BETEO general discussion topic feed

Boxed PC sales "only 20% of market"

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:52:08 +0000

Doctor Glyndwr says: http://www.gamerzines.com/pc/news/boxed ... of-pc.html [quote:2se6hbl8]The PC Gaming Alliance's (PCGA) latest report has concluded that boxed game sales only equate to 20% of all PC gaming purchases worldwide, confirming that digital is now clearly the primary method of distribution. ... Most interestingly the PC games market grew by 3% last year according to the horizon report, indicating that our platform isn't declining but actually experiencing moderate growth. Not a huge increase but significant nonetheless. [/quote:2se6hbl8]We've debated this in the past -- that the lack of physical games on the high street doesn't indicate anything about the health of the PC games market. It appears that hypothesis was correct.

Gas Guzzling Money Pits

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:51:47 +0000

AceAceBaby says: [color=#400080:34rahx8y]I was looking around at aftermarket gubbins for the MR2 last night. It's not as easy as with Minis or Land Rovers, where you can't find anything on Google without skipping a page or two of hugely stocked parts places. I like the idea of "clear" indicators, so I saw some I might get. The problem though is, that the rear indicators (orange lens) are part of the rear clusters all in one. Replacement rear lights are of the "lexus" variety, and so mostly look a bit "chav". Hmm. I quite like the idea of an APEXi induction system. Just because it sounds cooler than K&N, and probably won't help anything except having something to tinker with/ruin a perfectly working engine's performance (choose whichever). I also wonder if That Fancy Petrol is worth trying. I didn't bother with it for the little Fiat, because that would have been a waste. I don't know if it's something that makes a big difference to the new car, or if it's just another pointless expense. On non MR2 related news, and onto Land Rover ones, I have cunningly succeeded in getting a camp bed into my 90, which now technically makes it a camper van. Needs curtains though. I have plenty of gingham in the loft, but I was thinking of cutting up the cheap silver reflective windscreen sunshields I have a stack of, instead.[/color:34rahx8y]

I want to fear no more!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:51:23 +0000

MaliA says: I've never been able to 'deal' with dogs. I always assume that they intend to kill me from the off. It's to the extent that if I walk to the shop and back, I'll go the long way around rather than take the ginnel if I see someone with a dog at the other end, and prefer to cross the street so I can avoid dogs coming the other way. However, if someone has a dog, I'm wary of it for the first 5 minutes or so, and then I relax in its presence. For example, brother in law has a Neapolitan Mastiff which I am now find around, even though it's like being hit by a freight train when it runs at you, and someone had a Rottweiller in Chavpub that I was quite happy for it to rest its head on my lap. So, what's the best way for me to deal with stranger's dogs when I'm out and about, either walking or on my pushbike? Ideally, I'd like to make them stop barking and running at me and I wish to cow them.

Website design & build quote

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:44:45 +0000

Sir Hugh says: Hello little ones. I know that there are a fair few web designer types amongst our number. I wonder if one or more of you may be able to provide some guidance on a matter? I have decided to poke my nose into the mercurial world of e-Commerce. I know quite a bit about it from my day job working for a major payment services company. My question is this question: What is the approximate cost of having a website built for me based on the following high level spec, and are there any good companies ('good' in terms of value for money and quality of results) that you pretty things can recommend? Things I need 1. An approx 10 page website designed, coded and delivered to me for upload to my web space. The site itself is to be fairly conservative with little in the way of bells and whilst. Clean, fresh and compliant with modern web standards. Pretty static. Once built, I would not expect to add pages or even edit content much after go live. Perhaps an annual tinker to adjust statistical information. I am quite capable of editing HTML (to a limited extent) and managing hosting, admin and so on once the code has been delivered; though if this element was included as part of the deal that is all good, shipmates. 2. Promotional collateral in the form of corporate images. Grinning black man in a suit - look at his lovely white teeth! Etc. 3. A couple of pleasingly neat animated banners. One for the entry page, and perhaps one of a dancing leprechaun that is normally hidden but comes out when I am drunk. 4. Implementation of pay-per-download of a digital good, in the form of a PDF file and a unique link to the same material delivered by e-mail to the shopper. Nothing fancy. Things I have - The domain. - A logo (designed by a prof designer type). - Copy for each page. - A clear vision for what the end goal looks like. Any suggest-me-dos?

Bits and Bobs 18: The Middle Way

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:37:41 +0000

DavPaz says: As you were, chaps Old B&B's 01 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=106 02 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1191 03 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1662 04 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2135 05 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2483 06 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2893 07 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3182 08 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3544 09 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3876 10 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4206 11 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4458 12 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4650 13 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4833 14 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4999 15 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5110 16 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5257 17 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5401 edit: sorry, forgot this... [img:17ci6s8d]http://www.ccfc.co.uk/javaImages/98/3/0,,10269~7865240,00.jpg[/img:17ci6s8d]

PC gaming graphics.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:32:31 +0000

JohnCoffey says: I don't want to start a fiery argument. However, I would be interested in a debate over this. Not because I am looking for a fight but more because I just feel that better graphics enhance a game play experience. Draw distances, frame rates and so on. Now obviously they may not seem like huge improvements to some, but I just [i:3s028c1w]truly feel[/i:3s028c1w] that an already great game can indeed be made better by a few things that have been mentioned. Namely visual quality, draw distances, frame rates and so on. Also, with any luck we can all fight, I mean argue, I mean debate over it here instead of in a serious game thread Now obviously you guys (well, some of you at least) saw the pics I posted of Just Cause 2 yesterday. I did report having an issue when driving the car (which was odd) but last night I tracked it down to garbage build up on my SSD. NP, 12 mins later I was back to full RW speeds which in turn solved my lag issues in game. So I won't bore you with those screenshots but the difference between that and a 360 game are surely pretty vast? Now I admit in that game it probably wouldn't make too much difference as the landscapes are pretty barren and thus detail and draw distances are not that important. However, as I mentioned in the other thread in Fallout 3 the differences changed the game quite dramatically into something better, even though it was merely graphical. Now I know using Dirt 2 could be considered a dirty trick here as tbh? It's really not very fair. The graphics being pumped out by dual 5 series Radeons will pretty much slay anything put in front of them. But it's not just about the graphics it's about the entire experience. And I can swear with my hand on my heart that I have never played a game that was made so much better by graphics. Now with Fallout 3 I [b:3s028c1w]read about[/b:3s028c1w] the differences, but they were pretty clear. With Dirt 2 I have experienced first hand the switchover from DX9 to DX11 and I must say I was totally wrong about DX11. The differences are fucking immense. It's not just some wavey flags and tesselation it's the entire game. It also uses lots of DX10 lighting which of course isn't enabled with the DX9 version. I remember saying when I got Radeon 1 something along the lines of "Man, I swear the Radeon has nicer truer deeper colours than my Nvidia". And I wasn't saying that because I had read something, it was just something I noticed immediately. It turns out that it was down to DX10 and DX11 working in unison and was due to a new lighting technique in DX11 where colours can be ovelaid to create shadows that are not white and washed out. And noone told me that but I noticed it IMMEDIATELY. So much for the diffrerences in DX11 not being noticable. So I admit it, I was completely wrong. And it wasn't just the wavey flags either. It was also the water effects, the shadows, the particles. All added together it makes a game so gorgeous it brings tears to my eyes. Apologies for the large sized screen shots but I find this important. I'm not going to post JPGs because they degrade the quality. The pics do speak for themselves, however. So, the pics I have chosen are to demonstrate IMO how graphics can change a game. I have decided to play Dirt 2 from the cockpit as it's the most realistic. It's also the hardest way to play due to a couple of reasons but it's BY FAR the most realistic. And realism DOES affect a game's overall feel and playability IMO. PIC 1. Due to DX11's tesselation when you crash through a puddle the water sprays all over the screen. You can not see where you are going. The wipers come on, and after a second or two push the water from view. However, it doesn't just vanish. It goes up above the wipers and slowly trickles up the screen due to the wind pushing it away. And, having driven a car in the pissing rain this is absolutely 100% as it would be in a real car, in real rain. It's actually quite frightening too. I played the game in DX9 and the effect was absolutely no match for what DX11 does with it. PIC 2. The wavey flags in the parking lot. Now yes, this bit is whorey as it doesn't make a difference to the game play. But it is noticable (but doesn't matter). PIC3. Lighting. Here I am un Utah with a nice folded bonnet from pressing F10. However, note how the light falls into the car accross my arm and the carbon dash and accessories? That light moves around and at points hits you in the eyes, temporarily taking your view from the road ahead. Again, totally realistic and does offer a gameplay element created by a visual effect. Also note my left window is cracked and the side mirror is now broken? well again because of tesselation the mirror can break more, and more, until you can't see anything out of it. The windshield can also break ruining your view. But, again, this isn't just nice looking shit it affects the gameplay. It adds realism which to me adds to the experience. Now of course I have never seen Dirt 2 on a 360 or ps3. However, I have seen it in Directx 9 on the same computer I run it on now and DX11 does make a huge difference. I do know that on ps3 it suffers with terrible slowdown. Especially on the Battersea stage.

MAME challenge 2010!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:18:15 +0000

Zardoz says: Plonk your name down here if you'd be interested in a MAME tournament. I'm thinking we should keep it to one game a week and to speed things up, each participant chooses a game for us all to play. Ta. We'll see how many names we have by next week and see if it's a goer.

Argh! Sodoffsodoffsodoff

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:02:24 +0000

Plissken says: The coverage on ITV is making me [i:4pqwl00q]seethe[/i:4pqwl00q]. The media have never been able to get their pound of flesh from him (though they've taken ten times that amount out of the Bulger story, so they are just dying to get their teeth into this one.

BETEO 2010 Celebrity Deathlist akimbo death death pew pew

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:52:32 +0000

Dimrill says: Well done to the Pantene Pro-V Mi-Go for winning 2009's death roulette. *grumblegrumble* Ghoulish as it may be, please do join us as we choose the celebrities that we think will begin pushing up some daisies in 2010. [b:qo5o33ia][size=150:qo5o33ia]THE RULES:[/size:qo5o33ia][/b:qo5o33ia] 1! Ye mayest choose 8 (eight) elder statesmen or women, and 2 (two) younger wildcards who seem mosteth likely to YOUR brain to die in the year 2010. 2! The competition has "celebrity" in the title for an reason! If challenged on an choice ye must PROVE THEIR WORTH! 3! Ye wildcards musteth not exceed 40 years in age! Conversely, yow's elder statemen/wo must not be youngester than 40. 4! Ye may not perpetrate the kills yeself. 5! Ye choices may not be changedeth once madeded. 6! Ye hast until MONDAY 18TH of January to post ye list or ye can reet fuck off like. 7! If a candidate dies BEFORE ye's list is posted, the death shall not count towards ye's score. 8! No funny stuff. I shall endeavour to keep this first post updated with your choices, and to that end [size=150:qo5o33ia]please help me out by formatting your posts like what I done down there[/size:qo5o33ia]. It'd also help if you'd alert us to any bucket kicking of said suspects within this thread. Deadheads shall be identified with... *crash of thunder*... red ink of death. So without further ado, here be mine choices. *score board rotates* [b:qo5o33ia]Dimrill's Death Diner Dash[/b:qo5o33ia] [color=#FF0000:qo5o33ia]1. Michael Foot[/color:qo5o33ia] 2. Ronnie Biggs 3. Peter Sallis 4. Norman Wisdom 5. George Bush Snr. 6. Seve Ballesteros 7. Kirk Douglas 8. Zsa Zsa Gabor THE WILDING CARDS! 9. Amy Winehouse. 10.Pete Docherty [b:qo5o33ia]Malc74[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Peter O'Sullevan 2. Murray Walker 3. Clive Dunn 4. Angela Lansbury 5. Burt Bacharach 6. Harry Carpenter 7. Doris Day 8. Keith Richards THE WILDCARDS! 9. Joaquin Phoenix 10. Amy Winehouse [b:qo5o33ia]Meaty Perky Angles[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Dick Van Dyke 2. Peter Falk 3. Leslie Nielsen 4. The Bride of Satan (Maggie Thatcher) 5. Jack Nicholson 6. Clint Eastwood 7. Honor Blackman 8. James Earl Jones THE WILDING CARDS! 9. Lindsay Lohan 10. Kerry Katona [b:qo5o33ia]EoE's AoE Attack[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Margaret Thatcher 2. Bruce Forsyth 3. Eric Sykes 4. Elizabeth Taylor 5. Clint Eastwood 6. Steve Jobs 7. Bernard Madoff 8. Stephen Hawking THE WILDIND CARDS! 9. Katie "Jordan" Price 10. Peaches Geldof [b:qo5o33ia]DEATH OCTOPUS[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Mick Hucknell 2. The Thatcher 3. Joan Collins 4. Henry Cooper 5. Norman Wisdom 6. Rolf Harris (I'll cry) 7. Lance Henriksen 8. Prince Phillip THE WILDIND CARDS! 9. Colin Farrell 10. Ricky Hatton [b:qo5o33ia]Groim...[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Fats Domino 2. Liz Smith 3. Steve Jobs 4. Dame Vera Lynn 5. Richard Attenborough 6. Ravi Shankar 7. Claude Choules 8. Susan Boyle CARDS MOST WILD 9. Kerry Katona 10. Maddie [b:qo5o33ia]Mrak's Brak of Death[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Chuck Berry 2. Ringo Starr 3. Bernard Cribbins 4. Patrick Stewart 5. Lee Meriwether 6. Whoopi Goldberg 7. Norma Major 8. Sharon Osbourne Wildcards 9. Chyna 10. Matt Smith [b:qo5o33ia]Lord (OF DEATH) Rixondale[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Mrs Thatcher 2. Bobby Charlton 3. The Pope 4. Vera Lynn 5. Ronnie Wood 6. Sir Christopher Lee 7. Nelson Mandela 8. Osama Bin Laden Wildcards Kerry Katona Jeff Hardy [b:qo5o33ia]devil(LIKE THE DEVIL IN HELL!)man[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Kirk Douglas 2. Tony Curtis 3. Marianne Faithfull 4. Ernest Borgnine 5. Nancy Reagan 6. Prince Philip 7. Yoko Ono 8, Angela Lansbury Wildcards 9. Tiger Woods 10. Paris Hilton [b:qo5o33ia]Plissdeathdeadken[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Margaret Thatcher 2. Patrick Moore 3. Norman Wisdom 4. Ernest Borgnine 5. Fidel Castro 6. Clive Dunn 7. Lauren Bacall 8. Muhammed Ali Wildcards Britney Spears Tara Palmer Tomkinson [b:qo5o33ia]El Muerte[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Peter O'Toole 2. Fucking Thatcher 3. Patrick Moore 4. Denis Healey 5. Fidel Castro 6. Shirley Williams 7. Chuck Berry 8. Stephen Hawking THE WILDCARDS! 9. Peter Doherty 10. Lil' Kim [b:qo5o33ia]Nervous (ABOUT DEATH!) Pete[/b:qo5o33ia] 1: Kelsey Grammer 2: Norman Tebbit 3: Liz Smith 4: George H W Bush 5: Kim Jong-il 6: Peter Sallis 7: Hamid Karzai 8: Margaret Thatcher Wildcards: 9: Kerry Katona 10: Lindsay Lohan [b:qo5o33ia]Kern... AL DEATH![/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Prince Phillip 2. Bruce Forsythe 3. Zsa Zsa Gabor 4. Tony Benn 5. Nicholas Parsons 6. Colonel Gaddafi 7. Fidel Castro 8. George HW Bush Untimelies 9. Amy Winehouse 10. Lady Gaga [b:qo5o33ia]The Rev (LIKE WHAT WOULD CONDUCT A FUNERAL OR SOMETHING!) Owen[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Maggie Thatcher 2. George Bush Snr. 3. Richard Attenborough 4. David Attenborough 5. Christopher Lee 6. George Lucas 7. Tom Baker 8. Mick Jagger Wildcards! 9. Lewis Hamilton 10. Mos Def [b:qo5o33ia]Mr Chris's Death List O' Fun '10[/b:qo5o33ia] 1: Margaret Thatcher 2: The Queen 3: Elizabeth Taylor 4: George Hamilton 5: Joan Rivers 6: Roger Moore 7: Ronnie Biggs 8: Fidel Castro Young n Reckless Wildcards 9: Katie Holmes 10: Andy Murray [b:qo5o33ia]DavPaz(ZED AWAY)'s Surprisingly old Hitlist[/b:qo5o33ia] 1. Robert Downey Junior 2. Bruce Willis 3. Bruce Forsyth 4. Jeffrey from Rainbow 5. Barack Obama 6. Keanu Reeves 7. George Foreman 8. Tony Balir These cards be WILD! Mischa Barton Wayne Rooney[/b] [b:qo5o33ia]I CAN'T READ THE RULES Zardoz[/b:qo5o33ia] Dick Van Dyke Thatcher Judy Finnegan Lemmy The Queen Delia Smith David Dickinson Philip Schofield Wild Cards Jedward [b:qo5o33ia]nikachu DEATH BY FLU[/b:qo5o33ia] 1 Maggie Thatch 2 The queen 3 Brucie 4 Obama 5 Kim jong Ill 6 Christopher Biggins 7 Stephen Hawking 8 Stevie Wonder Wilds Craig David Pete Doherty

Final Fantasy

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:44:18 +0000

Craster says: [size=50:2mszxckt]Final Fantasy XIII is out today.[/size:2mszxckt]

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:21:51 +0000

markg says: In case anyone hadn't realised. I'm downloading it now and will check it out very soon.

Super Street Fighter IV

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:44:17 +0000

zaphod79 says: I cant find another SF4 thread so will drop this in here Announcement of SSF4 due today (Super Street Fighter IV) http://streetfighterblog.blogspot.com/ Loads of new pics including 2 new characters T-Hawk [img:2g26p9sm]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eTB004d0cng/SsDKUf34TwI/AAAAAAAABYs/MlJC8Im1Q58/s400/SuperStreetFighterIV_THawk.jpg[/img:2g26p9sm] Juri [img:2g26p9sm]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eTB004d0cng/SsDMIvjJkXI/AAAAAAAABZM/MTLG1Bv84k4/s400/JRIvsVEG_BTL_026USED.jpg[/img:2g26p9sm]

General Purpose US TV thread

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:41:26 +0000

Doctor Glyndwr says: So as to avoid dragging the existing thread about Fringe further off-topic, here is a new thread what I done made. So, Heroes and Chuck are tanking in the ratings: [quote="[url=http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/10/monday-ratings.html:1o58c0yr]The Hollywood Reporter[/url:1o58c0yr]":1o58c0yr]NBCs two younger-skewing action dramas fell sharply yet again. "Chuck" (5.8 million, 2.3/8) dropped 15% and "Heroes" (8.2 million, 4.0/9) dropped 11%. At 10 p.m., "Life" (5.6 million, 2.2/6) also fell, down 19%. Not to gawk at the overturned semi-truck on the freeway, but that "Heroes" number is startling -- a series low by far (as is "Chuck") and marking the show's third week of decline. The action series matched "How I Met Your Mother" (!) for the first time. "Heroes" was NBC's strongest scripted series the past couple years and is now fading with alarmingly quickness. It's a clear problem ... without a clear solution. Episodes this season have continued the show's dense and sometimes difficult-to-follow mythology (here's Maureen Ryan throwing up her hands and giving up on the show). That two-hour season premiere following a one-hour recap special felt like a headache-inducing mistake -- by the time you finished watching all three hours you've seen practically every character die and come back to life. Yet it still feels superior to last season. One can only hope the show has now established its third-week ratings bottom.[/quote:1o58c0yr] I've not seen Chuck yet, and only the first two Heroes (i.e. both parts of the two-hour opener). I think I agree that Heroes has been too dense. Perhaps you are supposed to have read all the comics and ARG websites, because just off the TV show even I'm finding it slightly heavy going.

Official BETEO Achievement Whoring Club of Gentlemen

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:18:46 +0000

Dimrill says: Hello chums. Who doesn't like to see a meaningless number increase? Really, that many of you. Be dears and fuck off out of this thread then. Right, now that those LOSERS have left, let's get on with business. I was thinking of prodding a few people who like to see their Gamerpoint total increase easily into forming some sort of circle jerk of backscratching regarding certain games. For instance, Mr Dave's helped me out with Gears of War, and I've helped him out with Crackdown. Other than that, maybe this thread can serve as an "OMFG EASY POINTS!" type dealio. With that spirit in mind, I've recently maxed out Crackdown after avoiding the stupid Street Races section as it is rock solid. However, I found an incredibly easy way to beat these sections and LO! I pass the knowledge onto you. Choose your race and start it off. Don't move a frigging muscle once the whistle goes for the off, instead jump out and high-tail it back to the Agency tower garage and grab a supercar. Drive this back to the starting line and park next to your original vehicle. Jump out, press

Shmups

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:17:30 +0000

Zardoz says: Kicking of a Shmups thread in respect of Ikaruga Wednesday release. Ikaruga then, bought it 2nd hand for Cube (£29 - hnggg! It'll be worth fuck all to trade in now ) but after downloading the 360 demo and seeing it again in hi-def glory I had to bag it. Unfortunatley due to late night burnout it got too late to play/see, so after defeating the first boss I sloped off to bed. Can't wait to break out my Hori stick and put some serious time in. V.Good

JC's Superdesk (TM)

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:02:33 +0000

JohnCoffey says: OK so here is what I have planned. Basically the desk needs to be 240cm wide. The reason it needs to be that size is the ammount of hardware going on it. From left to right - Alienware (silver) - 22" TFT - 23" TFT - Alienware (black). In front of each monitor needs to sit a keyboard and I want a collapsable swing up plate to hold my steering wheel that will come up in front of the keyboard that sits in front of the black monitor. My plan is this. Basically take two kitchen base cabinets from Ikea's FAKTUM range and use those at each end with a braced 3/4" MDF top. So if you can, visualise this. One of these on the left side in the corner at left wall. [img:1l14dpjq]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/timmahtiburon/left.jpg[/img:1l14dpjq] Then a nice big deep top and at the other end one of these [img:1l14dpjq]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/timmahtiburon/2-5.jpg[/img:1l14dpjq] Now remember, these things are flat packed and you can hang the doors either way around. So, the larger left side cabinet will be hinged left and the smaller right side cabinet will be hinged right. The two of those cost £60 (one is £32 the other one £28). They are designed to stand 86cm high which is too high. However, see the chrome post legs? I shall just chop them down to about 1/2" tall which will bring the top surface down enough to meet desk height. Then its a simple case of cutting a top and vertical support for it, using a drill and holesaw to drill the routing holes and painting the top with a roller using hammerite or smoothrite or something uber durable. Job done. TBH? I doubt it will even cost £100. What's a sheet of 8x4ft MDF cost these days? and surely the hammerite is no more than a tenner? I reakon more like £90. And that'll be one hell of a desk with a shit load of storage for £90.

Bargains, Bargains, Bargains!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:01:59 +0000

Wogan'sTrouserBulge says: Post your bargains here folks! Anything from cheap games to cheap Vimto.

Xbox live subscription cards and ting

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:01:11 +0000

TheAlbin0Kid says: [quote="BikNorton":tnpqqe81]Who cares! My Live sub is running from the 4th of this month til the 4th of September 20[i:tnpqqe81]11[/i:tnpqqe81] for £59.98![/quote:tnpqqe81] So you got 2 years at £29.99 a year?

Where do I stand legally?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:38:03 +0000

JohnCoffey says: I just got back from the docs and heard a knock at the door. I went down and there's a courier at the door. hmm, can't be my CPU surely? He said he had a parcel, I signed. Then he lugs an enormous box up the path and thanks me and leaves. I come inside. [img:1opq5bo1]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/timmahtiburon/pic1.jpg[/img:1opq5bo1] And then I open it. No, it's not a photochop. [img:1opq5bo1]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/timmahtiburon/aw2.jpg[/img:1opq5bo1] I'm seeing double... Alienwares. Now, as with the first one that was delivered it's got broken parts. On the first one the back cover panel was snapped but I repaired it and didn't complain as it was only £50. However, this one has a perfect back panel. Also, on my first one the left panel was scratched badly. Not a problem could have put it against the wall. However, on chassis 2 the left side is perfect and the right is scratched. So, between the two I have a perfect chassis. Thus, should I admit their mistake and have them send for the scratched up spare or keep it? Where do I stand legally seeing as I did nothing wrong and my Ebay transaction is done and feedback has been left? There's no way they can get the money from me as I paid with Paypal.

Game Demos

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:28:44 +0000

DBSnappa says: Any game demos you've played or heard about give your thoughts or announcements here. I've just played the demos of God of War 3, Heavy Rain, SBK 2009/2010 and Just Cause 2 I never really got into God of War on the PS2 - I have it but there was something less than compelling about it - I think it's all the QTE boss kills that got on my tits. GOW3 seems to be more of the same with improved graphics - so it's largely a button masher until you get to the bosses then it starts ordering you to use certain button combinations. Does very little for me. Heavy Rain. I really liked parts of this even if it did feel a little pedestrian - it certainly looked good and I could forgive the FUCKING AWFUL controls up to a point as the story and content was something that isn't attempted very often. However, when I got to that part where you had to climb that muddy bank at the crime scene I came close to turning off the console after the 10th attempt to climb the fucking bank by having to press and hold down sequential keys with overlaps. FUCK OFF. Might buy it when it drops to a fiver in a couple of months. SBK. God, it has all the handling finesse of ROad Rash on the MD with tartier graphics. Almost fun but not a patch on the old Moto GP games. Just Cause 2. Lovely fun chaos sandbox game. I really enjoyed just hanging out in the first game so was looking forward to this and it doesn't disappoint. BIG BIG WORLD plenty of stuff to do.

Down Down Deeper And Down

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:16:52 +0000

Rodafowa says: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8000652.stm Look at that list of the top ten songs played at funerals. Dear [i:3axcb13j]God[/i:3axcb13j]. If anyone decided to stick on Celine Dion while I was being planted, being terrorised to the point of insanity by my restless shade would be too good for them. So, what choon would you like to go in the ground to? Much as Living In A Box or The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown would appeal (depending on method of disposal), personally it would have to be Winter by Tori Amos. It's an astonishingly beautiful song, it's about the mutability of existance and, most importantly, I wouldn't be around to be embarassed by the enormous self-indulgance of the choice.

No one finishes games anymore

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:10:30 +0000

Dr Lave says: So no one finishes games anymore. That's the proposed truism of this inane pastime. So much so that if someone finishes a game then thats a pretty good sign that a game was half decent. Do you actually finish games anymore? Or more importantly how many do you finish compared to how many you buy? Why not try posting here whenever you complete a game? With a little review even. And the BeeX rank (S,A,B,C... etc. With [i:2m6b9jrw]S reserved for super special perfect 10s[/i:2m6b9jrw]) Then at the end of the year we can see who 'did best,' most completed game and so on. [b:2m6b9jrw]RULES: Completed is defined as completing the bare bones of the game. Collectables, unlockables, Newgame+ and so on don't count. If the credits roll then you've finished.*[/b:2m6b9jrw] * No, games which have the credits as an option in the menu don't count. Obviously.

HDD revolution

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:02:06 +0000

KovacsC says: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8557144.stm Hard drives are about to undergo one of the biggest format shifts in 30 years. By early 2011 all hard drives will use an "advanced format" that changes how they go about saving the data people store on them. The move to the advanced format will make it easier for hard drive makers to produce bigger drives that use less power and are more reliable. However, it might mean problems for Windows XP users who swap an old drive for one using the changed format.

Tabletop wargaming - nerdlinging to the max...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:44:48 +0000

Mr Kissyfur says: Quick survey time - does anyone else on here play any sort of tabletop wargaming: be it WW2, Napoleonic, Warhammer, Starship Troopers, Battletech or whatever? If so, what? I appreciate I'm opening myself up for some pisstaking here, of course.

Cricket

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:24:53 +0000

myoptikakaka says: We're going to get hammered, aren't we?