games:
KGB (a.k.a Conspiracy)

I would pay $100 to play a worthy sequel to this one. Or $300 to be able to make one myself.
When numerous death endings in Sierra's adventures often simply sucked, this game shows "game over" in style. It's realistic, gruesome, extremely thrilling & interesting and insanely difficult. Not something you hear in the review of adventure game too often.

I could continue this list, but it gets too long, I'm afraid.

Political strategy
Another titles of my reality-taste -
Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator, Shadow President, Hidden Agenda

Quite simply games that were once made, are unique, and there will be probably no more. Which is sad. Only company that makes games like this - is Paradox Interactive - and sadly, their games - while going into deepest detail - are not interesting enough for me to play. There's a deep strategy game and there's a damn Excel spreadsheet. PI makes latter, only with graphics. I wonder if there will ever be beginner-friendly versions of Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, etc--- much like three I mentioned..?

Do you have something similar to contribute? Games that are good, but less-known?

My take:
(Somewhat) left to right, described

Spoiler

Woman w/ shirts & Man - Jagged Alliance 2 (Deidranna & Ivan)... too easy to guess from russian gaming image- JA2 is like national game and genre, considering popularity and endless tries at same type of game
Poster - Hitman
Sims mood crystal
Lemmings
Cavemen on flying thing - Ugh!
Mafia
Sam & Max
Men on cliff - Duke Nukem and Serious Sam
Dancing on cliff - Sid Meier's Pirates! (really good one ... hard to guess at first. It's not guybrush. Remember dancing minigame from new pirates?)
Flying with guns - left - Max Payne
Bomberman
With scythes - Grim Fandango, Dungeon Keeper, forgot last one
Full Throttle bike
guys in trench - Commandos, Metal Gear Solid
car with teeth - dig dug?
Dude with weird sword - Final Fantasy?
Bald dude gardening tiberium - Kane from Command & Conquer
Car crash - Carmageddon & Halo, frog is from Frogger
Robot - Abe (forgot game full name, Oddworld?)
Half-Life, more full Throttle
With pile of women - Leisure Suit Larry
The joker - Legend of Kyrandia
Alien - Ufo Enemy Unknown
fat bald dude - Evil Genius
Tentacle - from Day of tentacle
Pirate thing - could be from some newer game of Monkey Island, never played any
pyramid head - Silent Hill
Thief
fight "cloud" - megaman
stealing stuff from fight cloud - S.T.A.L.K.E.R
Earthworm Jim with Dune sandworm head vs. Worms!
guy at hatch door - Fallout 3
Alien vs Predator
guys with flags - Unreal Tournament (was this mistaken as team fortress or am I wrong?)
guy with mop - Space Quest
in the pile of heads - Gobliins
dude hanging from tentacles - MDK?
next row wizard - Simon the sorcerer
angry knight - World of Warcraft?
little knight and poo - Heroes of Might & Magic
heads on sticks - Mortal Kombat, Doom
guy in pikes - Prince of Persia
cyberdemon at table - Doom again
guys in cage - Out of this World (Another world)

[close]

[could have more variety and main melody could shut up and make room for others sometime]

Basically... you have too much chipping, short notes and pizzicato everywhere. Beginnings of a track make me wait for fuller sounds and longer notes to kick in or tempo would rise... and it never comes  :'( Also, I'd up the tempo on most songs a bit.

Boss fight track is obviously weakest and most odd-sounding of the bunch. Bossfights must be all action-jackson, hi-tempo adrenaline tracks, not some strange voodoo-making ambient. I like "outdoor" though it could have more variety and main melody could shut up and make room for others sometime, but that's what I would say about every track in this list!

I hate the upper row of photos and typewriter font on "önneredsskolan". The photos have sick amount of detail... if you make school photos, make sure to keep them simpler, either zoomed or just with less tiny things on photo.

Right now they distort vision so awfully that it kills concentration and it makes hard to read the page. Like looking at a pad of needles or tip of scissors at very close distance. Maybe it's me being sensitive, not sure. Also, I would think twice about font. It looks nice, but isn't that readable.

Everything else looks clear and eye-pleasing though.

Let's jump onto bandwagon!... or rather not?

Anyway.

I believe that there is no God (atleast, whatever the word stands for) and religion is one biiiig pile of bullshit. Might be taken seriously as political system (middle ages), psychological method/tool (since beginning of the man) for motivation/soul aid,  historic tale, superpowerful way to form a civilization and everything else nice and useful, but in a core, I see it as a fairy tale.

Just an useful one...
That's religion.
By that, I claim disbelief in everything religious people study, such as Moses, walking through sea, angels, hell & heaven, Allah the prophet, Jesus or just whatever crazy stuff form the bio of different religions.

Sure, there might be historical characters who introduced religion and therefore became prophets, and were even named as they appear in books, but I don't think anyone fed 5000 with few fish and bread.

Religion.

Now, I said "I believe that there is no God" and pointed out that there's nothing what the word should stand for specifically.

What I DO believe is that man could have no idea of how higher power (what everyone calls god in their religion) could look like, be or even would it be anything we could describe, ever. But there COULD be something, that functions like God. Maybe it's unknown matter, energy, dimension, or maybe just a long and complex mathematical formula that makes world go around.

That unknown entity I believe and respect and it's something you could call "fear of god". Sometimes I think it's my own set of morals and conscience that makes me quiet down in church or stop & hesitate before committing something that would result with burning in hell by christian ideology, brings strange coincidences and gives life some unknown, strange, all-controlled, someone's-behind-the-scenes feel. But more often I feel that this cannot be my subconscious mind alone and there MUST be something else.

To sum up, I have some bits of religious mind in me, and to SOMETHING, I do respond. I definitely don't think what atheists do - that everything's up to us only and there's nothing else out there. Then again, I don't like religious people at all. In general, not personally. For example, Muslims sound plain crazy to me and Christians triple it with history long of slavery, inquisition and other savagery. Oriental religions, such as Buddhism sounds more peaceful but quite crazy aswell.

So, what I think is that man is not worth his god. Priests make me mad, because human being cannot represent god, ever. Whatever the god itsself would be... you can read that boring book of jew history and drink wine pretending it to be blood all you want, but you will never, ever get to know what god really is. No amount of water on the head will change anything but your own strength of belief. I don't understand how religions would in a common sense think that such circus would please something as mighty as god? For example, I see really no major difference in Christians praying at Jesus on the cross and scandinavian pagans sacrificing food to some holy trees 700 years ago at the same place I sit right now. It's all a ceremony, and benefits people performing it, but has very little to do with God itsself.

What does that make of me?
Did I start a religion? Smugism! Let's form a cult. Who's with me?

You did the right thing.

Your post is all about feeling being rejected and for a knight fighting dragons and jumping over lava pits - as you measure yourself in this relationship - rejection is worst outcome. Plus, it's most awful way to make loving man feel. You will never be happy in this.

Since you're a good-looking, quite proud and selfish male (of what I read), it's all about sex anyway... I don't buy most of the story, because man starts to find mistakes in loved woman if he's being humiliated himself. Not earlier. I think you're seriously butthurt and your brain varies between "maybe I should try harder" and "no, there's no point in it", even though you already made a choice.

Well, there isn't. Trying more will cause harder failure.

You're both quite young so it's far from end of the world anyway.

Few scientific ones I thought about while trying to sleep:

1) How does temperature (heat energy) act in vacuum? Let's say, we put a bowl of hot soup into airless room. Since there's no air to absorb heat, does soup suffer from any temperature loss at all (after giving some to the bowl)? I believe thermos uses vacuum somehow to keep liquid warm..?

2) Let's say there's no air on earth and I'm standing ontop of mount everest or tallest skyscraper. I throw a baseball. Can I make it orbit earth? Would lack of air friction make my throwing speed high enough to achieve needed speed? Also, since there's no air friction in space, why do astronauts in suits move so damn slow?

Scientists from university?

A perfect example of taxpayers' money well spent!

I'd go low res.
Your hi-res is okay, but low-res is near excellent. Also, hi-res needs more colors than this.

And to be completely honest, low res has less of this stupid manga look, which I absolutely hate. You got good drawing skills, why waste it on anime? Every third amateur artist who has watched some cartoons seems to be drawing manga those days. This keeps very own distinct style (which is WAY more interesting) from developing and art is nothing but poor ripoffs of some japanese stuff.

For me, even a drawing from worst artist at critics lounge is still more interesting than manga, be it made from hundred times best artist.

You're from Peru? Make us something interesting and unique, instead of trying to sell yourself as a japanese.

Well, here's a perfectionist's prayer to you:

"That old stuff was amateurish, stupid and shame to show to anyone. When you made this, you were only practicing.

You might have lost it, but none of the skills you acquired while making it.
You have those skills right now.

You will make new stuff, way better than any of this old crap was, and be proud.
And rock.

Amen"

I'd suggest to benchmark it both at 90C and whatever lowest temperature you can get (open window, open computer case, put a fan near computer, increase fan speed, etc). I'd say 60-70, no more.

I believe you possibly cannot directly check if white screen re-occurs, but benchmarking should show if temperature makes any change. If the change is noticeable, keep it cool until either white screen occurs or hasn't happened anymore for considerable amount of time so you'll know you got rid of the problem.

[90°C]

90°C ?!

Water boils at 100°C... I had GF5700LE once that went haywire just after it reached over 61°C. Had to unscrew my case and open window to play HL2 normally. Card didn't have a radiator or cooling fan, strange card that was. There was a sad thread here at AGS too...

But then again, I have no clue what's "normal" for newer cards. Are you completely sure 90 isn't too much?

Naming your Windows version could be useful here: and ignore SSH. Switching to linux over few Windows problems sounds like going jogging in spacesuit just in case it'll be raining. Especially if you're a gamer.

White screen? To deny reality, I'd say either drivers or heat. I had my share of Geforce cards over time and strange things usually happened when quadruple drivers were installed or card heated up.

Heat: Is your card cooled properly? Computer not near heat source of against wall? All ventilation openings clear of obstacles & dust and have some space around them? How much room is inside computer, around the card & its cooler?  No fat wires obstructing airflow?

...because of overclocking: Is your card overclocked? With cheaper versions of NVidia cards, they're often overclocked (at factory) and you don't even know about it. This causes heating and lessens card life too.

Drivers: When was last time you reinstalled windows and how many versions of video drivers could be between? You might have some old, non 280-compatible drivers left and they sometimes kick in?

But to accept reality, most likely your card might simply be faulty. Loads of stores sell hardware that has some tiny, unnoticeable problem. Like out of billions of calculations, GPU gets one wrong or something. That's quite common and keeps smaller hardware stores in business, since those cards go into trashcan normally or cost considerably less. Might be something you never notice, simply reboot every once in a while and blame it all to Microsoft, aliens or whatever.

Loads of stands of thinner hair into his do' and it's perfect IMO.
Hair looks kind of unbalanced and bold right now, compared to rest.

Huh, it's quite horrid.

* gray is most boring of all colors.
* Perspective is non-existent
* Photo-like things don't fit into pixel-style background
* There's WAY too much unused space. Tiny detailed pixel food and acres of boring, empty floor/wall?
* Add shadows.
* But fix perspective first.

24 is good if you have whole season(s) on DVD and 3-4 days to endlessly watch one.

But catching it from tv with week apart kills pretty much everything... and yeah, same plots play over and over with tiny changes: the first "problem" is never too interesting because it's just cover for second, bigger one, which is cover for third, major conspiracy...  

NYPD Blue was nice too, if you like cop series. At least in the beginning, though it got a bit soapy later on...

Seconded, both sentences.

Aha, another one:

The Equalizer

Quite intelligent show for a time when people watched such fun stupidity as the A-team, Airwolf and Knight Rider.
Also, it has most scary intro ever... had nightmares about it when I was a kid.

I recently pirated acquired 4 seasons and apart from some crappy episodes, it's really good. Protagonist (Edward Woodward) absolutely rocks, with using gun when needed, getting hit by bullets and being really clever overall.
It's on DVD also.

Maybe it feels so only for a non-native speaker, but US english and UK english have mixed too much to make any sense anymore.

* Defense or Defence? (i personally prefer S-version)
* color or colour? (are they same? Or is latter a verb? Sounds french so I assume it's UK-version)
* what's the verb of relieving a running nose? Is there a better word than "running nose", describing it as condition? It's quite strange word with adjective. In other languages, it's usually only one word.

Stargate SG-1

Yea, now that's intelligent  

For a sitcom - more intelligent than others in genre, and absolutely best ever/actually funny IMO, I suggest

Two Guys and a Girl (formerly Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place)
You will have hard time finding a DVD though.

I don't understand why people watch Friends. Seriously.

I'll try to think more, I'm quite sure I know about really intelligent show that hasn't named yet. I hope you haven't forgot about The X-files...
From a long time and disappointed fan, Lost and Heroes both suck. Contrary to what stupot said, I find Lost nothing but rewarding. Except if you watch only first season and quit there.