So the new year is approaching fast. We're heading out soon to my folk's place to celebrate the coming of the new year with some good food and drink.
I havn't written in a while, mainly because I've been busy on my bachelor thesis and the free time I've had has been spent on playing Medieval II: Total War. I also of course have other stuff to study, so no rest for the wicked. Been some economics on the side for example.
Our thesis is pretty much done, only needing some finishing touches. We studied what effects the fallpits of project management has on the outcome of IT-projects. For a quick summary, there is one and the fallpits are best avoided. I'll link to the official website once it's done and published, hopefully sometime in late january.
Unfortunately to my utter disappointment there has been no sessions of Call of Cthulhu even though I thought there would be some time for it now in the holidays, but I fear once more my friends have grown weary of roleplaying or at best that they simply havn't had any time to play in the last month or so. Who knows?
I got myself a hat by the way. It looks pretty cool.
Happy new year!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Neverwinter Nights 2 controversy
As it seems there's been quite the stir over at 1up after one of their reviewers broke the mold of not giving hyped games at least a 7 or 8 on a 10 scale. The reviewer gave Neverwinter Nights 2 a 5! Obviously they ended up pulling the review - can't have that. No doubt after getting pressured by Bioware/Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro and probably the even more powerful people that probably own Hasbro. A computer game is a multi-million dollar investment after all. Can't have writers that we support with freebies, free games and free booze at conventions write bad reviews.
So I was expecting an awful review when I read it. Sure, it wasn't the greatest or even the worst, but it did make some valid points about how story and immersement have taken a back seat compared to hack & slash and rules in CRPGs. After all, it's been quite a while since I played an RPG as immersive as Fallout 1-2 and Planescape: Torment. Vampire: Bloodlines was quite good though. I still havn't played through Oblivion, so jury is still out on that one.
So right now the debacle over at 1up just seems like a sad case of censorship.
So I was expecting an awful review when I read it. Sure, it wasn't the greatest or even the worst, but it did make some valid points about how story and immersement have taken a back seat compared to hack & slash and rules in CRPGs. After all, it's been quite a while since I played an RPG as immersive as Fallout 1-2 and Planescape: Torment. Vampire: Bloodlines was quite good though. I still havn't played through Oblivion, so jury is still out on that one.
So right now the debacle over at 1up just seems like a sad case of censorship.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Company of Heroes
I've been neglecting my studies a bit too much lately by playing another Relic title, namely Company of Heroes. Very good and addictive game even though I've managed to take a little hiatus now this weekend to study since I've been playing it a lot. The missions are quite long and challenging, so they wear you down after a while. But it's great fun.
Last monday I got my Call of Cthulhu book and it didn't disappoint. We've been playing with an old version, so it was interesting to see how they had done some modification to the ruleset. I also started up another blog, Dr Jack Bundy's blog which features the personal journal of my character in our Call of Cthulhu game. My intention is for my character to keep daily records of the events that he experiences.
I've been looking into getting an MP3 player and it was a tough choice since none really seemed to have all the features I wanted or the price wasn't "right". A crucial thing I wanted was a replacable battery, but hardly any versions seemed to allow that. There was a couple, but then they either missed another feature or didn't have enough space or something else. So I ended up getting a Creative Zen V plus. An okay, cheaper price so in a couple of years when the battery dies I wont feel so bad. Apparently lithium ion batteries that power MP3 players and cell phones lose capacity from their construction date, even if you use them or not. So all you really can do is try and prolong the lifespan as long as possible. I'm hoping though since it was a lithium ion polymer battery which is a newer battery model doesn't lose as much capacity and since its an MP3 player it's hopefully even less. Apparently a laptop lithium ion battery lost 20% year just from normal usage (Wikipedia, 2006).
Study wise it's going alright. We pretty much got top score with the article we wrote. I did an economics knowledge test today that went better than what I had expected. I got two more articles to write, then work on the bachelor paper really begins in a week or so. Then I also have a Business Law class that focuses on negotiation, so I'll be swamped.
Last monday I got my Call of Cthulhu book and it didn't disappoint. We've been playing with an old version, so it was interesting to see how they had done some modification to the ruleset. I also started up another blog, Dr Jack Bundy's blog which features the personal journal of my character in our Call of Cthulhu game. My intention is for my character to keep daily records of the events that he experiences.
I've been looking into getting an MP3 player and it was a tough choice since none really seemed to have all the features I wanted or the price wasn't "right". A crucial thing I wanted was a replacable battery, but hardly any versions seemed to allow that. There was a couple, but then they either missed another feature or didn't have enough space or something else. So I ended up getting a Creative Zen V plus. An okay, cheaper price so in a couple of years when the battery dies I wont feel so bad. Apparently lithium ion batteries that power MP3 players and cell phones lose capacity from their construction date, even if you use them or not. So all you really can do is try and prolong the lifespan as long as possible. I'm hoping though since it was a lithium ion polymer battery which is a newer battery model doesn't lose as much capacity and since its an MP3 player it's hopefully even less. Apparently a laptop lithium ion battery lost 20% year just from normal usage (Wikipedia, 2006).
Study wise it's going alright. We pretty much got top score with the article we wrote. I did an economics knowledge test today that went better than what I had expected. I got two more articles to write, then work on the bachelor paper really begins in a week or so. Then I also have a Business Law class that focuses on negotiation, so I'll be swamped.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
Been trying Dawn of War: Dark Crusade out. The new campaign mode I guess is an improvement because the storyline in the previous campaigns during singleplayer havn't been too good, so not much of a loss there. Definately makes it a bit harder too since the enemy can have maps fortified since previous battles. That works to your own advantage too though.
Now I'm just looking forward to trying it out in multi with my buddies! ;)
Now I'm just looking forward to trying it out in multi with my buddies! ;)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Earn some cash
A semi good way to earn some extra cash if you leave your computer on a lot is at this place. They pay you to use your bandwith.
Today we've continued work on the room; we sealed a door and put a wall there instead because we only want one door leading into the room. We also put up some more plaster boards so you can see the end at the horizon now. My fiancé is having a birthday party on the 25th, so we should be all done before then hopefully.
Today we've continued work on the room; we sealed a door and put a wall there instead because we only want one door leading into the room. We also put up some more plaster boards so you can see the end at the horizon now. My fiancé is having a birthday party on the 25th, so we should be all done before then hopefully.
Power done
So today we finally completed setting up the power in the room we're renovating. We only blew one fuse, so that's good.
Otherwise not much happening. Waiting for my law exam results and for my Call of Cthulhu book to arrive. Also wish it would be the 11th of november soon so my Medieval II: Total War collector's edition would show up.
Back to my economics book now for the exciting world of supply and demand.
Otherwise not much happening. Waiting for my law exam results and for my Call of Cthulhu book to arrive. Also wish it would be the 11th of november soon so my Medieval II: Total War collector's edition would show up.
Back to my economics book now for the exciting world of supply and demand.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Hound from hell
There was an incident this friday that I forgot to bring to public attention.
I woke up early in the morning, around seven and it was still very dark outside. The cries of our deaf cat awoke me. It was sitting in the bedroom window, looking out... So I sat up and there it was, just a couple of meters from the window stood some fiendish looking dog and it was staring at us. After a few seconds of its piercing gaze it leapt off, disappearing within the blink of an eye. An omen of things that were to come...
Since our session was cancelled, I ended up doing a lot of studying. I catched up on the article reading for my informatics as a science class and read ahead too. Then I caught up on some economics studies as well, which basically is a straggler course that I havn't completed yet.
I also had time for some Age of Empires III, but it isn't much of a challenge now in Act III because of all the possible shipments you can get from your home town.
I also heard a rumor that my friend might bring the Robotech MUSH back online. That would be great. Would be fun to login once in a while just to try the good old veritechs out again.
I woke up early in the morning, around seven and it was still very dark outside. The cries of our deaf cat awoke me. It was sitting in the bedroom window, looking out... So I sat up and there it was, just a couple of meters from the window stood some fiendish looking dog and it was staring at us. After a few seconds of its piercing gaze it leapt off, disappearing within the blink of an eye. An omen of things that were to come...
Since our session was cancelled, I ended up doing a lot of studying. I catched up on the article reading for my informatics as a science class and read ahead too. Then I caught up on some economics studies as well, which basically is a straggler course that I havn't completed yet.
I also had time for some Age of Empires III, but it isn't much of a challenge now in Act III because of all the possible shipments you can get from your home town.
I also heard a rumor that my friend might bring the Robotech MUSH back online. That would be great. Would be fun to login once in a while just to try the good old veritechs out again.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Dell, Gateway and other bastards
After reading about how Dell and Gateway are running over a swedish inventor in the US court system to try and steal his patent and not pay for the patent they're using, I too want to jump on the boycott Dell and Gateway bandwagon.
It is a miscarriage of justice because the swedish inventor is in the right because it's his patents, but he is basically being run over by US judges judging in the favor of US corporations because of technicalities. Technicalities which are the result of his prior lawyers alledgedly being corrupt and being in bed with Dell and Gateway.
So on the editorial today in Computer Sweden there was a call for
a boycott of these two companies which I fully endorse.
Speaking of other bastards, we were supposed to have another session Call of Cthulhu today, so I had been planning for this for a few days making the neccessary planning etc. My g/f went to visit her mom and so forth. And guess what? Of course a couple of hours before play, even though he had said he was on for the session, one of the players cancels because he thinks it would be dull with only three people attending. Three is like our standard attendance rate. The other guy at least had an excuse and he never said he was on.
If it is so dull for him, what does he think it is for me having the session cancelled the last minute so I'm unable to make other plans? I got a whole lot of better stuff to do than sit around and wait for if people can be bothered to keep their word or not. I just find it so disrespectul cancelling in the last minute with no concern for the time I had invested, especially for such a lame excuse as that it would be "dull". I only got one thing to say to that, I've played loads of times with only three attending and if you think that's dull its because you're dull.
Sure, more the merrier, but it just seems like such a dumb excuse. Oh well, I guess some people think their time is more important than others. At least I can lie safely at rest knowing that Cthulhu will make them pay dearly...
It is a miscarriage of justice because the swedish inventor is in the right because it's his patents, but he is basically being run over by US judges judging in the favor of US corporations because of technicalities. Technicalities which are the result of his prior lawyers alledgedly being corrupt and being in bed with Dell and Gateway.
So on the editorial today in Computer Sweden there was a call for
a boycott of these two companies which I fully endorse.
Speaking of other bastards, we were supposed to have another session Call of Cthulhu today, so I had been planning for this for a few days making the neccessary planning etc. My g/f went to visit her mom and so forth. And guess what? Of course a couple of hours before play, even though he had said he was on for the session, one of the players cancels because he thinks it would be dull with only three people attending. Three is like our standard attendance rate. The other guy at least had an excuse and he never said he was on.
If it is so dull for him, what does he think it is for me having the session cancelled the last minute so I'm unable to make other plans? I got a whole lot of better stuff to do than sit around and wait for if people can be bothered to keep their word or not. I just find it so disrespectul cancelling in the last minute with no concern for the time I had invested, especially for such a lame excuse as that it would be "dull". I only got one thing to say to that, I've played loads of times with only three attending and if you think that's dull its because you're dull.
Sure, more the merrier, but it just seems like such a dumb excuse. Oh well, I guess some people think their time is more important than others. At least I can lie safely at rest knowing that Cthulhu will make them pay dearly...
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Internet Explorer 7 and change
So I downloaded the new IE today. I recall back in the 90ths when they used to release a new version every month, but those days are now long gone. So far it looks good, just that I get the impression that the fonts look slightly different. Probably something to get used to.
Speaking of getting used to things, its now once again painfully clear that a lot of people don't seem to like change. Change must seem pretty scary to all of those who are whining about the decisions being made by the new swedish government. They seem to think the changes actually amount to a whole lot of change, but I for one don't think so. The changes are pretty minimal. A little less money there, a little more money there and it pretty much equals zero change, give or take a hundred SEK in either direction. It's not that much of a difference. Basically the same as the last government who did the same thing; raised child care benefits by x amount and raised the tax by the double at the same time. So give it a rest.
Speaking of getting used to things, its now once again painfully clear that a lot of people don't seem to like change. Change must seem pretty scary to all of those who are whining about the decisions being made by the new swedish government. They seem to think the changes actually amount to a whole lot of change, but I for one don't think so. The changes are pretty minimal. A little less money there, a little more money there and it pretty much equals zero change, give or take a hundred SEK in either direction. It's not that much of a difference. Basically the same as the last government who did the same thing; raised child care benefits by x amount and raised the tax by the double at the same time. So give it a rest.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Power
Power at last! Today the work on the room we're renovating continued. We pulled some power cables, so things are shaping up. My dad also put up the last of the zanda tiles on the roof so now the roof is about 95% done.
In class our lecturer talked about the importance of ethics in our up coming bachelor thesis.
In class our lecturer talked about the importance of ethics in our up coming bachelor thesis.
Monday, October 16, 2006
A week of peril is over
Today was the last day to submit our article and report for our class, so it's been another tough 24 hours. We were up doing some finishing touches until like an hour past midnight. My and my teammember collaberate over MSN. After that I finished an abstract on a guest lecture.. So I probably didn't fall asleep until past 3 am and I needed to get up by 7 am. Needless to say I failed that roll ;) 4 hours is usually minimum for me to be able to mount enough willpower to get up, so I probably had less than that. After a while I managed to get up though, but I missed the morning class. Wasn't much of a big deal though.
When I arrived in Lund by train I was once more greeted by the people handing out free papers at the train station. I ended up thinking to myself that this must be the peak of capitalism and competition, reps dying to give me free papers and I don't even have to choose! I can get all of them!
So then we worked another few hours on the submissions at the university, and we got done in time.
I had a law exam this saturday by the way. I still feel quite content about managing to study for it and go in there and get it done.
Take care people!
When I arrived in Lund by train I was once more greeted by the people handing out free papers at the train station. I ended up thinking to myself that this must be the peak of capitalism and competition, reps dying to give me free papers and I don't even have to choose! I can get all of them!
So then we worked another few hours on the submissions at the university, and we got done in time.
I had a law exam this saturday by the way. I still feel quite content about managing to study for it and go in there and get it done.
Take care people!
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Another night of horror
Woah... My character Dr. Jack Bundy sure is losing his marbles fast in Call of Cthulhu... It's been another night of investigation into the Cthulhu mythos. Exciting and scary session.
Here's a journal entry from my character:
Worst part was when I got home from leaving my friends at the train... When I heard things moving outside in the dark... in the forest. Maybe they're watching the house now?
Here's a journal entry from my character:
I'm starting to hear and see things...- Dr. Jack Bundy
Worst part was when I got home from leaving my friends at the train... When I heard things moving outside in the dark... in the forest. Maybe they're watching the house now?
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Call of Cthulhu
After beating the game I decided to preorder the 6th edition rule book. I hope our Call of Cthulhu (CoC) storyteller wont be too mad with me. I just intend to read up on the game rules and I'll save the rest for when I intend to run my own adventure. I was considering to run it in Kult, but I might prefer running it in CoC. So roleplaying games aside, most of the day has been spent writing a scientific article on system development.
I and my colleague have performed a couple of interviews which unfortunately didn't quite give us the answers we had expected. We're looking into use of methods in practice and the discrepancy between how methods are said to be used and really used. Another aspect we're looking at is their political role.
Time to head back to the drawing board!
I and my colleague have performed a couple of interviews which unfortunately didn't quite give us the answers we had expected. We're looking into use of methods in practice and the discrepancy between how methods are said to be used and really used. Another aspect we're looking at is their political role.
Time to head back to the drawing board!
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The end is at hand
I just beat Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth... Damn scary game. Sure leaves you feeling uneasy... My character was clinically insane... to say the least.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
A student's life
Hey!
The last few hours have been pretty rough. Had an assignment due this morning at 8 am, and I wasn't done until 2:30 am. So didn't get much sleep, but I think my assignment turned out pretty well. We've been having written assignments pretty much every day for a while now, so now today when I have none it feels wierd. Tomorrow we only have a mandatory guest lecture. Early again.
My friend had neglected to call the other players until today when we're supposed to have our session tomorrow, so I doubt they'll be availible on such short notice! Too bad, I was looking forward to playing.
The last few hours have been pretty rough. Had an assignment due this morning at 8 am, and I wasn't done until 2:30 am. So didn't get much sleep, but I think my assignment turned out pretty well. We've been having written assignments pretty much every day for a while now, so now today when I have none it feels wierd. Tomorrow we only have a mandatory guest lecture. Early again.
My friend had neglected to call the other players until today when we're supposed to have our session tomorrow, so I doubt they'll be availible on such short notice! Too bad, I was looking forward to playing.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Mistakes
Found out today that in class that the pages we've been told to read and write abstracts on were actually wrong. Apparently the references pointed to the pages in the old book, even though they specifically said that the new version of the book was the official book to use. So no wonder I've felt a slight mismatch in what I've been reading and what the lectures have focused on. Would suck if this lead to a worse grade.
Worst part though was that I was up much later than what I had to, reading a longer chapter than what I was supposed to.
One of my friends in class was really pissed, but the riot never came.
I still havn't heard from my friend about this friday's game of Call of Cthulhu... Hopefully I will hear from him soon... Hope nothing has happened to him...
Worst part though was that I was up much later than what I had to, reading a longer chapter than what I was supposed to.
One of my friends in class was really pissed, but the riot never came.
I still havn't heard from my friend about this friday's game of Call of Cthulhu... Hopefully I will hear from him soon... Hope nothing has happened to him...
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Progress
Another day of progress in the renovation. Hopefully it will be done soon, but I fear it might take a while yet since studies take up a lot of time. I will be commencing on my bachelor thesis soon, so unless I fall prey to the writing thesis slacker curse I should pretty much have that degree in my pocket by januari. And then after that onward to get my master.
Anyway, back to my exciting book on System Development Methodology !
Anyway, back to my exciting book on System Development Methodology !
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Deep Ones
Hello everyone!
So Friday's session of Call of Cthulhu was quite exciting. The introductory adventure made for sort of a slow start, but it definately picked up past midnight so now I'm definately looking forward to the next session. Hopefully the coming weekend.
My character is a psychiatrist named Dr Jack Bundy and needless to say, he has taken his first step towards insanity. I pray his schooling will at least prolong the inevadable.
I also had a chance to preorder Medieval II: Total War - Collectors Edition. That series is definately a favorite and I recommend it to everyone. Quite enjoyable to be a general of an army.
Today we went to pick up our new dog, Tezla; an 8 week Jack Russel. She is very tiny! Things are going well so far. Since previously we have two other dogs, which one of is another Jack Russel.
Keep reading!
So Friday's session of Call of Cthulhu was quite exciting. The introductory adventure made for sort of a slow start, but it definately picked up past midnight so now I'm definately looking forward to the next session. Hopefully the coming weekend.
My character is a psychiatrist named Dr Jack Bundy and needless to say, he has taken his first step towards insanity. I pray his schooling will at least prolong the inevadable.
I also had a chance to preorder Medieval II: Total War - Collectors Edition. That series is definately a favorite and I recommend it to everyone. Quite enjoyable to be a general of an army.
Today we went to pick up our new dog, Tezla; an 8 week Jack Russel. She is very tiny! Things are going well so far. Since previously we have two other dogs, which one of is another Jack Russel.
Keep reading!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Midnight Mayhem
I was discussing the upcoming session this Friday with the storyteller to be... Nedless to say he is a bit worried about how it will go and what we'll think of his performance... or what we will do to him if he fails.
Oh I'm sure he has nothing to worry about...
Oh I'm sure he has nothing to worry about...
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Call of Cthulhu
Hello readers!
Today was a fairly long day at university. Swedish university days aren't typically very long, as the focus in some subjects lie heavily on self-study. This includes informatics which I'm taking. Today we ended up having some quite interesting discussions on Information System Development (ISD) methods. Are they any good or not? Formalized methods seem to have seen their glory days.
I'm looking forward to this friday because our roleplaying group is having one of its very sporadic sessions - at last!
I've been playing Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth on the PC a lot recently. They've really managed to capture a sense of dread and horror in that game, so I wanted to try the tabletop version out. Luckily a friend of mine has been dying to storytell an adventure or two of it, so that is probably what this friday has in store. I've told him though I expect the same scares as I get in the pc game though, just so he knows the pressure is on.
Today was a fairly long day at university. Swedish university days aren't typically very long, as the focus in some subjects lie heavily on self-study. This includes informatics which I'm taking. Today we ended up having some quite interesting discussions on Information System Development (ISD) methods. Are they any good or not? Formalized methods seem to have seen their glory days.
I'm looking forward to this friday because our roleplaying group is having one of its very sporadic sessions - at last!
I've been playing Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth on the PC a lot recently. They've really managed to capture a sense of dread and horror in that game, so I wanted to try the tabletop version out. Luckily a friend of mine has been dying to storytell an adventure or two of it, so that is probably what this friday has in store. I've told him though I expect the same scares as I get in the pc game though, just so he knows the pressure is on.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Genesis
Hello everybody!
As you might or might now this blog has lied dormant for a while, but now I hope for that to change. I signed up here so long ago I had actually forgotten about it, so it was quite a surprise to find my previous post here! An eerie feeling came over me.
Now for a little about myself. My name is Patrick and I'm currently enrolled at the University of Lund, Sweden, studying to become a System developer. I hope to write a little about everything, but my main interest to write about will be games.
I have a history of making websites that have games as the focal point. One of my very first sites was a quite successful site about Final Fantasy III, which I still recall as a very enjoyable game even though its been years since I've played it.
Besides computer games I also enjoy tabletop roleplaying where I carry the burden of being the storyteller for a not so bright group. Perhaps I will tell of our tales as well.
So I hope you stay tuned as we head into the world of games!
Regards,
Patrick
As you might or might now this blog has lied dormant for a while, but now I hope for that to change. I signed up here so long ago I had actually forgotten about it, so it was quite a surprise to find my previous post here! An eerie feeling came over me.
Now for a little about myself. My name is Patrick and I'm currently enrolled at the University of Lund, Sweden, studying to become a System developer. I hope to write a little about everything, but my main interest to write about will be games.
I have a history of making websites that have games as the focal point. One of my very first sites was a quite successful site about Final Fantasy III, which I still recall as a very enjoyable game even though its been years since I've played it.
Besides computer games I also enjoy tabletop roleplaying where I carry the burden of being the storyteller for a not so bright group. Perhaps I will tell of our tales as well.
So I hope you stay tuned as we head into the world of games!
Regards,
Patrick
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