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The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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11. October 2009 @ 23:04 |
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42" of viewing pleasure, Hmmm...Im jealous LOL! I would never dream of hooking up (And leaving) any of my towers to the 50" plasma. I'd get "burn in" for sure LOL! Any how, its not my tv either :P Soon enough, and I'll have my behemoth of a monitor...
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harvrdguy
Senior Member
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12. October 2009 @ 00:42 |
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Originally posted by Sam:
Don't try and take on our superior dictionary LOL.
Hahaha. Well, I have to admit "gas" is not a great word. Yes, I'll be back on Left 4 Dead pretty soon - almost done with this RTS you got me on. I don't know if I'll become a big RTS fan - probably not - but I have to hand it to these guys. It's a good game.
And I just did that hill thing on expert - it took me two attempts. I terminated the other early - I was failing anyway. By the way, I was wrong, it's not the Hill 192 campaign. It's Mortain, and you have to hold hill 362 above the town of Mortain. It's about 4 campaigns after Hill 192 which was a slow slog through attack after attack, nothing like this 30 minute hell-raising hold-the-fort adventure.
So the first time just now I got swamped by infantry, as I mentioned can happen all of a sudden when you don't have the right balance out there. I had too many engineers, and I didn't have a chance to buy any snipers or extra infantry - it wouldn't let me because my manpower clock wasn't high enough. So I was screwed - engineers aren't great at being infantry even though they have flamethrowers.
The second time I achieved the right balance between riflemen and engineers - made it to 0 seconds left, and all the bad guys started leaving the hill at about 20 seconds before that, and then to my unpleasant surprise, instead of telling me "Good job, you held the hill" it told me "Okay, now go free up the town of Mortain."
What? Free nothing! I have just gone through hell and I am goddamn done - where's my medal, lol.
And then if that wasn't unpleasant enough, while attempting to secure the hill sector by having the guys build an observation post, which I thought would be a good idea since we had just recaptured it at the last second, the game stopped and it produced a game-generated message: "Fatal Scar Error, Execution Paused" that I have never seen in all my life - this just happened. Hitting the pause button I could get the action to advance a quarter second at a time. I terminated the game.
I just googled it and one guy said "that's what happens when you do something in a mission that the developers didn't plan for." So I guess I shouldn't have tried to secure the point, haha.
Anyway, I wasn't too happy about them telling me to take the town back - but for my own purposes, I guess I will just say that I held the hill for required time - I'm already 3 campaigns past this one anyway, lol.
So you're joining the HD camp along with Jeff. Congratulations! I'll look forward to the photos of your setup after everything is in place.
Kevin, do you have an HD too - I just noticed that you have a velociraptor like Sam. And Sam, don't tell me any spoilers, but have you played the new freebie chapter of Left 4 Dead?
Rich
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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12. October 2009 @ 00:52 |
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What do you mean by HD? I have a Samsung 2433BW 24" monitor. It suits most needs. Graphics authoring can be a little irritating, but no biggie(Color changes depending on viewing angle). One day, i'll more than likely have an HDTV ran to my rig. At this point, its simply not a priority LOL! I would also like a Projector. Thats my ultimate goal though :D They really should implement lasers into projector technology. Oh...I think they already have LOL! Well they need to perfect it, and mass produce it darn it!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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12. October 2009 @ 05:40 |
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Originally posted by Rich:
you have a velociraptor like Sam.
No velociraptor here, just the original 36GB version.
Originally posted by Rich:
have you played the new freebie chapter of Left 4 Dead?
Certainly have, I enjoy it.
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AfterDawn Addict
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12. October 2009 @ 11:48 |
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Originally posted by harvrdguy:
Sounds challenging - and good - and something for the future new rig as you explained your final game settings. What skill level were you playing at - normal, or hard, or expert?
I like how your review kind of sucked the reader in - you weren't really too taken with the game at first - and disappointed with the newer screen shots. But you were intrigued - and you found the right settings - and then you began to really like it!
I ask what skill level, because I have been quite frustrated with a few rounds of Company of Heroes, mostly because I'm an RTS noob.
Maybe i should be ashamed to say it, but i play it on Normal - it's a habit i have of usually choosing the lowest difficulty level - i like being able to sail through games - it's not very often i find a hard game fun, though there are a couple of exceptions i guess.
It's not that the game's actually that hard on Normal, it's simply that you're dead if you get shot a couple of times or are unlucky enough to get shot once in a vital area, it's fairly easy to actually avoid getting shot in the first place as most firefights happen at long range - if you're close, your best tactic is to move far away as quickly as possible if you're facing more than one enemy.
Most of the game i've sailed through so far, though i'm now stuck on the end of level five (at leat i think it's that - there's a slim chance it's six) - i've rescued two pilots from a downed Helo and we're heading to the extraction point when two enemy transport helicopters come and land to deploy troops to take us out (there're six of us in all and maybe fifteen to twenty of them).
My team is obviously not amazing at killing the enemy, so i have to kill around two thirds myself, and instead of doing this, i decide to run away crounded under fire, which is fine, because i got away totally unscathed. My team, however, decided to stay where they were and take on the emeny force - both pilots got shot dead pretty quickly and the mission was scrubbed.
I realise my fleeing obviously isn't what the game wants me to do because every time i replay that section of the mission my team wait for the enemy helicopters to land and stay there fighting the troops, so, every subsequent time i've been fighting them off as well, but no matter how many i manage to kill, both pilots somehow manage to get taken out. The problem is, there's no command to sort of say "you two, go prone and stay out of the firefight". They end up trying to fight with the rest of my team (with pistols, i might add) and get taken out really easily...
I'd hate to play the end of this mission on Expert...
PSP, all the way from 1.00 to 5.50 GEN D2 - DS Lite w/ M3DS Real (M3 Sakura v1.34)
PS3 3.01 - iPod Touch 2G 16GB Jailbroken - Xbox 360 60GB - PC, Q6600, 3GB DDR2, GTX260 (216) 896MB |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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12. October 2009 @ 12:12 |
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I have to say I find Left 4 Dead maps a lot more fun in Versus mode lately and Crash Course is no exception. That said, I have run through it on Advanced with the guys which wasn't especially difficult - but that came after about 45 mins of failed attempts at expert.
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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12. October 2009 @ 21:16 |
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Just got OF Dragon Rising and I must say it's pretty good. Great graphics, reasonable performance even on my 9800GTX, and solid gameplay. Feels a lot like an openworld version of CoD4. Huge game map with lots of detail and a beautiful foliage system. Like mentioned, the draw distances on some stuff can be annoying. But 90% of the time you don't notice because the distances are still quite good. They could have used a level of detail system though vs the current fade-in distance.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388 |
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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13. October 2009 @ 07:09 |
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Screw the wait this game is awesome. My review:
Impressions:
Overall it's a damn good game. Definitely requires a more stealthy, tactical approach than most games. Lots of long range combat. I don't think I've had a single engagement under 50 yards yet and most are over 100. The squad system is mostly complete and your AI squaddies are competent enough to help in a firefight, move intelligently and keep themselves generally bandaged together. There are some pretty intuitive tactical controls for movement, squad formation, fire control(hold fire, return fire, etc).
The graphics and environment help make for some very atmospheric and tense missions. Models, textures, environment and gunplay are all generally up to the standard of say Call of Duty 4, give or take on certain parts.
The squad controls seem complicated at first but are actually quite intuitive after you understand how the commands work. I am playing with my Xbox 360 controller because the squad controls map to it much better and there is a fair amount of vehicle play, including helicopters. The controls are still decent on mouse and keyboard though and I found it quite playable either way.
I might add that the tactile feed back when firing weapons is fantastic on an Xbox controller. Really feels like you're firing a gun. Something most might not notice but I have never seen it done quite this well in a game before.
Scenario:
You and your squad mates creeping across a vast hillside in a moonlit grassland. Shadows dance across the grass as tree branches sway in the slight breeze. Rolling hills with clumps of trees lay before you in a vast mountain valley. You can see for miles around and nobody is in sight. You order fire on squad leader's mark so nobody gives you away until you say so. Slowly, you creep through the dense underbrush, maneuvering towards a firing position. Now your whole squad goes prone and you slowly make your way across a wide clearing to the next stand of trees. Now you are close to your mark, you can see the patrols all over the sides of the mountains and hills combing for you. Jeeps wind their way down the steep trails and squads methodically leapfrog through the fields, constantly vigilant. You pull your squad into a tight formation and duck into a burnt out pillbox. An enemy patrol makes its way through the woods and you track them towards your position through your binoculars. You sight one in on your scope and wait for a clean shot... BAM! a spray of blood spews from his neck as he hits the ground. Then all hell breaks loose! Dozens of enemy soldiers burst out of the grass. Muzzle flashes light up the opposite treeline, tracers flying into the dark. Your squad opens fire as a rain of hot lead comes screaming at your position. You take aim and drop a few more enemy soldiers before one of your squad mates is hit in the leg. You crawl over and start bandaging his wound as your other friendlies lay down withering suppressive fire. Outnumbered, you use your tactical commands to order a draw back and one of your squad mates drops a smoke grenade. You order the squad to follow you and sprint towards the far woods. Bullets fill the air around you like thousands of angry insects. They wizz past your head and tear through the foliage around you. The squad finally makes it's way to an old farm house and you order them to take up defensive positions on the lower floors. Everyone rushes inside just as enemy troops round the crest of the hill. You order your medic to see to the injured man's leg as you take position in the window. Your squad back to full strength, you carry on an intense firefight that lasts for almost 10 minutes. Your ammo starts to run low but the waves of troops keep pouring out of the woodwork(they don't spawn in either, you see them coming for miles). Finally, a glimmer of hope. A voice cracks in on the radio, a chopper is on the way for extraction! It'll be landing in the bombed out village 2 hills over, roughly 700m away. You raid the basement of the building and are lucky enough to find an ammo crate, 2 clips for your assault rifle. The radio cracks in again, 5 minutes ETA. You need to think quickly, what resources are available to you? AHA! Artillery is available for a fire mission in your area. You aim the strike down the side of the mountain, towards the approaching enemy troops. Your men are already locked in a fierce firefight as more tangos come into range. You order suppressing fire and your machine gunner opens up. You join in with your assault rifle and soon most of the approaching troops have halted and taken cover from the wall of lead. You take the split second to pop a smoke grenade and make a sprint towards the extraction point, your team close behind providing covering fire. You call the withdrawal and your squad turns to run just as the 105mm Howitzers begin to pound the mountainside. Huge plumes of fire and dust fill the air as the enemy infantry is blown away. You don't look back and make it to the EP just as the UH-60 Blackhawk touches down. You order your squad into the chopper as you turn to provide covering fire. Few of the opposing force are left alive, shaken and battered. You take aim and drop another soldier as the last man boards the chopper. Climbing aboard, you turn to survey the battlefield. You can see in the distance that hundreds of enemy troops and tanks were closing in on your last position, now nearing a blackened crater that was once part of them.
And that's just one mission. As far as a military shooter goes, Dragon Rising offers a stunning, beautifully rendered open world and almost absolute tactical freedom to tackle a situation any way you want. It gives you hint markers towards each objective but you can play it any particular way that pleases you. The game map is absolutely gigantic, way beyond Far Cry 2 by a large amount and absolutely dwarfing Morrowind or Oblivion. The atmosphere is tense and riveting. I am at the edge of my seat every second of the time I am playing. IMO
Graphics: 9/10
The game world is almost touchingly beautiful at times and the vast draw distance(35km the developer says) adds an amazing sense of scope. The textures and models for some of the foliage is a bit ugly but the art direction is wonderful. The entire world feels natural and wild. Very Crysis/Far Cry 2-esque. The character/vehicle models are generally pretty good and the textures are mostly above average. Great looking game. Also I'm a sucker for expansive outdoor environments :P
Gameplay: 8/10
Lots of stealthy treks through the woods and cool squad movement. Some cool weapons and nice shooting mechanic. Ramped up action in big fights and some excellent scripted bits. Wide-open missions with lots of freedom. Huge, real-time battles with dozens and dozens of soldiers per side. Lots of in-depth squad controls and movement options. Brilliant fun for fans of Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, or Battlefield :) Missions and firefights can be extremely tough though if you aren't careful. Move tactically and think everything through. The original Operation Flashpoint showed a lot of promise but fell flat due to it's crap, poorly coded single player campaign. Dragon Rising fixes this beautifully and really hits the sweet spot. The campaign is long and the gameplay is diverse(as far as military sims go) I can't wait to try mutiplayer.
Performance: 8/10
Doesn't scale very well in Crossfire and has some stuttering but I have a feeling there will be a hotfix or new profile in the next driver. Overall though it runs on one card admirably maxed at 1920 x 1200 w/ 4xAA and 16xAF. Around 50-60FPS. Also runs pretty well on the 9800GTX+ and 8800GTS 512MB maxed at 1680 x 1050, 4xAA and 2xAA respectively. Very well optimized game and very stable FPS. A sheer pleasure to play on a wide range of hardware.
Sound: 9/10
Excellent sound design. Great distance and echo effects. The sound of gunfire in the distance is real and yes, you can join the firefight :) Immersive ambient sounds, booming artillery, and rocking gunfire. Sounds great on my headphones and almost sensual on the surround sound. Pin-point accurate directional on both headphones and 5.1. You can close your eyes and almost feel that you're there.
Stability: 10/10
Runs without a hiccup on all three machines. Not a single crash or slowdown after 4 hours of play on the Crossfire machine, even though crossfire support is buggy at the moment. Ah well new drivers are out soon just like for every other game.
Overall: 10/10
I might be giving it very high praise but for me this was the definitive military shooter. No other game has taken so many elements and put them together so well. It has all the sweet wide-open running firefights and flanking maneuvers and artillery strikes any military buff could ever want. Not to mention the absolutely vast play area that lets you truly use the geography to your advantage. This game has truly touched me as both a piece of fantastic art and a gritty, in-your-face real world experience. The first time you open fire on an enemy camp in the moonlight and 20 or so odd guys rise out of the brush 100 yards away to return fire, you'll feel the magic too :)
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. October 2009 @ 07:16
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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13. October 2009 @ 13:44 |
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Member
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13. October 2009 @ 13:46 |
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What's with the dual 360's?!?!?!
Edit: Ahhh now I see for when one inevitably breaks :P
I could put something funny here but I cant be arsed. Now GO AWAY! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. October 2009 @ 13:47
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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13. October 2009 @ 13:47 |
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One's the 1st generation 20GB console refitted with a 120GB drive, blue LEDs instead of green, and most importantly, cracked with iXtreme 1.5. The one on the right is a stock 60GB Premium Falcon console, for Xbox live.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. October 2009 @ 13:47
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Member
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13. October 2009 @ 14:35 |
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Aren't disused PS2/PS1's a sad sight :'( they should have controllers wrapped in cabling sitting just in front of them...
I could put something funny here but I cant be arsed. Now GO AWAY!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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13. October 2009 @ 14:53 |
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The PS2 will be used, or else it wouldn't be on the shelf. We've got to find room for the gamecube next ;-)
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. October 2009 @ 16:55 |
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Sooo, some interesting stuff for you guys:
I was browsing Kotaku today and i saw that they'd posted a review for the PS3 version of the game (guessing here that the 360 and the PS3 version are the same), and i read that one of the main negatives was that the draw distance was such that enemies that were far away couldn't actually be fired upon because they weren't physically visible on screen (due to draw distance being too low). Sucks, right? Not for us, it seems.
I wanted to test it out just to make sure i hadn't missed something, but i was right, enemies on the PC version are always visible no matter how far away they are, take a look at this screenshot i took near the start of mission six;
http://i35.tinypic.com/2mmakas.png
See those three teeny dots just above and to the left of my crosshairs? Three teeny Chinese dudes walking along ;)
PSP, all the way from 1.00 to 5.50 GEN D2 - DS Lite w/ M3DS Real (M3 Sakura v1.34)
PS3 3.01 - iPod Touch 2G 16GB Jailbroken - Xbox 360 60GB - PC, Q6600, 3GB DDR2, GTX260 (216) 896MB
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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13. October 2009 @ 20:33 |
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Yeah the game has incredible scale. The graphics and performance are also right up there and it makes for an excellent game. So far I am loving every bit of it.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
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harvrdguy
Senior Member
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14. October 2009 @ 00:18 |
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Wow, I come back from a day or two of gorging on RTS, and thinking a quick skim of the forum is needed - and we've got some very heavy content - no skimming possible:
Originally posted by shokz playing Dragon Rising:
I realise my fleeing obviously isn't what the game wants me to do because every time i replay that section of the mission my team wait for the enemy helicopters to land and stay there fighting the troops, so, every subsequent time i've been fighting them off as well, but no matter how many i manage to kill, both pilots somehow manage to get taken out. The problem is, there's no command to sort of say "you two, go prone and stay out of the firefight". They end up trying to fight with the rest of my team (with pistols, i might add) and get taken out really easily...
Hahaha. Babysitting the AI. That all started with Half Life 2 for me - you would be so relieved to finally get some citizens to hang around with, that you would try to keep them alive for the company.
Well, you're just going to have to go crazy with killing power and wipe everybody out before your pilot buddies can commit suicide through weak engagement tactics. That's the challenge of that particular session, as I see it. There should be a way to get it handled somehow. LOL
COMPANY OF HEROES - MORTAIN 30-MINUTE HOLD THE HILL!
That reminds me - I can finally beat that 30-minute tense Mortain hill of death, on expert, EVERY SINGLE TIME! I did it about 6 times in a row (yes, 3 crazy hours of adrenaline) and I'll probably do it about 10-20 more times over the next few months - it's quite a rush. And it still is tense, I'm very busy telling the howitzer what to shoot at and keeping everything under control - and giving encouragement (I actually catch myself occasionally saying it out loud, lol) "Good job guys" when the cannons blow a particularly troublesome group of tanks or infantry away.
And there are no more fatal pauses nor annoying messages urging me to now go capture the city - it ends like Easy and Hard end - 1.Failed to secure secondary objective of Protecting Mortain - but 2.Successful at Primary objective of Holding the Hill. Mission Complete!! (Then I usually stick up my hand and decisively flip off the nazis, "F you guys!" lol. I take my nazi killing serious! Come to think of it - I say the same thing to the L4D zombies, haha.)
Originally posted by Rich on how to beat the hellish Mortain campaign:
The final solution - a light went off in my head - was to build two parallel rows of tank traps up from the trees on the left to the first set of emplacements left by Dog Company. You need two because off-site artillery from time to time blows the hell out of everything and will open a hole in the tank traps as I discovered. The extra line of traps will keep the tanks in front of you, where the Anti Tank cannons will kill them, instead of letting some slip over on the left from time to time and get behind the hill with the howitzer and all the AT guns, and creating messy distractions that threaten the whole defense.
In the tense 5 minutes of calm before the storm, I am very very busy and nervously watching the clock. I buy 3 new AT cannons and have them hauled up from headquarters below. I buy 6 engineers and have them rally at the first big opening I need to seal up. I start the in-place two sets of engineers on the new large parallel lines of tank traps.
I open the map to full size, and I direct soldiers at several sectors to capture adjacent sectors, and especially two high-producing fuel and ammo sectors. Back off the map to the actual battlefield, I place the four original AT cannons up on the little hill next to the howitzer, where the AT cannons I have ordered will soon be showing up, all facing the capture point in the middle. That gives me a line of 7 cannons - a deadly amount of firepower. I place them right at the edge of the little incline - their fire is just able to reach to the capture point. If there is time I try to build sand traps to protect them - but usually the engineers are too busy - and if not I already am having them build MG nests. As the game progresses I get an achievement point allowing me to advance to defensive mode ("No f**king kidding - it's about time - this is called 'defend the hill' right") and if things are under control I'll have one of the extra infantry teams build the sand traps - I have to keep a couple of extra teams on hand to re-capture the middle if I lose it - but the last few times I played I never lost the middle.
I build tank traps and then lay wire to seal up two big holes behind me - I make sure to close gaps in the tank traps that occur as they build - and then I test the wire by trying to get my men to go to the other side and see if they can slip through. I extend the wire behind me on the right all the way to the pre-built triage center (to further keep out random mortar teams or infantry - the heavy armor uses the road and one of my AT cannons is pointed in that direction - laying wire is very fast if I have two crews - sometimes that has to occur during the fighting.)
On my little incline, I build an extra barracks, an extra heavy weapons center, and a triage center right near the AT cannons to try to help keep them healthy.
And finally, I learned that things are so much better when I buy 2 to 4 snipers and put them into camouflage mode (they are hard to see until they actually fire) and spread them around the hill - enemy infantry can lay prone and still capture the center even while my AT cannons are blasting away if the AT don't score direct hits - but the snipers will kill them. If I hadn't read that walkthrough about the next campaign after holding this hill, in order to understand how the point system worked, I wouldn't have known about snipers, and things would be much much harder - at 4 capacity points (max allowed is 75) each one costs more than a 3-man machine gun crew or 3-man mortar crew, but now I see why.
By the way, because the following campaign continues where this leaves off - with the hill as you set it up, I continued on expert - but it took me all night to beat it - restarting about 10 times. I won't every play that again - just the one time to see if I could on expert. It's not a timed thing - but you lose points if Fritz has more capture points than you have - you have to hold the hill, hold a capture point nearby, keep your points, which start at 500 above 250 if you can for a special medal (I ended up at 262) and march through several sectors - capture that third victory point, then hold everything until the enemy points drop to 0. If I hadn't picked up the tip about using the sniper in stealth mode to open up line of sight for a 200-ammo point off-site artillery barage to wipe out 88 guns, I would have been buying lots of jeeps, or engineers, my old method of line of sight. By capturing sectors I had 2800 ammo points - enough for 14 artillery barages - I needed about 10, and of course my ammo points were rebuilding each minute - I had to destroy the entire nazi panzer building headquarters before things slowed down and I knew the end would soon be over for Jerry.
That's how to do it - the Mortain Hold the Hill campaign that I could only just barely beat, one time, on Easy - saying to myself - "Sh*t that was awful - that thing is Stoopid Hard" like Keith said - now is pretty smooth sailing on expert. But there is very little room for mistakes, lol, which makes it exciting.
FULL-ON DRAGON RISING by Estuansis
Wow, it looks like Shokz has got everybody stirred up.
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Just got off Dragon Rising and I must say it's pretty good. Great graphics, reasonable performance even on my 9800GTX, and solid gameplay. Feels a lot like an openworld version of CoD4.
CoD4! One of the best games of all time - that is very high praise indeed.
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Screw the wait this game is awesome. My review:
......... The graphics and environment help make for some very atmospheric and tense missions. Models, textures, environment and gunplay are all generally up to the standard of say Call of Duty 4, give or take on certain parts.
Sounds like I must have this game!
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The squad controls seem complicated at first but are actually quite intuitive after you understand how the commands work. I am playing with my Xbox 360 controller because the squad controls map to it much better and there is a fair amount of vehicle play, including helicopters. The controls are still decent on mouse and keyboard though and I found it quite playable either way.
I might add that the tactile feed back when firing weapons is fantastic on an Xbox controller. Really feels like you're firing a gun. Something most might not notice but I have never seen it done quite this well in a game before.
Damn, and I might have to get a console! I forgot about "force-feedback" which special controllers can give you. I wonder if somebody will release a usb PC gun-mouse (I have a gun mouse that I don't use but no force feedback) which will provide a similar more-immersive sensation. I remember having a force feedback steering wheel for Monster Truck Madness that terrifically added to the play enjoyment.
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You and your squad mates creeping across a vast hillside in a moonlit grassland. Shadows dance across the grass as tree branches sway in the slight breeze. Rolling hills with clumps of trees lay before you in a vast mountain valley. You can see for miles around and nobody is in sight.
Wow, that's poetry! No way can I skim that stuff - I have to slow down and savor every nuance. Nobody can write a review like Estuansis - he's up there in a professional class by himself.
Quote:
Climbing aboard, you turn to survey the battlefield. You can see in the distance that hundreds of enemy troops and tanks were closing in on your last position, now nearing a blackened crater that was once part of them.
........
The game map is absolutely gigantic, way beyond Far Cry 2 by a large amount and absolutely dwarfing Morrowind or Oblivion. The atmosphere is tense and riveting. I am at the edge of my seat every second of the time I am playing. IMO
Jeeez Loeeeez! I don't know if I can play that game - I'll probably have a freakin heart attack!! That might be more excitement than I can handle! (I can't wait for the new rig - "Get to work Rich and make money!")
Quote:
Overall: 10/10
I might be giving it very high praise but for me this was the definitive military shooter. No other game has taken so many elements and put them together so well. It has all the sweet wide-open running firefights and flanking maneuvers and artillery strikes any military buff could ever want. Not to mention the absolutely vast play area that lets you truly use the geography to your advantage. This game has truly touched me as both a piece of fantastic art and a gritty, in-your-face real world experience. The first time you open fire on an enemy camp in the moonlight and 20 or so odd guys rise out of the brush 100 yards away to return fire, you'll feel the magic too :)
I'm almost shocked into silence by that high praise! It sounds like a MAJOR hit.
I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more it as more people catch on. For me - it's six to 9 months out, and one more big reason to get off my butt and start reviving the US economy. Nice job Jeff.
Sam - thanks for the photo - so let me ask, do you really play guitar?
And Shokz, nice screenshot - yes I see the little tiny chinese guys - amazing! That's going to look so nice on the big Dell. "Get busy Rich."
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. October 2009 @ 00:22 |
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loving OF2. its like an uber real version of cod4!
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|. |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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14. October 2009 @ 06:46 |
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It's not a real guitar Rich, it's Guitar Hero - i.e. a game!
A wild shaffaaf appears!
where have you beeen? :P
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14. October 2009 @ 08:54 |
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lol. BT are c***s. its taken them 3 weeks to activate a ready installed line!.
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|.
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grmush
Newbie
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14. October 2009 @ 13:23 |
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I am looking to buy a new video card. I do a little gaming and a little video. What I DO do is watch the video on my TV. I found awhile back that Nvidia did away with there "mirror full screen on second monitor" option (showed in detail in the link I will provide at the end of this post). I was able to resolve that issue by falling back to the previous drivers. Which I would not be able to do with a brand new card. My question is...first did Nvidia fix/re-institute this option(I can't get a straight answer out of them)? Second, does ATI work the way Nvidia used to? Third, which one is better over all. ATI or Nvidia? I was looking at the ATI 4850/4870 or the Nvidia 9 series cards.
Nvidia forum post about the problem
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showt...+screen+overlay
System consists of...
Asus Motherboard M4A78
http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=KX5kXQSmyaQaXVEP
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual-Core Processor 245 (2.9 GHz) AM3
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15 product reviews
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14. October 2009 @ 18:00 |
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@Rich
Thank you for the high praise on my writing :P
Dragon Rising is definitely a niche game. Only hardcore shooter fans need apply. I already have a few friends who say it sucked XD
But I fell in love with it after about 5 minutes of play. "Oh cool, marines in an open field" *press the map button, jaw drops*. It really is a very highly polished title and you can tell they've put some work into it, but to play well you really need to have a dark quiet room with no distractions. It takes a lot of patience and time just to do one mission :)
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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14. October 2009 @ 18:12 |
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Quote:
I am looking to buy a new video card. I do a little gaming and a little video. What I DO do is watch the video on my TV. I found awhile back that Nvidia did away with there "mirror full screen on second monitor" option (showed in detail in the link I will provide at the end of this post). I was able to resolve that issue by falling back to the previous drivers. Which I would not be able to do with a brand new card. My question is...first did Nvidia fix/re-institute this option(I can't get a straight answer out of them)? Second, does ATI work the way Nvidia used to? Third, which one is better over all. ATI or Nvidia? I was looking at the ATI 4850/4870 or the Nvidia 9 series cards.
"Which ones is better ATi or Nvidia?" Watch how you ask that one there WILL be fights :P
Well if you're looking for gaming power and compatibility, go Nvidia. But if you want more in-depth options and better video quality, go ATi. Both are better at certain things but overall it's down to personal preference. I don't believe one is better than the other. Heck, I use both :)
I'd say an ATi HD4850 512MB would be more than enough for you, considering your needs. Super overkill for multiple screens and playing video. It's even extremely capable at games and is sold as a gaming card.
Also, there is little point to mirroring your screen. You can try dragging the video onto the next screen if you have an extended desktop, or simply use the TV as your primary monitor. Mirroring it doesn't make any sense, why have one video playing on two different screens? If you drag the video to the other screen, it also leaves your PC monitor open to continue using.
EDIT: Ah sorry just read the forum post. AFAIK ATi cards do not have this problem at all. I can play fullscreen video on either of my monitors.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. October 2009 @ 18:17
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4 product reviews
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14. October 2009 @ 19:11 |
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Sounds about right for the BT thing, ah well, sorted now I suppose :P
Jeff: Power no, but compatibility (games at least) probably yes. HD video though, ATI have that sewn up really.
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grmush
Newbie
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14. October 2009 @ 19:59 |
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Originally posted by Estuansis:
Quote:
I am looking to buy a new video card. I do a little gaming and a little video. What I DO do is watch the video on my TV. I found awhile back that Nvidia did away with there "mirror full screen on second monitor" option (showed in detail in the link I will provide at the end of this post). I was able to resolve that issue by falling back to the previous drivers. Which I would not be able to do with a brand new card. My question is...first did Nvidia fix/re-institute this option(I can't get a straight answer out of them)? Second, does ATI work the way Nvidia used to? Third, which one is better over all. ATI or Nvidia? I was looking at the ATI 4850/4870 or the Nvidia 9 series cards.
...Also, there is little point to mirroring your screen. You can try dragging the video onto the next screen if you have an extended desktop, or simply use the TV as your primary monitor. Mirroring it doesn't make any sense, why have one video playing on two different screens? If you drag the video to the other screen, it also leaves your PC monitor open to continue using.
EDIT: Ah sorry just read the forum post. AFAIK ATi cards do not have this problem at all. I can play fullscreen video on either of my monitors.
What it used to do is, automatically go full screen on the second display (TV) when watching video?? They called it mirror full screen on second monitor. After they messed with it, it would just have a black screen where you should have video. I do have one more question about vid cards. Are all s-video outputs gonna work on a standard definition tv? "YPbPr to s-video" is just regular old s-video right? I am asking cause Asus refers to it as HDTV out in the specs of this card.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=uhwarwIzFUpVVGdI
Also if anyone has had the problem I am referring to with the Nvidia "mirror full screen on second monitor" and now knows if it is still an issue or not with the newer cards let me know.
THANX a lot for your advise Estuansis.
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4 product reviews
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14. October 2009 @ 20:27 |
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I know this is similar to an issue ATI drivers used to have with dual monitors, but if i remember correctly it was solved in a driver update about 6 months ago - I can't speak for nvidia about this though.
YPbPr S-Video is RGB, so will only work with TVs that accept RGB output - bear in mind however that few TVs accept S-Video connectors, usually you need adapters.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. October 2009 @ 20:29
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