Monday, April 22, 2002

SoF2 MP Test Cvars -- 6:13 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Raven's Rick Johnson updated his .plan with a link to this page which lists some handy cvars for people trying out the Soldier of Fortune II multiplayer test.

Microsoft Targets School Districts -- 4:20 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The M$ Inquisitors are at it again. This time, they are bringing the hammer down on a number of Oregon and Washington school districts. Here's what the author feels might be the rationale behind the timing of these threatened audits:

Ah, but wait. Microsoft has an offer it thinks you can't refuse, if only to avoid the audit: the vaunted Microsoft School Agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, a school or district simply counts its computers and pays Microsoft somewhere in the neighborhood of $42 per machine for one systemwide annual license.

. . .

But Microsoft has put a new spin on the agreement, requiring an "institution-wide commitment." That means the district must include in its count not only the PCs, but all the iMacs and Power Macs that might conceivably use Windows software.

What would it cost Portland Public Schools, which is already facing a $36 million shortfall, to sign that Microsoft School Agreement?

"A rough number? $500,000," Robinson said, "which translates, roughly, into 10 teaching positions."

I hope any teachers who wax poetic about the "incredible educational discounts" Microsoft offers will remember that they are agreeing to subject themselves to this sort of manhandling. Remember, there are alternatives. Thanks Slashdot.

JKII: JO Tools Released -- 4:11 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Raven's Kenn Hoekstra updated his .plan with the news that the editing tools have been released for Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. There's a list of mirror sites in the update. There is also this rebuke for people getting a certain error in JKII multiplayer:

If you're getting the CL_ParsePacketEntities error in JK2 multiplayer, it's likely because you are using the cracked executable. That's the only instance we've seen the error. Shame on you. ;)

X-Box Co-Creator Leaves M$ -- 12:48 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Yahoo is reporting that Seamus Blackley, the co-creator of the X-Box gaming console, has resigned from Microsoft to "pursue other opportunities." Here's a snip:

The news comes just days after Microsoft said it would miss its fiscal year-end sales target for the Xbox by as much as 40 percent, a shortfall it blamed on weak sales. Those weak sales led to deep price cut in Europe and Australia last week.

You mean they didn't sell as many X-Boxes as expected because sales were weak? You don't say! :) Thanks Evil Avatar.

SoF II MP Test Quick Look -- 12:18 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I decided to fire up the Solider of Fortune II multiplayer test (story) and give it a spin this morning. The only bug I noticed (which is somewhat annoying) is that you can't actually sort the servers in the server browser by ping time. It rearranges the order, but doesn't actually put them in order. I played a little infiltration mode (think Unreal Tournament's assault mode or CounterStrike). The graphics were very smooth even cranked up with eight players. I had a 100ms ping but noticed no lagginess. The sounds are very nice and crisp as well. Basically it looks like if you liked the original SoF, you are going to like SoF II even more.

The only gameplay gripe I had is one that I quite often have with shooters. There is very little feedback (especially aurally) indicating I've been hit. I think it would just require some getting used to. I'm not a big fan of the whole CounterStrike thing, so infiltration mode doesn't do much for me. But I would think that CS fans would find it very pleasing.

Sunday, April 21, 2002

Pondering the Imponderable -- 11:54 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Whew! My Red Wings finally got off the schneid and beat the Canucks in Vancouver 3-1. Hasek actually looked like the Dominator again. Hopefully they have things turned around now. On top of it all the Pistons pummelled the Raptors in their first playoff game and the Lions drafted a potential franchise quarterback. Overall, a good week for my favorite teams.

Freelancer Preview -- 1:34 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Computer and Video Games posted a preview of Freelancer, the upcoming space trading/combat game from Digital Anvil and Microsoft. The game has always seemed very interesting to me, especially as a former fan of Elite. My concern is that it isn't going to be everything it should have been since it has been in the works almost as long as Duke Nukem Forever. Thanks VE.

Past Two Days' News

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