Mature Gamers Forums

MNDF's Signature Thread

MyNameDidntFit — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:30:55 GMT

Well, I'm sure you can all guess where I got the idea to post this thread here. Anyways, just going to throw up a handful of pieces of work that I've done over the years. Comments and criticisms are welcomed and encouraged.

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Recent:

Cadian 85th (render is from an in-game DoWII screenshot I took)

SW:ToR Bounty Hunter (from SW:ToR's 'Deceived' cinematic)

(forgive the hair. I'm not great at doing hair for my renders)

The Deceiver (from SW:ToR's 'Deceived' cinematic)

(I dislike the text on the left of this one)

"Babes" SotW (Jessica Alba)

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No-So-Recent:

Killzone (from, er, Killzone...)

Black Templar (Warhammer 40,000 fan art)

Baneblade (Warhammer 40,000)

Husky (... it's a dog...)

Half-Life (playing with animation)

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And that would be a sample of pretty much all the sigs I've made for myself -- I have a plethora of other crap that was made for non-me people buried deep within the folders of my PB account but that's not important :p

Thoughts/Critiques/Comments/Marriage Proposals?

Picture of Your XBL Avatar Thread

Diachron — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:40:04 GMT

I'm always interested to see what folks cook up for their avatars. Just like the gamercard .png link, MS offers a link for you to plop your avatar down just about anywhere.

The link is:

HTML Code:

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/GAMERTAG/avatar-body.png

Where obviously "GAMERTAG" = your actual gamertag. [S]If you have a space in your gamertag, just substitute spaces with "+".[/S]
[Edit: Ixnay on the space code. Just use a space as you would-- thanks Lance.]

I'll start with mine.

Lord of the Rings Online going free tomorrow

Serio — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:26:11 GMT

Anyone here planning on joining?

I've been a member since 2007 when the game was first launched, and though I've subscribed on and off I've been keeping an eye on the game. This new strategy that Codemasters is running might end up being the saving grace for Lord of the Rings Online. For those of you that don't know, the game will be going Free-to-Play on the 10th of September, with a headstart beginning yesterday for certain players(Beta testers? Veterans? I'm not sure).
This new strategy will provide players with several new types of accounts.

Free Players will be able to purchase(using actual money) or earn Turbine points through gameplay. There is a limit of one character per server, and can only access Ered Luin, Shire and Bree-land(more can be purchased). Their gold is also limited to 2, they also have limited chat, auction, and mail features among other things.

Premium Players are similar in most aspects to Free Players, except they have certain upgraded features. They can have 3 characters per server, and they're limited to 5 gold. Like Free Players, this cap can be removed through the purchase from the Turbine store.

VIP Players gain 500 Turbine points a month. People that had lifetime subscriptions prior to the announcement of the game going Free-to-Play will automatically have their accounts upgraded to VIP. They have no gold limitation, and can have up to 5 characters per server. They get the highest priority on the login server, and have access to the Eriador quest pack.

These different types don't, in any way, mean the game is less enjoyable for free players. Having played the game myself for a while, I can easily say that the limitations for the free players aren't all that bad. You still have access to the same classes and races that Premium and VIP players have, and crafting is fully open to you. Housing, Music, Hobbies, and Cosmetic System is open and unlimited to all types of member. And as far as I can understand, everything else can be purchased with Turbine points.

Well, anyone going to be playing it?

Fable: The Love and the Hate

Diachron — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:57:41 GMT

I've mentioned elsewhere that I have a love/hate relationship with Fable. As I read more about Fable 3, I'm reminded of reasons for both of these.

The "hate" is the easy part. And since the following two links do such a good job of summarizing their respective (and my own) peeves, I'll just reference them:

Spoiler

The "love" part is a bit more circumspect. For all its frustrations and disappointments, Fable still remains charming and inviting. The name evokes a storybook feel, and the world supports that sensibility through beautiful set design and iconic characterization. Fable nails the atmospherics and ambiance of a recounted saga.

So even though I spend a good deal of time yelling at the screen and shaking my fist at Molyneux, Fable keeps me coming back for more.

What have been your own experiences?

Harper's Island

Lance — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:04:33 GMT

So I watched this when it first came out and really enjoyed it. The killer was in my Top 2 suspects from Episode 1, but it was very well done - lots of twists, each episode made you doubt your choices.

But now, knowing who the killer is, I've decided to go back and re-watch it in a different light - see all the clues I missed in the first place etc.

Has anyone else watched it? If so did you feel the need to go back and re-watch it?

Hi everybody!

MilkYMoO — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:05:52 GMT

My names MilkYMoO and I'm from Ireland.

I'm currently addicted to battlefield bad company 2 on the xbox 360 and playing a lot of old games on my ancient amstrad cpc 464.

I play games for a laugh and never take it too seriously. My gaming skills are average, but I think my reflexes are pretty good for a thirty seven year old.
I have a ps3 aswell but hardly ever play it. I'd love some psn friends, at least to see that I have a friends list on it. I have Killzone 2, Battlefield bad company, Uncharted 2, Warhawk and the brilliant, Burnout paradise.

the Hunter -- a truly amazing experience.

MyNameDidntFit — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:08:27 GMT

A flicker of movement in the trees catches my eye, I bring up my binoculars and there she is: the deer I've been tracking for the last thirty minutes over two and a half kilometres. As I lower my binoculars, the shade of the tree line swallows my quarry, the sunlight playing across the field of swaying lavender tricking my eyes into thinking I've lost her. Frantically, I pull my binoculars back to my eyes and sigh with relief; she's still there. I carefully place my binoculars back in their pouch and, even as I place my hand on the but of my rifle, I know I'll never make the shot from where I am.
My heart rate begins to climb as I begin a slow descent down the slope of the field, the grass rustling with my passing sounding more and more like thunder with every steady movement I make. Closer now, I can see her clearly, just a hundred meters away from where I lie upon my stomach, the grass before me pressed cautiously out of my view. I gaze up the gentle incline to the tree line as I pull my rifle around from my back and raise it to my eye, the majestic figure of my prey filling the crosshairs -- but I can't think of her as that any more, I've spent the last thirty (forty, now, I realise) minutes of my life in a chase through field and forest to come to this moment... no, she isn't my prey, or anything so simple, she's symbolic to me now, she represents my success or my failure in this endeavour.
As I line up the shot, I feel a curious sense of sadness creep into me and, as the seconds of waiting, steadying my aim, draw themselves out I finally see my moment, the crosshair steadies on her neck for just a moment and I take the shot -- the culmination of the last forty minutes crushed into the singular climax of a millisecond -- and she falls, disappearing, swallowed up by the grass.
For a few lingering seconds I watch the space where she had been, before lowering my rifle. Only as I let the scope fall away from my eye did I realise I had been holding my breath and, as I rise from the lavender, I let it out, inhaling deeply as a solemn smile works its way onto my features. It's done, and I know it is, but there is one my piece of business to attend to: I make my way up the incline and stand over the body of a female Mule Deer, marking it's location, tagging it and paying my respects for the hunt she gave me.

... what the hell are you on about, MNDF?

Well, that is an account of how I just spend the last forty minutes of my time prior to writing this post. And, no, I wasn't out hunting, I was sitting here, playing a free game -- the Hunter.

http://www.thehunter.com/pub/

When I say free, I mean that you are given free reign of the hunting reserve, your only limitation being that your license only allows the hunting of the Mule Deer with a single rifle -- additional areas, license and weapons will cost you about $50 a year. But even as it is in the free 'demo' this game is... well, it isn't a game. It's an experience. This game takes carefully stalking a deer for an hour -- without firing a shot, without sprinting around, without character interaction, without anything that most games take for granted -- and makes it into one of the best hours I've ever spent in a game.

One of the things that makes this possible is that this game's world is so gosh-darned pretty it makes me want to slap Crytek for hiring pre-schoolers to draw their environments. Really, though, no matter how I describe this game, I cannot do it justice -- it really is something you have to experience.

Also, here's a video so you can see how pretty it is -- I recommend watching in full HD.

YouTube

Wysiwyg

MyNameDidntFit — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:18:41 GMT

What You See Is What You Get post writing style: can we has it?

I thought it was default to have the option, to be honest, but maybe not. If you don't know what I mean, WYSIWYG is the style where when you bold something, it shows it bold rather than showing [B][/B] around it in the editing screen.

It's invaluable for writing posts with headings, colours, different sizings and the like. So, please?

Graeme's Signature Thread

Graeme — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:18:58 GMT

Heh, seeing how we haven't got a graphics sub-forum (and probably won't for a time as we have a sheer amount of graphic 'artists'), I thought I'd post mine here. I'll keep it updated regularly and post in here whenever I've made one. Constructive criticism is always welcome, of course.
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Two recent ones:

Sotw theme - Films

Sotw theme - Black & White

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Some older ones:

CoH Designer Sacrifices Life to Save Wife and Child

MyNameDidntFit — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:39:07 GMT

Quote:

With an out-of-control Chevy Blazer bearing down on him, the 33-year old North Vancouver man braked and swerved his Subaru wagon so that he would take the force of the head-on collision, saving his wife of five years, pregnant with their first baby..

Read more

Basically... holy shit. There is the true definition of a hero.

Finally got a PS3

JustaBitOutside — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:37:42 GMT

Love it so far, got uncharted 2 and I love it. Between that and Resistance fall of man I notice that the enemies are much more clever on the PS3 games than the Xbox. I like the challenge quite a bit.

Add me as a friend JUSTabitouts1de, very original eh? :)

The Google Doodle

Lance — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:02:07 GMT

No, this isn't a thread designed to delve in to the mysteries of the Google Doodle on www.google.co.uk

More, it's an admission that I've spent the last hour trying to make it do random things just for shits n giggle :lol:

Anyone else strangely addicted to it?

The Darkness

dimples — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:04:05 GMT

Has anyone played it? I read good reviews of it, but trailer didn't get to me. Bought it for my boyfriend, who has not touched it yet :D And probably won't as I got him Dragon Age :(

Holy Crap I Forgot Member of The Month... (MOTM August '10)

Jason — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:01:03 GMT

Sorry guys, I can't believe I forgot this! The usual drill applies - vote for the member you felt contributed to the forums the most over the month of August.

Votes are sent to me via PM and I'll tally them all up and announce the winner on Wednesday. You can vote for anyone except me or Graeme, and you don't even need to explain your vote if you won't want to - a name is sufficient. :)

Good luck, everyone!

Amnesia - The Dark Descent

Jason — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:32:02 GMT

I don't know if anyone ever played (or is aware of) the Penumbra series of Survival Horror games on PC, but they're an interesting take on things, with the game being played from a first-person perspective, although the player has no weapons to use at all. If you can't run, hide or outwit something that's hunting you, you're going to die.

Now, I picked up the Penumbra games on Steam a while back for very little, and whilst the concept was good, the actual execution was pretty awkward, with the control scheme in particular being unwieldy when you're panicking and trying to find a nice cupboard to hide in.

Early reviews have been positive, bracketing it in the 8-9 out of 10 area, and mentioning that it overcomes quite a few of Penumbra's flaws and citing that it's a truly scary game at times. Have a look at the video - it doesn't look amazingly scary, but I imagine it'd be a lot more tense if you're actually sat at the keyboard doing that.

YouTube

Anyway, if the video at least intrigues you, check out the demo.