From the Roots, Up

Summer re-runs, re-runs, re-runs

2009-05-13T19:31:00.002-04:00

G'day Tech Tree listeners! Hopefully you are enjoying the benefits of free time, brought to you courtesy of summer vacation. As of May 7, WSPC live programming has been on hiatus, due mostly to our hosts' study habits. You can now catch pre-recorded programming from both this and last semester's shows 24 hours a day.

But since you're on THIS blog, you should know that The Tech Tree will be re-broadcast EVERY DAY from 6pm-8pm (EST). Now you can catch up on any (and probably every) show you might have missed.

Visit www.spc.edu/wspc and clicky the "Play" button.

Impressions: Killzone 2 Demo

2009-02-12T12:21:00.004-05:00

Better late than never, eh? As promised, this blog post is dedicated to my first experience with Killzone 2, via the exclusive (*cough*Europe) GameStop Demo.

I had picked up a Demo voucher code sometime in early January but, to my dismay, discovered that the actual demo wouldn't be available until February 5th. Bummer.

So, once the 5th rolled around, I punched in that voucher code and got my goods (in remote play, no less). Starting up the game, I noticed that there was no initial data install. Guerrilla Games has confirmed that the retail version won't have an install either, but I'm assuming that doesn't encompass any single or multiplayer patching that might appear.

Now, I'm sure that every blogger and their mother is writing an impressions piece based on the gameplay. I will too, of course (my mother probably won't), but I want to first highlight the rest of the "package."

After picking your language track, the main menu appears. It's fairly straightforward, but has a strange filter applied to it that will make you want to adjust your display (don't bother). Being that it's a demo, everything but Campaign and Options was grayed out. I waited until the game loaded up, but on subsequent playthroughs, I took this time to look at the different control options.

The default layout is most similar to the Resistance series, with zoom on the analog stick, and fire on the R2 trigger. I much prefer the Call of Duty style of controls (zoom on L1, fire on the less-squishy R1), and not-so coincidentally, there was a control scheme identical to that of CoD. I imagine some of the other layouts emulate other, ahem, notable FPS's which would really help people to jump right in.

Crap, 4 paragraphs and I haven't even talked about the game yet. But before I do, I just want to describe the cool loading screens. Instead of a static image, the loading screens display more of a "3D screenshot" of a level, weapon, etc that can be rotated by moving the Sixaxis. You kinda have to see it to know what I mean, but it's a neat effect.

As for the actual demo, it wasn't satisfying. Not because the graphics were bad (my mouth went all "O" shaped at some spots), and not because the gameplay was lackluster (I played the demo 5 times, consecutively). It left a hole in my heart because it was SO SHORT. My first time through clocked in at 13 minutes (6 on level one, 7 on level two). On subsequent runs, I was able to finish in under 8 minutes. In all fairness, it succeed in doing its job as a demo, but I have to admit, I REALLY REALLY wanted to see more.

Looks like class is coming up, so see Part 2 for continuing impressions from the battlefields of Helghan.

Windows 7: Day Two

2009-02-04T20:19:00.002-05:00

Huzzah! A second full day with the Windows 7 beta and not a single crash! I've since loaded the beta OS onto my laptop to see how it would perform on a low-powered system, and I must say, it's pretty efficient.

Power management is fairly useful, with options such as a timed auto-dim that lowers your backlight to save power. Another useful feature is the ability to form a Homegroup, which is basically a local network between your home computers, that lets you wirelessly share media and documents. The plus side is that I can now upload my day's Photoshop work from my laptop to my desktop in a few minutes. The downside, I suppose, is that both need to be on (duh) and have Windows 7.

Some other small but notable improvements include the icon-based taskbar (no more clutter of grey bars) that will auto-group similar windows. For example, I had My Documents and My Computer open, and was copying data from one to the other. When minimized, W7 grouped the three windows into one icon, that gradually filled up with green as the copy progressed toward completion. Again, a simple addition, but totally BA in my book.

Stay tuned for day three, and the catastrophic failure that is no doubt around the corner :(

LIVE From Windows 7!

2009-02-03T16:03:00.002-05:00

I never thought I would appreciate a Microsoft OS, but also I never thought I'd enjoy eating my own words.

I'm typing this blog out from inside the Windows 7 beta, which is impressive...most impressive. Actually, it's much more than just impressive; I feel very comfortable using it already.

I was always an XP kinda guy since its debut. I've even dabbled in Vista as much as my stomach could handle. But W7 takes the cake. It has [most of] the ease of use of XP with the aerodynamics of Vista, all without farting on your system resources. Things open up fast. My favorite feature so far? Connecting to my home wifi signal, without opening a single window, in less than 10 seconds (the new taskbar is super elegant, too). Some of my only beefs are with the anal-retentive security (ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO OPEN THIS?!) leftovers from Vista.

All-in-all, I'm pleased to see some steps in the right direction for Microsoft. Stay tuned to this blog as I chronicle my continuing adventures in Windows 7even!

(P.S. Remember that this is just a beta version. I have it dual-booted with XP just in case there's some apocalyptic error.)

New Episode On Teh Air!

2009-02-02T15:49:00.004-05:00

Today's episode (the first "feature-length" Tech Tree) is up and running! Listen in at www.spc.edu/wspc by clicking the ginormous PLAY button on the upper-right side of the page.

Today's rundown features...
THE VIRTUAL WORLD
- Madden 09 wins the Super Bowl!
- Free Radical's fate to be decided
- Top 5 selling games of 2008
- NC's DLC tax proposal
- NEW SEGMENT! Japanese Game Crimes
- Week's New Releases
THE CIRCUIT BOARD
- Cellphone accidents
- Sirius/XM rate hike
- Windows 7 beta extended
- GigaPan imager on sale
- Invisible speakers
- Digital TV delayed
- NEW SEGMENT! The Robocalypse
- Review: The T-Mobile Shadow II

Final Fantasy: now featuring 55% less chains & zippers!

2009-01-28T16:05:00.002-05:00

You know, I'm an old fogey when it comes to Final Fantasy. I had a hard time giving up the old trappings in favor of the MMO stylings of XI and XII.

This trailer (with gameplay, no less) has a nice chocolatey/peanut buttery feel to it, mixing the visual richness of XII with the [apparent] menu-based commands of the PSone era of Final Fantasy games.

In short, iz niiiiiice.

How did I miss this?!

2009-01-28T14:24:00.004-05:00

So apparently, Rhapsody.com just released the Bonus Tracks for The Dark Knight's score only yesterday, despite them having been available in the Collector's Edition since this past December.

Which only raises the question, "HOW DID I MISS THIS?!"

Okay, the majority of the bonus tracks are actually just the on-screen versions of Zimmer and Howard's compositions from the plain-vanilla album, but the last few tracks are the real kickers.

Featuring Electronica mainstays like The Crystal Method and Paul Van Dyk, the songs are "remixes" that use samples from the Original Score. It's not quite a mash-up, since the Dark Knight score was very synth-heavy in the first place, but the songs manage to be quite danceable while retaining the overall atmosphere that the score establishes. In fact, I liked it so much that I'm going to be featuring the tracks on next week's episode of The Tech Tree. Stay tuned!

Christmas in August

2008-08-04T19:04:00.000-04:00

Another long day at the office has paid off once again! I managed to get my hands on a freshly-traded copy of Soul Calibur 4, Burnout Paradise (just dropped $10 this morning to $26.99), and a WoW game card to drown my sorrows. Upon returning home and visiting my news feeds, I read the best news of the week; that being the release of the Uncharted trophies! I had been trying to avoid replaying the game so that my trophy-run would feel fresh and exciting, and now I can finally cave in. Looks like this week will be positively crammed with playtime. Must start now!

Expanding Horizons

2008-08-03T23:29:00.002-04:00

Welcome Tech Tree listeners! As the summer creeps on and the show count nears the double digits, expect to read up on Tech Tree news and other ramblings right here on our new blog! Hopefully I can keep you all occupied until our next show, tentatively planned for Wednesday, August 6th at 4pm.