Dungeon Runners

The other week, I received an email from NCsoft inviting me to try one of their upcoming online role playing games currently in beta testing.

Dungeon Runners is an action oriented RPG. Think of Diablo 2 in a fully 3D rendered environment with a cartoonish look and feel somewhat like World of Warcarft.

When released, the game will be free to download and play. However, if you want access to all the features and all the best items, you will need to be a paid subscriber. At $5.00 (US) a month, it shouldn't break the bank, but whether it is worth another monthly bill... The jury is still out on that.

I've been playing the game off and on for a little bit now and I have to say that I do enjoy it. It's not an in depth game so is easy to pick up and just play for a bit. The people I've met are pretty friendly for the most part, and even the lead developer has been known to drop by and play or answer questions.

From what I hear, the game will be publicly released in the next few months.

Here's a screenshot to whet your whistle.

Chop Saki Justice!

Wow. Kung Fu Lou: Chop Saki Justice is one of the funniest (and cheesiest) spoofs of 70's kung fu movies I've seen in a while. It's work safe but 22 minutes long.

Watch, laugh, then tell someone else about it.

Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released

This just in... Hell froze over today as the Debian project finally released version 4.0 of their popular GNU/Linux distribution, code named Etch. Check out their press release here.

Some of what's new:

• standards compliance: FHS 2.3, LSB 3.1
  
• Linux kernel version 2.6.18
• GNU Compiler Collection 4.1.1
• GNU C library 2.3.6
• X.Org 7.1
• Gnome 2.14
• KDE 3.5

Don't get me wrong, I AM a Debian fan. I've been using it on and off for several years. Heck, my Sarge install (and Potato before it) was my daily use system for years. I'd surf the net, get email, watch video trailers, and even watch TV and DVD's.

I just wish that they would be able to release stable versions a little more regularly.

This is where Debian derivative distributions such as Ubuntu have been attracting more attention of late. Regularly scheduled updates, more up-to-date packages, consistent user interface, etc.

Of course, having a rich project founder helping to fund, organize, and motivate doesn't hurt either.   ;)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone.

GuildWars update

Wow. Last night (Thur. April 5th) saw one of the largest GuildWars game updates I've seen in recent memory. Almost every part of the game has seen some sort of adjustment. From bug fixes, to AI adjustments, to UI changes, to story line changes, and balance changes affecting every profession.

It feels like an early Christmas.

A couple of changes I'm particularly fond of:

• More storage space in the vault.
• New pet controls in the party window.

It's too early to know the ramifications of all the changes yet, but so far, it's all good.

Urban Terror 4.0 is out!

DOH! How could I not mention this? Urban Terror 4.0 was released April 1st. And with this release, they also have a stand alone version so Quake3 is no longer a requirement.

One note for those eye-candy elitists... This mod is the hard work of fellow Quake enthusiasts. While talented to be sure, the visuals will not have the same bling as the current crop of commercial FPS games out there. Due to the somewhat dated game engine and lack of corporate/financial backing.

But don't let that dissuade you. Try it and you will most likely enjoy it. Not to mention it will run "smooth as budda" on any PC (with 3d video hardware) that has come out in the last 6 years.

Download, install, play. 'nuff said.

Adventures in Coding

At the urging of my friend SilverStr, I have decided to learn C# using Microsoft Visual Studio Express. I have done some coding in the past, but it has been a while, and I'm not a professional programmer. I'm looking forward to trying something new and hopefully learning a thing or two in the process.

It's nice to see that Microsoft has thought of the programming hobbyist. With their Visual Studio Express Editions, they have created "Free lightweight, easy-to-use, and easy-to-learn tools for the hobbyist, novice and student developer". Free of charge. They also have a section on their site dedicated to the Beginner Developer with tutorials from the ground up. Looking for some inspiration? Check out the Coding4Fun section for great ideas of what to do or try next.

Learning something new can take you out of your comfort zone. But what's life without a little adventure? Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long and fruitful one.

Zune Desktop Theme

Thanks to a friend of mine (props bOnEdAwG), I discovered a great new desktop theme from Microsoft. Based off the software interface for their new mobile audio device, the Zune.

I'm not so sure about the orange Start button though...

Get the theme here.

GuildWars is dead... Long live GuildWars!

Okay, so I heard there was going to be some juicy new info in the May issue of PC Gamer about GuildWars (my current online addiction). I went out, picked it up, and flipped through the pages to find the article with baited breath. Did I mention I was addicted to the game?

What?! The next campaign has been cancelled?! As Charlie Brown put it... ARGH!

With that out of my system I read on. There will be one more release for GuildWars in the form of a true expansion pack. In other words, you have to have at least one of the three campaigns installed to play. This expansion pack will be called Eye of the North, and will be geared towards existing players. New story, new races to interact with, new areas to explore including dungeons, and various new items and skills. One interesting new feature is the addition of the Hall Of Monuments which will record your feats and accomplishments. Expect the expansion to be available around the holiday season.

From there the ArenaNet development team splits up.

One group will continue to support GuildWars. They will continue to refine the game, fix glitches, add some content. Fleshing out some story arcs, adding events, etc.

The other group will be working on GuildWars 2. The next version will be built off of the technology of the original but will have many changes. From what I read, some of those changes will take it somewhat in the World of Warcraft direction. Multiple playable races, higher character levels, less instanced areas, and self contained worlds on multiple servers. Right now they expect to have a beta in 2008 some time.

Oh did I forget to mention, that PC Gamer also has a code for a new mini-pet?

There's much more information in the articles, so go pick up the May issue of PC Gamer and check it out for yourself.

See you in the game!