The last poster wins

[Iv000]

You mean you got everything? I only got the base game and that's 12Gb

My fault, it says 19.8 Gb not 29.8 Gb. Damn numbers :P

 

Still took a few days to download.

 

I also just got CIV V Gold, but that doesn't include the new Expansion thingy.

 

Why did I suddenly buy so many strategy games?

[Vindekarr]

Uninstalled Neverwinter today. For fairness I had to set my own personal opinion aside when I wrote my review of it in the PC gaming section. In reality I'm actually very disappointed with it. I shouldn't be-on paper it's a remarkable game. But I am, a LOT of people are, and it's difficult for me to explain why.

 

Alright, let me try this. Games, books, movies, sports cars, going-out clothes, they're all fundamentally the same. They're about making you feel something. The best example from my personal experience is this(this paragraph below is just to try and explain what I'm talking about, it's totally optional)

 

When I bought my Skyline, I didn't hesitate even though I knew I could buy a Hyundai Genesis that was faster, for less money. I bought the Skyline because whenever I see that GT-R badge, it reminds me of when I was a kid watching a personal hero of mine Jim Richards race a car none to different to this. I bought it because of how beautiful it sounds at 8500 RPM. I bought it not because of the statistics, because of the sensations and emotion of it. The heritage, the way it drives, and the sound it makes-once you've driven both, you just can't fairly compare them. It's like comparing actually going racing at Nurburgring, to having someone describe it to you over the telephone.

 

And it's the same problem with Neverwinter. It's a better game, on paper, to hell-a lot of MMOs. It's "the next big F2P game". But it's also a rather numb, dead experience. There's no art or love gone into making the world. Outfits and classes feel cookie-cutter, and it's got no art-style to call it's own. When you look at Guild Wars, one of the first things that hits you in the face is how pretty the cutscenes are. They look almost hand-painted-you can almost feel the love that someone put into making them memorable. The cutscenes in Neverwinter are just... cutscenes. There's no emotion or importance, you find yourself skipping through, checking quest details, and then moving on. You. Just. Don't. Care. There's nothing to make you care.

 

And this problem permeates the entire game. There's no emotion, no amazing moments where you're thrown into hell and survive only due to the mateship and bravery of your group-you don't even feel in danger at any point-because the game essentially plays itself. And therin lies the problem. Guild Wars is hard. Brutally hard. Some classes literally can get two-shotted even by normal mobs. But if you master them, they don't ever actually get hit in the first place. And every time you get knocked at at the low levels just makes you want to become better at the game. Here, it all just sort of grinds along. There's no spirit or sense of wonder. It's all just deadpan and cynical.

[Iv000]

I'm going to driving school, starting monday.

 

It's only theory for a few weeks, the practical part will come later sometime. Does anyone have any tips? I'm kinda scared of it.

[Tidus44]

@lv000 - best tips for driving; keep the shiny side up, the dirty side down, stay between the ditches and under 100. Anything else is optional.

[billyro]

My advice? Resist the power. The power draws you in and tries to take control of you...

 

Before you know it, you're going over the speed limit without noticing.

[Iv000]

I won't be driving that soon, I first have to take the theory.

 

I guess since nobody is mentioning that I imagine it's pretty easy?

 

But thanks to both I'll keep that in mind.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Iv000

[M48A5]

:mellow:

[Vindekarr]

Alright, driving tips? always hold in mind the ways cars operate. They're big, heavy, complex objects, and the difference between a decent driver and a great one is their ability to understand how the car will respond to their control imputs.

 

General tips?

 

THE BIGGEST tip I can give you is this. Cars have a limited amount of friction from their tyres, and by turning, accelerating and braking, you "use" or allocate a certain amount of this available friction. Whenever you're braking for example, you can't turn as effectively because the tyres are already busy trying to decelerate. Sounds crazy, but do ten laps around a race track and you'll know what I mean. Always try to brake while going straight, and then turn. Turning while braking will mean you don't stop as soon, or turn as sharp, and can risk a puncture on bad roads.

 

1: When you learn to steer, bear in mind that even the most agile super-sports racer can't respond instantly. To steer, a car has to lean it's weight onto the wheels on the outside of the corner. Steering well does take practice-remember that. Cars also weigh a LOT, so be very careful when changing direction, otherwise you may lose grip.

 

Don't ever be tempted to do something stupid like street racing, drag racing at lights, or doing burnouts/whatever. Regardless of country, there are places you can do this legally. If you ever feel a desire to take up racing, JOIN A CLUB! Anywhere in the world, there's a bunch of people who love racing, and plenty of ways you can race without getting in trouble. Always remember that if you get caught street racing, it's goodbye licence. If you join a club on the other hand, you might get famous!

 

Transmissions are important. The trans/gearbox and clutch effectively translates the engine's power to the driven wheels. Don't underestimate their importance; they're a very important component and I don't know where you are, but in Australia, you have to take a separate test to be able to drive a Manual, but it's very much worth it. Even if you only ever drive Automatics, having the ability to drive a manual is very useful. In addition, manual cars are a LOT cheaper-as much as AU $10,000 less than an identical automatic.

 

Drive type is important. Rear drive cars tend to want to spin out in bad weather. Front drive cars go loose at the front and just go a bit wobbly. Four wheel drive cars have exceptional grip in all weather but when they do lose control it comes out of absolutely nowhere and is usually spectacular. Front-drive cars are an ideal choice for an inexperienced driver, they're usually the easiest to learn to drive.

 

If it's any sort of option for you, I can really recommend learning some advanced stuff aswell. Learning how to recover from a skid, and practicing driving in the wet do help a lot-you'd be amazed how slippery some surfaces get in the rain, and in colder climates, rain can also partially freeze, creating "black ice" a nearly invisible surface stain that's as slippery as oil. I'd swear that the stuff I learned at CAMS(Confederation of Australian Motor Sport) bootcamp has saved me from a few accidents.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When you're buying a used car, there's a couple of little things to keep an eye on. One of the most important is to always turn the steering over to full lock and make sure the tyres are worn EVENLY. Unless it's either a Porsche or Nissan Skyline, it should have a nice even bald pattern. If there's only a narrow strip of worn/degraded tyre, it usually suggests chassis or steering damage. The bald patch should be concentrated on the inside edge of the tyre on a Skyline or Porsche 911 due to their unusual suspension set-up.

 

Always open the hood, all doors, and the trunk/boot. Make sure the paint down in the little nooks and crannies matches the outside colour; a mismatch normally means the car's been in an accident severe enough to damage a panel beyond repair, and been replaced on a shoestring budget. Such cars are to be avoided unless there's no other option.

 

Sometimes actual condition trumps mileage. A high-mile car can be worth looking at, but make sure every's neat and well looked after. A mile is a mile, but different cars are treated differently, and a car that's been babied for every single one of it's 150,000 miles is usually better than a 100,000 mile car that's been poorly maintained.

 

I work on cars for a living, I'm an amateur racing driver, and I've got a fair bit of experience with cars of all sorts. if I can help let me know. And let me re-iterate. Be safe out there-there's no reason, excuse or justification for street racing, if you want to race, go on the internet and look for clubs in your area. They're all over the world, it's just a matter of finding some like-minded friends and a track.

[Iv000]

Wow, thanks Vin!

A lot more than I expected.

Obviously, I'm afraid of cars right now so I didn't have street racing in mind...yet :P you never know what I will like in the future. But yeah, obviously I'll keep it legal.

 

I'll keep everything in mind, read through it a few times to remember it all, but I won't need a car for at least 6 more years. I'm just taking care of the drivers license for now while I'm not that busy with life.

[M48A5]

AU $10,000.00 for an automatic transmission! That's about US $9000.00! That's highway robbery! :P