Change of universe

As much as I'm starting to have more fun in EVE since my return, on this Labor Day weekend I couldn't get much done because of an extended parental duty weekend. I've mentioned my theory on EVE and kids often enough so no need to repeat myself. But at 4.5 and 5.5 years old I can already see the makings of a pair of future gamers. That part of my genetic legacy is impossible to deny! Now the interesting part is to make sure they don't abuse the interest too much, and most importantly nip any negative behavior that may happen in the bud, which ain't always easy. Two guys, one computer... yeah, fun!

So what do kindergarten sons of a hardcore gamer play? You'd be surprised! The obvious one for boys their age is the games on the Hot Wheels website. But of course after seeing dad in action it didn't take long for them to want to try true games. I did show them EVE PvP but face it, EVE is slooooooow! But First Person Shooters? Different story! Of course I'm not talking about FPS games too violent or realistic; they do have a good grasp of what is fantasy and what is reality, so no CoDs, MW2, GTA and etc. I'm not into those anyway. But they love Quake, especially with esports fugly graphics! They haven't started deathmatching yet but they do understand how to move around and switch weapons. But this weekend another game grabbed their interest: Mechwarrior4:Mercenaries!

The fun part about Mech4 for them isn't only the walking around in gigantic "robots" (they aren't calling them mechs yet), it's looking at the mechlab screen! Seriously, they spend more time fitting the mechs than they do on the field, where they usually go all alone or against a single weaponless assault mech I made for them to practice on. Something just grabs them as they try to balance their fits; what weapon type goes where, what can be fitted with 2 tons left, how to free up some tonnage for jump jets, that sort of thing. Some of their fits are pure fail, but others are quite good. To determine this they have me enter a multiplayer game against bots and if I start decimating the competition the fit gets the seal of approval. And the favorites: for Leandre it's the Supernova because he has a thing for high-powered energy weapons (Amarr pilot in the making), and Timothee prefers the Marauder II for its massive railgun... I hope hybrids get fixed before he gets in EVE!

So yeah, having youngsters playing grown-up games is doable, but the most important thing is to make sure that they understand that games are games. And of course I'm writing about this because this has been a truly dismal weekend weather-wise, either too hot and humid or pissing rain; video games are NOT my activity of choice for my tornadoes. OK, is it my turn yet? I WANNA PLAY !!!

Fight hard and get crits!

o7

From a first-person perspective

It's no secret that I've been getting back into FPS games, but this weekend was special in that regard for a couple reasons. First, I started a new account in Quake Live because my first one's player name was too goofy, mixing a past Q3 clan I was in and my EVE heritage. I scrapped that and started CozmikR5 fresh with all the stats at zero, unaffiliated with any clan (yet), and obviously a name that's easier to manage. If you have an account on Quake Live, feel free to add me to your buddy list; just remember that there is no space between "Cozmik" and "R5" :)

In a different gaming universe, I played a little bit of multiplayer Mech4Mercs this weekend, as requested by my boys who wanted to see dad play with "the robots"! Usually I just load up a few mechs and proceed to go nuts, but this time one of my boys asked me if I was going to have some friends to play with. "Friends as in real people?" I replied. The answer was a resounding "YES!" from both guys. So off to find a server I went. I needed to find one that had actual people as opposed to only bot opponents, but that wasn't too hard because there was plenty of people playing. I first tried a free-for-all server, but unfortunately I didn't have the map the match was being played on. Note to self, get the MGL and NBT map packs ASAP! The second attempt was successful. It was a team battle server with unlimited ammo and no heat, which just meant more mayhem. The server had 2 humans and one bot on one side, and myself and two bots on the other. Despite being a tad lopsided, it was still a very fun match. My Deimos with its six AC5's proved how nasty it could get; I killed all three opposing mechs before my first mech went down. But the enemy was no slouch either; the human players were piloting a PPC/laser fit Executioner and a stock Mauler (maybe upgraded to Clan tech... I can't say). I don't remember the bots' mechs as they were some of the numerous assault mechs available, but for assault mechs they were litterally push-overs. But yeah, fun was had and I can't wait to do it again!

My boys also have a game that I can safely say they're addicted to. Or rather, they're addicted to watching dad play it. I've always been a Star Wars fanboi, and it looks like the Force runs strong in the family! So a few times per dad duty weekend I have to load up Jedi Academy and slice up some stormtroopers, dark Jedi, and disciples of Ragnos. The weird thing is that they're more into the movements of the game than the fragging of bad guys; take them to the park and they run around and jump, making the in-game sound effects :)) Because no, my parental weekends are not purely based on gaming... my ex would incinerate me. But lately the weather has been extremely sucky in Montreal, and when we don't have anywhere special to go of course they're attracted to my twin screen, FCS equipped gaming rig. On the plus side, the boys are getting tech-savvy; heck, my eldest can search for "Hot Wheels Battle Force 5" videos on his own... yes I will have to think about a NetNanny or something to that effect. Damn I'm getting old !!!

As you can see, I've always been able to get some gaming done when I have my boys, and lately too much of it because Mother Nature is being a complete bitch. But notice how nowhere in these three paragraphs is any mention of EVE. It's simple: EVE and kids don't mix. Period. Even the few times they've asked me to "play with the spaceships", they get bored within minutes because admit it, watching someone play EVE is like watching grass grow or paint dry. And doing PvP? That would be litterally irresponsible because ALL your attention has to be on the game. This is reason #346 for the lengthy break.

So if you play any of these three games, feel free to look me up. I will also surely re-install Xfire in the near future so I'll post my contact information. In the meantime, here are my respective callsigns for Quake and Mech4:

• Quake Live: CozmikR5 (Clan Kill 'Em All {KEA})
• Mech4Mercs (Mektek edition): CozmikR5

Frag 'em all

o7

WASD, how I've missed you!

Told ya I'd keep blogging. I may not be arsed to get on EVE but I still enjoy gaming quite a bit, and doing so in a mostly troll-free environment where actual twitch skills are everything is something I've always prefered over EVE. Now that I've been getting back more steadily into action first-person shooters, I realise that maybe I should've taken a break from EVE sooner or more often. Shocking isn't it? I can recognize that EVE has a complexity that is second to none, and to many people meta-gaming is just as important as the game itself. But I'm more of a "point gun, shoot" gamer; the more complex a game is the faster I lose interest. Ever since I've started writing this blog I haven't exactly hidden the fact that I'm a Quake guy and love blowing shit up. And now that I'm into the mindset that I don't play EVE anymore I've been warming up the old twitch reflexes quite a bit in preparation for a full-on multiplayer deathmatch assault.

Since it came out in 1999, my fragging game of choice has been Quake III Arena, modded with Challenge Pro-Mode Arena. I would also play other FPS games like Doom3, Half-Life2 and Jedi Academy, but I never had any interest in the FPS games based on warfare or special ops; When Counterstrike took the throne as THE online FPS game I did give it a shot, but sneaking around for minutes just for a scant few seconds of action just isn't my thing... the same as roaming in EVE for 2 hours and killing two ships (and I ain't talking about the time lost making the fleet). I much prefer the speed and crazy aerial acrobatics of a game like Quake. I also gave a shot at Unreal Tournament 2004, but once again I found Quake to be more "my style" if you will. At the dawn of 2009 I got my beta key for Quake Live (which is basically Q3A on a browser plug-in, minus the blood, gore and satanic references) and that's where I've been doing my online fragging once in a while. But lately two freeware games have attracted my attention. Both play in Quake's court, and both use modified versions of id Software technology. Let's have a look at 'em:

Warsow CTF. Red vs... Green?

Warsow

Of the two games this one is my favorite. Based on a modified Quake2 engine, the game feels a more like Q3 CPMA than the game it takes the engine from. All the maps are geared more towards fluid gameplay than towards looks, but than doesn't mean they are by any means ugly. The player models, weapons and pick-ups are all textured with cell-shaders and the weapon effects are minimal, looking very much like a Quake3 client set up for tournament play, but unlike Quake3 you don't have to tweak config files like mad to have a clear field of view. Well, the configs can be tweaked to heart's content, but it's good to have a business-ready client right after installation.

And the gameplay? Fast. Blinding fast. This doesn't just play on Q3A's court, it wrestles with it on the same ring! Let's be honest, a deathmatch game is a pretty simple and standard thing, with pretty much the same pick-ups and weapons. But where Warsow really shines is in the movement. It is much more fluid than the original Q3A or even the current Quake Live, and just slightly less crazy than CPMA. And as a direct competitor, it more than does the job as the game has been used in some professional gaming tournaments. My verdict? At the awesome price of zero dollars and zero cents, this game is a must-have for any deathmatch aficionado.

This is the Q1 engine?! DAMN !!!

Nexuiz

I may have favorited the first game but this one is no slouch. When the game is first loaded, it's hard to believe that at its very core lies what used to be a Classic Quake engine. Yes, the Quake from 1996! But what the developers did was throw the venerable Quake engine into Top Gear's V8 blender along with a few buckets of OpenGL goodies, and what came out is an engine that looks even better than the Quake THREE engine. So much so that the developers ditched the Quake name and called it Darkplaces. When maxed out, the graphics were a bit choppy on my 2008 machine so I have to tone things down a bit, but the looks were absolutely stunning.

The physics are where I feel a little let-down though. As opposed to Q3A, CPMA or Warsow, Nexuiz feels a bit more like a threesome between Classic Quake, Quake2, and Unreal Tournament. But the vast quantity of awesome-looking maps and effects will keep me coming back once in a while for sure. Currently Nexuiz is available only as a free download for the PC, but the developers have announced that the game will be made for consoles, and from the screenshots on the website the game will look even more stunning! Coupled with its slightly slower action, which should work pretty good for those used to gamepads (I just can't use gamepads for FPS games... mouse/keyboard baby!), the game could be quite successful if the developers play their cards right.

So there you have it, two absolutely free games worth every single bit of their respective code, and no F2P bullshit thank you very much!

Welcome to MY world!

o7