It's Not (Just) About The Game

Montaging up a storm #BFBC2 #BF3

2011-09-17T06:39:00.000+08:00

Well kids, I uploaded Episode IV of my Battlefield Adventures montage series this week and I couldn't resist titling it 'A New Hope' - Star Wars fan 4 lyf :) I'm really happy with how it turned out: cranking soundtrack - 'The Shit That Killed Bruce Lee' by Dhruva Aliman (courtesy of BeatPick, as always); What I consider to be some great (non-augmented) transitions (my favourite being at 4:46, but watch it all anyway :) ); some good AT4 kills and a few 870CS clinics conducted :)

My only disappointment with it is that at about two thirds of the way in, the audio gets out of sync *massive fucking sigh*. I'm so pissy about that, in particular because I recognised early on that it had happened and I spent quite some time rebuilding the entire soundtrack, manually, clip by clip. And then, I didn't notice that it hadn't worked when I ran through it :/ (it was 2 am at the time). After the 6 hour, 2.64 GB upload there was a snowflakes chance in hell of me redoing the audio and re-uploading.

This is the first time I have had audio sync issues, and it was a re-occuring issue for the entire time I was editing Episode IV. I've been using Avidemux exclusively thus far, and I think I am outgrowing it and desiring something with a larger feature set and a bit more grunt. I'll definitely be keeping it for coarse cutting that I generally do after each capture session. Time to try something different, but what?

Anyhoo, given the proximity of the Battlefield 3 beta (sometime in the next week or so) it is likely that the upcoming Episode V (should be this weekend) will be the last of my BFBC2 montage series. I'm planning (at this juncture anyway) to get a BF3 montage up pretty quickly post beta release (nominally Episode VI) so keep an eye out for it (and any other videos I upload ;) ).

I am so amped for BF3 because my time with BC2 (nearly 700 hours combined, with PC and Xbox 360) has been primarily characterised by latency, lag, hit detection and hit registration issues. This hasn't been all the time, but it is a consistent issue.

For Xbox 360 it was 6 months of playing on US servers. Lag. The first month of Aussie servers was fine, but since then, as servers have been removed, the hit detection got worse for me.

I switched to PC to allow me to capture video, and "do" YouTube. I mistakenly thought that switching to PC, and local servers, would fix all my issues. Wrong! It has certainly been better, but local servers turn to shit when people with large pings join. Like I mean hit detection goes right out the fucking window when one person with 400 ping (i.e. some overseas shit stain) joins the server. Hit detection is flaky (for me at least) when there are people with 250+ ping. It is definitely Dice's net code that is to blame. However the latency compensation has been set up, people with 400 ping are at an advantage on servers compared to the local population (with a mean ping of say 120 ms) . Lagging is an advantage? Yeah fuck that.

I just hope that BF3 fixes that shit. But I won't hold my breath until after I play it. I am hopeful however.

Battlefield Adventures

2011-08-13T09:02:00.000+08:00

One week ago I uploaded my very first Battlefield Bad Company 2 montage to YouTube under the particularly unimaginative title of barrymoves' Battlefield Adventures Episode I: Level 0 to 5 The n00b years. I'm actually really happy with how it turned out, and of course I've learned a bunch of things that I can put to work on my next montage - which will be coming soon because I currently have sufficient footage :)

If you haven't already, check out the montage on YT, I think it really has something for everyone in it:

It's got AT4 kills, knifing, me getting team killed (in the head) by "friendly" snipers, me accidentally killing friendly snipers, and even some teabagging ;)

Next up on my YT channel will most likely be a BFBC2 commentary. I've never done one of those before and I'm a little nervous. But, it was a particularly good game that I had, and I want to do just a little bit of analysis on BFBC2 as a whole, not the game/map/mode, and where it is hopefully heading in BF3.

Fast forwarding

2011-08-03T20:46:00.001+08:00

So while I've just started trying my hand at creating montages, it seems that I have learned at least one skill quicker than one of my online buddies. He too has been using Avidemux and asked me how the hell I did the fast forward segments in my very first YouTube clip, and could I teach him?

Yes, I can.

And so I whipped this up last night:

My second YouTube upload :)

I really am enjoying this video editing caper, it really gets my creative juices flowing :D

Borderlands 2

2011-08-03T20:23:00.001+08:00

There is a god.

Borderlands 2 is the epic sequel to the ultimate four-player Role-Playing Shooter loot fest. Combining invention and evolution, Borderlands 2 features all new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story. Players will reveal secrets, and escalate mysteries of the Borderlands universe as they adventure across the unexplored new areas of Pandora.

http://www.borderlands2.com/

One of my favorite games of ALL time gets a sequel. It was inevitable. How many guns will it have this time?

My First Time (uploading to YouTube)

2011-07-31T21:00:00.000+08:00

So I spent a few hours on Saturday fiddling around with the spoils from my capturing using MSI Afterburner. Never having edited before I downloaded the first program I came across - Avidemux. Freeware. And capable of doing simple tasks video editing tasks - i.e. perfect for my needs.

I manage to muddle my way through it, and modify a few cuts to run at a higher frame rate. I stuck it all together, fudged an intro and an outro, and came up with this:

It's a 1080p behemoth, running to a cool 47 seconds, with a backing track from BeatPick (creative commons). I think it is pretty good for a first effort :)

Next stop, I'm going to put together a more lengthy montage. But before I do that, I may try out some different editors - I think I need more bells and whistles. The perfect test subject for different editors is a proper introduction that I can use for future video uploads.

Stay tuned folks.

Capturing Changes

2011-07-31T19:32:00.001+08:00

It has been a little while since my last update, and much has happened during this time. Not least my legions of blog readers (bwahahahaha, yeah right!) will have well and truly disappeared from these shores. Since May I've been to Europe for 4 weeks (first time ever); celebrated another birthday; a wedding anniversary; and given up on playing BFBC2...

...On Xbox 360.

I also built myself a nice little toy, which now resides in the study, and has also sorts of magical powers, including the ability to play games on high settings and utilise a keyboard and mouse. Yes, I finally returned to the world of PC (gaming) after few (several) years absence - but more about that at a later time.

So I've been playing BFBC2 on PC, and capturing my footage (which is something that I have ALWAYS wanted to do - and now I can) using a software based solution.

After trying a selection of competing products, my weapon of choice is MSI Afterburner (version 2.2.0 BETA for those who are interested - the beta version can also capture sound, the full version 2.1.0 cannot). I tried both FRAPS and PlayClaw but they both ran like absolute pigs compared to Afterburner, and (this is the real kicker) they require me to pay monies to get a full featured product. Ergo, FAIL.

There have been some small issues between MSI Afterburner and PunkBuster causing my system to hang while playing BFBC2 (something that wouldn't happen on a console - welcome to PC you say). However, this was fixed very easily using this guide (steps summarised thusly):

Stop MSI Afterburner from accessing certain low-level functions of the GPU by neutering it. To do so, all you have to do is navigate to the Afterburner folder and then rename "RTCore.cfg" to anything else (or delete it, but that's not recommended). Do this BEFORE running Afterburner of course. If you already have it running, you'll need to restart Afterburner. This will stop the freezing/crashing in BFBC2 while having Afterburner running, and will preserve your user-defined fan profiles. However, certain features may no longer work.

Easy hey? It would be easier if it worked without all the fiddling :P

So after all the rooting around, I can play BFBC2 on high detail and capture footage all while staying above a healthy 60 fps at 1920x1080 resolution.

And then, the ensuing footage can be cut, edited and tarted up into a clip to be uploaded to YouTube. I just need to get me some editing skills, but I have a few little projects in mind :)

"Walshied" HTC Mozart's get the 7392 Update (Telstra)

2011-05-11T20:02:00.006+08:00

Wow!

Who'd have thunk it? If you were on Telstra, and used the Chevron.WP7.Updater to get NoDo "early" (read: on time), you would have been pleasantly surprised today when you were offered an Update in Zune. You don't have to revert your ROM after all :)

The update not only updates your Mozart handset to the latest 7392 version (ergo, NoDo + security certificate patch) it also includes updated firmware. These firmware updates were not included when the phone was "Walshed", and have been included in the latest update per the MS update rules:

Because updates are cumulative, when you install the latest update, you'll also get all the previous updates if your phone doesn't have them already.

In the case of a Telstra Mozart, this means you get the updated Firmware that you should have got with NoDo.

The mere fact that the handsets update to the latest revision, with the latest firmware, suggests that the "Walshed" cycle is broken, and your Mozart is back on the righteous path. Similarly, presumably any issues you had with a Chevron version of NoDo will now have disappeared with this FW update - time will tell of course.

Of course, no doubt Telstra will c0ck block the release of Mango later on this year, and approve it for release 2 months after the fact. In which case, you can always switch to a generic Euro ROM ;)

Telstra Mozart (Walshed)

Model: T8697
OS Version: 7.0.7390.0
Firmware: 2250.09.12305.841
Hardware: 0004
Radio Software: 5.50.09.18_22.24.50.09U
Radio Hardware: A.22.0.D4
Bootloader: 1.23.2250.5(110539)
Chip SOC Version: 2.2.5.0

Telstra Mozart (Walshed) post 7392 update

Model: T8697
OS Version: 7.0.7392.0
Firmware: 2250.09.13001.841
Hardware: 0004
Radio Software: 5.54.09.21_22.33b.50.10U
Radio Hardware: A.22.0.D4
Bootloader: 1.30.2250.1(117853)
Chip SOC Version: 2.2.5.0

Telstra Mozart (stock) post 7392 update

Model:HTC T8697
OS Version: 7.0.7392.0
Firmware: 2250.09.13001.841
Hardware: 0004
Radio Software: 5.54.09.21_22.3b.50.10U
Radio Hardware: A.22.0.D4
Bootloader: 1.30.2250.1(117833)
Chip SOC Version: 2.2.5.0

The only difference between a "Walshed" Telstra Mozart and a stock Telstra Mozart is the bootloader. Of course this may be the result of a typo from my compatriots at Whirlpool.

Apologies to Chris Walsh for using his name as a verb. If it wasn't for Chris and the Chevron WP7 lads, most Telstra users wouldn't have feasted on the delights of NoDo until today. And that would have been a tragedy.

Did you use Chevron.WP7.Updater on your Telstra HTC Mozart?

2011-05-02T23:03:00.003+08:00

With Telstra having recently finished (the world's longest ever) testing of the "March update" for the Windows Phone OS, it will soon be scheduled for deployment to end users (in May :/ ). The question is, will it update your phone (Mozart in particular) if you used the Chevron.WP7.Updater to get NoDo "early" (ergo, on time)?

EDIT: So it is unlikely that you will need to use this method owing to this and this. That's right, and OFFICIAL fix is coming.

Who knows?

I know that Sheeds had no problems updating his Samsung Focus to NoDo. So the MS advice concerning "breaking your phone" could still be all FUD yet.

But if your Telstra Mozart doesn't update, I know a way around it, to get you back to the original ROM state, and then obtain the updates via the official channel. I used this method, and it works.

Note: this method is not official, nor supported, and could result in loss of data, bricking of phone..blah blah blah (if you are reading this you didn't listen to Walshie's warning, so why would you listen now? ;) ).

This method is a slightly different (and Telstra Mozart orientated) recipe to that found here (if you do visit this link, and I encourage you to if you have the time, you may read that the method can be used to debrand your Mozart - and it can...but not in Australia. Sadly, and not for lack of trying, the "swapsie" method does not work as there is no local generic ROM available for such an adventure and a Goldcard is the only method.)

IMPORTANT: THIS METHOD DELETES ALL YOUR DATA FROM YOUR PHONE

1.) Make sure you have the correct drivers for your OS (note this method does not work on Mac OSX - boot into Windows just like I did...):

Windows XP users:
Install Microsoft ActiveSync.

Windows Vista/7 users:
Install Windows Mobile Device Center - make sure you install the right version 32/64bit depending upon your OS version.

2.) Ensure your phone has at least 50% charge.

3.) Download the Telstra HTC Mozart ROM.

4.) Open up ActiveSync/Mobile Device Center (I don't believe that this step is actually required, but do it anyway).

5.) Turn your phone off.

6.) Put your phone in bootloader mode (so it can be booted from the PC): Press and hold the volume down button, then press the power button. Make sure you hold the volume key until the blue/red/green screen appears.

7.) Plug your phone into your PC. The HTC driver should install.

8.) If the driver installs correctly, your phone will display USB mode.

9.) Run RUU_Mozart_Telstra_WWE_1.23.841.05_5.50.09.18_22.24.50_RELEASE.exe (if you downloaded a .zip version, unzip it first ;) ).

The updater .exe will ask you a couple of times whether you want to lose/delete all your data. Be sure before you do it.

10.) Complete the update process.

11.) Your phone should be back to it's original state - pre-Feb & March updates; pre-Chevron.WP7.updater - and on the Telstra update schedule ;)

Now of course, you may not even need this method if your Chevron'ed Mozart updates correctly. But it is here in case you need it :)

N.B. Xbox Live save/game data is generally not backed up on XBL like it is for XBLA games (i.e. Arcade games on Xbox 360) so keep that in mind before you choose to do this. Full House Poker XBL data is backed up against your profile :)

Battlefield 3: I'd kill for 12 min of MP footage

2011-04-17T08:15:00.005+08:00

It is official. BF3 could well end up being the most hyped game of all time.

DICE are doing their best to garner interest, and it's working (like it wasn't going to work). They are trying to get 1 million followers on their Facebook page, and when they do, they will release the full 12-minute version of Fault line.

What's really exciting is that the video has been leaked (I think), and you can watch the video on YouTube, right now; and Battlefield only has 800k fans.

[EDIT: actually it seems that at 1 million fans they release a developers commentary version of the same video; maybe then thy can explain to me why the friendly AI wasn't returning fire at the 5 minute mark...]

I have also embedded the video below.

The funny thing about all of this, is that the predecessor of BF3, BF2, did not even have a single player campaign. And here we are now, 6 years down the road, having spent the last several weeks watching DICE hype the shit out of the SP campaign.

I couldn't be less excited about the single player campaign.

What I want to see is MP gameplay videos, and lot's of them. In truth, while DICE maybe adding SP at the behest of their lords and masters (EA) in a bid to increase sales, and win some sort fo e-peen measuring contest with Activision's Call Of Duty series, no one gives a crap about SP (maybe reviewers), and people only buy Battlefield titles for the epic, team-based, infantry and vehicular (including choppers and jets) multiplayer modes.

It seems that while BF3 is the sequel to BF2, it is taking more than it's fair share of leanings from the Bad Company series. So while we might be getting prone and jets from the "proper" BF games, we're getting a SP campaign, reduced number of classes and (presumably) additional MP game modes from BC2.

Happily, we aren't getting kill streaks. This is Battlefield after all, and not Call of Duty.

N.B. I promise to get excited when they start showing some MP game footage. Really. Promise.

The Quiet European (ROM): Debranding my Mozart

2011-04-13T20:42:00.002+08:00

Windows Phone 7, a beautiful, slick, and impressive phone OS caught in the grips of the software developer war of liberation from the network carriers.

Or something like that.

Windows Phone 7 is indeed an impressive mobile phone OS, however it has one major flaw: Carriers can block the OS updates (for one cycle) and there is no requirement for them to deliver the updates to their customers in a prompt and timely manner. And this is indeed the predicament that Microsoft and the users of WP7 find themselves in at the moment: c0ck bl0cking of OS updates to a whole new level, and MS have even created a site for users to track the non-performance of their network carrier with respect to delivering the OS updates.

From an Australian user perspective it has been an absolute debacle, with Telstra, I suppose a premium partner (and deliverer of the best mobile network in Oz), only releasing the pre-NoDo update (labelled as the February update) in April, and refusing to give any useful information regarding when users can expect NoDo (the March update). Compounded this nonsense is Telstra started selling the HTC HD7, which is already flashed to NoDo (7.0.7389) - ergo, what further testing is required?

This debacle has been ably summarised by Sheeds' in his WP7 blog.

Now, not all carriers are made equal. AT&T in the US is worse than Telstra. And there are some gems who have given MS the go ahead to deliver the update to their subscribers immediately (i.e. no testing required over and above the testing that each phone handset manufacturer already conducts). Vodafone falls into this category. Worldwide. Yes, Vodafone users in Australia have access to NoDo - which when you combine with a sub $30 mobile plan, becomes significant (in a good way).

And then there are the non-branded handsets. Non-branded handsets (particularly those in Europe) get the updates delivered immediately. And then that is where debranding comes in. But, before debranding comes the ChevronWP7.Updater created by developer wunderkind Chris Walsh.

In hindsight, the promise of "...Windows Phone updates, like right now..." for those stuck with Telstra and AT&T was too good to be true, and perhaps I should have heeded the disclaimer. I didn't. Thousands didn't actually (I believe that there was something in the region of 20,000 downloads prior to Chris taking down the tool at Microsoft's behest "Do not use my tool to update your phone". There is a problem with the tool, and while it gives the user something akin to NoDo, it isn't actually NoDo, and it puts the phone in a state where it is unable to receive future updates. It has been widely suggested by many comments that this is FUD (Fear, uncertainty, doubt), but going from my experience with "NoDo" (as in the not-exactly NoDo), it isn't the real NoDo.

Providing you can get access to an original carrier ROM, restoring your phone from the ChevronWP7.updater state is not hard, or time consuming, but this method results in your phone being completely wiped and returned to it's original state (pre-update). Given the problems that I had with "NoDo" I decided that the best course of action was to return to the original Telstra ROM (mainly because I though I could debrand it using the above method, without a gold card). My debranding activities using the XDA method met with a resounding fail, but I had a final course of action to try...

I had previously purchased a HTC Mozart Debrand Pack from fonefunshop.co.uk, which contains a Y-cable and gold card, and will simply rebrand your phone to a generic Euro ROM (yes, the very same generic, unbranded ROM that MS were already delivering NoDo to). I was actually hoping to not have to use it, but given I had wiped my phone by going back to Telstra, I had nothing left to lose.

The debrand process went seamlessly. Post debranding, I officially updated my Mozart to first the February update, and then the March update. The phone certainly runs a heck of a lot better on NoDo (rather than "NoDo" - there is a difference, or there seems to be). I fully expect that come availability of the future 'Mango' update, my generic Mozart will have it almost immediately.

This pleases me.

Top 10 games from the last 5 years

2011-04-12T18:23:00.003+08:00

Here is my list of the top 10 games (and platform played) from the last 5 years, with rationale, in response to the SPEC poll request posted on Screen Play this week.

I used make the daily pilgrimage to Screen Play religiously, but lately I've actually become somewhat bored with much of the content, and many of the comments - I still enjoy reading DexX's (of the GameTaco podcast fame) pieces but I can't stand the rest of the fluff: nowadays it fails to even closely resemble what I enjoy about gaming (in fairness it isn't just Screen Play, I am feeling a general malaise about the internets). Maybe when Screen Play inevitably (you heard it here first) becomes the DexX (and DexX alone) show, I'll return to reading with something akin to regularity.

Anyhoo.

This list reflects my personal tastes and not critical acclaim or diversity. It does not include a single Wii game (despite my having owned a Wii in this period). So bite me.

In no particular order:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (360)

Large maps; vehicles and 24 (or 32 on PC) player warfare. BC2 is an incredible improvement over it's predecessor and has been very successful on 360, PS3 and PC. This game gets a guernsey on my top 10 list for capturing my imagination, and stealing my life for a grand total of 776 hours (and counting) according to my Raptr account (though I think that figure is a little off - in terms of actual play time when you compare it to my official stats). Needless to say, providing that lessons have been learned in BC2 (particularly with chopper vs infantry balance), Dice's next title, BF3 (due end of 2011) will be an incredible game.

Borderlands (360)

Before BFBC2 there was Borderlands. No PvE FPS has taken up so much of my gaming time. EVER. Gearbox Software have crafted an epic game that revolves almost entirely around the looting mechanic, and guns! The story is shallow, but the characters are memorable, and the humour is first rate. Most importantly, underpinning the loot mechnic are literally millions upon millions of guns (and shields) in for you to find and spend hours mulling over which is best. The colour scheme of the guns is lifted directly from World of Warcraft - just one of the many "in jokes" ;)

Angry Birds (iPhone)

Did it popularise touch screen gaming? Maybe. It certainly made (makes) every other game look comparatively expensive given it's low price and frequent updating (that's what 12 million sales will buy you). Sadly I'm still waiting for it to arrive on Windows Phone 7 (it is due sometime this April), I'm expecting to pay $4 for it (that's Australian dollars, real money).

Kinect Sports (360)

Many will list Wii Sports, and that is their perogative. I refuse. Wii Sports simply has no depth. It is exciting the first time you play it with friends, but once you get past the honeymoon period, the relationship sours. Kinect Sports on the other hand is brilliant and MS erred by not including this game with the Kinect sensor (keeping increasing that attach rate, much? They learned the lesson from Wii ;) ). The controls are intuitive like the Wii's, but there are additional controller layers to master in each event, but particularly Table Tennis, Volleyball and Football (Soccer!). Add HD graphics and leaderboards on Facebook and it is lock.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (360)

Halo: Combat Evolved introduced a limit to the number of weapons that can be carried in an FPS. No more can your hero carry Pistol, Minigun, 2 shotguns, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle and BFG9000 (oh AND a chainsaw). RSV gave us a proper cover mechanic, as well as a gameplay departure from the Rainbow Six titles preceding it. The sad thing is that RSV was released at the same time as Gears Of War, which also featured a cover mechanic - and GOW was pretty. It seems that RSV was missed while everyone gushed over GOW, and RSV has the better cover mechanic. It is the perfect cover mechanic. I spent many a long hour playing this game, in both the challenging PvE 'Terrorist Hunt' mode, and in your standard Team Deathmatches. No shields. No bunnyhopping. No killstreaks. Brilliant :)

Portal (PC)

The Cake is a lie! GLaDOS is one of the most memorable enemies of all time, and the final credits song, Still Alive, is the greatest of all time (of ALL time) without a shadow of doubt.

Forza Motorsport 3 (360)

The definitive racer, thus far, in this generation. I expect that it will remain so until Forza 4 is released. Real time, performance-affecting, full damage modelling; upgradable parts (including brakes ;) ) and fully tunable. It continues MS's eagerness to link games and the internets with photos/videos from in game uploadable to ForzaMotorsport.net.

Halo 3 (360)

Epic single player campaign - my most enjoyable of the series - and the final level is a return to the greatness of Halo: Combat Evolved's Warthog dash. What ever you say about the PvP multiplayer (and I am not a fan) it is popular and beloved by millions. Bungie's support of the series (MP in particular) is peerless.

Rock Band (360)

It was good to be surprised with something that wasn't Guitar Hero. It was just a pity that support for the Rock Band franchise was rocky in Australia, presumably due to licensing issues. Rock Band will be best remembered for taking rhythm games beyond plastic guitars, and taking DLC offering to a whole new level.

Shadow Complex (360)

Shadow Complex proved that XBLA titles didn't need to be small and blew the competition away with big developer production values, an interesting story, excellent game mechanics and replayability. My favorite XBLA title bar none.

So I did end up getting a WP7 :)

2011-04-12T06:28:00.009+08:00

After all my slavering and lusting following the announcement of Windows Phone 7, in particular the awesome that is Xbox Live integration (on my phone!), I did end up getting one. While I toyed with the idea of purchasing a Samsung Focus from abroad, or going with Optus and the Samsung Omnia 7, I eventually settled on the HTC Mozart on Telstra's $49 cap.

It did come down to price in the end. And 3G network performance. To be frank, Optus has possibly the worst 3G internet speeds of all time (of all time), excepting for Vodafone/3, which is abysmal. The $49 cap with Mozart was probably the sharpest of all the launch pricing, with no MRO (which is apparently Monthly Repayment Option) and a reasonable data allowance (500 MB initially, but it was increased to 1 GB in the first couple of weeks - Telstra now has the best network and impressive data allowance). I didn't want to spend more than $49 per month lest mrs barry chastise me, and compare with her iPhone 4.

I was (and still am) super impressed with the OS. It is slick, fast and infinitely usable. Sure it has some flaws, and lack of customisation options that are mostly taken for granted, but none that really detract from the overall excellence.

I'm not an apps whore, and I have an appreciation for the 'minimalist' - WP7 offers these to me with it's interface. I have only purchased games thus far, and when I refer to 'games' I really only mean XBL titles. The true reason for getting the Mozart (other than it being a phone) was to play XBL games on the go; earn more achievements (addicted much?); and hopefully play some crossover XBL/XBLA/Xbox 360 titles. From that perspective, WP7 has delivered that in spades, from having a vast number of games available at launch, to a progressive release of 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) games each week (on a Wednesday, about 13:00 AWST, GMT+8). They are even getting Angry Birds, which has now become some sort of cultural phenomenon, and almost single handedly reinforced the $1 mobile game pricing philosophy (whether that is sustainable amongst small developers is another matter entirely).

Briefly, and to promote future discussion, these are some bullet point thoughts from the last 4 months:

Pros

Phone build quality
OS smoothness of operation
OS design
Marketplace
XBL games (and Achievements!)
XBL Deal of the Week (get XBL title for cheap)
Soft keyboard (best one available)

Cons

Restarting the phone to fix something
OS update process
Carrier (Telstra) knowledge of WP7 product
Alarm failing
Game loading times

Thankfully most of the cons are fixed in the first major OS patch, NoDo. The problem is having to wait for the carrier to "test" the update.

I have updated my Mozart to NoDo by nefarious means, and it indeed does fix up many of the speed and stability issues. It also includes cut and paste (which apparently is important when comparing WP7 to iOS, but in reality it is a complete non-event). Telstra is currently still testing NoDo, and only Vodafone has managed to deliver NoDo to customers in Australia.

The next major update will be Mango, due for release later in 2011. The update to include IE9 is potentially coming prior to that (although it will probably end up being in the same wrapper).

I am very impressed with my HTC Mozart (more so now that I have NoDo) and things are very good in the Windows Phone world, if only you look past the OS updating process.

It's been a while

2011-04-10T20:08:00.004+08:00

*yawn*

It's been a long while since my last post and I've decided to resurrect my blog. I kind of lost interest in my blog not long after I started it - I guess that can happen. Instead of blogging I played far too much Battlefield Bad Company 2, and enjoyed life. I've reached level 50 in BFBC2 now, so I need something else to fill in my time.

There is nothing like a good old fashioned resurrection as an excuse to rename your blog. Canny watchers may realise it is a play on the great Lance Armstrong autobiography, It's not about the Bike (and it really is a great book).

EDIT:

Also, news just in: Disqus comment system added.

XBL and WP7 - A Match Made In Heaven

2010-08-17T19:27:00.004+08:00

Finally!

MS unveiled today the extent of integration between Xbox Live (henceforth and forever known as XBL) and Microsoft's eagerly awaited successor to the Windows Mobile platform, Windows Phone 7. And more importantly the lineup of titles available from launch (which incidentally is the Northern hemisphere's "holiday season"). MS also advise that more titles will be revealed between now and launch.

The newly added area at Xbox.com deals exclusively with WP7 and XBL integration. Mercifully all the boxes on my wishlist have been checked. This is a fully featured integration, and I'm excited - even more excited than for the upcoming Borderlands DLC (if it were even possible and evidently it is).

"Windows Phone 7 featuring Xbox LIVE lets you connect and play games with your friends. Use your Xbox LIVE profile to access your avatar, gamerscore, and achievements. Share scores and earn recognition for your accomplishments across the phone, web, and Xbox. You can even earn achievements on Windows Phone that add to your Xbox LIVE gamerscore."

Games

The launch roster is impressive to say the least. Over 60 titles (thus far), with highlights (IMHO) being Puzzle Quest 2, Fruit Ninja, Flight Control, Bejewelled, Castlevania...
Mercifully, and just like on XBLA, all games will be able to be played on trial/demo basis. I'll be interested to see how the pricing compares to XBL, and indeed whether they are paid for in cash or MS Points - I'm happy either way, but cash would be easier to use for those unfamiliar with the awesome that is XBL. If MS move to cash on the WP Marketplace it could spell a movement to cash in XBL also (purely speculation on my part).

Achievements

Yes, you can earn achievements playing WP7 games. Period. I'm hoping (assuming?) that the launch lineup are all fully featured in this regard. I also assume that the standard Achievement cap for XBLA titles (200 GS) will be used. Without achievements, for mine, the WP7 phones are no different to Android and iPhone - and thus as somewhat of an achievement wh0re, I am swayed from the other options.

Friends list

Der! Access to your friends list to see what they are doing, message them and the ability to play against them. I wonder if leaving/listening to voice messages will be possible?

Multiplayer

It's asynchronous, turned-based MP. I couldn't care less. Mobile gaming for me is all about casual titles, puzzle games and the like. I have an Xbox 360 if I want to play MP - and I do, when I am at home (and to be honest BFBC2 is like crack cocaine to me at the present ;) ).

Avatars

You can apparently see and customise your existing XBL avatar from a WP7 phone. As long as WP7 games continue the recent trend of offering free avatar gear I'll be a happy little chappy.

Gee, I'm excited. Everything that I hoped would be a feature, is a feature. I just hope that there is a broad enough range of phones to choose from, that they don't suck and that they are available on reasonably affordable mobile plans (iPhone 4 plans are very reasonable, I hope this is sign of things to come) - fingers crossed that the HTC models are pimping awesome. My phone contract is up in November and I fully intend to pony up ASAP following that (pending release and availability of the phones of course).

Mrs barry is going to be hellishly disappointed that I'm not going with an iPhone.

But really: Achievement points is what it is about.

Claptrap Ninja Assassin

2010-08-14T11:02:00.002+08:00

Following on from the Borderlands script leak fiasco (or deliberately viral placement and marketing strategy?) 2K Games and Gearbox Software have announced the impending release of the fourth DLC for Borderlands.

Release is slated for September 2010 at a cost of 800 MS points on XBL (and USD 9.99 on PSN/PC).

"Claptrap's New Robot Revolution will provide more than 20 new missions to loot and tons of fresh enemies to blast through, including original boss battles, waves of homicidal Claptraps, well-armed Hyperion soldiers, and local creatures that have been Claptrap-ified -- including crab-traps, rakk-traps and skag-trapps. Fans can earn an additional 10 skill points for a total of 71 available skill tree points, and three more backpack slots for additional blood-yielding weapons and many hours of enjoyment."

It will be interesting to see whether this latest story, featuring the darstardly Claptrap Ninja Assassin & Hyperion (*SPOILER* both of whom featured at the ending of the main Borderlands campaign *SPOILER*) can continue the trajectory of greatness that has featured Dr Ned and General Knoxx. How will it cope without the prison humour of Shank?

Ninjas. Assassins. Claptraps. That's how!

And just general Borderlands awesome.

Can't wait.

Kinect Redux

2010-08-14T10:50:00.002+08:00

For those that missed my Screen Play Your Turn piece, Hardcore Confessional it can be read here. It's a somewhat tongue in cheek look at hardcore gaming and how that can translate into love for Kinect.

Kinect is in the gaming news pretty regularly now, and that looks set to increase as we close on the release date (whatever that turns out to be - but hopefully prior to Christmas in Australia). There have been a number of reports that the technology of Kinect has been dumbed down (at least for this release ;) ) and that the tech in it's full glory is able to read sign language! Pity that particular feature has been pwned.

The removal of some of the more advanced features seems to be related to the fact that on-board, hardware processing has been removed from Kinect in the interests of cost reduction - the technology now relies exclusively on spare processing capability on the console itself- Ubisoft has recently suggested that Kinect requires less than 1% of the total available 360 processing capacity.

A more in-depth discussion on the Kinect hardware and interface can be read here - it is an excellent piece.

There doesn't seem to be too many more announcements of potential killer titles, but IMHO Dance Central would probably be my launch killer title. What are you looking forward to on Kinect?

Borderlands Script Leak

2010-08-07T09:45:00.002+08:00

So General Knoxx is back tweeting - and he's back with a vengeance: correct grammar, spelling and punctuation is recommended at all times, lest you wish to become the butt of his jokes. And for those who missed it, additional Borderlands DLC was announced to be in the works on July 30.

My dreams have come true!

In case there was any doubt (and there wasn't), apparently some of the details of the DLC have been found amongst the recently released Borderlands Steam Update (patch 1.31) and leaked on the Official Gearbox Forums (note: I have only linked the forums. I don't particularly want to perpetuate the spoiling of awesome). Randy Pitchford seemed somewhat bemused by the leak - and I'm sure that increased exposure (even as somewhat of a spoiler) will not harm the uptake and anticipation for the 4th round of DLC for one of my favorite games. Ever. And I suppose this was good news.

The pending DLC is looking like more episodic content along the lines of The Zombie Island of Dr Ned and The Secret Armory of General Knoxx. It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes are made to the main original quest, and in particular with respect to level scaling (the unfortunate side effect of getting to level 61 in General Knoxx was to render most of the game unplayable - due to making it ridiculously easy). I'm very much looking forward to the new DLC - especially the humour, always the humour; Can the jokes get better than General Knoxx versus Admiral Mikey, or Shank and Hank's prison humour?

I still hold out hope that Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot will be updated or expanded at a later date. In particular I'd like to see improved loot (or maybe loot tables) as reward for the grind. Yes, the Achievement points were a nice reward for completing the long tournaments, but I would smash the hell out Mad Moxxi, over and over, if there was good loot to be had, or just some other incentive - leaderboards based on time or points? I prefer the fun of Mad Moxxi over say the mindless grind of Crawermax, however because Craw gives out the goodies, he gets the play time.

Cracking Improvements

2010-08-01T21:14:00.001+08:00

Following on from my scathing attack on Crackdown 2, which to be honest provided very little in the way of constructive criticism, Smoolander over at GameTaco has remedied this minor oversight with 10 improvements to make it a better game, much more than Crackdown 1.5: How I Would Improve Crackdown 2.

Smoo has pretty much hit all the highlights there - and I particular like his suggestion to remove the PvP component: many development hours were wasted on this. Wasted!

I would add an 11th improvement, being general movement, particularly vertical - Ruffian could do worse than take some cues from the reasonably solid controls in Assassin's Creed II. I would like much improved edge detection, and also just some improvement in how grab-able edges appear in game. Given the vertical nature of the game it would also be particularly useful if there was a way to drop and hang from an edge - AC2 does it, copy it FFS!

I am still playing the game, and earning achievements, despite the flaws.

Honouring the beta

2010-08-01T21:03:00.001+08:00

It seems that EA having been paying attention to some of the competition* in the FPS genre, and trying similar tactics in a bid to recoup similar success. Microsoft and Bungie made lots of monies as copies of the original Crackdown (not the appalling Crackdown 2) and Halo: Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) sold like hotcakes because they included access to the Halo 3 and Halo: Reach beta.

EA have announced on the Battlefield Blog that access to the Battlefield 3 Beta (sometime in the ensuing 12 months post purchase) will be included for those purchasing the Medal Of Honor Limited Edition. Seems a pretty expensive entry point to a beta, especially since I have had no face time with MOH (owing to beta access only being given to those with pre-orders - stuff that for a joke).

Other factors souring this offering are that I never really wanted to buy MOH, since I have BFBC2 already, and it being Battlefield, is a better game. Also, MOH is being developed with the PS3 as the lead platform - I much prefer the PC/Xbox 360 lead development crossover. Also, I only really need one game in my collection that requires dedicated servers, and where the closest server is located 8,000 km away. If EA can learn some sort of lesson regarding installation of dedicated servers in Oceania (or the Southern freaking hemisphere) then maybe I can reassess.

Still, it will be interesting to see how EA's little experiment pans out. I have my fingers crossed that other methods will be provided to allow beta access - maybe include it with purchase of the BFBC2:Vietnam DLC expansion.

* To be fair to EA, Halo isn't even in the same universe (literally and figuratively) as the Battlefield games.

Fairness Over 1337 Smugness

2010-07-26T22:14:00.001+08:00

Today's newly started thread over at Whirlpool titled "PC gamers too good for console players?" earns my ire today. The thread is a discussion of the Tom's Hardware article "Are PC Gamers Too Good for Console Gamers?". The crux of the discussion centres around a failed Microsoft experiment to cross-pollinate Windows and Xbox 360 gaming - unsurprisingly in their tests, on a FPS game none-the-less, the PC mouse & keyboard combination triumphed over the humble controller. I would never have seen that coming.

I don't have a problem with the experiment, nor the result. But I have an issue with the elite smugness being perpetrated by the self-described "more mature" PC crowd - the smugness starts even with the almost rhetorical wording of the post title. Ha ha, it makes me laugh, especially when coupled with the arrogance, ignorance and the stereotypical view of console gamers that many PC players hold.

Sure my console FPS games are slightly slower paced, but I've grown to love and prefer the dual-analog stick control over the KB+M combination, especially on my Xbox 360 controller - which I might add has been designed perfectly IMHO and feels like an extension of my hand. I would not start using a KB+M on a console even if I had the option - in fact I would go as far as to avoid any game which offered such a feature.

Consoles and their games provide an equal base for every player through standard hardware and controller peripherals, and it is this inherent fairness that I will choose any day of the week over my poor PC cousins who often seem intent on an endless power struggle to eek out any advantage over their opposition.

You are welcome to your serious, elite smugness and your keyboard and mouse - I do not want any of it.

General Knoxx is back?

2010-07-24T10:49:00.000+08:00

While General Alphonso Knoxx's return to the Twitterverse, after 4 months of radio silence, happened on 15th June 2010:

tap. tap. is this on? had to turn my tweetergramming machine back on. just got some new orders. (sent from the future.)

And

got an influx of flimsy insults wrapped in slack-jawed yokelry.

The question of what exactly, if anything, this means remains unanswered: Will Gearbox Software be releasing a 4th bout of DLC for their excellent FPS/RPG Borderlands?

Will there be a follow up to Mad Moxxi's Underdome?

Will there be no more DLC until Borderlands 2 inevitably rears it's awesome head?

How does Kinect pricing fare against Wii & Move?

2010-07-22T18:59:00.002+08:00

Yay! We had to wait a few days (following the announcement of pricing in the US and EU) but we finally have it, official Australian pricing for the Kinect in Australia (RRP):

$199 for the standalone Kinect unit
$449 for the Kinect and 4 GB Arcade Xbox 360 bundle

It looks like the Kinect also comes with Kinect Adventures (though personally I'm hoping that different bundles will be offered with the likes of Kinect Sports, or Dance Central).

Now as for the price, is it too high? Just right? I'm going to do what Microsoft will hopefully do and that is compare the Kinect pricing against the RRP pricing for the Nintendo Wii and Playstation PS3 + Move such that enough equipment is provided to allow 2 player gaming.

Note that all pricing has been taken from EB Games, and is RRP in Australian dollars, AFAIK:

Nintendo Wii (for 2 players)

$298 Console
$69.95 Wiimote (1)
$29.95 Nunchuck (1)
$34.95 Motion Plus (2)

$467.80 Grand total

I am suggesting that the Motion plus is required, if you don't agree, fine :P

Playstation Move (for two players)

$499 120 GB Console
$98 Move Starter Kit (1)
$68 Move Motion Controller (1)
$48 Move Navigation Controller (2)

$761.00 Grand total

I am suggesting that the Navigation Controllers are required, if you don't agree fine :P

The Kinect pricing isn't starting to look that bad now. It is on parity with the Wii (which is no surprise) and kicks the shit out of the PS3. In fact, you could pick up a New 250 GB Xbox 360 S ($449 RRP) and Kinect ($199) and still be cheaper than the PS3 plus move. Of course, the PS3 has other advantages, like Blu-Ray (Also, the Move is going to better than Kinect at some games - I prefer to think of Move as the HD Wii) and a free network service - but it has lost it's previously much touted advantage of included WiFi.

What does the Wii have?

It has SD graphics and a MASSIVE install base. Also, probably one of the smartest business plans ever: Low entry price to lure the punters in, before sucker punching them for additional cost - Wiimotes, Nunchucks, Motion Plus, memory card - I take my hat off to Nintendo for not underestimating the stupidity of consumers.

I hope that MS at least bring up the question of pricing in their marketing plan. To not do so would be suicide.

Crackdown 2 Breakdown

2010-07-21T22:37:00.006+08:00

Oh a play on words!

I've just spent the last few hours (2 hours 48 minutes according to Raptr) playing Crackdown 2, collecting the Xbox Live orbs with a co-op partner. I now have that particular achievement and am pleased that I won't have to collect them again (though I will probably help other people locate and collect them...) Unfortunately I have another 300 odd orbs to find - but I do this by myself. This relatively short time with the game highlighted two things: Crackdown 2 has basically no improvements on the original Crackdown, and in many cases it is worse (much worse) than it's predecessor.

Firstly, the basic jumping movement mechanic is still broken. When it works, it is a joy to behold, unfortunately it is all too common for things to go wrong: Clipping of edges causing mistimed jumps; inconsistent grab mechanic causing falls; in-game pedestrians acting as immovable objects to your super-cop avatar.

The lock-on aiming mechanic is broken. Kill a cell enemy, lock onto a barrel, or a pedestrian car, instead of another cell.

Missions. The missions are all the same, with no real variety. Kill cell - unlock supply depot. Rinse and repeat. Kill Cell - arm three beacons - defend Sunburst from Freaks. Rinse and repeat.

It's the same freaking city. With Freaks. And Cell. Instead of the cool gangs. And it just feels lifeless. Worse still, it feels like the orbs are in pretty much the same locations.

Sure the developers, Ruffian Games, added a bunch of extra features, like Renegade Driving and Agility Orbs. Unfortunately these additions feel cheap because of the broken control mechanics and the shortcuts required to be taken so that they can be earned. Adding 4-player co-op is a plus, but it feels totally unnecessary given that there really isn't anything exciting to do with additional players (except find the cheap Xbox Live Orbs) - there are no additional/harder enemies; special co-op quests/missions; it's almost as if the developers expected that faffing about in a sandbox would be fun enough. And maybe it would have been, had the main control mechanics not been so hit-and-miss.

Crackdown 2 unfortunately feels like it was developed in only 8 months. It feels rushed; unfinished; certainly unpolished and unimproved. The shining lights, in my opinion, have been the implementation of the Orb radar, and the crossover with the Facebook Flash game Chuck's Ducks 2 (not that it seems to actually unlock anything in the full game). But these are minor facets.

Unfortunately 8 months were spent fucking up a potentially awesome game. I suspect that MS had a hand in it, speeding up the release - Crackdown 2 feels like void filler prior to Halo: Reach. It is a waste of what could have been an excellent, quirky franchise, if only the original game, story and mechanics had been improved upon. Sadly we got nothing like that, and Crackdown will unlikely move beyond part deux.

I will play out this game. And will hopefully be able to find all the orbs and items - whore achievement points in other words. Then I will sell it. It is unlikely that I will play it for over 50 hours, let alone 30. There are other games to be played. I'm not even going to try PvP multiplayer.

What is the Hardcore Confessional?

2010-07-21T13:50:00.001+08:00

Indeed!

Well other than the title for my Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect-inspired Your Turn piece published on the Fairfax-online (Australian newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) technology blog Screenplay, the Hardcore Confessional is quite simply going to act as a creative outlet for me and the love-hate (who am I kidding - LOVE) relationship with my predominant hobby, gaming.

As to the content, well not sure as yet. I don't envisage doing previews, or traditional reviews; rather commentary on games (or facets of games at least), gaming-related media or game hardware that takes my fancy, all with a completely AUSTRALIAN perspective.

Don't expect a great variety of formats to be discussed, unless I get off my arse and buy another console (or win one):

I own and game on both Xbox 360 and Mac.

I am occasionally found play games on mrs barry's iPhone or on my Nokia. Future gaming realted purchases are looking like being confined to Kinect and a Windows Phone 7 (pending acceptable integration with XBL).

In the meantime, and in between blogging, and twittering, I can be found posting on a varied collection of local and international forums and blogs, including Screenplay, Whirlpool and the very new and impressive Australian Gaming Podcast and blog, GameTaco.

Also. On Xbox Live. Gaming.

Hardcore?

2010-07-21T13:06:00.000+08:00

A 'Hardcore Gamer' is popularly acclaimed (by Urban Dictionary at least) as:

Someone who plays video games as a primary hobby. They tend to spend large amounts of time playing games, often in excess of two or three hours a day. Hardcore gamers tend to care less about graphics then casual gamers. While some specialize in a single genre, they typically have fairly diverse taste in games, frequently playing a wide variety of games from different genres.

The remainder of the definition concentrates on the negative stereotype associated with a Hardcore Gamer (you know the ones - fat, poor hygiene and social skills). I don't fit within these common stereotypes so I don't believe it to be worth mentioning.

So am I 'Hardcore'?

Maybe.