Universal Combat Gold

Recently I finally got around to getting back into Gametap, and I got addicted to two games: Comanche 4 and Universal Combat Gold. The latter is more blog-worthy, so I'll talk about it.

Universal Combat Gold is a somewhat recent addition to the Battlecruiser Millennium series, which really is a fascinating concept. Basically, you can work in space, planet atmosphere, and ground, for trading, combat, etc, and even move between them. The problem is that it's poorly executed. The graphics are primitive at best, the controls and UI were designed by monkeys working in combination with the geniuses behind Falcon 4.0, and it's unbelievably buggy (do not, I repeat, do not minimize the game. You end up having to kill it with the task manager). And if you're a marine, you die a lot. Irritatingly much, in fact.
So I have a simple question: Why, oh why am I addicted to it?

Graphics: 3/5 - Quite primitive, but there are enough different environments to allow me to forgive that.
Gameplay: 2/5 - Unbelievably stupid. Fascinating in theory, though.
Stability: 2/5 - Playable, but just barely.
Tilt: 4/5 - Don't ask. I have no clue either.
Bottom line: 2.75 - Buggy, bad graphics, complex gameplay, but strangely fun.
Extra comments: According to the Gametap description, you're supposed to spend hundreds of hours mastering this game. Honestly, I don't have that kind of time. Also, for that reason, this is primarily a review of the ground and atmosphere modes. Space seems less buggy, but also less playable.

Let the classes begin!

It's that time of year again. Yup, you guessed it: classes begin.

My math stuff has arrived for Precalc II, and as I type this I'm supposed to be working on it.
Drivers ed also started a few days ago, where I spend 3 hours per night watching movies that tell me things I already know and listening to things I already read. Oh well, at least soon I'll get my permit.

Soon Spanish III will begin (and of course I've forgotten everything I learned in Spanish I and II...) along with debate. Oh, right, and my C/C++ programing class at the University, which will be succeeded right afterwards by a scheme course. *Groan*

On the bright side, VetClix has been making some real progress. I started using Subversion, so my work can make it to bleeding-edge people without my having to make releases.

Pegasus Prime

I just noticed that I forgot to update on my math course: I passed, and did pretty well.

Finally, the game I've been wanting for ages is in the mail. Those of you who don't know me should know that I am and always will be a Journeyman Project fanatic. Pegasus Prime was the "Director's Cut" of the first game in the series. Unfortunately, it was also mac-only. So, I bought it to look at the box. I'm so logical sometimes. Actually I'm planning to emulate it, but first I'll have to buy a copy of Mac OS 9 on Ebay.

Is it worth the money and effort to get a decade-old game working on a totally different platform then that for which it was made? I have little doubt that the answer is "yes" in this case.

Reviews:

• Four Fat Chicks - 5/5
• MacGamer - 80%
• Just Adventure - A (Contains mild language and a popup)

Example of a migration from Motif to GTK+

I found this interesting article on linux.com. Perfect example of what I wanted in an earlier post.

Xubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

Long time no post, I know. I've been reading C. S. Lewis, at my mom's request. I have to say, he is a really good author. So far I've read The Screwtape Letters and have started Mere Christianity, and I can really recommend the latter, and the former is pretty good.

I wrote this for a google group:

Having been convinced by Matt to give Ubuntu another try (In case you were curious, the first and last time I tried pure Ubuntu was with "Breezy Badger". It failed to install). However, being a Xfce advocate, I decided upon Xubuntu (The last time I tried Xubuntu was with "Dapper Drake". It installed OK, with frequent lockups). I had been scared off of Ubuntu by a bad experience with Kubuntu "Edgy Eft" that I now understand was a common issue.

My machine is a Pentium II 400mhz with 128mb RAM and a GeForce 2 MX. The LiveCD started up OK, but when Xfce started, it started without the panel. I have heard of that issue, and I suspect its cause is from a lack of RAM, seeing as how it worked OK on my system with 512mb RAM. Anyhow, the installer had several issues, including a glitch with partitioning. That was easily corrected, however, following my reading the release notes. The random installer lockups I had experienced with Dapper also seemed gone, although I seem to recall some lockup or something, I don't remember it well enough to report on it.

When my system booted up, the Xfce panel was launched as expected. The restricted driver manager easily installed the driver for my video card, and the updater, although not automatic out-of-the-box, went smoothly and offered more details then the Fedora "Zod" updater (I realize that Fedora "Moonshine is out now). The package managers were also fantastic; the Add/Remove program is new since Dapper, and is awesome (although it tried to install some GNOME dependencies and I didn't know until it had already started downloading them), and Synaptic was as good as always.

Desktop-wise, Xfce has a clean-yet-modern feel that I have yet to see anyplace else. However, there's still some features missing in xfdesktop that won't be added until Xfce 4.4.2, and the Applications menu quit button doesn't work, forcing me to use the panel applet. The compositor for xfwm4, much revamped (and mostly new) in Feisty (4.4.0), beats the pixels off of GNOME's Metacity, offering such must-haves as window shadows and transparency, but my system is too slow to use it much. So far, I haven't had any crashes or lockups, although my limited hardware sometimes leads to sluggish performance.

I haven't been using Feisty off a hard drive very long--under a day--but so far my experience has been quite favorable, and I look forward to trying it on better hardware. If I experience any major issues like that which caused me to leave Ubuntu in the first place, I will post an update.

Ghostbusters

I know I haven't blogged lately; I've been busy.

The magic man in the mail who sends movies offered Ghostbusters last night. Awesome movie. I give it 5/5. What's better then watching a giant marshmallow man tearing apart New York City?

I want a proton pack...