another.intheuniverse » Games

KOTOR II – Play with restored content

lolfang — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:44:33 +0000

I’m currently playing a re-run of KOTOR II with the most updated restoration project so far (in case you didn’t knew, Obsidian didn’t quite finished the game), so I will list all the steps I made to have a pretty good setup. I’ll list the steps in the least time-consuming way.

Install KOTOR II. While you are installing the game, download “HD” official patches to Movies and Audio. Save them for later
After installing KOTOR II, download and install official patch 1.0b.
Team Gizka had a project ongoing for years but they went missing (worth reading article). So I Googled a bit and found this “The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod”. Currently they are on version 1.6a, most updated version so far. Download and install it.
Then, install the HD patches.

Now, you can start playing if you have a 4:3 monitor, but if you have a 16:9 or 16:10 monitor, keep reading.

Note: The patch author decided to use a no-CD patch, it’s up to you to find it.
Note 2: This widescreen patch does not work with low resolutions as 1280X720, dialogue text will be cut off.
You will need these: UniWS, and the Minimap patch.
Execute UniWS, set it to modify KOTOR II and input your desired resolution. After that, go to KOTOR II installation folder, and locate swkotor2.ini and edit the width and height parameters in the [Display Options] and [Graphics Options] sections.
Now, move the mipc28x6_p.gui file to the /Override/ folder in KOTOR II install path.
And, last step, config your KOTOR II in-game resolution to 1280X960 (this is needed for the widescreen patch to work).

So, that’s it. If you want, I recommend some skin and retexture mods that I’ve installed. KOTOR II is old, textures are really blurry for some characters:

Enjoy this wonderful game again, in all-new FullHD resolution!

No Female Heroes? Why?

lolfang — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:00:28 +0000

This is just a link to a blog In-depth analysis made at GamaSutra, called “In-Depth: No Female Heroes At Activision?”.

My two cents here, is what’s mentioned by the comment of Rayna Anderson, following the post:

I’m sad to say that I’ve encountered this before, activision isn’t the only company. When I was lead designer/writer on a murder mystery game, I was forced to rewrite everything because the higher-ups didn’t want a female to be the murderer. They said that people wouldn’t believe that a female could overpower her male victim. Every game I’ve worked on, I’ve tried to include more female characters, but the higher-ups just keep cutting them. It’s pretty discouraging to keep pitching those kinds of characters when you know they have no chance of surviving through the production phase.

I wonder… female leads are often encountered on Japanese game, because of the different cultures and all. Here in occident, we are kinda Hollywood-driven, so a strong male lead is often characteristic of a script. Maybe, just maybe, sometimes we can have a God of War protagonized by a female. It just CAN be done. It’s not just a term of culture. You just need a good writer.

Lego Starcraft

lolfang — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:39:01 +0000

This is so on-topic these days.

No, I’m not dying or anything. Just… too much of life, too little of time.

How to build a totalitarian regime… in Sim City 3000

lolfang — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:59:13 +0000

You know, I just crossed my paths with a video that… kinda scared me. The video showed how to build a city that –according to game rules– was the perfect city. Of course, there were some problems.

Here is the video.

Awesome? Magnificent? Creative, at least? I don’t know. Maybe. But regardless, there is a great caveat in all this.

Yes, he achieved the perfect city by the game boundaries. But if we took this city to, let’s say, a real scenario… Quoting the creator itself:

There are a lot of other problems in the city hidden under the illusion of order and greatness: Suffocating air pollution, high unemployment, no fire stations, schools, or hospitals, a regimented lifestyle – this is the price that these Sims pay for living in the city with the highest population. It’s a sick and twisted goal to strive towards. The ironic thing about it is the Sims in Magnasanti tolerate it. They don’t rebel, or cause revolutions and social chaos. No one considers challenging the system by physical means since a hyper-efficient police state keeps them in line. They have all been successfully dumbed down, sickened with poor health, enslaved and mind-controlled just enough to keep this system going for thousands of years. 50,000 years to be exact. They are all imprisoned in space and time.

Scary stuff.

We could lose all day talking about what he did, but let me stress the following:

Achieving perfection through limiting itself to the rules, it’s clearly not the best way to achieve it.
I’m also wondering if this could be a first try to build a feasible robot-populated city
He is 22 years old as of date. He is not autistic.

Wonderful and quite scary at the same time.

Sources: [1], [2]

Left 4 Dead 2

lolfang — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:43:44 +0000

There’s not too much to talk about this game… Just get it. I don’t care how. Go and get it, any means possible. If you have to steal it, then do so. But please get this game.

News: Two new Kunio-kun games announced for North America

lolfang — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:27:00 +0000

They’re no River City Ransom, but we’ll take them. Aksys Games recently announced two DS games in the River City series: River City Soccer Hooligans and River City Super Sports Challenge. The announcement kind of slipped through the cracks at Dtoid HQ, but we still wanted to point them out.

River City Soccer Hooligans is, as you’d guess, a soccer game. The Hooligans go for the World Soccer Championship against 12 teams. You can unlock 50 teammates and play up to four players via DS link-up.

The other, Super Sports Challenge, combines athletics (track and field) with fighting, with you taking out rival schools with moves like the Human Bomb and the Pizza Shot. There’s a Edit Character mode where you can change your team’s looks and stats. Like Soccer Hooligans, this title also supports 4 players through Download Battle.

This is not what most of you are hoping for, I know. You just want to beat in heads and pick up the bounciest coin ever made. I’m with you. But I’m still looking forward to checking both of these out.

Source

Altitude

lolfang — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:09:00 +0000

Quoting the Share Game page…

Altitude is a fun, original multiplayer game with a bunch of cool unlocks and game modes. It’s easy to learn and perfect for quick 10 minute sessions when you’re busy, or way longer if you’re bored. Very fun multiplayer action. Make sure to try ball mode once you’ve learned the basics.

Free 3 hour demo:

Windows

Mac

Linux

Steam

Screenshots: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

This game is a ton of fun to play, small download, runs on just about any system, Windows/Mac users can play on the same servers, perfect for quick 10-20 minute spurts if you’re busy, and basically everyone needs to play it. Just download the free demo already, you’ll be glad you did.

More info including trailer: altitudegame.com

I just love this little amazing game. Very funny. Also has some Steam achievements, if you’re into that (I am).

News: Jagged Alliance 3 announced!

lolfang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:31:33 +0000

German publisher bitComposer games has acquired the license from Strategy First, and hopes to release a new game sometime next year.

"Although Jagged Alliance 2 was published over ten years ago now, the game still represents a milestone in the genre and boasts a huge following of loyal fans," said bitComposer Games CEO Wolfgang Duhr.

"We are delighted to acquire this classic game for bitComposer, and want to continue the success of the previous titles in the series, while giving the new version a contemporary look, bearing in mind the strong features of its predecessors."

This is actually the third time that Jagged Alliance 3 has been announced. After picking up the license from original developer Sir-Tech Software, Strategy First announced Jagged Alliance 3D and Jagged Alliance in 2004. After development conflicts resulted in their cancellation, Strategy First partnered with Russian Studios Akella and F3games, which likewise didn’t work out.

Nevertheless, the series continues to a devoted fanbase. We’ll see whether bitComposer succeeds where Strategy First failed when it launches next year.

Hope the sequel lives up to its expectations.

Mount&Blade

lolfang — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:58:52 +0000

I took my time to make a mini review of this wonderful Indie game, made by TaleWorlds. This “team” is composed of just 2 developers (!). And they managed to make one of the most addicting game that I’ve played in a long time, which is an enormous feat.

So let’s go straight to the good points.

The Good

I think that, without a doubt, the best part of the game are the battles. You manage a mounted commander that can shout orders to his soldiers, and fight in the battle yourself. The combat system is excellent. I’m an archer with some ability in polearms, but my strong point, is, as said, shooting enemies from distance. You have to be extremely precise to shoot an arrow and hit it, that’s an amazing feature. And when there are 20 vikings coming at you with swords and shields, can be quite a feat to score a headshot in that situation.

What’s more, your character levels up, can buy new weapons and armor, horses, more soldiers (that also level up with you!) and lots of more stuff.

The Bad

Well, the game is really fun, but there are some drawbacks. Some of the quests that you have to do to gain XP points and reputation, are really boring or worthless.

The graphics could also be a lot better (this can be changed with mods).

Overall

Regardless of its (few) drawbacks, it’s an amazing game, that will keep you hooked for hours. Its modding community is surprising, too. And expect some multiplayer skirmishes soon (Warband expansion).

So go play it now!

News: Red Alert and Tiberian Sun now freeware

lolfang — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:28:58 +0000

Yes, in a move to promote the upcoming Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight that it’s due next month, EA released both of these games as freeware!

So as I did before, here are the links of the games:

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Download (Allied Disc)
Download (Soviet Disc)

Command & Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun

Download

In my opinion, both sagas died with the 3D format, but Red Alert is still a personal favorite. EA killed them…