I've been ghosting this site looking at upcoming PC games with a week (ten days) off work at the end of the month and then I clicked on my profile and saw the last blog entry date!!

So here's an update. *minor note I'm thinking of this as a public/lost diary that may be useful to look back on at some point in the future*.

So what have I been doing for the last few years? Moving house, getting bilked on the rent, working, working more hours, playing eve, falling in love with spreadsheets and Access and then doing the sums realising that if I worked a fifth day I'd take home less than minimum wage per hour after tax and that I could do without two things - working a boring shift and the pittance I'd get for subjugating my brain to the drivel.

So I've been playing Eve Online pretending to run a corporation when actually all it means to be a CEO is to administer and measure the corps progress, between moving, and being without an internet access for over a month I don't think I did too badly with the help of trusted and long standing corp members.

Which brings me to the salient point of this blog. Online gaming and the PC's role keeping for want of a better phrase 'proper gaming' alive and well.

What I mean by that is that consoles look great and when the game is well coded can be played without a blip or pop-up in sight, however for longevity and shelf life it's the PC market that drives sales, customer loyalty and the fondness that is memory Recall. Online multiplayer has this in abundance even free online gaming too. However online gaming paid for or free relies on it's current customer market to drive the future sales via word of mouth - whether it may seem morally bankrupt or not Eve online especially saw an increase in accounts after reports of the nefarious goings on at alliance level over the last few years.

When it comes to the PC gaming is at its best. Easier controls for a start, generally you don't end up with crippled hands using a controller that is too big or too small for your hands. Scalable experience. If your pc isn't high end slide those bars to the left a bit more and there you go - the gaming experience may be not with all the bells and whistles but certainly with the spirit of the game that you bought in to in the first place. Sadly even console users aren't safe from the dreaded patches and the Downloadable content that depending on where you're from will cost more for the currency conversion than the item itself. PC users are just going to have to soak it up I guess, once the micro-finance economy proved its worth in the third world it was only ever a matter of time.

There is one, VERY important aspect of PC gaming that makes it...better...richer...gives the title longevity for years and years and it's simply a well put together and stable Toolset.

The PC games that don't have a toolset or ingame feature of creativity will die on the shelves under the constant polishing of the work experience kid. Even great games such as Bioshock may be replayed once again, possibly doubtful more than that as there is no way of creating your own levels, stories, or seeing other people's experience in the single player game. Even early games had level creators for people to use and create their own..

Only when the toolset is done well and supported with official support and of course the creative genius of the unpaid volunteers that give freely will a game live far beyond the average shelf life. Indeed online games need to be updated to further the current users goals and aspirations and entice others in to the fold, although it sounds like a pyramid scheme which is a harsh judgement. Does The Sims get boring after a while, when you remember just how much macro-management there is, even though you only want to design clothes, buildings or stories using the film editor.

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What games have you purchased on the basis of content creation promises and did you realise your goal? Did you enjoy the game? Were your creative efforts viewed publicly and if so, was it appreciated?

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I'm thinking of getting Dragon Age: Origins - partly for the story, but mostly for the toolset. The Wiki tutorials make it sound straight forward, yet the forums are full of posts that have had problems since day one. And then there's the fact that they released a DLC on day one and from within the game it invites you to the quest and to buy it as well.

Or perhaps I could spend more quality time in Eve and wait for Assassins Creed 2 instead/as well. No reports of that game having a toolset released ever.

Or just stick with Eve Online. The game that got me interested in spreadsheet applications and access to the extent that my industrial organiser has had over 600 downloads since 3rd October of this year. Doesn't sound a lot but as it's Excel 2007 only I don't think it's done too bad.

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Where does the future of gaming lie? Consoles? Linear, awkward, limited longevity, party appeal, or PC gaming? open controls for the most part, open content in most cases and granted linear in some games too.

I'm in my (as I have been for the last fortnight) room, in a shared flat which is so much better than being 31 and still living with parents. Although, I'm still 31, not much I can do about that, until I'm 32 atleast. Anyway.....catchup time.

The Harry Potter series is done and dusted. A great seven parter that always was intended to be a seven parter, tied up very very nicely although some parts of Deathly Hallows was just plain strange, still the book is published the author is dead. Not really of course, it's a phrase that means the published book is there and done. Any questions or answers the author give now is too late and should have been included in the final publication (please not a second edition!). The series should stand up alone at this point without no "interference" from the author, as any links/continuity or subplots that haven't been tied up is up to your own imagination. The trouble with author interviews is they'll admit to happy accidents and call them that, much better to leave well alone and work on the next volume. But where will JKR go from here? Possibly a cheap island in some tropical paradise, who knows. She doesn't need to write to put food on the table any more, but I'm sure there'll be something along in 2008.

For my week off work, I've been thinking about re-arranging the room to save me having to step over a wide lounge chair, but it's only a thought. Cooking for one person is a p.i.t.a though, anyone got tips on a weekly tight budget??

What else? Oh been reliving the GTA San Andreas experience. Some missions are damn annoying using pc controls and others are a lot easier, I guess it balances out over the course of the story.

I've been playing Eve online again over the last month or so, and it still relies heavily on teamwork, which is fine, if you're avialable at the time zone required, otherwise you'll hear about interesting stuff during the quiet time. I'm working on my combat skills which will enable me to field combat ships, the Eve Tournament 4 has happened and what a tournament it was. That's a question, cus I totally missed it, Band of Brother Alliance didn't make it four wins in a row though so that's news! I have watched a few movies on eve tv though, which would be interesting if you could make out the names/ship type and alliances/corps on the videos though. Although I'm not that into combat, I know it's a lot more exciting than watching the battles on Eve TV, although if you've never had the EVE experience before, I suggest you to try it out (when the servers are stable) and remember it's about speaking to people and working together, otherwise there's a very very steep learning wall and about 14 days of finding out what you actually enjoy.

It's one of the few (if only?) MMO's that has a full time doctor of economics employed to plumb the depths of the New Eden market and all that stuff. Should be exciting for everyone, be it market pvp'r or combat pvp'r, both rely on each other of course. Soon I hope to be able to do both - Although market PVP will always be tougher to survive in, when playing the markets, no one knows who's got buy/sell orders unless they buy/sell something to that character, and even then there's so many damn alt characters in the game it's not worth the hassle.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I guess I'm just waiting for the Terry Pratchett Book out sometime soon.

At the end, I'm going to ask what you think.  Before that here's the pitch.

With the release of Lord of the Rings Online, and later Star Trek Online, as well as the ever increasing popularity of WoW the MMO genre is populated (polluted?) with a whole range of titles set in different genres, but mainly sadly fixed firmly in the medieval/fantasy setting.

Setting and storyline aside, there's one very very important aspect to ALL MMO's whatever your favourite and that is the leveling system used.

In 2003 CCP released Eve Online.  Today Eve Online is still not that mainstream, but it's groundbreaking above one reason.  Skill books are bought and trained, offline or online.  You can even switch your skill being learnt to something else without losing time either.

As far as I'm aware, this is the only game that offers offline character advancement.

Lord of the Rings, follows WoW's character levelling to the letter.  Do this to get better at that, repeat.  Get to a level and use better equipment, to do it faster, but by that stage levelling takes longer so you're going to have to do a whole lot more to see your level rise.

I have no details on how STo will work, hopefully it will be realtime enabled, not just game time, otherwise it's just the same Grindfest that I despise, simply because I don't have the time to get to grind x for more than a couple of hours a day.

To balance this out, Skill books in Eve must be purchased.  This requires the hoarding of ingame currency.  So whatever you enjoy doing in the game to make money a pretty good investment is the next skill book to increase your characters potential.  The market is so much better than any other online game as well, but that's a different blog yet to be written.

So what method do you prefer? Have you not experienced the real time skilling that Eve offers?  Would the method put you off from trying a new MMO?  As much detail/opinion as possible.  I'll check out what STO looks likely to be offering and will put my whole support behind the real time offline method. 

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6159812.html?sid=6159812&tag=lastword;link

I think I want to point out that if a judge doesn't know or relies on the attorney (defence or prosecution) for what the governing body rating system is all about, tells a big story in how uneducated people are when it comes to rating systems.

Especially with games it seems. In the UK, the games are regulated by the BBFC which is a legal requirement. These ARE age related sales and retailers flouting the ratings will be fined and or imprisoned. The same deal with alcohol and tobacco sales.  It is also illegal for retailers to sell DVD, Videos and Games without a BBFC Rating.  There's also laws for the location, size and quantity of the rating icons as well.

But that is the situation in the UK (and I think across Europe as well), not it seems America. I did read recently that the sales of rated games are not lawfully enforcable which means children CAN buy games without parental consent.

I can't imagine adults and children in the United States not knowing what the film ratings mean when it comes to content, why then, this seeming lack of observation when it comes to video games?  Maybe it's because the fact it is a voluntary organisation lowers the ratings own worth in the eyes of consumers but it is there as a guide.

Any comments on this would be welcome.  And Jack Thompson is a fire breathing hate figure, that blames other things on the real causes of crime.  A sure way to increase a societies dependancy on the blame factor rather than the obligations and responsibilities that especially the United States was founded upon.

Yes, another year, another wrinkle.

Next year could be even better, especially if you actually FLY abroad instead of spending a week in a caravan on the south coast during the rainy season (read: the week you go on holiday WILL be the rainiest of the month).

Still, you like the place and that's all that matters.  To make your Birthday really worth celebrating, I'll find a job and move out could be before you come back, how about that!!  A Second study!!!

So Sony screws Europe again.  No worries, I'm not a potential buyer of the PS3 anyway.  So moving on.

The US government in their wisdom are arresting the heads of companies who dare defy their online gambling laws.  Despite the fact that in all the software I've downloaded and used it has said in the TOS explicitly that you may not use this software if local or national laws or bi-laws prohibit gambling in any way.  Some parts of the American Culture just do not work with each other and Gambling and Alcohol sales and consumption are exactly the same.  It's okay to buy a lottery ticket in most States but it's not alight to phone up a bet on a horse race, or play poker/whatever in the comfort of your own home.  Ludicrous, I say.  But if laws are in effect, the best way of getting bad laws changed is to bring a prosecution using the existing laws.  It sucks if you're the one being arrested but hopefully they can sway the argument around by bringing the internet users to count in actually using the software illegally in the first place.  That's my legal defence atleast, which is why I'm not a lawyer.

What else?  Playing Oblivion again, made a few tweaks to it. I could call it a mod but I won't because I just added some stuff to the sewer system for an easier character start.  I think I might have gone a bit too far, but it's far easier to fall down a mountain than it is to climb.  And besides I'll experience the same storylines and quests as everyone else, so I think although my stats may be slightly inflated, by the time I reach the higher levels it'll be levelled out.

President, sorry Prime Minister Blair is causing the labour party to lose the next election.  Why the subject of his term in office was brought up, I don't know.  He was re-elected two years ago or thereabouts for a five year term, but now he's not going to fulfill that by saying he'll be out within twelve months.  Silly.

President Bush, made a speech to the MOAA  (I remember the icon so I can remember the initials after some thought).  Although I think the guy is thick as creosote and just as rich, what was written in the speech made sense.  Why can't speech writers get the credit though, because we all know the guy has no personality apart from the village idiot.

And that's it for me, and it's goodbye from you.  Read you later people.

These all came to mind while I'm borrowing my first ever wireless mouse and pad combo.  The pad plugs directly in to a USB slot, but the mouse (and optional and tricky to hold pen) are wireless.

After spending twenty minutes getting used to it and setting up the drivers and software it puts me in mind of a magnetic game I used to have featuring a dome that sat on the board containing scoring holes and steel balls.  It was quite fun actually because of the circular nature of the dome it taught....well that I'm not sure about it, but it did keep me occupied for a while.

I wonder when a touchscreen monitor and Gaming Pad (think star trek flight controls) will be commercially released and useable.  Would people actually play a flight simulator without a joystick?  Think three touch pad dials representing the axis upon which the craft travels, then a throttle slider.

To Ryan and Lyndsey who got married earlier today.  I've known Ryan since he was about three foot tall but today he's six four and now a married man, house car, job and all the rest of it.

He's five years younger than me and he is now truely a man.  He'll always love his cars and stereos and that's his interest, and now he's taken on  the responsibility of a wife who's a great girl.

 I wish them both happiness and health.  Work hard, communicate and the life you both deserve together will be yours.

So it's back to Square One, with an extra insert added to the CV.

The CV, that will be rewritten and edited to better show off the facts on one page.

Still want to move out, still want to work.  With a bit of capital I could be selling practically anything, but I don't have capital so there's no point in whining about it.

Sundays UFC pay per view (Broadcast free on in the UK the day after the show), was pretty solid all round.  Just wish the headline lasted longer than 95 seconds though.  Still there's no doubt that those guys are warrior athletes and I really really hope to see MMA introduced as an olympic sport one day.

That's about it for an update.  I don't really have a lot to say anymore because I fear it would turn into a whine, and I haven't got any cheese, so take it easy people and don't sweat the small stuff.

Interesting things can happen when you spend time looking out of a window.  This actually happened to me the other day.

Me and my colleague were looking out of the window at the world slowly passing us by when I said

"Hey, look at that a chicken actually trying to cross the road".

Of course the guy thought I was smoking something but looked anyway.  So there we were watching a chicken walk up to the kerb on a busy road, he swivelled his head (maybe to get both opinions on what his eyes saw) and carried on walking further up the same street.

Puzzled we both stared at this unique experience until the chicken finally crossed the busy street slightly further on.

"Why didn't the chicken just cross there?" I asked.

"Because it was a Zebra crossing, of course".

Sorry, but bad jokes should be shared.  I believe I came up with this myself just recently after remembering my American friends face when she saw a sign that read "Humped Zebra Crossing".  It happened several years ago but still causes her to laugh.  Simple things after all....

Anyway, hope you liked it and if you didn't get it you're probably foreign, but that's alright too.