Well, I'm looking around here and there, and getting back into image editing again.

Unfortunately, it's still as hard as a rock to get through my head, as each tutorial is always using a different version of GIMP, or has some sort of option that I can't seem to locate. Annoying to say nonetheless, and I'm even more so annoyed at myself for being unable to learn it.

To bulletsword: I like your banner :D

Also, here's my first (and badly-done uber-noob sig) for my Cabal private server:
http://img406.imageshack.us/my.php?image=proto2xq9.jpg

Comment and criticize (should I say flame?) it. :|

Could also use some links for some good fonts/brushes as well.

-C0m1

Okay, well, other than a main character with a name I like (Isaac Clarke, I don't know, it just sounds cool to me), this is probably going to be my next buy. I have taken into account the following points:

-Dude with a cool name.
-He looks cool to boot
-It's been too darn long since I had a good singleplayer experience
-The setting appeals to me, whereas opposed to games like Resident Evil and FEAR
-It's a horror game. I'm usually scared crapless, but this would be a good game to get over my fear with.
-It got a good review :D

So I'll probably buy this for PC this coming Christmas. Also, can't forget about Far Cry 2, even though it has (wait for it) SecurROM!

-C0m1

With the advent of the launch of the Council of Stellar Management, EVE Online looks to be going strong for the next few years. There were a total of 66 candidates to fill only nine positions for their countries: 3 each from the Netherlands and the UK, two from the United States, and one for Denmark. The councilmen, chosen to represent various countries worldwide, were given a trip to the CCP headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland (See that? Iceland!), order to brief them on the situation, what the Council was about, and what they could do to improve it.

In short, the Council is effectively a buffer between the developer staff and the players themselves. By representing their respective countries, players can air grievances and let the staff know how they can make the one-server-200k-player-strong game world better. Each Council is to serve a term of 6 months before another election is held and the players can vote; each player can serve only a maximum of two terms (hail the amendment).

A good number of issues posted on the forums were discussed in detail, many of them taken as improvements to the CSM.

Hopefully, they'll expand the CSM to more than just a public-relations function, perhaps even going into full blown politics. EVE Online is very capable of doing incredible things (read here; Note: It was all in-game and it was all legit), so it's no wonder if they expand it to even more potential than it has now.

Can politics really work in an MMO? What do you think?

Well, we've all read or heard about it sometime or another (I myself already knew about this for months after receiving the Tabula Rasa newsletter for Operation Immortality). Richard "Lord British" Garriott has achieved the fine accomplishment of being one of the few lucky civilians to see our fair planet from the stars. It cost him 30 million dollars. :o

He is to dock with the International Space Station... tomorrow, on Tuesday. Along with him is a hard drive which he plans to store on the ISS with the digitalized DNA of various people, including Stephen Hawkings, and a few dozen lucky winners of Operation Immortality, which, in case humanity makes a falling point in evolution, we can use the DNA to clone ourselves back into existence (interestingly, if we have cloning worked out by the time that happens). Garriott's father himself was also an astronaut and he now holds the record for following in his father's footsteps.

Second star to the right and straight on 'till morning, Lord British.

Controversies - Questions from the Users

1. Why the hell did he blow 30 million dollars on that when he could have donated it to charity or used it to make his games better?

That is a question that no one really has the answer to. It's his money. You can whine and rant and cry about it all you want, but what he did was what he chose to do. But then think about it, if you had 30 million on you, and a few many chances to use it, what would you use it on? Charity's not going anywhere.

2. Who cares?

Other than the fact that this is possibly a turning point in history (possibly), and that the little hard drive might have bigger uses other than collecting space dust. That is, we all (could) face an apocalypse and humanity might be pushed to the brink of extinction. You never know when it comes, right?

3. This guy isn't even a key player in the gaming industry.

Not true. I'll explain it all in one sentence: Founder of the modern RPG. Even JRPGs got their start from Garriott's influences. The whole idea of the RPG came from him. Without him, we wouldn't even have any of those RPGs today.

-C0m1

My schoolwork has been dragging me down quite a bit, what with all the homework as well. I'm also failing Chem! :D

Anyways, been on and off for my games. There's a lot of games I certainly want this and next year, but I'll have to cut most of them and make some tough choices soon.

Also, there is the controversy about piracy on the PC, that its killing the platform. Well, a user has kindly thrown some facts:

-If you make a really good game, people won't pirate it. Especially if it has no copy protection (i.e. Oblivion)
-Putting copy protection (Sign the anti-SecuROM petition on the blog below) will only serve to have people pirate your game more.
-Just make it so that the game is literally worthless if you pirate it! A good example of this is Sins of a Solar Empire, which includes only singleplayer and LAN in the pirated version, without all the goodies that came with the real version. How the devs did it, I don't know, but it's one hell of a smart way that bigger developers should learn to do.
-Use digital distribution! Yes, you all might know that I hate Steam. However, I am not a hater on it's practicality and usefulness. It's there, people, so use it!

-C0m1

Okay. Here's what's up:

-I want freaking Vegas 2 now. I see that it is totally awesome after playing it on my friend's computer.

-Code Geass R2. Awesome ending. Words cannot express my joy at the gloriousness of this anime series. WATCH EET!

-I got Clear Sky... and it sucks. I got a crash 10 minutes into the game. And it doesn't look any different at all. Just different environments, some even looking half-assed, like the Great Swamps.

-School. The usual in it. :P

-C0m1

And remember everybody! Sign the anti-SecuROM petition!

All you PC gamers out there know what this insidious tool is. It's a blight upon the glorious world of our magnificent PC gaming. And you know who's doing it? Electronic Arts. In their ever-expanding quest for more money, they're wanting more and more ways to gain the money and to annoy us gamers. Put a stop to it!

For those of you console gamers: You do indeed have it better! SecuROM is a devious software used to keep track of how many times we can install a game! Go over the limit and it's over! You must understand the shackles and chains that the price of elitist PC gaming comes with. And it is a terrible price indeed, to have a limit on the timed usage of a game.

Fact: Spore has sold over 1 million copies.

You know what else? The pirated version has HALF that number. 500,000 illegal downloads (and counting) ... does anyone else see that the numbers here are out of whack?

Sign this petition! Cure the PC Plague!

Do this for the sake of the future of our beloved PC gaming! Spread the petition! Let the cause be known! Save our futures from the horror that is SecuROM!

-C0m1

Note: I wonder if EA's stupid enough to do something like this with the consoles as well?

2nd Note; Jack Thompson is now permanently disbarred. Can I get a "WOOT WOOT"?!

As most of you know, ever since GS sort of... fell apart, things have been slow. They rarely change anything anymore unless it's REALLY big, otherwise it's just written up and put under the sections where anybody rarely sees it.

Take this part for instance:

When was the last time they changed this? This has been here for well over a month now. This is OLD NEWS. Change it! :|

Anyways, things have been slow. Except at school. Me and my friends have some club warfare (Local Martial Arts Organization vs Taekwondo Club, lol) and we have been "frozen" by the on-campus staff until they can really verify us because we're "too similar" to Taekwondo, but we'll see how it turns out. Just to clarify, the LMAO (yes, we chose those words on purpose) is our club. :)

As for anime... Code Geass R2. Sweet stuff. Can't wait to see what happens next. :D

To games! Dead Space. Looks really sweet. However, seeing as there has been a lack of news recently... well, it's hard to tell whether anything's up to snuff or not. Hopefully they'll step it up and put up some decent news soon. Also, Crysis Warhead got an awesome score. Definitely worth checking out, and also... Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts. Always been meaning to get that, but never really got around to it.

-C0m1

EDIT: I find it funny how people from Gamefaqs seem to have a thing against Gamespotters, usually with a reaction of "Oh, it's a GSer, lol". Well, what's the difference? Other than that GS got an update and GF didn't? That you can have more personalization options in GS than in GF? That in GS, you don't seem like a new user that doesn't have an avatar?

Oh, and the Code Geass vs. Final Fantasy thread on Gamefaqs is so LOL. They all fail. Code Geass is NOTHING like Final Fantasy; it's a whole lot better. So stop comparing the two.

-Yes, it's that day. Any and all Americans should know what I'm talking about.

-iTunes blows. Really. The newest update totally screwed up my iPod Touch. It seems to only want to add specific songs and only those specific songs ONLY. Which means that half my songs can't be added to farking iTunes, because it doesn't want to add those farking songs because it just doesn't want to, and I don't know how to fix it. Great job, Apple. Money-hungry freaks. Someone please recommend a GOOD iPod song manager.

-I just figured out how to use my cell's bluetooth function today. I grabbed some J-music from my friend's cell. :P

-Junior year so far in high school is... uh, well, fine, so far. I'm learning how to do HTML coding in my Comp Tech 1 period. :D

-I have just realized that I seem to have devloped a physical ailment against School Days. For those of you who don't know what School Days is... go Wiki it up, but do it at your own risk. Probably the most sickest anime ever created, though the production quality and anime style is still probably my most favorite. Anyways, I seem to throw up whenever trying to read/watch it for a few minutes. Just thinking about it makes my body queasy and I lose my sense of balance. In fact, I thought of it today in Chemistry, and I ended up getting sent to the nurse. My body hates it so bad that its developed a impulse against it. :|

EDIT: Figured out how to fix the farking iTunes. Here's hoping that it doesn't delete my songs again.

Okay, just an outline of what's happened:

1. Code Geass R2 Episode 22. Wow. That's all I can say about it. For those who haven't been keeping up to date with it. WATCH IT. NOW!

2. Spore is out. :D

3. I bought the original Dune by Frank Herbert and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Going to be some good reads. :)

4. My aunt with the supposed 360 present is coming today, claiming that she has a "gift" for me and my brothers. We're hoping for what we think it is. :P

-C0m1