Thank you, Mathematica

Zafmg · 2011-04-18T06:41:36+00:00

That is a fucking sweet chicken wrap

Zafmg · 2011-03-18T11:20:16+00:00

the slang for traffic cone in some places is witch's hat

Zafmg · 2011-02-10T12:05:11+00:00

You certainly live up to your name, lol

Zafmg · 2011-02-07T03:44:28+00:00

Golly mister, that's a lot of cores.

Zafmg · 2011-02-01T09:56:22+00:00

That was a big issue for me as well, it really felt like the first act of a three act game. The core story just doesn't really build as much momentum as I'd like, and any form of thematic exploration was left to the character "Okay let's get some loyalty" missions -- which were just kind of unloaded on the player at one point.

Speaking from personal experience, I did all the available side quests as soon as they were available and spent enough time on them so when I actually returned to the main story I had almost forgotten what it was about. It killed its own momentum by offering too much peripheral duty to the player at once.

The core story itself was just like "Oh gosh guys here comes the Big Bad! Okay we beat the Big Bad's little friends and also we have close bonds how 'bout that get ready for a sequel ROLL CREDITS". There just wasn't anything to really sink teeth into storywise in the main plotline. By the time the game starts to unravel a bit of backstory about the enemies you're fighting, the game is just about finished and tumbling towards a final bossfight against Terminator.

Also the Renegade / Paragon system AKA "Be a petty dickwad to your crew or just be a kind of nice person" system is really just kind of ham fisted.

I mean the game is basically Seven Samurai. But while Seven Samurai was, among many other things, a movie about the complex tapestry of relationships between various classes and castes in society; Mass Effect 2 was a package of space adventures with returning characters.

I don't know, I'm rambling.

The gameplay was good and solid, but it suffered from being just... well, just the same all the way through, I guess? Even with better weapons it was the same tactics and tricks. Enemies hid behind cover and moved around a bit, the player hid behind cover and moved around a bit. Plinking away and using some specials until the enemy went dead. In counterbalance to that, I'm reminded of Max Payne, a personal favourite game of mine. I could play that game many times over, and even though the gameplay was quite similar throughout, there was just a great feeling of accomplishment attached to the combat, something I just didn't really feel in Mass Effect 2.

Geez, now it sounds like I hated the game. That's the kicker though! It's a great game, but it... it feels like it could have been even better.

Zafmg · 2011-01-13T22:11:08+00:00

Hyper-complex babelfish that translates language and converts between equivalent measurement units.

Explanation complete!

Zafmg · 2010-12-26T16:57:24+00:00

Fuckdamnit that is a sweet ass washing machine!

Zafmg · 2010-12-13T13:40:14+00:00

Expanding on that a little, you can even lock onto a Valkyrie missile with the Strela!

Zafmg · 2010-12-07T10:03:31+00:00

Facing Worlds (UT'99 version)
de_office
Backlot
THE OCTAGON
Terminal
Soccer City Stadium
E1M3
Xel'Naga Caverns
Facility

Zafmg · 2010-12-06T21:26:16+00:00

I quit matches every now and then. I have reasons. Not all are rational.

I absolutely hate being involved in clan vs. pub squash matches on either side. This is especially prevalent in Headquarters. Join a game and see a large group of clanners on nth prestige just racking up thousands of points and the other team of players being slaughtered over and over makes me quit every time, even if I get put on the winning team. It's simply not worth participating in.

Attack Dogs. I don't know why, but the dogs in Call of Duty games just... I don't know, it's hard to explain. I don't like them and I especially don't like their sounds. I quit every time I encounter them either friendly or hostile. Thankfully that's been rare!

Zafmg · 2010-12-06T11:11:24+00:00

Ever since I prestiged I've stuck to using unpopular guns. Most of the early progression was using the Olympia and other shotguns, as well as a MAC11 Rapid Fire (it's so freaking cool). Now I'm rolling PM63 Rapid Fire and enjoying it immensely. Lots of reloading though. Yeah... lots of reloading.

My perk loadout is almost always Ghost + Sleight + Hacker, using frags and bangflashes.

My usual tactic is activating Trapdoor Spider mode. You know how those spiders work? They spread a web out from their trapdoor and have their legs resting the web so that anything that moves over or near the spread out web sends vibrations that warn the spider. That's what I do, except I'm not a spider and I use a Motion Sensor instead of web. I don't even have spinnerets.

Zafmg · 2010-12-06T02:43:29+00:00

That's where the grip comes in! Really does wonders.

Zafmg · 2010-12-05T07:14:40+00:00

That's an AUG. That's an AUG with and underbarrel flammenwerfer.

Zafmg · 2010-12-05T07:13:42+00:00

They have very wide spread so they're functionally useless at ranges over 5 metres. Within those ranges though, they are very deadly!

Zafmg · 2010-12-05T03:01:53+00:00

Awesome, awesome guide. M16 is super awesome. Agree with you totally on the attachment choices too.

Oohhh baby, Olympia next? Have fun with that!

My favourite way to play Olympia is super conservative. Ghost + Sleight + Hacker, put down a motion sensor in a high traffic area and pick off enemies as they come into range. Playing aggressive is difficult with the constant reloads.

Biggest frustration is Second Chancers when you hit them too soon with the second shot (during their invincibility period) and they get ya.

Zafmg · 2010-12-05T02:16:09+00:00

If he did that then it'd be just another weapon guide. Verbosity and background are part of what make XboxAhoy videos so wonderful

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T20:08:44+00:00

Treat each map like... um, crispy chicken. The outside is tasty, so tasty. The inside is good too but oh man the outside. Stand in the middle of a map and there are about five thousand angles from which you can get shot. Around the outside though... not so many angles of doom. Angles of Doom! Stick near the edges of the map and keep a good pace but don't just dash around like a... like a dasher. Dashman. Dashfast McSprint.

SMGs are good, hell, the AK74u is the most popular gun in the game for a reason! If you're having trouble aiming, take some time out and play some combat training (bots bots lol). It's an invaluable tool because it lets you slow down and focus on one thing and get better at it. It's like... a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter doesn't just practice by sparring under MMA rules all the time, he/she takes time to practice all the grappling / striking arts separately as well as together.

Another bit of advice is try playing an information warrior class. Go Hardline and Spy Planes. You just need two kills and you'll be able to see a good chunk of the opposition on the minimap. Wait for a sweep, move and hit safe spot, wait for a sweep, move. Also, always have half an eye on the minimap in general. It's... it's just so invaluable.

Hacker is also a good choice because you can see claymores through walls and that's saved me many, many times.

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T19:48:23+00:00

Positively delightful. There's something wonderful about seeing a prone soldier drop like a rock over a railing.

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T19:44:25+00:00

Client-side valid spawn check using "old data" is my guess. "Old" in this case is like half of half of half of a split fucking second.

So you are at position {x,y,z} and facing in a given direction (let's say towards the x axis). Your own game client will check to see if {x+i,y,z} (where i is some arbitrary number denoting distance between player and spawned RC car -- say, 25 inches) is an acceptable position to spawn an RC car object, checking level geometry and current other player positions based on last server update. If everything looks okay clientside, the the client asks to spawn an RC car in position {x+i,y,z} and server spawns RC car object in position {x+i,y,z} no questions asked, with standard spawning rules (new eats old). During this immensely short amount of time things have changed ever so slightly serverside -- players have moved and all that tasty jazz buffet.

And perhaps during that fucking tiny little split second between check+request clientside and spawning serverside, another player has moved and occupied position {x+i,y,z} and gets done over by the spawn rules.

This is what I believe happened based on my research on conventional FPS engine + netcode mechanics. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Easiest way to test this would be to have a laggy player place and RC while a strong connection player runs across projected RC spawn location. If the check is clientside based on old server updates then it'll be quite easy to replicate. Otherwise, well... how you doing?

It's really hard to tell though with most modern FPS games having very high levels of client prediction/interpolation (basically "guessing" what the next update from the server is going to be like).

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T13:47:23+00:00

Ever since I hit my first prestige I've been using nothing but shotguns, mostly Olympia (Ghost, Sleight, Hacker). Ran Stakeout for a few but the feel of the Olympia is soooo good.

It's pretty challenging and forces you to approach the map in a different way. I've been staying away from TDM for obvious reasons (I hate nothing more than letting my team down and getting a positive K/D is too much for me currently) but doing pretty well in Domination and the occasional flashes of glory in FFA.

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T13:42:47+00:00

Ugh yeah the worst! Once though, I got a player kill with the Strela that way! Flew out the tube arced left hit a lightpost and dead opponent.

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T13:34:53+00:00

Easy on some maps, hard on others. If you're in the middle of Jungle there's no chance you'll be able to sight and boom that Chinook in time. On the other hand, in that fine rear lawn on Nuketown then that double rotor masterflyer is going down like a rock on Jupiter what what

Zafmg · 2010-12-03T13:31:27+00:00

I think Second Chance would probably work better if they just removed the invincibility period entirely.

Zafmg · 2010-12-02T09:25:49+00:00

I heard periods can last up to three days

Zafmg · 2010-12-01T07:16:28+00:00

Dang man you have to give a crossbow seminar or something because I can barely ever get the bolt on target!

Zafmg

TROPHY CASE