Monthly Archive for June, 2006

Windows - Small or Blurry System Fonts?

This comes up every now and then and I can never seem to remember it, so here it is for everyone and myself…thanks to http://scoble.weblogs.com/ for this very helpful tip!

1) Right-click on your desktop.
2) Choose “Properties.”
3) Click on the “Settings” tab.
4) Click the “Advanced” button.
5) Change the DPI setting to “Large size (120 DPI).”
6) You MUST restart before you’ll see the changes. You might need your Windows XP CD too.

After changing this setting, you’ll need to rerun the ClearType tuner as well to make sure you get the sharpest fonts possible.

Doesn’t look like he has this anymore, hope this helps someone!

Age of Empires: Nintendo DS

Age of Empires: The Age of Kings for the Nintendo DS was a game I picked up recently with hopes for a decent turn based strategy game, and knowing that the PC versions have been just that but as a real-time strategy I had high hopes that this would at least be close to what I was looking for.

I have only just gotten through the Joan of Arc (tutorial) Campaign to learn how it works, but I really think I’ve found what I was hoping for…a true turn-based strategy game that is fun to play on a portable system that can keep my interest. If you are into games that are either ‘button mashers’ or something for a 2 minute fix, this isn’t for you.

I don’t have too much to say about it but so far it has been a very good game to play and has managed to meet my expectations. I’m still hoping to see a Heroes of Might and Magic for the DS, but Age of Empires: The Age of Kings is a good substitute for now.

Tremulous

Every now and then a free game comes around that has the power to draw you in and hold you there for hours before you realize what happened. Tremulous is one of those games. Similar to Enemy Territory where there are two teams working together to reach a goal. Enemy Territory uses mission based goals and the players ‘level up’ as they play and perform well. In Tremulous it’s much simpler, wipe out the other team before they wipe you out.

The concept for the game is very simple, Humans vs the Aliens, but the gameplay really makes it shine. Each team has three stages or tech/evolution, each being twice as strong as the one before it. When joining a game you have two options one to be a solder the other being a builder. The game has a strong strategy side to it that makes it vital to have have both at all times. The builders build spawn points,defenses and upgrades for the team. the Humans have a variety of weapons and gizmo’s at their disposal (from the standard rifle to the powerful Lucifer Cannon) and the Aliens have a good supply of defense from Acid Tubes to Hives.

You earn points from your hits/kills (money for Humans and evolution points for Aliens) which can be used to purchase upgrades. The humans need an Armory to upgrade their weapons and buy ammunition (energy weapons can recharge at the Reactor or a Repeater), Aliens only need their Overmind to be alive.

A hint for Human players: To get an upgraded weapon you need to sell your current weapon or it will not display on the list. I found a key binding scheme that makes buying weapons easy and quick (anecessity a lot of the time).

bind 0 "sell weapons;buy ackit;buy ckit;itemact ackit;itemact ckit"
bind 1 "sell weapons;buy psaw;itemact blaster;itemact psaw"
bind 2 "sell weapons;buy rifle;itemact rifle"
bind 3 "sell weapons;buy shotgun;itemact shotgun"
bind 4 "sell weapons;buy lgun;itemact lgun;buy ammo"
bind 5 "sell weapons;buy chaingun;itemact chaingun"
bind 6 "sell weapons;buy mdriver;itemact mdriver;buy ammo"
bind 7 "sell weapons;buy prifle;itemact prifle;buy ammo"
bind 8 "sell weapons;buy flamer;itemact flamer;buy ammo"
bind 9 "sell weapons;buy lcannon;itemact lcannon;buy ammo"

These will sell your current weapon and attempt to purchase the new one if you have enough funds and they are available.

Good news to me is that tjw has a Tremulous server to compliment the Enemy Territory server I play on. This means if I’m found online it’s either at tremulous.tjw.org et.tjw.org or Puzzle Pirates on the cobalt ocean :)
Finally, with this game being based on the Quake 3 engine which is now open source, Tremulous is available for Windows, Linux and Macs. It’s a free download so you have nothing to lose!