Yes I already posted on this game, but it really needs your help. There have also been more updates on the game since I last posted. Sui Generis is in the last few days of its Kickstarter project, and the word is finally getting out. This is a great looking action RPG by an indie developer with some really cool physics effects and fighting. Check out the Kickstarter page for Sui Generis and pledge what you can. We need more indie PC games like this one!
Razer Tiamat 7.1 Surround Sound Analog Headset
I bought the Razer Tiamat headset a few months ago based on a recommendation from Maximum PC. Before buying them I read all of the comments on Amazon. There were many negative comments and many mentioning configuration changes. I decided to buy them anyway, and I am glad I did. They are expensive at $180, they do require some configuration, but they sound great.
The two things about them I want to go through are my configuration and the issue with hearing buzzing. The buzzing comes from the fact that it uses USB for power. When I plugged it into my PC, I heard definite buzzing when there was no sound. But after I moved them to a powered USB hub, the buzzing was not noticeable. Others have plugged them into a wall jack through USB to eliminate the buzzing.
I have a Sound Blaster X-Fi card so it has all the analog jacks I needed for 7.1 surround sound. The first thing to check before buying these is that you have a 7.1 sound card or sound on the motherboard with all of the jacks you need (front, side, rear, center). Using the Creative Console, I have the following settings:
[Speakers] – 7.1, Bass Settings – Enabled, Crossover Frequency 50 Hz, Subwoofer Gain Enabled.
[EAX Effects] – Enabled, -20 dB, Theater.
[X-Fi CMSS-3D] – Enabled, Surround – Stereo Xpand.
[X-Fi Crystalizer] – Disabled
[Graphic Equalizer] – Disabled
I followed some of the Amazon review settings in the beginning and things sounded good but weird. With my current settings, everything sounds normal and great. I also plugged my 4.1 speakers through the headset, but did run into a problem in one game where I couldn’t hear the dialog. I think it is because I have the sound set to 7.1 and I don’t have the center channel with the speakers. So be careful if you use speakers and they are not 7.1.
Razer also has a lot of information on their Tiamat FAQ page. Use that and Amazon reviewers in case you have problems (and don’t forget my info above). This is the first really expensive headset I have purchased and they sound good and are very comfortable. They actually fit over your ears and I have not had any problems with this. If you have the money and want a nice headset, the Razer Tiamat is worth checking out. Just remember you may need to do a little configuration before they sound great.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
With a lot of Bond craze going on with the release of Skyfall (which I thought was a pretty good back to basics Bond movie), I recorded On Her Majesty’s Secret Service because I think it was the only Bond movie I had not seen. I knew a different actor from Connery and Moore had played this Bond back in the 70’s, and after watching this movie now I know why he only got one shot at it. Looking at the movie as a whole, it was a muddled affair with two many slow parts, too much talking in low voices that you could barely hear, and a Bond (played by George Lazenby) that was more of a teenage dork than a gentlemanly and suave 007. I think what really ruined any chance of me liking this Bond was in a scene where Bond sneaks into some guy’s office to steal some papers. The papers are in a safe so Bond starts working on cracking the safe. But instead of doing it himself he has some machine doing it, while he sits down and flips through a Playboy magazine! Really? Bond, who gets more beautiful women than he can shake a stick at needs to look at a girly magazine? And like a complete dork he actually puts the centerfold in his jacket as he exits the office.
Then there is the random love interest who he marries at the end. The movie starts with her driving past him very fast. Then he catches up to her parked car, and she is walking down a beach and into the water (presumably to commit suicide?). So Bond runs to rescue her, but these tough guys show up and he has to fight them with some of the worst, sped-up fight scenes you can imagine. Meanwhile, the woman recovers and drives off. Of course Bond is hounded by these tough guys who take him to the woman’s father who wants Bond to be with her. She starts out all disinterested, then suddenly loves him. Whatever.
Then there’s Telly Savalas, a great actor in my opinion. He has also played good villains. This time he is not at all scary. The worst scene is where he has kidnapped Bond’s woman and is coming on to her. He unzips his jogging suit top and looks pretty big and not at all attractive. At least he has a scary fraulein to watch his back!
There are so many long and boring scenes in the movie, I think it took me 3 or 4 times to finish watching it. I thought it just had to get better. But even the chase scenes were too long, and I think the whole movie was well over 2 hours.
This review is getting pretty long, but to wrap it up I only finished this movie because it was Bond. I was very disappointed. I thought there were other Bond movies that were bad (For Your Eyes Only, License To Kill) and other bad Bonds (Timothy Dalton) but this is the worst by far. Take my word for it, if you like Bond and haven’t seen this one, skip it. You aren’t missing anything.
NETGEAR – 1-port Powerline Adapter Kit
I had the chance to finally try power line networking when my dad needed a network connection to his TiVo but didn’t have any Ethernet connections in the house. We could have hooked up wireless, but then he would have had to purchase a wireless adapter for the TiVo. He already had bought a USB modem for the TiVo, but the phone line connection was acting flaky and he couldn’t download guide updates. So I bought the Netgear Powerline Adapter Kit Model XAVB2101-100NAS for $79.99. Each adapter had 1 Ethernet port so they basically acted as a bridge.
Setup was plug and play. I plugged in one adapter in an electrical outlet in the room where the TiVo is located. I plugged an Ethernet cable from the adapter to the back of the TiVo. In the office where my dad’s router is located I plugged in the other adapter in an electrical outlet and connected an Ethernet cable from the adapter to his router. After changing the settings on the TiVo to use a network connection for updates, the TiVo picked upan IP address and connected successfully.
I don’t know how this could have gone any easier. I had always wondered about powerline adapters, and I had recently read an article reviewing several of them including the Netgear I bought. This experience has made me into a believer. Powerline adapters can definitely provide an alternative to wireless in certain circumstances. Keep this option in mind if you have to network a room with no Ethernet connection.
Sui Generis
Here is another great Kickstarter project to support (I know I am on a roll with this, but there are so many indy developers who need our help). Sui Generis is a top down open-ended RPG with some really cool physics and environmental effects. Check out its Kickstarter project page to watch a 10 minute video showing you what the game is all about. I supported this game and I think you should too. Make note of the fact that pledges are in British pounds since the team is from the UK.
Difficulty with Server Remote Access
Recently I have had a couple of situations where a server had been setup with remote access, but something changed and the remote access wasn’t working any longer or I couldn’t get it to work again. The first case involved changing out a DSL router at an office. Up until then the remote access worked fine. We configured the new router for remote access. but couldn’t get it working. The second case involved setting up remote access at a new office; the server had previously been setup in a different location. The same thing happened; remote access should have worked after setting changes on the router, but didn’t.
In both cases the problem was with how Windows handles new networks. By default on these servers, Windows saw the new router as a new network and the server move to another office as a new network (which actually was the case). In these situations Windows treats the new network as a public network. Typically office networks will be private networks. In Windows Firewall, there are separate settings for letting applications through private or public networks.
Because I had allowed the applications through a private network but not a public network I could not make remote access work. I had to change the way Windows viewed the network back to private. This can be done in the Control Panel, All Control Panel Items, Network and Sharing Center. Under “View Your Active Networks” you will probably see just one network, but underneath it will say “Public Network.” Click on that name (it should be in blue as a link). That will open a new window “Set a Network Location.” Click either Home network or Work network then click close. Now any Firewall rules that apply to private networks will work again. This solved both of my problems.
Steam Halloween Sale
Get your scary game on for the next 2 days at Steam with their Halloween Sale. Over 200 games are currently on sale. We’re still a few weeks away from the big holiday sales so save while you can!
Windows 8 Debut
So Windows 8 finally has appeared in the marketplace. I was inundated with emails on Friday from office stores and e-tailers all about the sales on this “great” new operating system. Two articles I read sum up the different ways of thinking about Windows 8 in the tech field. Paul Thurrott, known Microsoft-lover and Apple-hater, wrote an article earlier this month for Windows IT Pro where he attempts to “clear up” some points about the new OS. But what struck me the most was the way he ended the article: “eventually you have to just understand and accept what’s happening. And what’s happening is that Windows is transitioning into a new mobile platform.”
Windows may be “transitioning into a new mobile platform” and I understand this, but I don’t think I need to accept it. Like many people I will choose option 2, which I think Lincoln Spector summed up best in the November 2012 issue of PCWorld: “I’ll stay with Windows 7 for as long as I can, and hope that the company fixes everything in Windows 9 (or better yet, Windows 8 SP1). And if Microsoft doesn’t? Well, that’s why we have Apple and Linux.”
Nuff said!
Kickstarter Projects Update
Since I posted about four awesome Kickstarter projects to support, one has been canceled and one doesn’t look like it will make it. Shaker, the RPG from Tom Hall and Brenda Brathwaite was well short of their goal of one million dollars which is probably why it was canceled. Nexus 2 is well short of its goal with only 3 days left so I don’t think it will make it either. The good news is Star Citizen has already reached its goal of one half of a million dollars with 26 days still to go. Finally, M.O.R.E. reached a milestone where the developers will add Mac and Linux versions of the game.
Keep supporting M.O.R.E. and Star Citizen. The more money the developers receive, the better game we will get.