I’ve updated my site to K2 RC4, which so far seems way more stable than RC3. The K2 guys could make this the final release without much more work, I think. The official K2 site doesn’t have a post about RC4, but you can download it from their Google Code page.
(K2 is the theme I use on this site)
nVidia (my favorite GPU producer) released the GeForce 9600 today, signaling the birth of the next generation of graphics cards, the 9 series. The 9’s are nVidia’s second generation of DirectX 10 GPUs, and are slated to become of the most powerful cards on the market.
Currently nVidia’s top-notch cards are still the GeForce 8800’s, but the 9600 is supposed to be a mainstream card, not for enthusiasts and gamers. When the 9800 debuts, it will most likely reign supreme in the world of GPUs.
This, of course, doesn’t benefit my project in any way, since all new cards are PCI-Express only, no AGP or PCI love whatsoever. Oh well, they’re still fun to drool over.
I’ve been called back into The Guild of Writers to do some work for the Kehlbet project, so I once again find myself in need of a Windows PC. I have plenty of old computers lying around in my house, so finding a victim base to upgrade to modern standards was not too difficult. The computer I chose is an old Dell 8200, my old “gaming” computer. Ha. I got it for $50 from my dad’s work, and being the first computer with a dedicated video processor (a GeForce 4 MX 4000), I used it for my graphics-heavy work (Uru).
Of course, this computer is not nearly good enough for Vista. After installing a DVD drive in it to even install the os, I was awarded a solid 1/5 in the Windows Experience Index benchmark thing. My lowest spec was, of course, that graphics card, being 4 generations old (and the base model of that generation). Of course, half a gig of memory wasn’t helping much, either, but the main thing was that GeForce 4.
So anyway, I paid a visit to Microcenter today and picked up the cheapest card my motherboard supports (the mobo doesn’t have any PCI-Express slots, and the AGP is only 4x I think, so I’m limited to PCI cards only), a GeForce FX 5200 with 128mb of memory. Certainly better than the card it was replacing, right? And it even says ‘Vista’ on the box, though it isn’t Vista Certified, it just says Vista on it. “Oh well,” I thought to myself. I bought the card for $47, and brought it home only to find that nVidia doesn’t support any cards earlier than the GeForce 6’s for Vista. I searched in vain, but nothing made Vista utilize the card. It certainly recognized it, but there was a driver issue and it disabled it, defaulting back to the GeForce 4.
I’m returning the FX 5200 tomorrow and picking up instead a GeForce 6200, which I’ve read is supported by Vista, and is indeed capable of decent performance under the hog of an OS. If I had a PCI-E slot, this would be so much simpler, because the newer PCI-E cards are actually cheaper than these old PCI ones, and they’re much more powerful, not to mention actually supported by nVidia still.
I’ve been called back into The Guild of Writers to do some work for the Kehlbet project, so I once again find myself in need of a Windows PC. I have plenty of old computers lying around in my house, so finding a victim base to upgrade to modern standards was not too difficult. The computer I chose is an old Dell 8200, my old “gaming” computer. Ha. I got it for $50 from my dad’s work, and being the first computer with a dedicated video processor (a GeForce 4 MX 4000), I used it for my graphics-heavy work (Uru).
Of course, this computer is not nearly good enough for Vista. After installing a DVD drive in it to even install the os, I was awarded a solid 1/5 in the Windows Experience Index benchmark thing. My lowest spec was, of course, that graphics card, being 4 generations old (and the base model of that generation). Of course, half a gig of memory wasn’t helping much, either, but the main thing was that GeForce 4.
So anyway, I paid a visit to Microcenter today and picked up the cheapest card my motherboard supports (the mobo doesn’t have any PCI-Express slots, and the AGP is only 4x I think, so I’m limited to PCI cards only), a GeForce FX 5200 with 128mb of memory. Certainly better than the card it was replacing, right? And it even says ‘Vista’ on the box, though it isn’t Vista Certified, it just says Vista on it. “Oh well,” I thought to myself. I bought the card for $47, and brought it home only to find that nVidia doesn’t support any cards earlier than the GeForce 6’s for Vista. I searched in vain, but nothing made Vista utilize the card. It certainly recognized it, but there was a driver issue and it disabled it, defaulting back to the GeForce 4.
I’m returning the FX 5200 tomorrow and picking up instead a GeForce 6200, which I’ve read is supported by Vista, and is indeed capable of decent performance under the hog of an OS. If I had a PCI-E slot, this would be so much simpler, because the newer PCI-E cards are actually cheaper than these old PCI ones, and they’re much more powerful, not to mention actually supported by nVidia still.
Cyan Worlds and Gametap have just announced that they are not going to be producing a second season, and that Uru Live will be removed from the Gametap servers in 60 days. I’m going to cancel my subscription in 60 days in protest.
Hi Everybody,
I have some news that some of you have probably not been looking forward to. GameTap has decided to discontinue the operation of Myst Online: Uru Live.
The decision was a very difficult one and was made for business reasons rather than due to any issues regarding the design and vision of the amazing world that Cyan Worlds and Rand Miller have brought to us. Despite the great Myst Online experience coming to a close, Cyan is still a very valued partner of GameTap, we are on excellent terms, and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.
Many of you have made good friends while playing Myst Online, so here is the bittersweet part. Although Myst Online: Uru Live will be completely shut down in the near future, the game servers will remain live for the next 60 days. During that time, both newcomers and existing players can continue to experience the amazing world of Myst Online, explore the game’s many Ages, and interact with other players in the game and on the MystOnline.com website and forums. After 60 days, the title will be removed from the GameTap service, though MystOnline.com will remain live and active for fans to continue to share their passion for this important game franchise.
I know this is not the news fans of Myst Online wanted to hear. I want to thank all of you who have been extremely supportive of the game and made this grand experiment in an alternative MMO format so much fun. All of us at GameTap also want to thank you again for your tireless enthusiasm for the title.
There has been a clamor for information about the status of season 2 for some time, and the reason we haven’t announced anything sooner is because we have literally been examining a wide variety of possibilities for maintaining the game, but in the end, we had to bring the exploration of the great cave to a close.
So thanks again for supporting us as we launched this truly unique game. GameTap is still committed to exploring new genres of gameplay and encouraging bold visions. If you haven’t already tried Season 2 of Sam & Max, give it a try, it is as anarchic as one could hope. And I can tell you from first hand experience that the upcoming Grimm is novel and exciting experiment as well.
Ricardo Sanchez
VP of Content and Creative Director for GameTap