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First nickname in the internet ever: GandalfTheGrey, since I was reading a certain book at that time. Never regret that name, although it was not original at all. Still using in certain occasions, as it is in one of my e-mail addresses and on one or two message boards I visit as my user name.
My current name the name of that weird guy standing below my user name. It is a result of discovering a neat little japanese RPG, which has a lot of nicely done animations (at least in the 16-bit era it was not too common to give every party member and enemy each different standing, attacking and spell-casting poses) and beautiful characters. Since I liked Surlent's story part and sprite appearance the most, I decided to paste standing, spell casting and victory animations frames together (rearranged, increased size wittingly by pixel without filtering) - a short time later the name change followed and was kept until today.
Also not very original too, but I am very satisfied with that. |
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This warms the gamer's heart - this must have taken really a huge number of hours to practice everything, as the marching band has to fit in perfectly and memorize all their positions 
I know a lot of non-geeks (as I tend to value 'geek' as a neutral word, unlike the word 'nerd' is seen usually) who also will feel good when watching this. |
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Does the BIOS RAM test count up properly ?
It would be weird if the BIOS detects the new system RAM, but Windows cannot use the additional memory  |
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The newer Heboris versions are a hell lot more customizable than the original TGM series by Arika. It is hard for non-experienced users to set the proper settings to "emulate" TGM3: TI perfectly (as the rotation rules got changed since TGM2+, the Hold Piece is also present although you still could play with Tetris Worlds, TGM2 and other individual settings which didn't have the Hold opition yet). But I think the game has preset values for these games, of course. The question, though, is if Shirase Mode from TGM3 is the same as in the original game - that makes even Death Mode from TGM2+ look easy, where I usually die within a minute or so  |
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If you have a router (like if you have WLAN, some devices also work as a router) with a hardware firewall included, you don't need an additional software/desktop firewall, as you should not rely on software only to secure your machine.
As for me, I am directly connected to the internet, I closed unneccessary ports (UPnP etc.) and I have Sunbelt Personal Firewall, but only as a monitor to see which software wants to send data. I don't think this thing will prevent anything, as a software-based FW could be compared with a turret; but even the best turret can be beaten if it is built on loose ground (Windows) - hence attacks via tunneling it 
After the 30-day trial period, the firewall's features still work, it only shuts down some options like web filtering or password protection for the configuration dialog ... I could recommend it for its easy and helpful interface, which shows additional information below the warning dialogue. It warns you when an application wants to launch another one, when a newer version of a program wants to be replaced and also asks for you, if a program wants to be installed/uninstalled (prevention of infected files, I think)... of course, all these things can be changed - but if everything is shut off, then the usage of a firewall would make no sense, though 
You could also use Sygate Personal Firewall, if you are an advanced user. Also has a free version. |
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I even cannot get to level 73 in Shirase, already dying at about 50-65. Hard to believe that mode has a length of 1400 levels ...
Very nice and polished new version of Heboris; for me it will take a very long time to get used to the Hold Piece option ... although this eliminates a lot of problems with blocks; on the other hand also TGM was programmed in a fair way that you won't lose due to masses of Z-blocks in a short period of time.
The fourth Devil mode (equals Shirase in TGM3) is extremely challenging - some people say TGM has too much extras in it like wall-kicks, Temporary Landing System and Inital Rotation Rule, but it cannot be denied than even completing all requirements in Grand Master mode is very hard / who ever has access the TGM3 cabinet in Japan, will sure spent a huge amount of coins before even only reaching level 999 in GM mode (and this alone doesn't you grant GM grade, without fulfilling the game's requirements). Not to talk about Shirase mode ...
Otherwise this is just more than interesting, although the 08/15 Tetris gamer will never see anything after entering 20G mode. |
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| Posted on 11-27-07 07:49:12 PM, in New rank crap (last edited by Surlent at 11-27-07 04:50 PM) |
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TGM2's grades are indeed nice and polished, but since they are only numerals with no additional effect besides being ... well, (more) shiny and using a more modern font of course, TGM1 is a nice choice. But again, I have to agree with Xk that it really only is a numeral with a box surrounding it.
The medals (Section Time etc.) could also be used for special post numbers, such as 8, 16, 256, 32768 (*cough*) or 777. |
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| Posted on 11-28-07 05:15:02 PM, in Past usernames (last edited by Surlent at 11-28-07 02:16 PM) |
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| GandalfTheGrey. On that board, I still keep the staff minipic from the past name/from that name, since a staff is a good cliché item for a wizard and I still like it |
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I don't care for posts since a longer time ... although I am a full-fledged student in terms of time (the cliché says, you have to have "a lot of free time") and have other things than the university to do as well, I actually post much less than when I was employed, and not studying.
On the very old archive I had about two-thousand posts.
Another record is more than 7.000 posts on a message board, but is it really something to show off (as it could mean you spen[d/t] a lot of time in front of the computer - at least if the posts are not one-liners only)?
How can four years pass that fast? |
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I barely survive a minute in Shirase/Devil-Doom, but on the other hand my game-pad is worn out ... On the other hand I would like be able to play Tetris-type game using a keyboard, but it seems incredibly hard to get used to it, if you have used pads since a long amount of time.
Getting to level 500 in GM mode seems not harder than it was in TGM2+'s master mode (I didn't say it is "easy" for a 08/15 gamer in puzzles like me. I didn't get too often into 20G mode, but didn't notice additional difficulty below it yet); but otherwise I heard the challenge is a lot higher than previously; also you might notice a "Regret" notice on the botton, if you leave too many holes in the stack and/or do not fulfill other requirements.
And I'm slowly getting used to the Hold option, albeit it will take a lot of time to master it.
And it's interesting how Heboris sucks up a lot of RAM ... except the Lite-settings in the configuration dialogues. |
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Atlantis no Nazo - Stage 42 - "Black Hole!", pretty scary actually.
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Originally posted by Matthew Coburn
What the characters mean is anyone's guess. I'm guessing they are letters.
Yes, they are katakana. Translating them is very easy, even for non-japanese speakers (since there are only a limited amount of them).
From the top to the bottom: File, select, (to) copy, Mario, <cannot decipher the second-last blue kana, since I am not used to these square-type letters>?, sound. |
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Got that from a German site/message board:
I don't know if this was mentioned here yet, but you might take a look on that video.
This looks pretty impressive, especially using a touchscreen like in that video.
There is a short demo out of that game (seven levels), though the program mostly recognizes/creates rectangles only yet. Nevertheless this seems pretty creative, just that "tee shot" level alone. A demo can be downloaded here, about 5 MB.
http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/games/crayon/
Cannot wait for the full version, where circles and other objects will work. And just think, there are a lot of solutions to solve the tasks, not just one in that interactive environment ...
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I have no image ready, but as for that DK-type level, I put a block on the top right platform to stop the circle/ball, then quickly drawing a bridge as the ball nears the gap (it is possible); for the bottom part I did it similar to Xk, making a diagonal descending way to make the ball rolling towards the second star.
As for the two see-saws ... put the ball on one end and let fall a block on the other side - as stated, there are numerous solutions for each riddle. You can also have fun to draw something INTO the ball or an object |
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Originally posted by Pandaren
I somewhat don't like the battle animations. It looks like... paper to me. Maybe it just looks better, when you actually see your tanks rolling into place and blasting the enemy into tiny pieces.
Like in Advance Wars 1, where tank and any other direct combat units come into the screen, hearing the move sound effect, then blasting everything into pieces (A-Air vs. Infantry *cough*) ?
As for me, I like the battle scenes from the trailer, split up between both screens, whereas I didn't like these full-sized anime-style characters. While this game is meant to be fun and (war) should not be too seriously here, I liked it the way AW 1 did it. The characters looked somehow childish, but the game was great fun for all people(ages) |
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Just as my old (about one and a half) year-old Logitech Precision pad got worn out fully, as it keeps holding right automatically, I tried to play some of those puzzle games (Heboris UE, Blocksum or even Touhou - Imperishable Night) with a plain keyboard.
It was a pain in the ass first, but as for TH, I seem to manage as good as with a gamepad (well, define "good" ... I still have a lot of trouble in stage three on "Normal", losing at least one life at the boss), at least the minimal aim - beating the first boss' last spell regularly and the second one from time to time on Normal - is really no problem with a keyboard.
On the other hand I read opinions like puzzle and fighting games should be played with a good aracade stick only; if none is available, the keyboard should be the preferred choice. But I think that a cheap stick of plastic can never outrun a fat cabinet one, which should last a very long time ... unless you invest some money to buy a a baby like that.
What do you think; if you mostly play emulated games, you might be used to gamepads usually (not only due to limitations of the maximum amount of keys pressed simultaneously - think Chrono Trigger's L+R and A sequence, though even my antique 200 MHz computer several years ago had not that issue), but some people still tell me, that I should switch from gamepad to keyboard if I want to improve in Tetris Attack and the like significantly.
My question is: What makes moving using the keyboard in puzzlers and such more accurate than a (good) gamepad?
Is it a longer span pressing a button on your controller, as it is plugged in via USB, while a keyboard reacts much better; or even the way to customize controls in the config menu?
Now tell me your opinion; what (emulated) games do you play with a pad or a keyboard, and why you do so. |
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Originally posted by Kirby Mario
Keyboard for every game I have on the emulators I have.
If I can get enough money to buy a gamepad, I would buy one. Just to test how well I play with a gamepad. So far, I'm good at all the games I play.
Well, there are all price ranges, but usually it might not be a good idea to invest way too much money in those common plastic pads, as they can wear out pretty quickly/and maybe have not that quality of a normal console controller (SNES and PS pads ftw in terms of durability!), if you play a lot of fighting games or intense puzzle games.
As stated, my Logitech precision pad is dying, but this is already the second one. Why I bought the same brand again? Since it was a bargain price ... but usually these tend to be around 8-12 Euro here. |
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Originally posted by Tarale
No idea how much that kind of thing would cost. I probably missed it, but the article doesn't seem to say.
http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/LGPrices2006.aspx
Actually I'd be interested in the real outcome, as the images usually show "perfect" diamonds - and they also offer to create gems from a whisp of hair (DNA -> diamond?). Of course the prices are exorbitantly high, but dealing with death is a costly thing anyway (funerals expenses, burial ...).
As for me, I would not like to choose that kind when it's my time (since I think this kind of jewellery is kinda off, although I don't believe in God), but that is a personal thing anyway.
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Going to friends, the usual drinking stuff, along with fitting games like Singstar, and (probably) going into the city centre here in Berlin, to see some awesome fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate
The rest depends on certain people coming or not. If yes, we'll be going to spend hours in Skat, a German card game - need to improve my statistics a little bit, as I had not too many opportunities to practice it this year. |
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| +1, living in Berlin, Germany. |
