Scrivener

I [think I] remember reading somewhere that SC might release a 3DSMAX plugin for exporting our own assets. If that's released I'll probably put together a little TNG mod... just replace a Cruiser model with the Enterprise (D or E) and rework some portraits, images, and textures. Piece of cake... that'd take me about a day... tops (Provided I actually have a days worth of free time). Anything more complicated and your SOL... I'm an artist, not a programmer.

So I'm on the lookout for a mature-oriented game to look forward to and happen to stumble across a tiny blurb somewhere that a Conan demo has been released. I know I've heard of this game somewhere before and just didn't care, but I took a chance at downloading it in hopes that I might, just maybe, be treated to some dismemberment and gouts of blood. Now my intuition tells me that the source material will be raped of all it's mature content but I got nothing to loose, a demo's free. So now that I've played it, I've got some good news and some bad news. A. The good news. It's pretty fun - and it has a neat fighting system. The music and sound is fantastic. More developers need to look at games like this to see how much really great sound and music improves the immersion factor. Arx Fatalis is another great example of that, best sound I've ever heard in a game - sucks you right in. Well, this has got that... at least in the sound department. Music really gets the blood pumping during a fight. And guess what... there's BLOOD! B. The bad news... there's definately blood... but nearly enough of it... especially not for Conan. I, for just ONCE, want to see melee combat portrayed as the messy, bloody, gorefest that it really is (We're talking pools of blood that collect in the crevices and run on slopes to the last pint). Also, bodies dissapear the instant they're off screen and there's no decals for wounds... nor is there dismemberment. Just blood spray when someone gets hit. Kinda sad, considering it IS Conan. There's also a couple frustrating puzzles. Conclusion: Good demo but has the potential to be really great... just needs more blood and gore.

quote: (e.g. such as this which I am planning on using for UC:E2E), but thats till not "a few trees" *Jaw drops to the floor* Holy cow, those trees are bloody awesome. Wonder how efficient they are in practice, tho. As for the review, I need only point to my post in this thread.

WarCraft died with the Dark Portal. After that I moved on to Combat Mission, Civ 2, etc... now I play Combat Mission and Medieval Total War for my strategy fix... WarCraft 3 has done nothing to advance the state of strategic gaming... in fact, it has harmed it. Good art direction and pretty animation do not a good game make. As much as I whine about little graphical details in the BC games, I'd rather have a deep & detailed game like UC over pretty-looking mainstream rubbish like WC3 any day.

quote: ...hundreds of hours available to figure everything out... -GameSpotRight... if you have to actually READ SOMETHING before playing a game it MUST suck, right? quote:The game is simply quite average, with just its scope and size as its one redeeming feature. That doesnt mean that its a Bad game, for many people it can be the best thing since the invention of the sandwich, but for the average joe the game isnt very good.I work in a game store so I know quite a lot about the 'average joe.' Mr. Joe spends all his time playing mind-numbing idiot-friendly interactive trash like WarCraft, Halo, and CounterStrike. Mr. Joe dosn't want to make complex decisions or explore strange new worlds... what Mr. Joe wants is eye-candy, explosions, and b00bies... he is a consumer whore controlled by giant japanese marketing departments who sell crap in can. *This* is a niche title, made by and for the hardcore, jaded, and intelligent... the people who played (and bored of) WarCraft nearly a decade ago and now need something deeper and more complex. The average joe can keep his digital regurgitation, but don't you ever, EVER call a game like UC/BC "just average" again... got it?

quote:Of course if the waypoint I set was on the sunny side, then I'd go from a dark approach to light atmosphere.True, but mine was primarily an aesthic comentary. Graphically speaking, I'm a big ol' detail whore

I actually attempted to replace many of the planetary maps for BCM/BCMG. SC's right, you can't (currently) get any higher resolution maps on the planets. You *can* however change the textures to your hearts content... I replaced many planet (8bit?) textures in BCM with better looking 24bit textures... but I don't think that is really neccessary here. Some graphical improvements *I'd* personally like to see in future incarnations are: 1. Atmospheric effects like clouds that slowly revolve around the planet. 2. Real planetary umbrae... so you can see from space if your about to ingress into the dark... it would also provide some spectaular Kodak moments. At the moment planets are pretty well lit from all angles... it's the one thing that bugs me the most about BC/UC games. And you can't just make a texture for it since planets rotate in real time =( 3. The Sun... right now the lens flare just kinda pops out of empty space. Since the game assumes the light being cast on the planet comes from the side where the nebula is, the default lens flare is a little odd. 4. Real planetary umbrae... (for the uninitiated, that is the planets shadow... or night side). 5. Bump-mapped planets. If used in conjunction with realistic lighting on the globe, bump maps could make the planet look mind-bogglingly real. The only thing is, considering the great distances this would have to be done with great subtlety. At any rate, the cloud thing is easy to fix, I just applied a cloud texture to the prexisting planet texture. Sure, the clouds dont move or anything but the planet sure looks cooler... at least to me

Well, actually, because it's a picture of me... at least *this* one is. The last avatar I chose because it not only looked kinda like me but it was prefab But here I am in uniform...

Something else I forgot to mention... not too keen on the look of my AE this time around. Every time I see that portrait its like looking at a very young Ross Perot. Any way to load in custom portraits, SC?

Oops, heh, fixed that. Lets see if it shows up now Extra info - Using Earthlink DSL behind a Netgear RT314 router. Port forwarding is enabled but I might have to do some extra tweaking. [ 02-09-2004, 04:25 PM: Message edited by: Scrivener ]

Out here I print at a place called Sir Speedy. They're cheaper than Kinkos, friendlier than Kinkos, more knowledgeable than Kinkos, and much, much higher quality than Kinkos. In face, I just dont go to Kinkos at all... that's the first thing they teach in graphic design school... my professors will actually mark you down for being at Kinkos... no, seriously!

Well, there *should* be at least one server up now. See this thread.

Ok, I have a dedicated server up and running (I think) right now. It should show up as "GALCOM (Scrivener)" on the Internet Server list. I can't verify anything right now, but I'll let it run [as a test] till about 2pm tomorrow. If you have any problems or comments post them here. The quicker I can iron out the server issues, the quicker you'll all have somewhere to play. This is *not* going to be a 24/7 server, but I'll put it up whenever I'm not at home (Most of the time). For those more server-savvy than I (and who may have valuble advice) here is what I am running on: WinXPPro P4 3.2Ghz 1GB Corsaire XMS Dual Channel Memory @ 500Mhz And a copy of my ucsetupmp.ini... http://home.earthlink.net/~oceanwaves/ucsetupmp.txt [ 02-09-2004, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: Scrivener ]

I'll be running a relatively regular server starting either tomorrow (2-9-04) or, at the latest, Tuesday. While I'm sleeping, at school, or work I'll keep the server up. I'll post more information tomorrow when I'm actually ready to launch.

quote:Yeah, I agree - but thats one of the downsides of having a fully fleshed out universe. Sure n00bs can explore, but vets of previous games already know (at least I think they should), know where everything is. At one point I had planned to create a separate galaxy for BCG, annexed to the existing one. In fact, I have a WIP version of it here somewhere. That all got nixed once Dreamcatcher decided to refocus the game - which saw me making things more idiot proof, redesigning and refocuing entire game engines (e.g. the fp mode) just to cope. As a result, a plethora of features (23 in all), such as the new galaxy, persistent server support, the ability to capture starbases, the ability to build your own bases in space/planets, the ability to upgrade your CC etc etc. I could go on, but you folks would just get depressed. And considering the $20 price point (for which I am currently suing Dreamcatcher for damages), the UC label is as good as dead because even if I did an add-on, it couldn't possibly be priced higher than $19.99. And for the amount of work involved, I have no intentions of doing an add-on. So, unless something changes, its looking a lot like we'll be seeing another Battlecruiser title in the next couple years.Too late, I'm already depressed. But here's an idea... you could do a follow-up 'Gold' version of the game with the extra content and price it at $39.99 or call it something totally different like Universal Combat: Subtitle Here. Only catch is you include the original game. And, uh, thoughts on those realtime planetary umbrae (shadows) in space? SC?

The one other big thing on my wish list that didn't make it into this cut of the game... real-time planetary shadows (Like those seen in Hegemonia). It's still pretty shocking to initiate planetfall into a bright & purty atmosphere only to find yourselfe in the pitch black darkness of night. Planets don't need to *cast* shadows mind you (I'm not *that* picky) but I would like to be able to see a clearly defined light/dark side from space.

I was pretty shocked when the game just showed up out of nowhere... I was sure it was due out on the 14th/18th or somesuch. Since I have an extra $20 in my pocket I was considering buying another copy for a friend... or should I not?

Just got home from work and finished installing the game. Flipping through the manual here and, boy howdy, is it a step and a million halves above previous versions of the game. Clear, concise, organized, easy to understand & follow. Previous manuals read like handbooks for military grade aircraft... this is much better written. First impressions after 30mins of futzing around in-game... bad-ass. Huge graphical upgrades - for that I am deeply grateful (especially over the planetside flora). The FP controls don't really bother me at all, I prefer this to old style... but that's just me. BTW, I was shocked when the game arrived and I saw I had a $20 refund coming on my preorder. There's easily $40 worth of game there, why the bargain... ?

Already saw Bubba Ho-Tep... coincidentally (Or not - it *is* an arthouse theatre) at the same theatre I saw these two. That was also the last time I ever invit friends to go see an arthouse flick with me (non of them appreciate non-blockbuster cinema)... also the last time I ever spot tickets for any of them. During the first 30 min most of them walked out, and not one of them ever paid me back despite my constant complaints. *I* actually stayed for a second showing immediately after the first, both Bruce Campbell and Don Coscarelli showed up to introduce the movie and had an open Q&A afterward. It was great... too bad the show cost me $80 in tickets that day (Remember-friends never paid me back for the tix)... not to mention a load of frustration thanks to deadbeat freeloading 'friends.'

To my friends and family it is a well known fact that I'm a sucker for all things strange or bizarre. Not only does this movie qualify as strange and bizarre, it's heartwarming, catchy, and takes off with your imagination as if you were six years old again. The closest things I could compare this positively wonderful film to is Cirque du Soleil's 'The Journey of Man' or Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 'City of lost Children.' For the uninitiated, Jeunet is also the director of Delicatessen, Alien Resurrection, and Amelie... all of which are somewhat indicative of his uniquely french work. If very unfortunate that the film is in such limited release (I had to spend an hour on the road to get to the small campus theatre where this was playing). The title song 'Triplets of Belleville' is far and away my pick for best original song at this year's Oscars... and it's just a small piece of one fantastic whole. Check MovieTickets.com to see if it's playing in a theatre near you, it's worth the drive.... and bring the girlfriend/family along too, everyone is sure to love it. 10/10

Oh my [City of] God... these great movies just keep coming. Recently got to see this and Triplets of Belleville in a small campus theatre and wow. City of God really surprised me as I wasn't really expecting anything special. But the movie is so well done that it really immerses you in this strange foreign culture. You can feel for and relate to each of the characters. Yet another fantastic film from 2003. 10/10

...and boy howdy is it incredible. It's due out in March and with a few minor tweaks, this could be the ultimate FPS. I've already forgotten about Half-Life 2... this is a better looking, more feature rich game... and the final version is supposed to have Geomod destructable geometry!!! The AI (although mildly buggy at the moment) is some of the most realistic I've ever seen. Certain npcs will also take charge and start screaming orders to their subordinates... who do as they're told. If you have any interest in FPS games along the lines of Op Flashpoint, Half Life 2, or Black Hawk Down, this is a must-download.

HOLY CRAP! Where do I begin? Well, for starters, this movie is MINDBLOWING. This last year could be the dawning of a new golden age of cinema as several movies released in the last twelve months have managed to wriggle into my all time top ten favorite films. This most recent entry pushes Kill Bill down into the #2 slot. Yeah. It's that good. I'm not going to spoil a damned thing... it's better that you go in knowing as little as possible. Be warned, though, that it is extremely INTENSE. It's really hard to watch... from start to finish Butterfly Effect is in complete control of your emotions. Think Quantum Leap + Donnie Darko + an extra dose of uncomfortable. Ashton Kutcher is AMAZING... as are all the actors A to Z. Who would've thunk that he could be such a great serious actor. A little less Punk'd and a little more Butterfly and he could be the next Johnny Depp. This is... quite frankly, a perfect film. Now I know there was an alternate ending (shown to test audiences) but this one is just perfect. RUN, don't walk, to see it. For the concerned, the film is NOT graphic (There is very brief non-sexual female frontal nudity but that's the worst of it)... but it deals with very uncomfortable issues and goes beyond intense and borders more along the lines of INSANE. If you dont know if this movie is for you take this short quiz... if you like a movie on the following list, give yourself a point. If you earn 4 or more points, this movie is for you. If there is a movie you absolutely HATE, subtract a point. If you havn't seen enough of these movies to decide, you have some renting to do. 1) Donnie Darko 2) Fight Club 3) American History X 4) KIDS 5) Requiem for a Dream 6) Pi 7) Run Lola Run 8) Go

Wholeheartedly agree. Fantastic and heartwarming... just the thing to watch after Butterfly Effect. See other thread for that review.

*sigh* Kill Bill and The Passion have a lot in common. Both are brutal and bloody films... so much so that the MPAA seriously considered NC17 ratings for both (Passion is still under consideration). Both films share a lot in the way of cinamatography as well, bold and artsy. Lastly is the final tongue-in-cheek stab at the bogus antisemitic claims being made by media whores and those who have nothing better to do than stir up controversy to pay the bills. It's a bit of a triple entente for cinamatic satire. But, yeah, it's one of those unconfortable nervous laughter kinds of hilarious... as opposed to knee slapping hilarious. Boy howdy does that sound dry or what?