Team Fortress 2 Mayhem

On a recommendation from a friend, I decided to download Team Fortress 2.  This is a Multi-player shooter, where a player can choose from a multitude of servers ranging from Minecraft style arenas to Shopping malls with wrestling rinks in the middle to battle out objectives or just death match till you cry for a power failure to stop the madness.  There is also a spread of characters for the choosing ranging from Pyro, who sprays enemies with a lethal plume of fiery goodness, to the Medic, who will keep his companions alive with Uber charged healing.

If you choose to watch the 20 minute video above it is pretty entertaining, personally favorites are the Pyro intro, and the Black Scottish Demolition man, who recognizes his own rarity, lol.  The video above goes through all the character classes that are available in the game. The game play is very fast, and un-rewarding for beginners, for me at least, in the first 15 minutes I was ready to uninstall.  But that is mostly because I hate to lose, and I was losing a lot, after switching to medic I started to find my groove, if I cant be a killer ill be a healer. 

You really have to give this game a bit of time to get acclimated to the explosions and death surrounding you. I liked the game, after I found my niche and started playing with a friend,  Cool game but will not have a permanent home on my hard drive.

Coin Wallet, I don't even know what I've Backed now

So just got a message that My Coin, the device that promised to replace all the plastic in my wallet with one simple device, is not going to be scheduled until Fall of 2015, buh.

 This is the first push back of the release date that I know of, and isn't that bad, but the thing I don't understand know is that when my wife sent $50 bucks to the Kickstarter campaign, I was looking for a finished device, but from my understanding that now only for the BETA version of the device, and I was going to have to buy the actual finished product at full price? Now since the ship dates have been blown, i get this apology email, which is all fine and dandy.

 Updated* Now if you opt into the BETA program you will get the finished product at no cost to you, when it finally ships which is God knows when, and this small article isn't just bitching about COIN, though it seems that after some backlash, they decided to actually do the right thing and pucker up for what will be the longest ass kissing any of them has ever had to endure; but more so of a cautionary tell of Backer, crowd funding, etc. 

Look at any type of backing of a company as a donation, if you are not comfortable giving your cash to these start ups,then please don't.  "This shit" as a friend told me "Is the Wild West, we are entering a new age of how companies get funded, and it is bringing some power back to the people."  Backing a project is fun and exciting, more and more people are going to Kickstarter, crowd funding, etc to get their ideas off the ground, but just be weary, there are more people that would be just interested in taking your money and running.

Ducky Diapers Would you Back this Project?

Beta Brigade: Zombie Monster Robots

New game is coming out, its called Zombie Monster Robots, I have been playing the Closed Beta for a couple of days now and here are some thoughts.

First of all this game is an FPS, the controls are very simple following the traditional WASD for movement, Mouse for Aim, 1234 to change weapons, space bar for duck/cover application as well as dash, jump from cover.  E is used to use an item, and F for Grenade.  This game can be played in two styles PvP or PvE.  You can group up with random people or bring your clan to the battle in either PvP or PvE.  Match lobbies are numerous and if you are soloing you can always find a place to go, or just simply create your own match and wait for folks to join in.

HIDE/SHOW

Matches
The matches are fun, seriously fun.  I really have been enjoying this game.  Don't get me wrong there are some downsides, and Ill get to those in a bit; but being able to log in grab a match and pound out your enemies in 20-30 minutes matches is something that fits into my lifestyle perfectly. The maps all look good, plenty of natural obstructions to hide behind use for cover etc.

Baddies
The enemies in PvE can be tough, and once you played a time or two you start to recognize which baddies require a sense of urgency (Warmonger) and which you can just mow down.  Now with this being said, I have played one Hard mode in PvE and while I am sure my skill have improved since then, but I got owned by the baddies rather quickly.  An in-experienced group in Normal mode will still get wiped from time to time, so this game will challenge you in your FPS skills.  Speaking of being wiped you can revive falling comrades by moving to their location and holding space bar, if you actually die, you or teammates can revive you by using 1up tokens earned through the reward system.

I have not delved into the world of PvP as of yet, but for the sake of experiencing what the game is like I postponed being called a newb, and having my face peeled Back by automatic gun fire.

Loadouts and Extras
There are all kinds of Guns, Side Arms, Bats, knives that you can outfit onto your char.  You can purchase additional space on your char so that additional can be carried, as well as opening more locker space (Bank) to hold more personal inventory.  This can be done in one or another, by using in game gold earned during matches or by purchasing EMP with actual money.  One of the things I dislike is the purchasing system you can buy guns, mods etc with in game gold for 1-day, 3-day, 7-day increments.  After the days are up you have to re purchase the item.  This is annoying.  There are some items that can be purchased permanently but you have to spend actually money on these items, this seems to fit into the Micro-Transactions the gaming industry has grown so fond of, I understand these folks have to make money but by god, in ZMR the shop menu is almost overwhelming, with all the different ways you can purchase items, VIP cards, blue cards, and a ton of other options.

All and all the game is pretty fun, I would see playing this game for an extended amount of time being hard if you don't group up with friends or join a clan, maps get a little repetitious, I am sure they will expand on this after the BETA. The game is worth a download.

Phil is probably right

Currently there is a rather dumb debate about what Phil Fish said about YouTubers and others streaming, recording games in their entirety, and how some a large amount of royalties made from these recordings should be given to the developers.

First in this conversation I know that not everyone will not buy a particular game because they saw it in it's entirety on Youtube etc, They might say "Wow that looks awesome I gotta have it!"  At the same time the other side of that is true as well, If a streamer unfolds the entire story to you, some people will be just satisfied knowing what happens in a series, and they will not buy the game, or they decide the game is horrible and not buy the game.

No matter how you look at it whether you say it is free PR, or your user experience playing the game cannot be copyrighted, trying to warn gamers of a bad game, or whatever stupid reason you may have defending streaming games in their entirety, its crap, the announcements that this game is awesome and is a must have, can be done with a regular review, with gameplay segments, screenshots, etc, and guess what it is Federally protected under Fair Use!

And guess what, dumb asses that say, "Well My stream, had commentary! Its protected by Fair Use." No no its not idiot,

Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.

The key word being Limited here, There are Four test that this argument must pass.  Purpose and character, Nature of the Copied Work, Amount and substantiality, and Effect upon works Value.

Please Gamers stop being idiots, understand laws and how they work, you wouldn't want someone scabbing your work don't do it to developers.

New Amazon Fire Phone

The new Amazon Fire Phone is set to release July 25, 2014, you can pre-order it now HERE.  With a qualifying new line of service with AT&T you can make it yours for $199.99.  The phone features Dynamic Perspective for the lock screen and the map application, this makes it look somewhat 3D when you tilt the phone in different directions.  Other features include the Fire Fly app that allows you to take a picture of book, magazine, or product and Amazon will find the same item within their site show the price etc, so you can do comparative shopping. It will also pick out phone numbers, email address if you take a photo of something that has that info on the page.  If you pre-order the phone you get a year membership of Prime, which is pretty cool.

But honestly, I am completely not excited about any new phone that is released, I looked at this phone and actually thought, "I do not want this."  That feeling has actually extended into almost every new phone I see come out.  Maybe I am desensitized because there is a new phone every six months, it is like I do not even see these phones as new technology, I am completely uninterested.

The last time i got excited about a phone, I was watching the Matrix and when Neo's phone slid open, I immediately bought the horrible reproduction of this mod and snapped it onto my Motorola .  Wish I could be excited maybe someday I will.

STEM Job Shortage?

For those of who don't know STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Match. For a good number of years now, CEO's like Zuckerberg, Gates, have been perpetuating the myth that he does not have enough Native workers to fulfill their growing businesses. They have actually requested that H1-B Visas be dismantled to allow an unlimited number of foreign workers to come to the US and work for them; they ask for this while 1/3 of STEM graduates cannot find employment.  Read more about the study

Whats even better companies such as IBM have found a way to use H1-B Visas for direct outsourcing to other countries, so the employees aren't even here! They also had to settle a suit with the US Govt, because  IBM included a preference for H1-B and F-1 visa holders over US citizens in the job posting! Read full story here .  This is absolutely disgusting.

 Why is this in a blog about gaming, software, tech etc; because those very industries are the ones trying to stick it to the American people. These CEO's want to get thousands of underpaid Engineers stick them in petri dish houses in Silicon valley, bus them to work, work their ass off and dispose of them. ( I realize not every foreign worker is underpaid but it happens more time than not.) If there is such a shortage for these jobs why then have wages not increased accordingly, it really hasn't changed since the 90's.

These companies should just really be honest and say "We don't have enough employees we can underpay and treat like shit."  I myself have a Trade Skill that I like to think it would be terribly hard to outsource because of its onsite requirements, and I pray that will protect me long enough to support my family.  But I have a real fear for my son, who I plan on pushing towards technology career.

But a word for these CEO's, when you have suppressed wages so badly that no one can afford your bullshit Limited Edition Halo Box sets, and Candy Crush micro transaction purchases, who will you sell too?

Ouya and Playcast Media Team up to Stream AAA game titles

I had heard a few weeks ago that Playcast Media was going to do their Beta Testing on the Ouya game console, yesterday I received an email reporting that Playcast Media was going to hold a Free BETA testing of it's cloud based service on the Ouya.  Below is the press release and I am really excited, my wonderful wife just ordered me an Ouya and it will be here Saturday, I plan on doing a full review of the Ouya as well as the taking a look at the Beta for Playcast.

HIDE/SHOW

Playcast Media Launches Beta Trials on OUYA

Playcast Media Has Launched a Free Global Beta Program to Stream Video Games through OUYA Boxes 

Palo Alto, Calif. - April 30, 2014 – Playcast Media, the cloud gaming market leader, is ramping up its US and global footprint by announcing a new beta program that will stream video game titles through OUYA boxes. The Playcast beta trial, which leverages the powerful Amazon AWS infrastructure, is available immediately free of charge to OUYA owners around the world.

“Playcast bridges the visual computation and content gap between Ouya and the consoles,” said Guy de Beer, CEO of Playcast Media. “In this beta, we will be employing for the first time the power of a public cloud system, and a set of technologies that is set to overcome the limitations of streaming over the open Internet. Initial results have been very encouraging, and we hope to expand the program soon.”

Playcast Media’s will begin its trial with a small set of games, and will expand it to the company’s full library of AAA titles in the coming weeks. OUYA owners will be able to access the beta through an app that will appear on their TV, and will be able to play the titles with their OUYA controllers. A launch date and price for the final service has not yet been set.

Playcast Media is the world’s first cloud gaming service for cable and IPTV operators. The company’s service features the world’s major video game brands and packages them in a set of affordable sales models, including monthly subscriptions and various rental models. The game streaming service is offered to users through devices such as set top boxes, microconsoles and other video-enabled connected devices. Playcast’s system has been in commercial operation since 2011, serving hundreds of thousands of TV subscribers in France, Portugal and Korea. The Ouya trial is the first time the company’s service is available for gamers in North America.

Playcast video game partners include renowned publishers such as Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Konami, Warner Bros, 2K, Namco Bandai, Square Enix, Capcom, Codemasters, Disney, Sega, Atari, THQ, and a long list of indie studios.