Computer that makes you wonder how it could've gotten this bad

So I've been meaning to post this for a few months. It was actually one of the inspirations behind this blog. Here are some pics of the dirtiest computer at the tech shop I work at in 2008.

Game of the Month

I'll cut straight to the chase. I apologise for my lack of posting. I under-estimated the amount of time and attention it would take to keep a blog going for more than a few days. Not a whole lot has happened since we last met, but a new game entered into my life and has quite simply amazed me.

The X series was never a big-budget AAA game and to be completely honest I hadn't heard about it until one of my Eve Online buddies told me about it. I proceeded to find a demo and was successful. After days of frustration I finally gave up and passed it off as a resource hog that failed to interest me.



Fast forward to two weeks ago while I was in the middle of a furious Dawn of War 2 firefight and all of the sudden a vision of X3 came to me. The graphics definitely made my jaw drop when I first tried X3: Reunion, but with the amount of bugs and the lackluster UI I had passed it off without really giving it a chance. I then logged off after winning the match and looked it up on steam.

Thirty Dollars?!

OK, so now it was cheap enough that I HAD to give this game a shot, and that's where the fun begins. The X universe isn't known for its plot, its soundtrack, or its combat. It is recognized for its sandbox open-ended game play. In EVE Online you can buy a battleship and create an empire, but that requires socialization, time, and politics. In X3 everything is accessible to you right away.



My biggest joy so far in this game is when I first realised I could build stations all by myself and create a trade network. This might not appeal to everyone but that has basically been my dream in a space-game ever since I was a kid. Sure you can mention some of the more elaborate space strategy games, but none of them combine the graphics, controls, and sense of being as well as X3.

In X3:TC so far I have never really felt safe. My transports are always under attack between factories and the pirates always seem to bring a bigger ship than what I have escorting. This brings a sense of uncertainty to the game that always makes it interesting to play and without this mechanic I can definitely see the game becoming boring rather quickly.



You can follow the plot if you'd really like to, but it isn't absolutely necessary and it really isn't what this game focuses on. If you do choose to follow the plot you WILL receive free ships from the missions which definitely help later on in the game. The plot really hasn't impressed me at all or drawn me in, but there's so much more to this game than the plot that it really doesn't affect my view of the game at all. Just like EVE, X3 is a game where you create your OWN story.

X3 has an interesting concept in capturing ships. If you fight a pirate or xenon and you take their shields down, there is a chance that if you did enough damage quick enough that the enemy will bail out to save his or her life. This can become a great source of income but it can also cause problems for people who are too greedy(me!).



I was caught red handed and lost 5mil in-game cash when I was getting too greedy. I had an alert pop up on my screen that my ore mine was under attack. This was the first time I had ever had my own station come under attack and normally I'm busy protecting other NPC stations. It just so happened to be a pack of Nova Raiders (1.6mil per ship).

As the first raider's shields disappeared he messaged me that he was bailing out. Score! One down and two to go. I ate through the second raider's shields and he did the same thing and bailed out. Now i'm up 3.6mil and I should probably dock and save the game. That is what a thinker would do, but as many of you know, a lot of times I really don't put a lot of thought into things.



I went ahead and started a mission to defend another npc's station from attack and immediately noticed that the attackers were about seven strong and sporting a few falcons. The falcon isn't an amazing ship but it's something that I had wanted since I'd first laid eyes on it. I laid waste to six of the seven ships and slowly wittled the last falcon's structure away hoping that if I wait long enough he'll bail out.

I had him to about 5-10% structure and I had given up on him. I communicated with him and told him to give up his ship, and right as that message was transmitted I hear, "Missile Launch Detected..." come over my radio. I wasn't quick enough, I was close enough to him that it hit me before I had a chance to shoot it down. BOOM!!! goes my ship and I get to say bye bye to my two new nova raiders and the other cash I had made since the last time I had saved.




I had big plans for that money, but now those plans would have to be put on hold until I got lucky enough to snag a few more nova raiders. I will probably remember this lesson in X3 like a few of the long-lost lessons I learned back in games such as falcon 3.0, command & conquer, and The Fourth Coming. Long has it been since I've spent many nights pounding away at my keyboard in a single player game, but I've finally found a single player game worth devoting my time to.

My fleet now stands 15 strong and I have four factories pumping out goods. I am far from conquering the galaxy, but I am on my way to the top. It won't be long before my massive capital fleets sweep through the X universe and overtake the market completely. These are the dreams of an X pilot.

SATABAY fans

Well I can't say I can give the satabay425bk from startech two thumbs up anymore. The fans have started making a terrible racket. Instead of rma'ing the housing I might just try to remove the fans. These ssd's really don't put off much heat at all.