Soldat

First there was Liero.

Then, there was NiL.

Then, there was Liero Xtreme.

Now, I've found Soldat, and boy does it rock.

Silent Storm

Are you a fan of turn-based strategy games? My favourite remains the classic XCOM / UFO: Enemy Unknown (the un-initiated can look at this page), and am therefore looking forward to the soon-to-be-released UFO: Aftermath released on 26th September 2003 in the UK.

Today on Fileplanet I liked the look of the description of Silent Storm as a "true 3D tactical turn-based role-playing game set against the backdrop of WWII", so I checked out the demo: good fun, smooooth graphics, cheesy character dialog.

I found a cool anim on the Silent Storm website: not sure if there's an enemy in that building over there? No problem! (815k gif)

Download the demo from Fileplanet here.

TrackBack Claptrap

When I first set up this Moveable Type weblog, I decided to disable comments. This was becase it gives anyone the ability to add content, albeit in a partially controlled manor, to my website. At the end of the day I have the ability to edit or delete unwanted comments, but I'd rather not do with the potential hassle.

However, I've recently become more aware of a feature called TrackBack. From what I can understand, this is still a type of comment but it links blogs together rather than adding to the original. So, I'm going to give it a go and see how it works out. But first, I need an example to work with. Here goes...

I'm referencing this blog entry from Special's site which also contains a reference to Dr David Jones' new weblog. I clicked on the TrackBack link, copied the TrackBack URL for that entry, and pasted it into the "URLs to Ping" box in my Edit Entry screen.

Hmm. Let's see what happens now when I click "save".

Creative fun on the PC

Having obtained some suitable hardware in the form of a webcam and graphics tablet, I decided to expand my collection of complementary software tools. Expect some new and exciting content soon(ish)!

I've always wanted to have a go at stop motion animation with my webcam, and although this is possible with the bundled software, Anasazi is freely available from these folks and offers more useful features such as live onion skinning. See this post for a good example of stop motion animation.

Moho is a "2D vector-based cartoon animation application" which has a free trial version that I'm having a play with. The appeal for me was the ability to create Macromedia Flash swf files: I have been inspired after seeing plenty of Flash anims on the likes of Newgrounds (not linked because of Gator popups), wired.com, with a special mention of the excellent Pygmy Shrew and Mourning Leopard. The free trial version only allows greyscale exported flash files with no sound, but that will do me fine for now while I get used to using Moho.

Finally, I got hold of another free program: Art of Illusion. It's a 3D modelling and rendering studio written in Java with some impressive examples of achievable images.

Joe's Story

If you like Flash animations, then why not give Joe's Story a try? I actually saw the fifth installment first, then started working my way through the other anims by Naoki Mitsuse.

Look Ma, no batteries

Last week I treated myself to a Wacom Graphire2 mouse and pen set from dabs. I've been thinking about getting a graphics tablet for some time now, and I'm glad I finally went for it.

Costing me just under £60, my new toy has proved very easy to setup and use, and as a result my Logitech Cordless Mouseman Optical which served me fairly well up until recently is now gathering dust sat next to my monitor.

The thing is, both the pen and mouse do not require batteries. I don't quite understand it yet, but they work a treat and I'm certainly not complaining. Previously I had to charge up a pair of AA's every couple of weeks or so, but not any more! The downside of course is that the mouse only works on the tablet. This is rather annoying at first, but I've quickly gotten used to it. I can always resort to the Logitech if needs be as both input devices co-exist in harmony within Windows XP and I can change between as and when I please.

The pen feels comfortable to use, and certainly helps me to be a bit more creative in JASC Paint Shop Pro than I normally am with a mouse.

Overall, I have no regrets at all about my purchase. Obviously it's not for professional artists, but it suits me just fine for now, and was very reasonably priced. The mouse works much better than I expected, and I even find myself using the pen to navigate around the desktop sometimes.

Well Worth the Wait

Do you have any opinions on sex before marriage? What do you make of this article?

Acknowledgements to The Onion via Wrighty via MetaFilter.

Talk to the Hand

I've just been to see T3 which I thought was very cool. I seem to remember hearing some duff comments about the film, so maybe the fact that my expectations had been lowered helped me to enjoy it even more.

It was interesting to see that two of the main parts were played by fairly unknown actors (Kristanna Loken, Nick Stahl), although good ol' Arnie was there playing his usual terminator role, and even the delectable Claire Danes gets in on the action.

In the cinema foyer, I saw a display for the interesting looking The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, not to be confused with The League of Gentlemen or even The League of Gentlemen.

Why not check out the trailer? It looks ace, and is out in the UK on the 17th October 2003.

You're nicked

Earlier today I was in the queue at Robert Dyas, and I noticed there was a policeman in front of me. For I while I mused over the fact that there was a uniformed policeman buying a microwave or something like that, but when I looked around I realised I had been a bit naive.

There was another policeman stood a few metres away by the shop entrance, and near the till, sat on a wooden garden display table, was a wierd looking man in glasses and crazy hair, mumbling to anyone who would listen, complaining about "all these drug searches". Then it finally dawned on me that this guy was probably suspected of shoplifting. Well done James, it only took you forever to work that one out.

The policeman at the till was trying to get the wierd guy to explain something. Mr Strange kept saying he couldn't remember, to which PC Microwave gave an ultimatum: "either your memory improves, or I arrest you".

"Well you'll have to arrest me then cos I can't remember".

"Alright, the time is 17:24..." and that's when I witnessed my first, real life, up close and personal arrest. How exciting.