I dropped off a bit suddenly on Sunday afternoon, something died in my PC, I think it is memory in my graphics card
symptom:
1. main monitor switched off
2. the bios loading screen is covered in '('
3. the window splash screen loads
4. the screen where you must select a user fails to show and switches off the monitor
things tried:
1. took off the second monitor
2. swapped the monitor leads (blue plug and white (DVI?) plugs)
3. started up in safe mode
4. ran the test programmes in the hidden hard disk partition
5. initial bunch of tests showed nothing wrong
6. individual tests on the graphics showed problems in the video memory
solution
1. ordered a newer bigger graphics card (GForce 8400) as the one I have atm (GForce6800) wasn't available.
2. the slot if right (PCI express)
3. not sure about the power load, the old card had a fan on it, the new one has a heat sink
4. can't find documention anywhere on the specification of my current power transformer
One way or another I'll plug it in when it arrives and wait for something to blow up. If it doesn't then I will hopefully be back in Northrend this week, if it doesn't, it is time for a new computer.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Eirebull hits level 71
Eve over, I logged onto Eirebull and started knocking out the Borean Tundra quest hubs. Everything south of Warsong Hold is now finished and I am helping out the druids of DEPTHA. I must say two things have struck me about WotLK.
Firstly
There is a sense of humour. The bloodthirsty animal rights activists (the druids) want the crazed looters wiped out. The Crazed looters all work for Nesingwary and spout of things like ‘only 40 more horns to get that new gun’, a direct poke at players and grinding. You can’t talk to the druids for 3 minutes after killing an animal or they try to kill you, the debuff says, don’t talk to the druids for 3minutes or until you find some way of washing off the blood’.
Secondly
The visuals are great. Yes they are cartoon like but they still look excellent. I am thinking about Warsong Hold, the Mist with the Viking like raiders, the flaming bonfires and the spider lair instance. As you can see I haven’t got that far yet.
Eirebull hit level 71 last night, she isn’t shy about killing anything that gets in her way and taking every quest that is going. Apart from the 2 instances I played the night I started I haven’t been back into an instance. There has been very little ganking though you see it mentioned in general, I certainly haven’t been the focus of it, whenever I meet and alliance player or indeed any other player there is usually no problem about sharing a quest node, usually a boss type mob.
I also note that Eirebull can kick out huge amounts of damage. When I use all the cool-downs (wolves, fire elemental, earth elemental, bloodrage, shamanistic someorother) nothing survives. In fact single boss mobs go down disappointingly easily. Where Eirebull gets into trouble is when she takes on several at the same time.
Firstly
There is a sense of humour. The bloodthirsty animal rights activists (the druids) want the crazed looters wiped out. The Crazed looters all work for Nesingwary and spout of things like ‘only 40 more horns to get that new gun’, a direct poke at players and grinding. You can’t talk to the druids for 3 minutes after killing an animal or they try to kill you, the debuff says, don’t talk to the druids for 3minutes or until you find some way of washing off the blood’.
Secondly
The visuals are great. Yes they are cartoon like but they still look excellent. I am thinking about Warsong Hold, the Mist with the Viking like raiders, the flaming bonfires and the spider lair instance. As you can see I haven’t got that far yet.
Eirebull hit level 71 last night, she isn’t shy about killing anything that gets in her way and taking every quest that is going. Apart from the 2 instances I played the night I started I haven’t been back into an instance. There has been very little ganking though you see it mentioned in general, I certainly haven’t been the focus of it, whenever I meet and alliance player or indeed any other player there is usually no problem about sharing a quest node, usually a boss type mob.
I also note that Eirebull can kick out huge amounts of damage. When I use all the cool-downs (wolves, fire elemental, earth elemental, bloodrage, shamanistic someorother) nothing survives. In fact single boss mobs go down disappointingly easily. Where Eirebull gets into trouble is when she takes on several at the same time.
Eve when tired
Last night I had the opportunity to play as much as I could take. So I started off with Eve to check skills, re-organise things a bit and while I was at it, took a mission and got a level 3 Serpentis Extravaganza.
I almost fell asleep.
For me to enjoy Eve I need to be awake, on the ball and not tired after a day at work. I need a goal, interaction and excitement. At the moment I only really log on to change skills. Perhaps when the excitement of WOW dies down and the guild has it’s first tiff then I will think differently but until then I think the only reason I will log on is to show my face in the corporation and change skills.
I almost fell asleep.
For me to enjoy Eve I need to be awake, on the ball and not tired after a day at work. I need a goal, interaction and excitement. At the moment I only really log on to change skills. Perhaps when the excitement of WOW dies down and the guild has it’s first tiff then I will think differently but until then I think the only reason I will log on is to show my face in the corporation and change skills.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Quantum Rise
As a result of WotLK, Eve has come to a temporary stop, I log on to change skills and that is about it. Handy for Slayfoe’s Bull that should have nice gunnery skills by the time I get fed up of WotLK. I have been trying to get a handle on why Warcraft is more appealing in the immediate and it must simply be that actual humanoid avatars are easier to relate to than spaceships.
A new expansion, Quantum Rise came out in Eve and apart from 2 items I haven’t really seen a change:
Splash screen
Certificates – greatest waste of time and yet strangely compelling
The certificates will make it much easier for a new player to get on in the game by effectively giving them a syllabus of skill-ups to follow. They can then claim a certificate and work towards the next level. Unfortunately I have been quite scatter gunned and yet focused about my training so I don’t qualify for many certificates. These certificates are then either private or public which I presume will help in application to corporations.
I will be back, as I suspect that Eve is better in the long term, it is just that WoW provides more immediate gratification for the moment – we’ll see how that changes once guild drama and raiding starts up.
A new expansion, Quantum Rise came out in Eve and apart from 2 items I haven’t really seen a change:
Splash screen
Certificates – greatest waste of time and yet strangely compelling
The certificates will make it much easier for a new player to get on in the game by effectively giving them a syllabus of skill-ups to follow. They can then claim a certificate and work towards the next level. Unfortunately I have been quite scatter gunned and yet focused about my training so I don’t qualify for many certificates. These certificates are then either private or public which I presume will help in application to corporations.
I will be back, as I suspect that Eve is better in the long term, it is just that WoW provides more immediate gratification for the moment – we’ll see how that changes once guild drama and raiding starts up.
Wrath of the Lich King
It is the middle of November and WotLK has been out for 5 days. Even before it came out I was back in Azeroth levelling Flutter. I bought my copy Thursday and Eirebull came back to life, the quest log was cleared out, the bank ruthlessly sold off, the bags emptied, the action bars started anew and talents reselected.
Then it was hop on the zeppelin and off to the frozen north. First stop - Warsong keep. My impressions are that Northrend is beautiful, it is full of vertical surfaces, cliffs, lift shafts, vertical dungeons and northern lights. They really have done a very good job with the setting, it is visually very special.
My first evening was two instances with the guild, Utgard Keep and some Spider instance which was the more impressive of the two. It didn’t cause us any difficulty with Kara/ T5 level gear. The loot is similar though with a lot more haste type stats that will take a while to understand. The second session was getting a feel for the south of the starting zone round Warsong keep. The mobs were HARD and it took a while to adjust and stop biting off more than I could chew. The rewards are not yet good enough to replace purple gear, I suspect it will be the next area quests that will do this.
Then it was hop on the zeppelin and off to the frozen north. First stop - Warsong keep. My impressions are that Northrend is beautiful, it is full of vertical surfaces, cliffs, lift shafts, vertical dungeons and northern lights. They really have done a very good job with the setting, it is visually very special.
My first evening was two instances with the guild, Utgard Keep and some Spider instance which was the more impressive of the two. It didn’t cause us any difficulty with Kara/ T5 level gear. The loot is similar though with a lot more haste type stats that will take a while to understand. The second session was getting a feel for the south of the starting zone round Warsong keep. The mobs were HARD and it took a while to adjust and stop biting off more than I could chew. The rewards are not yet good enough to replace purple gear, I suspect it will be the next area quests that will do this.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Burnout mark 2
Games have a certain magic about them, they can be used for relaxing, laughing, challenging, escaping or simply an excuse to meet with friends.
I use games for a mix of the above but without doubt the biggest draw is that they allow me to plan something controllable. I enjoy the figuring out then sorting out that a new game brings. As long as the game has unfulfilled promise then it will entice me to keep playing. As soon as it becomes overly repetitive then my interest wanes.
Eve Online has this depth that defies immediate understanding and hence keeps me interested. I have wandered through the game setting myself medium term goals that are reachable within weeks and avoided goals that require longer to bring to fruition. Up to now these have been a mix of learning to fly a ship, getting a jump clone, having enough reputation with a corporation to use a particular agents and most recently, learning how to invent tech 2 BPC.
This last goal is actually a double goal though I didn’t understand that at first. I want to be able to participate in the corporation tech 2 manufacturing by helping research BPC into Tech 2 BPC. This is largely a skill learning exercise that has taken me away from my learning to fly fast and hard with lots of guns. A side advantage of the invention is that you can carry out research projects of your own that produce data cores that can be sold. To do this you need to get reputation with a research company, MNEE uses Duvolle, a Gallente corporation so I stuck with them.
What I hadn’t figured out was that you don’t need all the skills required for invention to do the research. So as soon as high energy physics is trained to level 3 tonight I will be seeking out a Duvolle agent and asking him to do some research and hopefully riches await!
What I really wanted to say was that I am boring again with Eve or at least the grind rep with Duvolle Labs. I need another goal!
I use games for a mix of the above but without doubt the biggest draw is that they allow me to plan something controllable. I enjoy the figuring out then sorting out that a new game brings. As long as the game has unfulfilled promise then it will entice me to keep playing. As soon as it becomes overly repetitive then my interest wanes.
Eve Online has this depth that defies immediate understanding and hence keeps me interested. I have wandered through the game setting myself medium term goals that are reachable within weeks and avoided goals that require longer to bring to fruition. Up to now these have been a mix of learning to fly a ship, getting a jump clone, having enough reputation with a corporation to use a particular agents and most recently, learning how to invent tech 2 BPC.
This last goal is actually a double goal though I didn’t understand that at first. I want to be able to participate in the corporation tech 2 manufacturing by helping research BPC into Tech 2 BPC. This is largely a skill learning exercise that has taken me away from my learning to fly fast and hard with lots of guns. A side advantage of the invention is that you can carry out research projects of your own that produce data cores that can be sold. To do this you need to get reputation with a research company, MNEE uses Duvolle, a Gallente corporation so I stuck with them.
What I hadn’t figured out was that you don’t need all the skills required for invention to do the research. So as soon as high energy physics is trained to level 3 tonight I will be seeking out a Duvolle agent and asking him to do some research and hopefully riches await!
What I really wanted to say was that I am boring again with Eve or at least the grind rep with Duvolle Labs. I need another goal!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Deltole
Needless to say my current reading has diverted me from Eve. On Wednesday night we all gathered together to explore the depths of the local non-event dead space pocket in Deltole, Sinq Laison.
We were disappointed. I went along in an Exqueror armour reppar to ensure Draconica’s Myrmidon stayed healthy. Need not have bothered. All the mobs dropped the same loot (laser crystal, tech 1 drone and cap rechargers). To get into the final room you need to get keys from some of the spawns but there was nothing more interesting here. There are name cargo containers that you can’t open, we assume that if your have the archaeology skill you might be able to loot them.
This took the evening and took me away from the Duvolle Labs grind. Both characters continue to work towards the necessary skills to do the researching required for the corp
We were disappointed. I went along in an Exqueror armour reppar to ensure Draconica’s Myrmidon stayed healthy. Need not have bothered. All the mobs dropped the same loot (laser crystal, tech 1 drone and cap rechargers). To get into the final room you need to get keys from some of the spawns but there was nothing more interesting here. There are name cargo containers that you can’t open, we assume that if your have the archaeology skill you might be able to loot them.
This took the evening and took me away from the Duvolle Labs grind. Both characters continue to work towards the necessary skills to do the researching required for the corp
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