|
Grand Prize Winner posted:My high school's IT was run by student volunteers. Result: teachers' computers had porn/blacklisted websites blocked, while every computer lab was 100% open. Did we go to the same high school? We also had access to teachers GradeQuick and would sell better grades to kids.
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 02:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 14:05 |
|
|
I remember first porn I saw on the internet (if you don't count downloading pictures off of a BBS from the back of a PC magazine). I launched Netscape 1.x on Windows 3.1, went to Yahoo!, and searched for "naked ladies". I found a web site for a long distance provider that tried to entice you into switching to them by interspersing pictures of naked women between details of the services they provided.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 03:15
|
|
|
Arivia posted:I'm gonna take a guess that your modern smart TV doesn't have a pure analog path from a composite input, and definitely not fault it for asking for video input on the VGA input (why does it have one anyway in TYOOL 2017?) Doesn't matter, it should just play it, and skip the useless signal detection BS.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 03:18
|
|
|
Looks like EA has caught on about LGR's discontent regarding the Sims badness by cutting him off from free materials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFsj4k5Wc0
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 08:15
|
|
|
oohhboy posted:Looks like EA has caught on about LGR's discontent regarding the Sims badness by cutting him off from free materials.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 08:28
|
|
|
I watch to see him get increasingly negative when he is normally at worse neutral about something. He isn’t holding back anymore and the subject is worth dumping on. Plus it’s great that he is maintaining something he started as most would just let it fade away unfinished.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 08:37
|
|
|
Game quality quick guide: Is it published by EA? -> It's bad.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 10:46
|
|
|
Hey now, HL2 was ok. They produced the boxes and cds and poo poo for the first release. PC games in boxes are a tech relic now, ain't they?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 10:53
|
|
|
Collateral Damage posted:Game quality quick guide: Yes.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 11:30
|
|
|
Grand Prize Winner posted:Hey now, HL2 was ok. They produced the boxes and cds and poo poo for the first release. Yup. Pretty much always just a code printed on a piece of paper inside a DVD box.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 11:33
|
|
|
Skoll posted:Yup. Pretty much always just a code printed on a piece of paper inside a DVD box. Destiny 2 upped that by including a fake paper disc too.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 12:20
|
|
|
Grand Prize Winner posted:Hey now, HL2 was ok. They produced the boxes and cds and poo poo for the first release. Every boxed Valve game afterwards was published and distributed by EA, and EA UK did the PS3 port of The Orange Box.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 12:32
|
|
|
I bought a retail boxed version of the terran and zerg campaigns in StarCraft since it was cheaper than the 'digital' version. In the box: a single card with a digital version code and download link. Gone are the days of Homeworld, StarSiege, or SU-27 Flanker where the retail boxes come with ridiculously in depth printed backstory volumes or massive user guides. Or that retail boxes even exist.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 15:26
|
|
|
I loved flight simulators in the 90s, and used to pick which game to buy based on the weight of the box. I probably spent just as many hours with the manual for EF2000 as I did with the game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 16:45
|
|
|
KozmoNaut posted:Non-crippled phones have analog headphone outputs. Most TVs including non smart TVs haven't had analog inputs for years
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 17:01
|
|
|
evobatman posted:I loved flight simulators in the 90s, and used to pick which game to buy based on the weight of the box. I probably spent just as many hours with the manual for EF2000 as I did with the game. Falcon 4.0 was the champ for that.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 19:06
|
|
|
Tornado, Apache, and Hind were just as heavy. Some European shop did those.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 19:31
|
|
|
Last Chance posted:Most TVs including non smart TVs haven't had analog inputs for years Yes they do. It's usually just one composite or composite/component combo input, but it's still there. The very latest Samsung tv's don't, but that's a recent thing. S-video is the only connector that every manufacturer seemed to simultaneously drop 7 or 8 years ago. The_Franz has a new favorite as of 20:14 on Nov 10, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 20:06
|
|
|
The_Franz posted:Yes they do. It's usually just one composite or composite/component combo input, but it's still there. The very latest Samsung tv's don't, but that's a recent thing. My Sony has 3 HDMI, 3 USB and a coax. Nothing else, which I thought was just the norm for the day.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 20:38
|
|
|
TotalLossBrain posted:Tornado, Apache, and Hind were just as heavy. Some European shop did those. I still load up Chuck Yeager's Air Combat in DOSBox once in a while. Although my CH Flightstick is long gone, I have just as much fun with a Logitech F310 gamepad.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 21:27
|
|
|
I played the poo poo out of Strike Commander when I was a kid. Think Wing Commander with F-16’s, even made by the same people.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 21:45
|
|
|
JazzmasterCurious posted:I bought Tornado. Digital Integration did it. I was overwhelmed but happy about the 300+ page manual. I also had F117 Stealth Fighter (I think that was Microprose) and while many thought it was boring, I loved the suspense and mood of flying night bombing missions. I loved a lot of the Microprose sims that came out. My favorite was Gunship 2000, but none of them were ever that laborious or overly detailed. And boy, there were a lot of them. B-17 Flying Fortress, Gunship, GS2000, F15 Strike Eagle (3 iterations), F14 Fleet Defender, and a bunch of other stuff I am forgetting. I really REALLY looked forward to Strike Commander. It was so hyped for a couple of years, it was late for a couple years, and it was supposed to be SUPER OMG GRAPHICS. When it did come out, it was impressive but required an impressive machine to run, too. I guess that was true of all Origin games. My favorite sims were Falcon and the Digital Integration sims I mentioned - namely Tornado and Apache. I didn't care about Hind all that much because I hated the Hind's lovely flight instruments. I still have the boxes for Strike Commander, Pacific Commander, a couple Wing Commanders, and Tornado sitting here by my desk. Remember the time LucasGames made a flightsim? Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe! TotalLossBrain has a new favorite as of 01:11 on Nov 11, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 22:20
|
|
|
I was big into Jane's Simulators back in the mid to late 90s. I was too poor to afford a proper HOTAS so it was all keyboard all the time. I remember the keyboard layout was so complicated and arcane that it came with a template you laid out over the whole thing.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 00:48
|
|
|
TotalLossBrain posted:Remember the time LucasGames made a flightsim? Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe! loving A, that game was the best thing in the world. Days upon days flying campaigns, I don't think i ever managed to complete a full tour in the B17 before getting killed or captured.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 04:08
|
|
|
Antioch posted:I was big into Jane's Simulators back in the mid to late 90s. I was too poor to afford a proper HOTAS so it was all keyboard all the time. I remember the keyboard layout was so complicated and arcane that it came with a template you laid out over the whole thing. In Janes USNF 97 if you gun down a parachuting pilot you'll actually hear them scream Also if you use the Yak (iirc the only prop plane in the game) you can land it on a building
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 04:15
|
|
|
TotalLossBrain posted:I really REALLY looked forward to Strike Commander. It was so hyped for a couple of years, it was late for a couple years, and it was supposed to be SUPER OMG GRAPHICS. I recently read a contemporary review which wasn't great. And I guess what you said above could be said about Star Citizen too  I wish I had time to replay some of those classic flight sims, or maybe the updated Falcon 4 versions.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 05:27
|
|
|
Antioch posted:I was big into Jane's Simulators back in the mid to late 90s. I was too poor to afford a proper HOTAS so it was all keyboard all the time. I remember the keyboard layout was so complicated and arcane that it came with a template you laid out over the whole thing. Wow, gently caress that! Using the layoutsheet for interstate '76 was bad enough! I really should try and get back into some of the flight games from back in the day. I picked up two old trustmasters the otehr day for $5.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 05:35
|
|
|
TotalLossBrain posted:When it did come out, it was impressive but required an impressive machine to run, too. That's something that I really don't miss about early PC gaming. Things were advancing so fast that you couldn't expect to play a new game at more than slideshow framrates on a two year old computer. I built a pretty decent one in like '99 or so and by 2003 new releases were basically out of my reach unless they were on old engines. Just this last year I plonked down $700 on parts for a new one (I put it in the old 90s beige box for shits n' giggles) and I can run new-release games at pretty much top settings without dropping below like 50 FPS.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 06:30
|
|
|
OK so thought I would try and get XPlane11 after finally getting the old 'Thrustmaster Topgun Fox 2 Pro Shock' (what a name!) working with Win10. As I am downloading from the installer I notice that .wav files are still in use. Is compression obsolete? I've seen repackers of games that manage to losslessly compress the heck out of large games in the past. I thought in this day and age of digital delivery that compressing the files to send to the customer would be benificial for all concerned (lower bandwith on server, and quicker download times for users). That reminded me of something earlier in the thread about a programmer that has some stupidly absurd compression ratio code. I can't find it for the life of me now except bullshit youtube videos. Started looking for legit compression and maybe 20% is the norm?
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 08:08
|
|
|
Humphreys posted:OK so thought I would try and get XPlane11 after finally getting the old 'Thrustmaster Topgun Fox 2 Pro Shock' (what a name!) working with Win10. As I am downloading from the installer I notice that .wav files are still in use. Is compression obsolete? I've seen repackers of games that manage to losslessly compress the heck out of large games in the past. I thought in this day and age of digital delivery that compressing the files to send to the customer would be benificial for all concerned (lower bandwith on server, and quicker download times for users).
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 08:19
|
|
|
The Kins posted:Uncompressed files load faster and with less processor impact on account of not needing to be decompressed. In a world where console games routinely ship on 50gb dual-layer Blu-Rays, developers can pick their battles. Processor speed has increased faster than memory and storage bandwidth so that’s not always a given. It’s not unlikely that a CPU can receive and decompress an MP3 faster than it can receive a WAV. You’re probably right about lossless compression because the compression ratio isn’t great yet it does require significant decompression time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 08:36
|
|
|
I might add that I am in Australia where internet (NBN) is bullshit. I'd be more than happy for download times to be faster and trade off installation/unpacking time
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 08:48
|
|
|
Buttcoin purse posted:I recently read a contemporary review which wasn't great. And I guess what you said above could be said about Star Citizen too If you look carefully you can find Humbug Scoolbus's real name in the credits for both the PC and Mac versions of Falcon 4. The Mac version was one of the last flight sim projects I worked on.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 15:51
|
|
|
I was a Mac guy, so my fave flight sims back in the day we’re Chuck Yeager, F/A 18 (or maybe Hornet?), and a Red Baron game by (I think) Sierra. The hornet game allowed you drop a tactical nuke and the Red Baron game let you shoot dirigibles. Great fun.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 16:28
|
|
|
Humbug Scoolbus posted:If you look carefully you can find Humbug Scoolbus's real name in the credits for both the PC and Mac versions of Falcon 4. The Mac version was one of the last flight sim projects I worked on. I'd give anything for a new Falcon game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 16:32
|
|
|
Aubergine Mage posted:I'd give anything for a new Falcon game. DCS?
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 17:53
|
|
|
tater_salad posted:DCS? Haven't paid much attention to it but if it has a totally dynamic campaign system I'm all in
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 19:10
|
|
|
Aubergine Mage posted:I'd give anything for a new Falcon game. So would I 
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 22:14
|
|
|
Aubergine Mage posted:I'd give anything for a new Falcon game. DCS doesn't have a dynamic campaign and probably never will. BMS Falcon is worth investigating though. It's Falcon 4 updated to about 2010ish (in terms of looks). Additional planes, new theatres like Israel and the Balkans and recently updated so that setting up a controller profile isn't the monster headache it used to be. It's just not as pretty as DCS is. Still remarkable considering what the base product is.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2017 22:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 14:05 |
|
|
Thanks for this little bit of random kit mom......... VGA 640 x 480, 3x digital zoom, Skype compatible and USB 2.0 as a kicker! All for the low, low price of $50 Australian. Still sealed and only a month shy of 10 years old. Not even sure what I am going to with this thing other than the recycling centre. Giving it to a goodwill equivalent would be an anti-donation.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2017 06:48
|
|