Fatal_Papercut~SPARTA~

Your GameStops must be way cooler than the ones where I live. Although Utah has the highest number of gaming consoles per household per capita (US), no one seems to care about midnight launches; they usually consist of 4 store clerks and 10 customers. Since I can't play the game until 1am my local time, maybe I'll go down to one of the stores in my area (there are 3 that I know of within 5 miles of my home) just to see who shows up. If there's anything interesting, I'll take pics, too. P.S. It's a lovely 60-degrees F right now where I'm at.

P.S.: Yes, my monitor's native resolution is 1921x1081. It was imported from South Korea, and it's that extra line of resolution on each axis that gives the Koreans the competitive edge in StarCraft.

Pffft...the graphics in BF3 look better.

Noobiachi is correct; the video we recorded with Evan will be featured in the 3rd episode of "PC Gamer GenitalDigital", available exclusively through Steam. Each episode is $1.99; I'm not certain if it's available in the UK at this time, but if it's not, it will be available soon. So, if you only wanna blow $1.99 on the episode we'll be starring in, wait until the episode that will be released during the week beginning October 9th (I don't know what the exact release date will be--Tuesday, perhaps?) I am going to hit Evan up for a standalone copy of the video so that LoS members and friends can enjoy it without ponying-up any coin.

While Apple's products have never suited my tastes, that fact does not diminish my respect for the man that founded the Apple Empire. I consider myself fortunate to have lived during an era that he helped to shape. Best wishes to Steve's family, friends, and colleagues, whom I'm sure will carry on his considerable legacy.

The better ol' days. The CGW Museum

Thanks for this recommendation. "Free" certainly beats what some of the commercial packages are asking for. I will give it a go this morning.

I've been a user of the Acronis True Image software for a few years now, but it's been quite some time since I last upgraded to the latest version. With the release of Acronis True Image Home 2012 and a barrage of emails from the company offering the software at a substantial discount, I decided to bite. Right out of the gate, there were problems: I could not install the software. The new version--being an upgrade--required me to enter the serial # of my old version, which the software did not recognize as being valid. After 45 minutes of online chats with two of their support representatives, it turns out that there is a "known issue" with upgrade activations, and currently the only way to activate an upgrade version is to allow one of their tech reps to remote access your machine to do some registry editing. I normally would have balked at this idea, but I really needed to run some back-ups, so I let them do it. One of the great features of past Acronis products is that, from the Windows environment, it could do a back-up of the actual drive Windows was installed on. Some products cannot do this. This is great because it makes good use of fast, multi-core CPUs for compressing the back-up files. It significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to do large backups. Unfortunately, there is a "known issue" with this feature in the current version where you can't back up your boot drive, at least not from within Windows (you have to use the bootable media to do it). Furthermore, Acronis is supposed to be able to recognize NAS devices as valid backup sources, but again, there is a "known issue" where they are currently not supported. So, the only means I had to do any sort of backup was to use the tool to create a bootable CD or USB drive (I did both, of course) and start my backups from that Linux environment. Unfortunately, there is a "known issue" that causes the Linux-based bootable rescue media to crash during the loading process, causing the PC to reboot. So, to recap, after 2 hours of chats with the Acronis tech reps, I learned that: you can't install it, you can't create backups of the boot drive from Windows, and you can't create a working recovery disc/drive. Would it be a bit redundant for me to say that I would not recommend this product?

My money says that none of the people in the video are PC gamers. Everything they're doing screams "Xbox LIVE!" console-noob to me.

As a fully licensed nerd, I actually do watch all of the credits at the end of a game. Even so, 25-minutes-worth of self-adulation seems a bit excessive. I have yet to touch the game myself, so it will be some time before I get to experience this myself. But thanks for the heads-up. Now I know I can take a break and get some dinner when the credits start to roll.

Thanks for that link--I just downloaded the Kindle version to my phone. How could I pass on a book with that title? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE 'NET IS DOING TO MY BRAIN! Of course, my post was intended to give people a bit of a chuckle--even the person involved obviously thought their ignorance on the subject was somewhat amusing. But Rooster does have a good point: it's somewhat disturbing to think that an event such as this can go unnoticed by someone living just down the road from where it is happening. I would imagine--or at least hope--that this is generally the exception, not the rule. P.S. I've been up far too long as I write this; I have no idea if I should be hopeful, cynical, or apathetic.

A recent conversation I had with a Steam buddy regarding recent world events: ** EDIT ** It's worth noting that this person lives perhaps 40 miles from London.

Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes. @Gunthar: we should recreate the incident in Arma2 and put it up on YouTube.

I got tail-ended by a woman that was texting while driving. If it had just been a fender-bender, I would have been ok, but I was exiting the interstate at the time, so the nudge pushed me into the concrete lane barrier/divider, that's what caused all the damage. I'm sure I'll have some nice pictures from my insurance agency. I don't even know what my car looks like right now, but it's probably not very pretty.

For those that may have been curious about my recent absence: I was in an auto accident. Since I'm typing this up, obviously I'm ok, but a bit banged up. I have a broken left arm, a concussion, whiplash, and a bit of glass in my left eye (the pirate look is definitely not for me). I won't be up to fast-action gaming for a bit. My good eye fatigues very quickly since I'm not used to focusing that way, and this damn cast on my arm/hand keeps pressing down on unwanted keys like ctrl, alt, space, etc. I feel like crap, but I'm also happy to be relatively intact. ** EDIT ** other good news: looks like I didn't miss any big Steam sales...did I?

Howdy folks, Thanks again for everyone's participation! As predicted, the last shot we filmed took quite a bit of practice and a few takes to get right, but I can assure you it was well worth it. As soon as Evan can talk openly about where and when this video will be posted, we'll be the first to know. Thank you again! F_P

Howdy folks, We have but one scene left to film for Evan, and we need more than a handful of people to pull it off. All you need is Combined Ops, no mods needed (or allowed, for that matter). We can get by with 8 people; if we can get 10, than would be super. Start time will be Wednesday, July 27th, at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific. Sorry for the late hour, particularly for those of you on the other side of the world, but it is what works best for Evan's schedule. I know that there's a pretty sizable group of regulars that play Arma in the evenings, albeit on the weekends. If you could set aside perhaps 90 minutes of your time to help us get this last shot, you help would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime, thanks again for everyone that has helped out so far. The video we've captured looks great, and everything has gone smoothly thanks to everyone following directions. See y'all tomorrow night! F_P

Update: today's sessions, July 26th, will not begin until 6pm Eastern. otherwise, same details as before. Update: today's sessions, July 26th, will not begin until 6pm Eastern. otherwise, same details as before.

Howdy folks, Today, Monday, July 25th, we begin filming the project for PC Gamer. Anyone that wishes to participate is welcome. Unlike the other videos we've done recently, we are not doing mission play. We will be recording set scenes, and we will likely be doing multiple takes for each scene. If you wish to take part, all we ask is that you follow given directions. Once we begin recording a scene, we ask that you keep comms clear until we're done with the current take. Other than the above, this will be a pretty casual and easy going endeavor. If you only have time to stick around to help in one or two scenes, that is ok. Any help is welcome. There are only a couple of big scenes that require 8-10 people. Other than that, most scenes only need 2-5 people. We begin today at 2PM Pacific/5PM Eastern (and I believe that would be 10PM for those of you on Big Ben Time). ** PLEASE DO NOT RUN ANY MODS ** All you need to participate is Combined Ops. Everything will be done in Chenarus. We will be doing this again at the same time on Tuesday, July 26th, if we do not capture all of the required footage today. Thanks, F_P

Howdy folks, To answer JHunter's question and for everyone else's benefits, YES, Join-In-Progress is absolutely acceptable. We're not running TAC missions or anything like that, we're just going to repeating certain actions until we get a good shot while doing so, then move on to the next shot. Some shot only require a handful of people; some shots will require 8-10 people if we haved that many show up. Evan and I have a scene-by-scene breakdown, including how many people we'll need for each shot. When we have a lot of people on, we'll shoot the bigger scenes; when it's just a handful of us, we shoot the small scenes. Feel free to come and hang with us! We could use you!

Thanks for posting this, Batwing. Now when someone complains about our co-op videos and tells us how much better Warfare mode is, we can just tell them to watch this video and leave us alone.

Howdy folks, I spoke with Evan today, and he sent me an email outlining exactly what he wants to see in this video. He also told me that, once completed, "the video will be in a highly visible place" on the web. It looks like all he needs is people to control soldiers for the scenes outline below. The bold text is what Evan sent me: Here?s my first draft on our shot sheet. Sorry if it?s a bit incongruent in terms of the detail expressed in the shots?for some, I have a really clear idea of what we precisely need to capture. For others, I?m less intent on a specific composition. As written, the quotes won?t be the literal/final VO?they convey the spirit of each section of captured footage. Another thing I haven?t done is thought specifically on how we can get more characters into some of these shots. The focus is definitely on having one soldier embody the viewer?we?re creating a guide, so there?s value, visually, in having us do a lot of isolated shots on that single character. But I?m not opposed to working in more players when it gives us a better shot, obviously. Is there any way we can capture this on a weekday, even next week? Let me know if you think that?s a possibility. Also, let me know if you notice any impossibilities/points of difficulty in creating missions that accommodate the shots as I?ve laid them out below. We do have some flexibility. If it?s easier, let?s get on the phone about this tomorrow/sometime this week so I can answer any questions you have and we can sync up. Shot list: ?Helicopters think they?re better than you.? * Helicopter hovering, completely still 1m off the ground on a runway, surrounded by 6-8 hooker characters and other ?sexy? female Arma models (all different colors, if duplicate models), +1 non-sexy female character. Female characters are still or walking slowly around/in front of the chopper. Player model visible in the foreground of the frame, sitting cross-legged, facing away from helicopter * General glamor shots of different helicopters?captured in-cockpit AND as spectator camera * Aggressive air maneuvering, rising over horizon, firing all weapons, shooting tanks, flying low to the ground, paradropping personnel ?Helicopters are a nuisance for the infantryman.? * Individual soldiers being killed by different helicopter weapons (mixture of first-person and ground level and air camera coverage) * Squads fleeing, being killed by different helicopter weapons ?Step 1: Get a machine gun.? * Soldier grabbing machinegun from a crate * Soldier killing, then running to a downed enemy and retrieving their MG (showing gear menu, etc) * Close-up on a pile of varied Arma machineguns collected on pavement or high-contrast ground ?Step 2: Find a helicopter.? * Third-person camera of soldier running (w/out MG) using free look to look left, right, up, down, spectator following him, capturing as he does this. Soldier then stops (preferably at a hill), spots something in the distance, pulls out rangefinder (capture this as specator and in first-person). * Through the rangefinder, at 400+ meters (preferably in some mild cover/trees, so it isn?t evident what?s being seen until we get closer), helicopter is seen hovering off the ground, in a ?date scene? with one of the female characters from 1A. The helicopter and the woman are facing one another, with a table or other ?date object? in between them. We also capture this scene as a close-up. VO: ?Oh look, there?s one.? b. ?Look, there?s one over there!? ?Step 3: Get Prone.? * Symmetrical demonstration of low accuracy while firing an MG standing up... * Secondary shot of bullets pinging around the cockpit from ~300m, many misses a. ...versus prone. * Secondary shot of bullets pinging around the cockpit from ~300m, more hits b. Shot of our soldier, now with MG, getting prone and into the eventual position we?ll have him firing from * ?Aim...? * Focused spectator footage of the helicopter?s tail rotor?close-ups, rotating pans on the tail rotor, with the blades in motion First-person footage of the ironsights/scope focused on the tail rotor ?...Fire!? * Machinegunner lying prone, facing airborne helicopter at range of ~300m. Camera is ~3m behind machinegunner?s right shoulder, at ground level, with all of machinegunner?s body visible. * Forward-facing shot of machinegunner opening fire while prone * Close-up on tail rotor being hit, then destroyed, continue to watch as helicopter tumbles to the ground and explodes ?Cool guys don?t look at explosions? * Close-up on machinegunner wearing aviator sunglasses, walking (not running) forward calmly, camera backpedaling slowly to follow him as he walks forward, keeping equal distance from character. We?ll capture the character walking forward for ~10 seconds, then, in the background (at the minimum distance to not damage the player) 5+ helicopters crash behind him one at a time, 1-2 seconds apart, preferably at awkward/varied angles (not all of them should nose-dive). Quick ?What if...? bonus videos: 9. ?What if...we used an ATV * Footage of an ATV colliding with a helicopter in midair, causing an explosion 10. ?What if...we only had a pistol?? * For this, we?re filming a trickshot; firing a pistol at the cockpit at maximum range, with one camera on the soldier (?here?), and one close-up on the cockpit (?there?) simultaneously 11. [Any other creative ways of killing helicopters that we?d like to shoot] I will be doing the video capture along with other people in the PC Gamer office. Dai-San will be gone because of his move, but I need one person that is decent at piloting a chopper AND has a high-end system to Fraps the in-cockpit view. So, Rooster, Hajimoto, and anyone else up to filling that role? That's it! I think we could pull this off without much preparation, but if anyone is up for practicing any of these things over the weekend, I will try to organize something. Filming begins on Monday, July 25th, at 5pm Eastern. I will try to create mission files that will include the necessary assets required for the video. Although we won't be using anything like ACE, Evan did say that we are more than welcome to use a custom map if we think it would look better than any of the stock maps in Arma/OA. Any suggestions?

UPDATE: Here is the latest info from Evan: "Thanks for the follow-up. Supremely glad to have your guys? participation and experience on-hand for this. Let me address your Q?we don?t need you to edit anything, nope! We simply need cameramen, actors, and possibly scripters. We?ve got an in-house video team. Thanks for the additional details, I love the ideas you presented. We definitely want footage of an ATV ramping off into a helicopter, that?s hilarious. We?re definitely going to want to capture some crazy shots. Next steps: · I?m going to create a shot list of everything we want to capture, delivered to you tomorrow. That?ll give you a clear idea of how many people we?ll need (my estimate: 6 total, including us) and what scripting might be necessary. · Let?s set a date for capturing. Can we do it this week? · Feel free to pass along your camera operator mod when you have a chance! For most scenes, I think we may have two in-game cameras operating (you, and me.) That may vary, though." So, the humor angle is definitely what Evan is looking for. As noted above, it sounds like he has some specific sequences he's like us to film, and it sounds like he also would like us to come up with things of our own. Again, going with the most recent post, if Jeff's idea is possible, I'd like to give it and anything else a shot. I will try to make myself available in the evening for the remainder of this week to test any ideas that any one wants to try out. As with our previous projects, I've told Evan that the weekends are probably the best time to try to pull this off.

Here are a couple of maps I think are worth trying: City 17 Suicide Blitz 2 Blood Tracks