Things you should download.

I've been wanting to put together a free software list for a while so here it is. Again, all the software here is free to download and use. Some of them offer "pro" versions but their free versions are nothing to sneeze at.

7zip

7zip is what I use for all my compression and decompression needs.

Why should I get it?  This is taken directly from their site; Here is all the compression formats it supports.

Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM
Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR and Z.

One of the most notable unpacking file types is RAR. A very common file type to be sure. The real reason I recommend 7zip is similar software are only trial based or don't work as well.

For those not familiar with file management, 7zip is a tool that allows you to compress the size of files for storage or sharing purposes. This is important if you want to share your media with others and save space for yourself. If you don't have any compression software yet, I highly recommend you try 7zip.

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Ccleaner

C cleaner is one of a number of good programs that that remove registry errors and assist in computer clean up and drive management.

I originally needed a registry cleaner and that's how I stumbled across it. Apart from cleaning your registry, it can wipe drives, uninstall programs, clean up browser history, disable programs on startup, and offer up various other little tweaks and such.

Why should I get it? It's a free registry cleaner. The fact it comes with some other bells and whistles to help keep your computer running smoothly is just icing on the cake. If you already have a registry cleaner Ccleaner won't excite you.

If you don't know what your registry is or how to clean it you should probably give Ccleaner a go and see if your computer runs smoother afterwards.

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Roboform

roboform is my password keeper. It encrypts my passwords and allows me to back up my encrypted passwords in a safe place, in case my computer gets compromised. I can then access all my passwords easily using one master password

Why should I get it? Pretty much everything nowadays uses a password. I got tired of having to remember passwords or worse using the same password for every website. That's when I started using Roboform. Now I don't worry about joining a new website or setting up a new account for a service because with roboform I can easily access all my password information without having it stored in some cryptic notepad or a piece of paper floating around my room.

If you struggle to remember passwords or you have passwords in not so secure places that you want to make private I recommend giving roboform a try.

(it also does auto filling for various online forms)

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Malwarebytes Antimalware

Malwarebytes Antimalware, what a mouthful. Do you have a system infected with a trojan? How about other malicious software?  You probably wouldn't know but malwarebytes antimalware (MA) can find it and stop it. Albeit if the malware is bad enough you may need to bring it in from outside your computer and run it on a flash drive if your system is completely compromised.

Why should I get it? It's a useful tool for cleaning malware from your computer. Usually if your computer needs MA it's too late, but it's nifty to have it in a flash drive where it can operate outside of your computer should your own system get compromised.

I recommend you get this for yourself and have it ready for when your family inevitably ruins their computers.

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MSI Afterburner

MSI afterburner is a what I would call an omnitool. It can be used to overclock and monitor processor activity and record audio and video from video games. It's a versatile tool and many of my youtube videos were made using MSI afterburner as the recording software.

Why should I get it? its a high performance piece of software that rivals what FRAPs can do in terms of video recording. Unlike FRAPs however, it's free so there's no barrier to using it which is the main reason I use it. Its pretty easy to use and it has multiple options for recording video including the ability to simultaneously record in game sound along with audio detected from the microphone.

If you're not much into recording content or recording CPU stats you may not get much mileage out of this software, but if you think it you might give it a download.

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Open Broadcast Software

OBS or Open Broadcast Software is pretty much what it says on the tin. If you want to stream content online it can record the content from your desktop and send it to the appropriate website you wish to stream to. It also offers local recording capabilities if you simply want to record your desktop for future video editing purposes. It uses good compression codecs so a 30 minute video recording sessions should stay below a gig if you're not trying to record super HD video.

 My internet is a bit shoddy so I didn't bother much for streaming but if I had more capable internet it should have gotten the work done. With my current pittance of 1 mb up per second it was able to give me a fairly good quality stream with an occasional hiccup and stutter. If I had more time to tweak things and some faster internet I'd probably get an overall better quality of stream.

Why should I get it? It's a neat little piece of software. I had fun playing with the compression ratios and seeing how much space one saved over the other and seeing the quality each compression offered. I would say it's another toy that will really only appeal to you if you're into streaming or creating videos.

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While there are multiple pieces of software that do what the above do, these are all of my favorites. I recommend you give them all a try since they are all free. Is there something on my list you don't like or think is better? leave a comment.

(this "list" post is an old draft but I figured I should finally post it. I think started this draft a year or so ago. None of the information seems to have changed much and all my opinions of said software are still the same, so I can rest easy that the me of a year or so ago wasn't making poor decisions. )

PSO2 delayed and the Sega's trouble with Gearbox.

PSO2 has been delayed for North America...not the news I was looking forward to during the end of March. So why was it delayed?. At this point it's a guessing game. Some may argue a possible connection between a malfeasance involving Gearbox's Aliens Colonial Marines that set into motion the falling out between Sega of Japan and Gearbox thereby ruining the relationship SoJ has with America. Personally I doubt this is the case as America is a large market to be tapped into for massive profits. To that end, I doubt they're delaying the game (and by extension the profits from it) because one developer happened to bend them over. The reasoning I find most probable would be a lack of communication and competence between Sega of America and SoJ. It's their tight lipped nature with their advertising (or lack thereof) that's really given the PSO community the cold shoulder these past few months.

Perhaps what I find discouraging given this turn of events is my apathy towards PSO2 altogether. What troubles me further is that I know Sega is capable of publishing fun and interesting IPs. They've done some interesting things with Sonic lately in Sonic generations and Sonic All Stars racing. I dare say they are actually giving Mario a run for his money in terms of quality content that's really trying something different. You can also play Spiral knights or Renegade Ops- no "game of the year" titles by any stretch but quality titles nonetheless. These releases were completely digital so they're definitely familiar with this realm of content distribution. Yet they have all this positive momentum and they're squandering it in the states and Europe.

So what's the tragedy? There are more JRPGs than I can mention that were canceled due to localization issues. While POS2 has not yet been officially canceled in the states the attitude Sega has displayed during its  release and subsequent updates for the Japanese version of PSO2 feels as though it's abandoned the western audience entirely. I say this having only gotten word of PSO2's delay last March, which was bittersweet as it was at least some acknowledgement on Sega's behalf that the western audience still existed. Nothing has been posted on their english Facebook page since their outing at PAX back in 2012, not even their most recent announcement to the media regarding PSO2's delayed launch for the western audiences.

The Phantasy Star series never had a huge following so it's important for Sega to get the franchise out there and exposed to as many people as possible. They've made some reasonable dents in the market with various PSP titles but it appears Monster Hunter has pretty much dethroned them from their action RPG high ground. To that end, PSO2 is Sega's last real chance to really penetrate markets outside of Japan and get their brand name out there.

It saddens me because the game's distinct art style and play style set it apart from other games. It's definitely one of those unique and engaging experiences that one doesn't happen across very often. It pains me to think that future generations may be completely oblivious to the Phantasy Star series because of it being mishandled today. Perhaps I'm overreacting and being pessimistic. I will say I've lost all interest in PSO2 and currently looking forward to some other titles- specifically The Elder Scrolls Online. Still, curiosity can manage to fiddle at me so I'll be hard pressed not to at least try PSO2 whenever it is released.

I haven't put together a blog post in a while because I've been waiting for my creative juices to well up. That and I like to have my ladie friend proofread things with me. Next time I'd like to talk about preserving interactive media....or keeping old video games from fading into obscurity.

Handbrake.

Holy compression rates batman! I happened across handbrake after reading about it while looking into a problem regarding a loss of brightness when using MSI afterburner to record videos. I was stumped for about 30 seconds in regard how to use Handbrake but I figured it out and it's completely changed how I compress videos for the better. 

So how does handbrake work? Well I don't know the exact science magic that it uses to compress files down to such manageable sizes while retaining the quality that it does but it's amazing. Its very straightforward in operation, simply chose what video you want to compress, drag it into the client, and press the button the top left that says "encode". Depending on the size of the file it can sometimes take seconds to compress your file. If your video's file size is a bit hefty the encoding time may be a bit longer accordingly.

You may need to set up a directory for where you want your compressed video's to go. Handbrake may request you to perform this action if you don't already have a directory chosen. The compressed video can be less than a fifth of its original size in most cases, which is great if you work on multiple videos and need to upload them to youtube . The video below was originally around 760 MBs; after being compressed it was all the way down to 134 MB. This is without any loss in quality I might add.

If you want to give Handbrake a try you can download it here. If you're into video editing and need a free tool that does excellent compression I recommend you give this piece of software a try.

An ocean of stars and the lamentations of a pirate.

So what makes Star Ocean so special and why am I lamenting? To be precise I believe Star Ocean the second story is truly the best JRPG of the Playstation era. Its a great game in the same way Jackie Chan's drunken master is great kung fu movie. It gushes with elements that define it's genre to the point where it becomes the goto example of how the genre functions if everything is done to 110%. I lament because I know there's a generation that won't get to experience this game like I did, if at all. I myself experienced it secondhand on the PS2 having come to know of the game late in the Playstation's life. This frustration is compounded by the fact that there is no other way to experience the forerunners to the Star Ocean franchise unless you own the original disk copies of the Playstation or PSP games. In the SNES's case the game wasn't released outside of japan so Star Ocean the first departure for the PSP is the closest you'll get to the original Star Ocean


YAR


With piracy I can dig up the SNES version and actually play it as there's a large enough fan base for the series for them to have forged a translation patch. No small feat considering the amount of text and variation within the game's story. Playstation's Star Ocean the second story is a bit trickier to finagle. Still if you're affluent in various technical arts its not impossible to play the game on a PC without issue. In both of these cases let me be clear. If I could of purchased a digital copy of either of these games (say for download via steam) I would of done so happily. To reiterate- for all legal intents and purposes the Star Ocean series only exist as physical media. They're not on steam, good old games, origin, or even Squareenix's own website. That's right, Squareenix's official online store can't even be bothered to offer a downloadable version of these classics for the PC or even the PSN.

Star Ocean Reborn


I want to play Star Ocean the first departure. In order for me to do this legally I need to purchase a PSP which I can get for about $99 bucks off amazon in new condition. I was curious what all I would be able to do with my handheld other than play games so I googled it and this is what I got . I can listen to music with a memory stick, watch movies off UMDs or my memory stick, look at pictures on the memory stick, browse the web, and use it as an impromptu flashlight. Pretty neato to be sure but I don't have that cash to be tossing around at the moment.


I also need to buy the game (Star Ocean the first departure) which amazon tells me I can get for as cheap as $7.61 brand new. I was surprised by this as I expected it to be 19.99 or so for that condition.  In Star Ocean first departure they used a lot of assets from Star Ocean the second story to  touch the up original Star Ocean that was released on the SNES. The re-releasing of this game is called Star Ocean the first departure- an accurate title to be sure. It received mixed reviews getting a respectable 74 on metacritic which is fairly close to it's re-release cousin Star Ocean Second Evolution which is a remake of Star Ocean the second story which was originally released on the PS1. Confused yet?  Interestingly, Star Ocean the second story goes for $100+ dollars on amazon in new condition. Good thing I picked up my new copy for about 60 bucks on ebay back in 2006 or so.

If I may be so bold...

As of my writing this I haven't be able to emulate this PSP game with much success despite my technical prowess.  More to the point I feel I shouldn't have to as I can purchase Final Fantasy VII from the Squareenix website, download it and play it on your PC. One would reason its not beyond their capabilities to port older games to the PC. Square has a large enough library to bring some a plethora of great games to the PC and other mobile devices. Never mind the contributions that Enix (publisher of the Star Ocean series prior to the Squareenix merger) could make. Since they have their own store they could set their price as they pleased and preserve their exceptional gaming library for a whole new generation of gamers. There is the issue of licensing and converting the games over to a playable format for cross platform interaction but the concept is far from impossible.

My question

Star Ocean the first departure was released in 2008. Why can't I buy a digital copy from your store to play on my choice of device Squareenix?

Here's a classic melody from Star Ocean the second story. So peaceful... the venerable forest.

Star Conflict

I've been doing a lot of tanks and such lately and I haven't really had time to do writing. So with my creative juices bursting at the seams I'm ready to unleash a combination of words that connect together to create paragraphs and string together some form of cohesive thought.  I've been playing Star Conflict for a day or so now and I'm pleasantly surprised by what it offers.


Dah Looks

Graphically its a gorgeous romp through various space locales but usually you're so entranced in fighting you have little time to admire the atmosphere or lack thereof as the case may be (hyuk hyuk). There were only three maps available to fight on but the game is still in beta I believe so there should be more maps down the pike. All the ships look convincingly enough like ships. I'm not an aerospace engineer but I assume all these ships are space worthy. Let's just assume the rule of cool and figure all the kinks of combat in space have been worked out in the distant future (in which this game takes place). The interface inside and outside of battle may take a moment to grasp but its not rocket science.  It runs very well on my gaming laptop despite it feeling like I have an actual window to space in front of me. It was the game's performance on my laptop which gave me in inclination to make a video showing off some gameplay which I'll have at the bottom of this post if you're interested.


Playan

Ship control feel smooth and you an alter your velocity and move in many directions with various engines placed on your ship. I haven't had time to sample every weapon available but from what I've played so far the starting weapons for all your ships offer different engagement styles with benefits and penalties depending on the situation in which their used. Shooting other people with these weapons can be rather tricky at times as you're fighting with no clear axis for combat so you'll have to have situational awareness to properly combat other ships. There's various missions you'll have but I was usually too busy trying to figure out how to kill people to focus on accomplishing any objectives. The lack of any real axis to reliably tell where you 100% of the time makes navigating maps an exercise in frustration when you're trying to capture a point or defend a beacon- at the very least the game offers you some distinct landmarks ( planets or giant mining lasers) in the maps so if you forget you can look for them to find your bearings. Doing this while being shot at and shooting others can be rather difficult of course...



Should ya git et?


The game is developed by the same guys who put together War Thunder. I haven't had time to play War Thunder but from what I hear its pretty cool.  Star Conflict is free to play and you can download it off steam or from its website that I linked up in the first paragraph. Since it is free to play I highly encourage you to give a try if you have some time. Its only 1.5 gigs worth of space on your harddrive so its relatively small for being a "space mmo" that it claims to be.

THE GRIND- MWO vs WoT

I've been playing some MWO (Mech Warrior Online) as of late and I enjoy it quite a bit. To be brief you hop in giant bi-pedal robots armed with various assortments of lasers, cannons and missiles (also some machine guns if you like the sound of being useless) and fight other bi-pedal robots of similar flavors. If your computer can handle it it's a very fun time to be had. It can be a bit grindy and it is in many ways similar to WoT (World of tanks) in some respects and I wanna detail those differences and explore the "grind" of these games.

On the Mech side

The main issue when comparing the grind between MWO and WoT is the tech tree. Specifically MWO does not currently have one for mechs that would be comparable to WoT. The grind in Mechwarrior is currently based on pilot skills and a few module skills along with the necessity of "c-bills" to purchase mechs among other mech related goods. Not counting premium Mechs and counting mech series as individual mechs there are currently 50 mechs available to purchase. All the player needs to do to acquire the mech is amass the appropriate amount of c-bills to buy it. If this process is taking too long you can purchase a premium account or mechs that have increased c-bill and experience income with the real world purchase of MC- MWO's premium currency.

C-bills

a look at the Mech garage in MWO

In my experience a player can net between 50k and 80k c-bills on a well fought match that is a victory. Unlike World of tanks repairing your mech and replenishing ammo does not cost c-bills. This may change in the future as the game is still in open beta but I doubt it since the player base seems to have found it balanced. As of right now there are no tiers of mechs. The developers for MWO argue that every mech should be capable of taking down another or preforming well in the role their mech excels at. From what I've seen in game there a lot of mechs that are ignored or openly badmouthed for their supposed lack of capability. Personally I've yet to walk in every mech's shoes so I can't go into detail for every mech but the consensus I've taken from the community is that some mechs are simply better than others.



On the tank side

In WoT there are currently 6 nations; America, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. In a single tech tree a nation can sport around 50 tanks itself (not including premium tanks). In all you're looking at well over 200 or so tanks to choose from and several premium vehicles that can also be purchased with gold, the premium currency in WoT. This comparison of content is a bit biased as WoT was released in America around 2010 and Mechwarrior Online just got out of the starting gate here in 2012 with its open beta. Adding to the issue of several intricate and complicated tech trees WoT also charges their players for repairing and resupplying their ammunition for their tank(s). The argument for this mechanic is to ensure players think clearly, don't drive out in the open and die quickly only to receive a large repair bill or fire blindly without regard to where their rounds are going. The resupplying and repair bills add to the grind and ensure that players spend a long time getting to know their tank and either come to love or hate it before advancing further into their respective tech tree choice. To do this they need to have the next tank in their tree researched and have the silver(in game currency) available to purchase it.

Advancing with tanks

The American tech tree for World of tanks.

A premium account for WoT can be purchased for a price that's comparable to MWO for an increased silver and experience gain. Silver income from matches varies wildly depending on what tier of tank you're playing with, how well you do in the match and what tank you're driving. There are 10 tiers for tanks in a tech tree. Every step further costs marginally more experience and credits to advance. Subsequently the silver payout at later tiers (typically 8-10) is poor unless you do exceptionally well during battle. This prohibitive cost for playing at higher tiers will typically limit how much time can be spent playing them and force those without a premium account to play a lowered tiered tank with a comparably higher silver income rate. Unlike MWO each tank in WoT has its own crew. They gain experience in each battle and can be trained using silver to 75% efficiency or trained to a higher quality of 100% with gold. Past their training threshold of 100% they can also gain a variety of unique skills. Advancement at this level is very slow and cannot be sped up by any means save community events here and there. Players can pay to have their crew skills reset using in silver and taking small percentage loss of their gained exp thus far for that crew member or by using gold to not lose any progress.

Which grind is worse?

Both games offer a free exp system wherein a portion of your battle experienced is funneled into an amount that an be used across the board for unlocking various things. Both games offer an exp conversion system wherein you can convert exp for specific tanks or mechs and allocate it to any other area of research you desire. As for getting to the end game content WoT offers the least appeasing option as getting one tier 10 can be a chore even with a premium account. MWO is at the moment more approachable for late game play but only just as the it lacks the depth and complexity WoT has simply because it hasn't been out long enough to flush out all of its possible battle mechanics. This issue will come to be resolved as it moves out of open beta and more content is added most likely. While some will argue MWO is less grindy than WoT I would argue the grind too similar to split hairs over. In either case to do well in both games and advance yourself as far as you can a long time must be devoted to learning the mechanics of the game and outfitting yourself with the best tanks/mechs you can muster.

Personally, I enjoy both games but at the moment I've given tanks a rest because I've been playing it almost non stop since I got it.

My review of Tera

oh look I made some new stuff.