Holiday Time!

Well, would you believe it... for the first time in many (many) years not only do I have a valid passport BUT I'm actually going to be using it!!!

Woohoo!

At the end of this week I'm off to Prague for a well earned break.

Fortunately my ankle has healed up rather nicely so I'll be able to wander round enjoying the sights, sounds and (more importantly) cuisine of the Czech Republic. Still aches but the nasty-looking bruising has faded and the swelling has all but dissapeared.

Of course, the problem with not having been on holiday in quite so long is that I've have no idea what I need to take with me. Probably best if I start by getting a suitcase...

Don't worry... I'll be sure to take my camera so I can inflict hundreds of holiday snaps on you (Heh heh heh).

Fun in the sun

Believe it or not (and this might shock some of the people that actually know me) I do actually like playing sport. It's not something I do very often because by the time I've left work I'm completely knackered and the weekends are for recovering (especially the sleep that I've missed). That and the fact that I can't stand overly competitive people (the sort that act like you've just shot their mother after missing an open goal). I have enough to deal with at work, I don't fancy spending my down-time stressing over sport as well! It IS supposed to be fun after all!

Anyway, I have been trying to get some tennis in over the last couple of weeks. Inspired by Wimbledon and bullied by my peers, I've been running around making a fool of myself (as if I needed a tennis racket and ball to do that) in an attempt to improve my fitness and get a little sun.

Unfortunately, one particularly futile attempt to return a ball seem to leave me balancing precariously on the edge of my left foot... for as long as it took for my ankle to give way with a loud crack and dump me in a heap on the tarmac.

So now, I'm sat at home avoiding the sun with a pack of frozen vegetables for company. I'm pretty sure it is just a sprain so I'm not going to bother the nice staff at the hospital (I'm sure they'll find something to do in the meantime) but this is not quite what I'd planned one week before I start my holiday...

Absolutely no ranting... none... promise

Thought it might be a good idea to post something more cheerful now that I've got my most recent rant out of the way...

So... how about some music? Bit of the lostprophets perhaps? A dash of Billy Talent?

Bought both their latest albums last week but not had much of a chance to listen to them. What I have heard so far seems pretty good.

The lostprophets album, Liberation Transmission, in particular seems pretty cool. I'm not sure it's as good as Start Something and their new 'look' is not necessarily to my taste... but then I'm a bit more inclined towards proper rock and metal attire... jeans, t-shirts, leather and dancing girls (watch the video for Burn Burn from their last album... my sort of party).

Billy Talent II, though not very imaginatively named, says it all really... it's more of the same! That's not necessarily a bad thing but it does mean that you really have to love Billy Talent to truly appreciate it.

Mind you... I have only just started listening to the albums... everything could change! I'll keep you posted (probably).

Star-F*cked

This was supposed to be a quick overview of FlatOut 2 as it arrived this morning...

There would have probably been some amusing comments (maybe)...

A screenshot or two...

Maybe even a link to the game's website...

Unfortunately this is not the case thanks to the delights of Star-Force protection.

In the past I have subscribed to a very easy rule: if they don't get in my way, I won't have a problem, and up until today this has worked just fine. I buy a PC game, install it, play it, have fun. It's a very simple formula:

Me + Gaming = Money in pocket for people who made/published/sold the game

So what went wrong this time?

Let me take you on a step-by-step magical mystery tour through the Star-Force way to kill a PC:

- Game is installed
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers demand to be installed
- Driver installation requires PC to be rebooted
- PC reboots
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- I check my PC for running emulators... find none
- In case it is detecting the presence of in-active drive emulation software, I remove Alcohol 120% (which doesn't actually have any virtual devices present)
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- PC is rebooted (just in case)
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- Desk is thumped(hand is gently nursed)
- All possible types of software that might have even a slight passing resemblance to emulation software are uninstalled
- A registry cleaner is used to make sure that there is no residue
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- Star-Force forums are consulted... a possible solution involving the removal and re-installation of the Star-Force protection is found
- Star-Force protection is removed using approved tool
- Removal requires a reboot
- PC is rebooted
- Windows stops working
- House burns down to the ground
- Plague of zombies attack the Isle of Wight
- The Earth stops spinning
- We all die

...

Ok... so anything after 'Windows stops working' may have been a slight exaggeration (I'll find out for certain when I get back home and find that my house is, in fact, a smoking pile of ash)

So what now... Windows boots but won't give me a log-in screen. As far as the system is concerned, it has booted successful so there is no 'last know good configuration'. Safe mode also refuses to give me a log-in screen. I'm screwed...

And what happens if I re-install Windows tonight and then try again... and get the same results?

At the end of the day, I try to be a realist. I know that they'll argue that is was obviously something wrong with my setup and that the Star-Force protection was working just fine. It's most likely true... but then isn't that the point of a PC? We can install what we like in terms of hardware and software? If I wanted to play games on something 'fixed' I'd have used one of my consoles... it's not like they ever get hacked is it!

Don't get me wrong... I have absolutely no problem with the people who make the games trying to protect their investment. I do think, if I'm honest, they are wasting their time and money because if you make a decent game... people will buy it (bit of a no-brainer really). My complaint is completely with the method of protection: I spend a awful lot of time and money setting up my system so that I can get the most enjoyment out of it; I don't want someone else telling me what software I can and can't have on my PC and I certainly don't want them installing drivers of they're own creation so that it takes up hours of my time... MY TIME... trying to fix a problem so that I can play a game! Stop and think about that... all I want to do is play a game that I have paid good money for and thanks to Star-Force I'm very tempted just not to bother and send the game back.

They argue that by using Star-Force they can stop the 0-day pirating of their games... I argue that anyone who really wants a game on the day of release will have already pre-ordered it from their favorite website.

The only people who really suffer are the legitimate purchasers of the games... People who play pirated game will always find a way round the system, regardless of how 'good' your protection is!

Damn... I'm ranting again... I was hoping not to do that...

Temporary Citizens

The sun does funny things to people...

At what point does going out for a ride on your lovely powerful motorbike in just a T-shirt, trainers, shorts and a helmet seem like a good idea?

As a biker myself, particularly one that is currently off-road thanks to a careless Volvo driver, I can't begin to stress the importance of wearing the right kit.

I love my bike, I love riding (particularly on sunny days) but I also don't like leaving bits of me stuck to the tarmac!

When Mr. Volvo driver decided that he didn't like the look of my FZ750 (well... I'm sure he would have IF he'd looked) I was doing just 10mph. Fortunately, the damage to me was minor, the usual sprains and bruises, but only due to my leathers taking the brunt of it. The leather on the toe of my right boot was scraped almost completely off (revealing the steel toe cap) as was the leather on my right shoulder and upper arm. If coming off at such a low speed can do this much damage to my leathers... Imagine just how much damage it can do to your rather more delicate skin.

So please, I don't care if you riding a scooter or the fastest bike on the planet, wear some suitable protection... it's a little bit of hassle for a whole lifetime's worth of benefit!

And if you're in any doubt, try a Google image search for 'motorcycle accident'...

Sorry to get quite so serious...

Darkstar One? Cutscenes zero...

Why does it still happen? Can anyone tell me? Rubbish cutscenes... they must have watched them before they released the demo?!? Allow me to explain...

I'm talking about Darkstar One... a 'new' space combat/trading game from Ascaron. I downloaded the much-hyped demo a couple of days ago and decided to give it a try.

The game itself is passable; there's nothing new in there that is likely to surprise you with all the usual combat/trading stereotypes present: space stations to trade with and get missions from, pirates to hunt to get credits for, cargo ships to plunder, aliens invading the universe, etc... even down to the tried and tested Elite-style radar. The only 'original' feature I've found so-far is the way you upgrade your ship... finding artifacts that allow it to grow and improve. Nice idea... but it does tie you down to a single ship removing one of the driving forces in games like this (IMHO): amassing a collection of fantastic ships!

The graphics are good although I'm not sure how they compare to something like Eve Online for presenting the vast scale of the universe. It would be nice to have see some truly original ship design.

But then there are the cutscenes...

I'm not sure I've seen such painfully cringe-worthy assaults on my senses since watching the last 15 minutes of Torque! Imagine watching the end of Se7en but replacing Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt with the Chuckle Brothers (stop laughing... It could happen). It's not nice...

Word of advice: Only the likes of Patrick Stewart can get away with saying things like "Into the stars..."

Maybe I'm being too harsh... after all, it is just the demo! I did enjoy playing it and was impressed at the amount of content in the demo, but it could have easily been Freelancer or something similar, there just wasn't enough to distinguish it from the pack. In fact, I've even contemplated re-installing Freelancer to feed my space combat needs!

Don't just take my word for it... download the demo and give it a try!

A Fresh Start...

It's been a while since I last posted so I thought it provided a perfect opportunity to move from my old blog to this shiny new one at Blogger.com.... hope you like it!