It's New Year's Eve... and what am I doing...well, I'm working, and although I thought there was a shot we'd be able to go home early, it's not looking likely. It is definitely a lot busier than it was on Christmas Eve, so probably be working til 6... and of course, we have dinner reservations at 6... soooo i'll be late for that as well, super.
I got to bed last night at 9:30, which is unusually early for me, and I haven't been feeling the greatest, still recovering from a horrible sinus infection, but today, thus far, have been feeling good... I think that extra sleep helped out, who would've thunk it?... (except everyone who's always said to get plenty of sleep...) maybe they are on to something.
VR... I couldn't let a post go without talking about VR, so yes, I will talk about it, thank you.
I've gamed a bit over the weekend in the Oasis-sphere, had some good times, was in VRChat a bunch, some Altspace, and played a couple other games like Pistol Whip and some others... Hope to get back in sometime tonight or tomorrow since we're off work tomorrow, and definitely this upcoming weekend, whenever that comes (I'd be willing to bet in like 3 or 4 days.)
Oh yea, Dallas won easily over Washington on Sunday, was a good game... but it was the last... the only way we would've stumbled into the playoffs was if the Eagles lost and of course, they won... so the stupid Eagles will be heading into the playoffs this year, we shall see what happens with that.
Anything else? Sure. The kids are both sick, upper respitory infections or something like that, poor babies, hopefully they get well soon... especially since Syd is set to go to Longwood Gardens on Thursday with my parents for 2 nights. That's a nice break and gives me and Jen some needed alone time!
We keep looking into new houses as well, there are a couple that have jumped out but there's always some kind of hurdle. The one that I really liked would pretty much require a $16,000 down payment... which is just a bit outside our price range. Therefore the hunt continues.
I guess that's all I wanted to spill for now, Happy New Year to all, I expect 2020 to be an amazing year! And don't forget #Trump2020
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Friday, December 27, 2019
Happy Holidays!
Another Christmas has come and gone - it was a good time for all and to all a good night.
The kids excitedly opened their presents, got things they always wanted and things they didn't know they wanted, things they didn't want and things they didn't need, but it was a great time. I got some wonderful things myself, mostly money, which never hurts, especially when trying to save for a house. Got an awesome handgun safe, some Switch gear, some new clippers, underwear and some other goodies!
Dad got his Oculus Quest, which we really didn't set up or play around with until the day after Christmas, just due to the abundance of people around and things going on. I think he's going to absolutley love it the deeper he gets, and of course, sharing the joys of VR got me once again into the obsession. It also seems my earlier year prediction was fairly accurate - looking online it seems that A LOT of Quests were given as gifts, hell the backorder date is into late Januray/February now because stock everywhere is depleted. It's about to be MAINSTREAM, Baby!
Sorry to spin this write-up in the VR direction again, but that's exactly what I'm doing.
This may very well be the kick-off to a huge new audience which will only spread. VR has been peaking and valleying since 2016-ish, and now with amazing games, apps and experiences in the library, game-changing games coming soon (Half Life: Alyx) and headsets gaining prominence as well as prices slowly coming down, the adoption is going to grow exponentially (it also has me looking into what companies will be potentially prospering and looking into buying some stock.)
'Ready Player One' isn't far away and as developers start making more advanced, and smaller form-factor headsets, we are currently looking into the future and it looks bright!
I guess that's all I wanted to really say about VR... for now. Have also lately been listening back to OLD episodes of Video Game Outsiders, starting in 2006 when the crew was John, Michelle and Kyle... and they still mostly referred to each other as Blackdog, and Jerk... Michelle has always been "Michelle"... :P... although sometimes, Me-Shell. John just started saying "You Muthas!" and the highlights of the time are Animal Crossing on DS, Xbox 360 gamertag and achievement points, and talking about HD TV's, which none of them had yet (Michelle might have had one actually.) Fun times, love this gang!
Anything else happening? Nah, not really... this week kinda was rough because Christmas fell on a Wednesday, which chopped up the work-week and made it a pain in the ass, but today is Friday, so after this day is complete, get to enjoy the weekend with my brand new toys, muahaha. Going to defiitely hit up some of the VR social spots, VRChat and Altspace to see how things are with all the newcomers. Will try to help my dad as well with more of his Quest set-up. I do want to try to get him into something like VRChat maybe and meet up with him online, although it can sometimes be awkward enough being in person, not sure that's a good idea, but technically speaking, I could have the whole family in VR and meet up in Cyberspace... ideally Altspace would probably be a good idea. We'll see how it goes.
That's all I got for now... might write up more later. Might not.
The kids excitedly opened their presents, got things they always wanted and things they didn't know they wanted, things they didn't want and things they didn't need, but it was a great time. I got some wonderful things myself, mostly money, which never hurts, especially when trying to save for a house. Got an awesome handgun safe, some Switch gear, some new clippers, underwear and some other goodies!
Dad got his Oculus Quest, which we really didn't set up or play around with until the day after Christmas, just due to the abundance of people around and things going on. I think he's going to absolutley love it the deeper he gets, and of course, sharing the joys of VR got me once again into the obsession. It also seems my earlier year prediction was fairly accurate - looking online it seems that A LOT of Quests were given as gifts, hell the backorder date is into late Januray/February now because stock everywhere is depleted. It's about to be MAINSTREAM, Baby!
Sorry to spin this write-up in the VR direction again, but that's exactly what I'm doing.
This may very well be the kick-off to a huge new audience which will only spread. VR has been peaking and valleying since 2016-ish, and now with amazing games, apps and experiences in the library, game-changing games coming soon (Half Life: Alyx) and headsets gaining prominence as well as prices slowly coming down, the adoption is going to grow exponentially (it also has me looking into what companies will be potentially prospering and looking into buying some stock.)
'Ready Player One' isn't far away and as developers start making more advanced, and smaller form-factor headsets, we are currently looking into the future and it looks bright!
I guess that's all I wanted to really say about VR... for now. Have also lately been listening back to OLD episodes of Video Game Outsiders, starting in 2006 when the crew was John, Michelle and Kyle... and they still mostly referred to each other as Blackdog, and Jerk... Michelle has always been "Michelle"... :P... although sometimes, Me-Shell. John just started saying "You Muthas!" and the highlights of the time are Animal Crossing on DS, Xbox 360 gamertag and achievement points, and talking about HD TV's, which none of them had yet (Michelle might have had one actually.) Fun times, love this gang!
Anything else happening? Nah, not really... this week kinda was rough because Christmas fell on a Wednesday, which chopped up the work-week and made it a pain in the ass, but today is Friday, so after this day is complete, get to enjoy the weekend with my brand new toys, muahaha. Going to defiitely hit up some of the VR social spots, VRChat and Altspace to see how things are with all the newcomers. Will try to help my dad as well with more of his Quest set-up. I do want to try to get him into something like VRChat maybe and meet up with him online, although it can sometimes be awkward enough being in person, not sure that's a good idea, but technically speaking, I could have the whole family in VR and meet up in Cyberspace... ideally Altspace would probably be a good idea. We'll see how it goes.
That's all I got for now... might write up more later. Might not.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Communication and VR
Getting back into VR and thinking how amazing it truly is, especially looking back at technology and communication in general. It's crazy! Allow me to expound on these thoughts!
At one time, the only communication was face to face interactions, people from neighboring villages or tribes or whatever, were confined to know only what was happening right around them and their connection with the outside world was minimal if at all.
Evolving to eventual symbols and an alphabet opened things up, but were still restricted as far as sending messages via carrier pigeons or by slow means, such as the pony express. It could take weeks or months before one group would know what was happening elsewhere in the world.
Newspapers and Telegraphs opened up things even more, getting more information out to more people at quicker speeds. With Newspapers, a huge amount of information could be disseminated to a large number of people, and telegraphs, namely morse code, could get information out quickly, although that was primarily used by military or higher up, important people.
Radio broke open another evolution and gave people the ability to mass transmit information in real time and shortly after that, telephones became the norm, connecting people to other people across vasts distances.
It wasn't long after that that television became the mainstay form of information (and entertainment) and soon it became widespread and almost anyone who could afford it had a direct link to information, news and entertainment. This truly began connecting people all over to one another, although it was a regulated source of information and wasn't truly a direct back and forth flow of information.
The next big breakthrough in communication which began breaking the standards of being force-fed what one source chose to feed you, was the Personal Computer, the internet and email. With these innovations, anyone could now communicate to anyone else willing to listen/read their thoughts. The good comes with the bad, but this was absolutely the greatest evolution thus far for communication, enabling everybody the ability to convey their thoughts.
An off-shoot of the internet has been cell phones, text messaging and the invent of social media, which gives people more and more direct and immediate connection with others. There is no longer a waiting period for information, news, entertainment, or just communicating with a friend. Most people have phones on them at all times, and can instantly connect with these things, at any time or search through the infinite ledgers of knowledge available.
Virtual Reality, which is what sparked this chain of thoughts in the first place, is somewhat a branch of the internet and computers and cell phones and information and news and entertainment and in a lot of ways it brings things full circle by giving people those face-to-face experiences of old...sort of. There are games/apps (like VR Chat) that allow you to go into a virtual world and communicate with people face to face, although these people may be from different states, countries or continents.
The reality of Virtual Reality is that the potential is enormous and the bounds are few... We are still in the early stages of "True VR," and as it progresses, the abilities will only expand. When we get to a point where VR Goggles are as portable as sunglasses with hours (or more) of battery life and uninterupted internet connections, VR will truly be a turning point for technology, communication, information, entertainment and more. The book (and movie) of Ready Player One paints a VR experience that is not a matter of "If" but a matter of "When," and I can't wait.
At one time, the only communication was face to face interactions, people from neighboring villages or tribes or whatever, were confined to know only what was happening right around them and their connection with the outside world was minimal if at all.
Evolving to eventual symbols and an alphabet opened things up, but were still restricted as far as sending messages via carrier pigeons or by slow means, such as the pony express. It could take weeks or months before one group would know what was happening elsewhere in the world.
Newspapers and Telegraphs opened up things even more, getting more information out to more people at quicker speeds. With Newspapers, a huge amount of information could be disseminated to a large number of people, and telegraphs, namely morse code, could get information out quickly, although that was primarily used by military or higher up, important people.
Radio broke open another evolution and gave people the ability to mass transmit information in real time and shortly after that, telephones became the norm, connecting people to other people across vasts distances.
It wasn't long after that that television became the mainstay form of information (and entertainment) and soon it became widespread and almost anyone who could afford it had a direct link to information, news and entertainment. This truly began connecting people all over to one another, although it was a regulated source of information and wasn't truly a direct back and forth flow of information.
The next big breakthrough in communication which began breaking the standards of being force-fed what one source chose to feed you, was the Personal Computer, the internet and email. With these innovations, anyone could now communicate to anyone else willing to listen/read their thoughts. The good comes with the bad, but this was absolutely the greatest evolution thus far for communication, enabling everybody the ability to convey their thoughts.
An off-shoot of the internet has been cell phones, text messaging and the invent of social media, which gives people more and more direct and immediate connection with others. There is no longer a waiting period for information, news, entertainment, or just communicating with a friend. Most people have phones on them at all times, and can instantly connect with these things, at any time or search through the infinite ledgers of knowledge available.
Virtual Reality, which is what sparked this chain of thoughts in the first place, is somewhat a branch of the internet and computers and cell phones and information and news and entertainment and in a lot of ways it brings things full circle by giving people those face-to-face experiences of old...sort of. There are games/apps (like VR Chat) that allow you to go into a virtual world and communicate with people face to face, although these people may be from different states, countries or continents.
The reality of Virtual Reality is that the potential is enormous and the bounds are few... We are still in the early stages of "True VR," and as it progresses, the abilities will only expand. When we get to a point where VR Goggles are as portable as sunglasses with hours (or more) of battery life and uninterupted internet connections, VR will truly be a turning point for technology, communication, information, entertainment and more. The book (and movie) of Ready Player One paints a VR experience that is not a matter of "If" but a matter of "When," and I can't wait.
Back to the VR
Ok, so I'm back in the VR mindstate - mostly due to the purchase of an Oculus Quest for my Dad for Christmas. I gifted my parents an Oculus GO many months ago, and he absolutely took it over and uses it almost every night. He loves it (this is a very technically challenged man btw.)
My Wife, Mom and me decided to pool together to get him the Quest, which I imagine he'll love, so in preparation I've been checking out all the games and apps that I think he'll use, which in turn has got me back into VR. It doesn't hurt that the recently announced (although not out until March) Half Life: Alyx is looking like it will be THE GAME to get, and may in fact inspire a huge surge in VR adoption in general, it certainly hyped me up a bit.
This feels like a great time for VR... it was slowly building up since 2016 with the original Rift and Vive, and has had some peaks and valleys since, but with the release of Rift-S, Quest and the Valve Index, and now Valve making the move of releasing a VR-Only Half-Life, it feels like a new breath of fresh air for the platform. I also think, as I keep saying and predicting, that the Quest sales this Christmas will take it to a new level as well. Very exciting times!
That's the majority of what I wanted to write, so now I'm just going to talk about some of the games I intend to get/try soon and some that I am looking forward to.
Here's some of the games that have been out, and recommended to me, that I want to try sooner than later:
Horseshoes, Hand Gernades & Hot Dogs: I'm not entirely sure of the exact premise, but it seems to be a shooter or target practice/range type of game with quirky and funny twists.
I Expect you to Die: Sort of a puzzle/room escape type of game. I've seen some online vids of people playing and it looks rather fun, it gets recommended a lot.
Pavlov: I don't think this was as highly favored when it first came out, but again, lots of people rave about it now, so maybe they had some crucial updates or something. Seems like a classic FPS of some kind.
Blade & Sorcery: The most I've seen played of this was from Pewdiepie, and he had tons of fun with it (knees!!.) Looks pretty decent, not sure if there's much story there, I might have to research that a bit more.
Subnautica: People talk about how amazing this game is... you do have to play it with a controller I believe, which takes away from it somewhat, but I keep hearing people talk about it, so maybe I want to try it, maybe.
Stormlands: To be honest, not much of a clue what this game is about, I believe you fly around or zip line around or something with hot-air balloons, but I could be wrong.
The Under Presents: This is some sort of social/performance piece, kind of game, with a live aspect to it and time travel or something. It is made by the same people who did Virtual Virtual Reality, so I anticipate it will be a bit mind-bending and entertaining.
Vacation Simulator: Job Simulator was fun and I hear this one is very similar. Not as highly favored, but seems like the kind of game I will enjoy.
As well as all of these listed, there are a couple games that I am looking forward to... although it's mostly just, Half Life: Alyx. I've been a fan of Half Life since Half-Life 2, shortly after it was released... I've gone back and played through a majority of Half-Life 1, but it never really captured my attention. Also have played through a lot of Half Life: Episode 2. I absolutely love and beat multiple times both Portal games, and Valve in general just does things right. The fact they are dedicating the next Half Life saga to VR specifically, and judging from the trailer it looks absolutely amazing and engrossing, but also, makes me worry that my computer will even be able to run it. I maxed out my PC when I built it, but that was over 3 years ago, and the only upgrade since was to my graphic card about a year ago (980 ti.) so I think I can run it OK, but now I'm thinking about upping my CPU and getting a 2080 ti (just to be safe.) I'm foolish, I know, but it's stuff like this that excites me, so might as well splurge occasionally. We'll see.
In conclusion... VR is breaking ground, it's a great time to jump in because we're at a good spot and it's only going to get better.
My Wife, Mom and me decided to pool together to get him the Quest, which I imagine he'll love, so in preparation I've been checking out all the games and apps that I think he'll use, which in turn has got me back into VR. It doesn't hurt that the recently announced (although not out until March) Half Life: Alyx is looking like it will be THE GAME to get, and may in fact inspire a huge surge in VR adoption in general, it certainly hyped me up a bit.
This feels like a great time for VR... it was slowly building up since 2016 with the original Rift and Vive, and has had some peaks and valleys since, but with the release of Rift-S, Quest and the Valve Index, and now Valve making the move of releasing a VR-Only Half-Life, it feels like a new breath of fresh air for the platform. I also think, as I keep saying and predicting, that the Quest sales this Christmas will take it to a new level as well. Very exciting times!
That's the majority of what I wanted to write, so now I'm just going to talk about some of the games I intend to get/try soon and some that I am looking forward to.
Here's some of the games that have been out, and recommended to me, that I want to try sooner than later:
Horseshoes, Hand Gernades & Hot Dogs: I'm not entirely sure of the exact premise, but it seems to be a shooter or target practice/range type of game with quirky and funny twists.
I Expect you to Die: Sort of a puzzle/room escape type of game. I've seen some online vids of people playing and it looks rather fun, it gets recommended a lot.
Pavlov: I don't think this was as highly favored when it first came out, but again, lots of people rave about it now, so maybe they had some crucial updates or something. Seems like a classic FPS of some kind.
Blade & Sorcery: The most I've seen played of this was from Pewdiepie, and he had tons of fun with it (knees!!.) Looks pretty decent, not sure if there's much story there, I might have to research that a bit more.
Subnautica: People talk about how amazing this game is... you do have to play it with a controller I believe, which takes away from it somewhat, but I keep hearing people talk about it, so maybe I want to try it, maybe.
Stormlands: To be honest, not much of a clue what this game is about, I believe you fly around or zip line around or something with hot-air balloons, but I could be wrong.
The Under Presents: This is some sort of social/performance piece, kind of game, with a live aspect to it and time travel or something. It is made by the same people who did Virtual Virtual Reality, so I anticipate it will be a bit mind-bending and entertaining.
Vacation Simulator: Job Simulator was fun and I hear this one is very similar. Not as highly favored, but seems like the kind of game I will enjoy.
As well as all of these listed, there are a couple games that I am looking forward to... although it's mostly just, Half Life: Alyx. I've been a fan of Half Life since Half-Life 2, shortly after it was released... I've gone back and played through a majority of Half-Life 1, but it never really captured my attention. Also have played through a lot of Half Life: Episode 2. I absolutely love and beat multiple times both Portal games, and Valve in general just does things right. The fact they are dedicating the next Half Life saga to VR specifically, and judging from the trailer it looks absolutely amazing and engrossing, but also, makes me worry that my computer will even be able to run it. I maxed out my PC when I built it, but that was over 3 years ago, and the only upgrade since was to my graphic card about a year ago (980 ti.) so I think I can run it OK, but now I'm thinking about upping my CPU and getting a 2080 ti (just to be safe.) I'm foolish, I know, but it's stuff like this that excites me, so might as well splurge occasionally. We'll see.
In conclusion... VR is breaking ground, it's a great time to jump in because we're at a good spot and it's only going to get better.
Monday, October 7, 2019
13,870 Days and Counting
Another Birthday has come and gone... 38 years old, that's sort of a long time. Hard to believe at times, but it is the truth.
Anyway, had a nice little birthday, nothing too exciting, Mom made Chicken Pot Pie, which was delicious!! Nice little Coconut Custard Pie thrown in the mix for desert! MMM!
Jen shocked me the most, she ended up getting me a Nintendo Switch... out of nowhere, and I had no clue how she even knew I wanted a Switch, but she is amazing, I was blown away. She also got me Zelda: Link's Awakening (Remastered) which has been a blast playing through, and better believe I already downloaded and have been playing and creating worlds in Super Mario Maker 2. Such fun!
Great times all around. Dad had his birthday Saturday, which was nice, and the rest of the weekend was being dissapointed by the Cowboys as well as by my Fantasy Teams... ugh... Oh well, there's always next week. I did survive in the Survivor Pool though, so I got that going for me... Jen is still kicking too, we're down to 17 people (the initial amount of 'survivors' was around 72, so not bad odds!) Oh also, did a bit of music over the weekend too, I have some really good sounding music that is coming along nicely... just need to structure it, write lyrics, record and release the kraken.
Only other thing to speak about is a bunch of movies I want to see... including (but not limited to:) It part 2, Baby Driver, Joker and a couple others which escape my mind currently. Do also want to catch up on some missed TV, like the Wu-Tang Drama series, the Wu-Tang Documentary, Stranger Things and a couple other shows like Black Mirror and I believe Rick and Morty are coming back with season 4 pretty soon, which sounds like a great excuse to go back and watch the first 3 seasons all over again.
Anyway, had a nice little birthday, nothing too exciting, Mom made Chicken Pot Pie, which was delicious!! Nice little Coconut Custard Pie thrown in the mix for desert! MMM!
Jen shocked me the most, she ended up getting me a Nintendo Switch... out of nowhere, and I had no clue how she even knew I wanted a Switch, but she is amazing, I was blown away. She also got me Zelda: Link's Awakening (Remastered) which has been a blast playing through, and better believe I already downloaded and have been playing and creating worlds in Super Mario Maker 2. Such fun!
Great times all around. Dad had his birthday Saturday, which was nice, and the rest of the weekend was being dissapointed by the Cowboys as well as by my Fantasy Teams... ugh... Oh well, there's always next week. I did survive in the Survivor Pool though, so I got that going for me... Jen is still kicking too, we're down to 17 people (the initial amount of 'survivors' was around 72, so not bad odds!) Oh also, did a bit of music over the weekend too, I have some really good sounding music that is coming along nicely... just need to structure it, write lyrics, record and release the kraken.
Only other thing to speak about is a bunch of movies I want to see... including (but not limited to:) It part 2, Baby Driver, Joker and a couple others which escape my mind currently. Do also want to catch up on some missed TV, like the Wu-Tang Drama series, the Wu-Tang Documentary, Stranger Things and a couple other shows like Black Mirror and I believe Rick and Morty are coming back with season 4 pretty soon, which sounds like a great excuse to go back and watch the first 3 seasons all over again.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Just an Update
With Fall now upon us, and updates to this blog few and far between, I figured I'd write something...anything, to keep this thing going.
First off, we feel it's just about time to get back into the house hunting and start looking to move out of my parents' house, which I don't know if I even spoke about on here, but in brief, we were running into some financial issues and started to get overwhelmed, so we moved in with my parents for a while to get back on our feet. We've now been there for about a year and a half, and are at the point we are ready to get back on our own... for numerous reasons.
We have a meeting with a mortgage lender tomorrow to start getting the process flowing of how much we can afford and then will go forward toward checking out houses. We would really like to stay in the area we are in, but if an opportunity arises we will weigh all the pros and cons and see where we end up.
It's exciting starting to do the house hunters thing, but I certainly dread the actual moving process, so we'll see how that goes...
In other news - the Kids are doing good, besides the usual illness that seems to plague them, things are on the up and up... Sydney is getting smarter by the day, starting to do spelling and is very good with her numbers... I'm a very proud papa. Kenzie is also developing well, saying more and more words everyday and understands things as well, we can tell her to 'throw that away' or 'put that in the sink'... and she rushes off to either discard trash or throw her dirty silverware in the sink. So cute!
In other (Gaming) news -- I haven't had the amount of time I'd like over the last half of Summer to really have fun with VR, but occasionally I'll pop on the headset and play some Beat Saber or VR Chat or a couple other games. Still tons of fun, just not enough time in the day.
I've actually gone back and got quite into PUBG again, they have (and still constantly) update the game and optimize it, so as it stands right now, it is smooth, no network lag, better graphics and all around more fun. Been having a blast playing it again and I have to thank Dan Gheesling and Team Unity for inspiring me on this front, since they also got back into it somewhat recently.
Oh yea, back to VR... there was just another OC6 conference (Facebook's Oculus Conference) and the Oculus Quest is getting all kinds of interesting updates, including Oculus 'Link' which (soon) allows users to thether the Quest to their PC to expand the game library and play PCVR games. That is pretty huge, and almost makes the Rift-S obsolete...almost. They are also aiming to include 'hand tracking' into the Quest by next year... we'll see how that comes along.
Suffice to say, anytime there is major news in the VR world, I do get a bit excited and decide to play a little more VR, so I'm already counting down the hours until I get off work and can jump into my 'Oasis' tonight. Oh and I got Jen playing Beat Saber the other day too, she was impressed... I also think I'm going to get my parents (namely my Dad) a Quest for Christmas. He has been loving his Oculus GO, and I think it's time for him to get an upgrade. He's ready.
Other than all that, Halloween is coming soon, which is always fun... can't wait to get Kenzie out for trick-or-treating... she went last year, but obviously had no clue of anything that was going on... she still probably won't really get it, but at least she's a little more aware this year. Syd is excited as usual, and she keeps changing her mind on what she actually wants to be... so we'll see where she lands with that!
With Halloween also kicks off the holiday season, which is always a whirlwind, and throw our Disney vacation into the mix in November and we'll be busy little beavers the rest of the year. Oy Vey!
Also, Trump... the DS still keeps trying to take him out, but are desperate and sloppy in their attempts and thankfully the public is waking up, albeit slower than I'd like. #Trump2020.
Let's Go!
First off, we feel it's just about time to get back into the house hunting and start looking to move out of my parents' house, which I don't know if I even spoke about on here, but in brief, we were running into some financial issues and started to get overwhelmed, so we moved in with my parents for a while to get back on our feet. We've now been there for about a year and a half, and are at the point we are ready to get back on our own... for numerous reasons.
We have a meeting with a mortgage lender tomorrow to start getting the process flowing of how much we can afford and then will go forward toward checking out houses. We would really like to stay in the area we are in, but if an opportunity arises we will weigh all the pros and cons and see where we end up.
It's exciting starting to do the house hunters thing, but I certainly dread the actual moving process, so we'll see how that goes...
In other news - the Kids are doing good, besides the usual illness that seems to plague them, things are on the up and up... Sydney is getting smarter by the day, starting to do spelling and is very good with her numbers... I'm a very proud papa. Kenzie is also developing well, saying more and more words everyday and understands things as well, we can tell her to 'throw that away' or 'put that in the sink'... and she rushes off to either discard trash or throw her dirty silverware in the sink. So cute!
In other (Gaming) news -- I haven't had the amount of time I'd like over the last half of Summer to really have fun with VR, but occasionally I'll pop on the headset and play some Beat Saber or VR Chat or a couple other games. Still tons of fun, just not enough time in the day.
I've actually gone back and got quite into PUBG again, they have (and still constantly) update the game and optimize it, so as it stands right now, it is smooth, no network lag, better graphics and all around more fun. Been having a blast playing it again and I have to thank Dan Gheesling and Team Unity for inspiring me on this front, since they also got back into it somewhat recently.
Oh yea, back to VR... there was just another OC6 conference (Facebook's Oculus Conference) and the Oculus Quest is getting all kinds of interesting updates, including Oculus 'Link' which (soon) allows users to thether the Quest to their PC to expand the game library and play PCVR games. That is pretty huge, and almost makes the Rift-S obsolete...almost. They are also aiming to include 'hand tracking' into the Quest by next year... we'll see how that comes along.
Suffice to say, anytime there is major news in the VR world, I do get a bit excited and decide to play a little more VR, so I'm already counting down the hours until I get off work and can jump into my 'Oasis' tonight. Oh and I got Jen playing Beat Saber the other day too, she was impressed... I also think I'm going to get my parents (namely my Dad) a Quest for Christmas. He has been loving his Oculus GO, and I think it's time for him to get an upgrade. He's ready.
Other than all that, Halloween is coming soon, which is always fun... can't wait to get Kenzie out for trick-or-treating... she went last year, but obviously had no clue of anything that was going on... she still probably won't really get it, but at least she's a little more aware this year. Syd is excited as usual, and she keeps changing her mind on what she actually wants to be... so we'll see where she lands with that!
With Halloween also kicks off the holiday season, which is always a whirlwind, and throw our Disney vacation into the mix in November and we'll be busy little beavers the rest of the year. Oy Vey!
Also, Trump... the DS still keeps trying to take him out, but are desperate and sloppy in their attempts and thankfully the public is waking up, albeit slower than I'd like. #Trump2020.
Let's Go!
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Summerish
Been a minute since I last updated here, likely due to summer being a bit busy, but have still been doing my share of gaming here and there.
VR is still in the mix, but I must admit, a large portion of my summer thus far has been engrossed with Minecraft, thanks to PewDiePie resparking the passion for the game. There have been a lot of cool updates since I last played too, so it's been fun discovering and exploring.
The VR games that have occupied my time have been a lot of Beat Saber, which I use as the occasional exercise machine. Also have been playing a large amount of VR Chat, which is great fun because you never know what you're going to get. There's been a couple others which I have tried/jumped into including (but not limited to) Virtual Virtual Reality, Spider-Man: Far From Home (demo), No Man's Sky, and a couple others.
I have been garnering interest in going back to some games of a forgotten era, and have been dusting off my consoles lately as well.
I jumped back into Super Mario Maker for the Wii-U after watching so many people on-line posting video of Super Mario Maker 2 for the Switch... has been fun playing this again, and kind of makes me want to get a Switch now... damnit... debating this currently!
Also, jumped back into some GTA games, which I always seem to do every now and then. But just like usual, I feel they don't hold up... tried to start up at GTA 3... i played it out, and the controls are too elementary, same with Vice City. San Andreas has caught my attention a bit more and I could see myself playing through it, but more than likely I'll tire of those controls as well. GTA 4 was able to keep me more enthralled, but even playing through that made me just want to play more of GTA V, so that's where I currently am, playing through one of my various save games on GTA V. Perhaps I'll give GTA Online another go, since they just recently added the Casino DLC... I really really really just wish they would've released a Story-Only DLC, but doesn't look like it, that boat has probably sailed.
Speaking of GTA... the rumor mill has started turning for GTA VI. Tentatively titled, GTA Americas, it is supposed to take place in Vice City as well as Central America in the 70s and 80s. Sounds interesting, but it's still so early, I don't think a lot of the rumors hold weight. Guess we will see, and it will still probably be a while, speculation has it released in 2021 at the earliest... ugh.
Other than gaming, have been having a fun summer doing fun summer stuff with the kids. Life is grand.
VR is still in the mix, but I must admit, a large portion of my summer thus far has been engrossed with Minecraft, thanks to PewDiePie resparking the passion for the game. There have been a lot of cool updates since I last played too, so it's been fun discovering and exploring.
The VR games that have occupied my time have been a lot of Beat Saber, which I use as the occasional exercise machine. Also have been playing a large amount of VR Chat, which is great fun because you never know what you're going to get. There's been a couple others which I have tried/jumped into including (but not limited to) Virtual Virtual Reality, Spider-Man: Far From Home (demo), No Man's Sky, and a couple others.
I have been garnering interest in going back to some games of a forgotten era, and have been dusting off my consoles lately as well.
I jumped back into Super Mario Maker for the Wii-U after watching so many people on-line posting video of Super Mario Maker 2 for the Switch... has been fun playing this again, and kind of makes me want to get a Switch now... damnit... debating this currently!
Also, jumped back into some GTA games, which I always seem to do every now and then. But just like usual, I feel they don't hold up... tried to start up at GTA 3... i played it out, and the controls are too elementary, same with Vice City. San Andreas has caught my attention a bit more and I could see myself playing through it, but more than likely I'll tire of those controls as well. GTA 4 was able to keep me more enthralled, but even playing through that made me just want to play more of GTA V, so that's where I currently am, playing through one of my various save games on GTA V. Perhaps I'll give GTA Online another go, since they just recently added the Casino DLC... I really really really just wish they would've released a Story-Only DLC, but doesn't look like it, that boat has probably sailed.
Speaking of GTA... the rumor mill has started turning for GTA VI. Tentatively titled, GTA Americas, it is supposed to take place in Vice City as well as Central America in the 70s and 80s. Sounds interesting, but it's still so early, I don't think a lot of the rumors hold weight. Guess we will see, and it will still probably be a while, speculation has it released in 2021 at the earliest... ugh.
Other than gaming, have been having a fun summer doing fun summer stuff with the kids. Life is grand.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Block Slicer
Since I’m on the topic of VR, there is a new game (new to me) that
I decided to jump into since it is on the Quest. It is a game that has received
much fan-fare, but this genre of game has never really been my cup of tea. I
was almost turned off completely from this game, if only for the mere fact that
everyone talks about it so much, but with the Quest, they offer a few Game
Demos, and this was one of them.
The game is Beat Saber… maybe you’ve heard of it. So, I
decided to try the demo to at least see what all the fuss is about. Fuck, what
have I done now. The talk is true, this game is pretty great. I purchased the
full game immediately. It’s as simple as can be in concept, but the combination
of the music, the controls, the light sabers and everything else, I am now
addicted. Damnit!
I have already started to incorporate Beat Saber into a
morning routine to get my blood flowing and to wake me up, and so far so good.
I have been following along intently to the online chatter about a mod that
allows you to import your own songs and although I don’t usually mod my gear,
am considering it just for this reason, and I feel I’ve barely scratched the
surface. I just got into some of the levels in campaign mode that you can only
make one mistake, and after a couple tries, haven’t been able to get past it
yet… but I will, oh believe me, I will.
Oculus Life
Oh, Em, Gee! Virtual Reality is sweeping over me yet again
and not letting up. As I mentioned, I have the Oculus Quest which I got last
Tuesday evening, didn’t get much time on day 1, but used it a more and more
each evening and over the holiday weekend. The review is in, and overall, I
like it… I like it a lot!
There were a couple more issues I’ve experienced, which I
will chalk up to this being a new product, what I’ve run across… still some
slight framerate drops here and there, nothing consequential though, and last
night probably the biggest issue I’ve had thus far was during a session of
SuperHot VR, the game unexpectedly kicked me out and threw me into the lobby,
twice. I’ve seen a couple similar complaints online, so it’s not just me, and
hopefully it’s something that can be tweaked with a firmware update. All in
all, it’s still fantastic and just having the ability to jump right in,
wherever you are, cannot be understated. The amount of power this wireless,
all-in-one headset provide are amazing!
So the Quest is a success, no two ways around it. I am
extremely happy with it and cannot wait to see the evolution of this device, I
can imagine by the time we are at Quest 3, it’s truly going to be like magic…
OK… so what about the Rift-S?? I hear from a little birdie that I got one of
those too? Is this true?! Well… yes it’s true, I’m the one typing this.
The Rift-S is not a Rift 2, it is a Rift 1.5, certainly not
the next iteration, but in terms of what it brings to the table, I believe it
is worth the upgrade, although not for everybody, and not without its flaws as
well. The first of said ‘flaws’ is what I truly hope is a software update fix
and not a hardware issue, and it has been reported by a lot of users online, so
again, I’m not alone, but occasionally and what seems random, there is a
fraction of a second of white static (snow) that flashes on the screen. It
happens so briefly and quickly that it does not interrupt gameplay but it is noticeable
and something that definitely needs fixed, I have never had any issue of this
type on the original Rift.
The second, and most major complaint is what everyone is
complaining about… the Audio! Why oh Why Oculus, would you ruin what was so
perfect on the original Rift?!? The audio is piped down the strap like the Go
(and the Quest) but it is worse than both of those, and add on the fact that
the original was seriously magnificent, it just is sad. This may be a deal breaker
for some, but I can live with it, for now… there are already tons of people
working on solutions.
The third problem, which is only a problem to some (to me,
it has been no different at all, so far) is the tracking. Instead of having 2
(or 3) sensors lining the room and clogging USB ports, the Rift-S has
inside-out tracking using the 5 cameras imbedded in the headset. I admit, I was
a bit nervous at first that it would not be as good, but after using it, it is
a non-issue. I have not had any problems with tracking yet (I’m not an Echo
Arena player, so I can see how that could be a problem for games like that, but
personally, I have not had a problem with it yet.)
The main improvement, is by far, the resolution and it is
quite the improvement. It’s not crystal clear but it almost night and day in
comparison… sure, if you search for it, the SDE is still there as well as some
god rays, but my god, having never tried a Pimax or an Odyssey or a Reverb or a
Vive Pro or an Index, this is the highest resolution display I’ve come across
and I love it. You can finally read text clear, watching movies or media, it
almost feels like a jump from 480 to 1080. It truly is a big step up. Old games
feel new, and it just gives a nice feel to everything having such clarity. I
spent a majority of my Rift-S time in VRChat, and having the increased visuals
made me feel a lot more immersed in the community.
Oh the controllers are something I forgot to mention, and it
relates to both Quest and Rift-S, since they are the exact same controllers.
They are not as good as the original Touch controllers. They are similar, sure,
and they are manageable, sure, and they are… well… umm… that’s all. The fact
the circle-thing is now on top instead of the bottom really screws with the
weight distribution and it is now very top-heavy. It is also not as easy to
just slip on if you can’t see what you’re doing, because you’re either going to
have the wrong controller in the wrong hand or will try to hold them upside
down for a second before you realize you have to flip them. It is not a
deal-breaker either, I will get used to them, but as I said, the original Rift
got them perfect (just like the audio) and now it is a semi-step backwards. I
just hope some of these things are seriously considered in the next iteration,
or I will more than likely be jumping ship to the Index, which is really giving
me some things to think about.
All in all, I am very happy with my purchases, and have been
using both of my new headsets on and off for about a week now, and in general,
everything has been a positive experience, and I can’t wait to get back in as
soon as I’m able!
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
My Quest
The time has come! Throughout the month, there was much
anticipation for the release of the Oculus Quest, and yesterday was the release
day and I am now indeed the proud owner of a Quest. I mentioned that I had my
preorder in, which was through Amazon, but even as close as last week they
still didn’t update my status that I would be guaranteed to get it on release
day, whereas, Best Buy started allowing release day pre-order pick-ups… so I
promptly canceled my Amazon order, pre-ordered through Best Buy and was
notified at midnight the night before that it was available to pick up. I went
in yesterday direct from work, picked it up and was on my way. No fuss, instant
gratification.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of playing time last
night… It wasn’t until late that the kids finally went to sleep, then I had to
charge the headset, then I had to clear a nice play space (which I use the
basement living area, which is at least twice the size of my old area by the
computer,) then I had to go through the ‘First Steps’ introduction, and by
then, honestly I was a little tired because I’m an old man now and if I want to
be even semi-functional for work the next day I usually need to be asleep by
11:00. Oh well! I did manage to start up VRChat and get that set up, and then
toyed around a little with Youtube VR and Skybox to see how media content
looked (it looked great!)
I plan to jump back in tonight, will work a little harder to
get the kids to sleep sooner and since the initial set-up is done, I can jump
right into more games and experiences and have a little extra time to enjoy all
the Quest offerings. I’ve pre-purchased a bunch of titles, some I’ve had, some
are new, and look forward to trying them all.
It’s hard for me to give a complete review at the current
time, just because my actual in-headset time was very limited last night. There
were a few issues I’ve had though, some definite graphical stuttering sometimes
in the main menu and a couple times in VRChat. It wasn’t necessarily game-breaking
or a deal-breaker, but it was noticeable. I also lost tracking on my
controllers at least once that I remember, again it isn’t a deal-breaker by any
means, it quickly found it again and I was back into the VR Mix. Also will have
to consider the VRCover replacement cover to see if it improves
nose-light-leak, which was very noticeable when I first started this unit up.
To be honest though, once I actually had a game going on and not just a black
screen or the introduction instructions, I didn’t notice the light leak at all,
but if I looked down and thought about it, I would notice it again.
These are some (slightly) minor nitpicks, I’m still all-in
with the Quest and think it will still do amazing things for mainstream
adoption and just for the all-around fun factor, and I am literally watching
the clock today at work, waiting to get back home so I can jump back in. These
are exciting times.
Oh, also… Endgame review that I promised… I’ll try, but now
it seems less likely I’ll be able to write it, and at this point, everyone’s
probably already seen it… also-also, got the Rift-S too, couldn’t resist (d’oh)
but I’ll have to talk about that at a later date. Excelsior!
Monday, May 6, 2019
Hello Again VR
I couldn't be more prescient if I tried... just on the heels of Avengers: End Game (I still plan on writing a full review btw) and the obsessive cycle continues to spin, this time swiftly swinging from Marvel to Virtual Reality.
Last week, Tuesday April 30th was the annual Facebook press conference, and we finally got the last details needed for the Oculus Quest and the Oculus Rift-S. While many, including myself, were hoping they would be released immediately, the release date of May 21 was announced, so it's not too far away, but still would've been nice to have it in my hands already...oh well.
Both the Quest and the Rift-S are coming in at $399 (for Quest that's the 64 GB model while the 128 GB model is $499.) These are easy enough to stomach price points which make it easy to jump into. I put in my pre-order for the Quest as soon as I was able, so hopefully we get release day delivery, but we'll see.
On the other spectrum, and what came as a major troll-move by Valve, they finally released all their specs on the Valve Index, and the timing couldn't have been better (they released the info about 20 minutes before the Facebook conference began on April 30th... lol.)
The Index was highly anticipated for a long, long time now, and the specs seem pretty nice, although the price does not seem very nice. With the headset, the controllers and the base-stations (which will be needed for tracking,) the Index comes in at a whopping $999. If you already have base-stations, and don't mind your Vive controllers, the headset alone can be bought for $499, which isn't horrible... unfortunately I don't have a Vive so if I jumped into Valve's version of VR it would set me back a grand... yikes!
As I believe I stated before, I fully anticipate the Quest to be the device that finally gets VR to go mainstream. It is cheap (enough) and fully stand-alone. Those who have tried it or have been trying it for weeks now all seem to enjoy it. The negatives are slight compared to what this will acheive. It is the first VR Console and in terms of comparison, I would say this is this generation's version of the NES, graphics may be 'eh' but it's loads of fun and is going to spark a whole new gaming revolution... mark my words!
I just had to pre-order the Quest, it was almost imperative that I have one of these! Not only will this device be great for playing and traveling with, but I truly see this as the catalyst to launch us all into a Ready-Player-One-esque world where VR dominates everything, so I look at it as buying a piece of history more than anything... (and watch out come Christmas time, I suspect this will be THE GIFT of the season!)
Ok so Quest is pre-ordered, I'm getting it without question... my next dillemma however, is:
A) do I upgrade my PCVR from the original Rift??
2) do I go with Rift-S or Index??
D) do I go with something else entirely??
4) do I stick it out for a while with my Rift and Go and Quest and see what comes down the line and/or wait for price drops??
The logical answer would be option 4... I truly need to just wait, no matter how hard I find that to do. The Rift-S isn't a full 'next generation' machine, it is a 1.5 if anything (maybe even a 1.43) and the Index, although impressive in most areas, is $1,000! It's pretty hard to justify that, even if that leans a lot closer to 'next gen' than most other options out there. I will truly have to fight my desires, and hope my brain wins out over my heart.
With all that being said, these are exciting times. Thankfully the "VR is Dead" crowd will be pacified by the release of the Quest, and the mere fact that we had such a jam-packed week full of VR news, info and anticipation just goes to show that companies are starting to take this serious and the competition is heating up. Capitalism at it's best will ensure that all aspects of VR is improved as we move forward and the consumers will benefit immensely!
Last week, Tuesday April 30th was the annual Facebook press conference, and we finally got the last details needed for the Oculus Quest and the Oculus Rift-S. While many, including myself, were hoping they would be released immediately, the release date of May 21 was announced, so it's not too far away, but still would've been nice to have it in my hands already...oh well.
Both the Quest and the Rift-S are coming in at $399 (for Quest that's the 64 GB model while the 128 GB model is $499.) These are easy enough to stomach price points which make it easy to jump into. I put in my pre-order for the Quest as soon as I was able, so hopefully we get release day delivery, but we'll see.
On the other spectrum, and what came as a major troll-move by Valve, they finally released all their specs on the Valve Index, and the timing couldn't have been better (they released the info about 20 minutes before the Facebook conference began on April 30th... lol.)
The Index was highly anticipated for a long, long time now, and the specs seem pretty nice, although the price does not seem very nice. With the headset, the controllers and the base-stations (which will be needed for tracking,) the Index comes in at a whopping $999. If you already have base-stations, and don't mind your Vive controllers, the headset alone can be bought for $499, which isn't horrible... unfortunately I don't have a Vive so if I jumped into Valve's version of VR it would set me back a grand... yikes!
As I believe I stated before, I fully anticipate the Quest to be the device that finally gets VR to go mainstream. It is cheap (enough) and fully stand-alone. Those who have tried it or have been trying it for weeks now all seem to enjoy it. The negatives are slight compared to what this will acheive. It is the first VR Console and in terms of comparison, I would say this is this generation's version of the NES, graphics may be 'eh' but it's loads of fun and is going to spark a whole new gaming revolution... mark my words!
I just had to pre-order the Quest, it was almost imperative that I have one of these! Not only will this device be great for playing and traveling with, but I truly see this as the catalyst to launch us all into a Ready-Player-One-esque world where VR dominates everything, so I look at it as buying a piece of history more than anything... (and watch out come Christmas time, I suspect this will be THE GIFT of the season!)
Ok so Quest is pre-ordered, I'm getting it without question... my next dillemma however, is:
A) do I upgrade my PCVR from the original Rift??
2) do I go with Rift-S or Index??
D) do I go with something else entirely??
4) do I stick it out for a while with my Rift and Go and Quest and see what comes down the line and/or wait for price drops??
The logical answer would be option 4... I truly need to just wait, no matter how hard I find that to do. The Rift-S isn't a full 'next generation' machine, it is a 1.5 if anything (maybe even a 1.43) and the Index, although impressive in most areas, is $1,000! It's pretty hard to justify that, even if that leans a lot closer to 'next gen' than most other options out there. I will truly have to fight my desires, and hope my brain wins out over my heart.
With all that being said, these are exciting times. Thankfully the "VR is Dead" crowd will be pacified by the release of the Quest, and the mere fact that we had such a jam-packed week full of VR news, info and anticipation just goes to show that companies are starting to take this serious and the competition is heating up. Capitalism at it's best will ensure that all aspects of VR is improved as we move forward and the consumers will benefit immensely!
Monday, April 29, 2019
Avengers: End Game REVIEW
***Spoiler-Free Review***
It was good. See it. Now.
***WARNING***Spoilers Review*** This review contains nothing but Spoilers***WARNING***
OMG! Captain Marvel saves Tony (and Nebula,) a Rat helps Scott back form the Quantum Realm, Cassie is older, Time Travel, Professor Hulk, Hawkeye/Ronin, Tony's daughter! 3000! Time Travel! Die Hard? no! Thor fat! Valkyrie! Mjornir! The Ancient One and Hulk! Tony's dad! Jarvis! The Hulk snap! Cap vs Cap! Nat vs Hawkeye! RIP Nat!! the Battle! Spider-Man!! Badass Scarlett Witch!! Cap and Mjornir!!! "I Am Iron-Man"!!! RIP Tony Stark! Old Man Cap!! EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! 12/10 Would See Again!
(more in depth review will be coming...)
It was good. See it. Now.
***WARNING***Spoilers Review*** This review contains nothing but Spoilers***WARNING***
OMG! Captain Marvel saves Tony (and Nebula,) a Rat helps Scott back form the Quantum Realm, Cassie is older, Time Travel, Professor Hulk, Hawkeye/Ronin, Tony's daughter! 3000! Time Travel! Die Hard? no! Thor fat! Valkyrie! Mjornir! The Ancient One and Hulk! Tony's dad! Jarvis! The Hulk snap! Cap vs Cap! Nat vs Hawkeye! RIP Nat!! the Battle! Spider-Man!! Badass Scarlett Witch!! Cap and Mjornir!!! "I Am Iron-Man"!!! RIP Tony Stark! Old Man Cap!! EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! 12/10 Would See Again!
(more in depth review will be coming...)
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
I'd Like To Thank....
They Like Me! They Really Like Me!! I think. But anyway, I was just talking about my reddit.com/r/makinghiphop Weekly Cypher Competition Submissions and how last week I didn't even make the voting thread... boooo!
Well, I came back hard, it wasn't the easiest week because it was 'no theme' which I usually struggle at. (I like the weekly themes, helps my writing if I have an general idea, or 'theme' to work off of each week,) but I felt my entry was pretty good nonetheless, and apparently the vast majority of MHH voters felt the same way and gave me the victory for the week!
It's probably been 5 years since I last won a Cypher, so this was truly exciting, in a nerdy white rapper kind of way. Winning does not grant me much, I do get to pick this week's beat and theme and even get a cute little golden mic next to my name on the subreddit, but all in all it's strictly a confidence booster and a bragging right. Hell, I'll take it. I also chose to be a judge for this week, I didn't want to have to outshine everyone again and keep winning over and over and over (ok, i think the confidence has blown up a little much...)
So that's all. Here is a link to the Award Winning Song Entry!
https://soundcloud.com/therealghosttea/tea-2019-mhh-cypher-12-prod-by-brian_something-bran
Well, I came back hard, it wasn't the easiest week because it was 'no theme' which I usually struggle at. (I like the weekly themes, helps my writing if I have an general idea, or 'theme' to work off of each week,) but I felt my entry was pretty good nonetheless, and apparently the vast majority of MHH voters felt the same way and gave me the victory for the week!
It's probably been 5 years since I last won a Cypher, so this was truly exciting, in a nerdy white rapper kind of way. Winning does not grant me much, I do get to pick this week's beat and theme and even get a cute little golden mic next to my name on the subreddit, but all in all it's strictly a confidence booster and a bragging right. Hell, I'll take it. I also chose to be a judge for this week, I didn't want to have to outshine everyone again and keep winning over and over and over (ok, i think the confidence has blown up a little much...)
So that's all. Here is a link to the Award Winning Song Entry!
https://soundcloud.com/therealghosttea/tea-2019-mhh-cypher-12-prod-by-brian_something-bran
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
The Obsessive Cycles Continue
My obsessions go from one to the other at a rapid pace, it seems like yesterday I was head-over-heels obsessed with VR, then it jumped quickly into the MCU, while both of these obsessions have diminished slightly they are still prominent. The newest obsessive cycle to spin back around into my life is music, hip hop in particular.
The passion for getting back and writing lyrics and making beats was swelling up for a couple weeks, and last week I decided I wanted to jump back in, and so I jumped back into what helped propell me a few years back, the reddit makinghiphop subreddit weekly cypher competitions.
In my opinion this is the perfect way to ease my way back into music again and shake the rust off. I entered 2 competitions so far, I got no votes in my first entry (which was a Thanos' perspective tale of redemption (keeping the MCU obsession alive!)) and my second entry, which I thought was pretty good (the theme was appearance vs. reality) and I didn't even make the damn voting thread. This kind of irked me, but it gives me some drive to improve my work and keep going from here.
The newest cypher theme will be posted either today or early tomorrow and better believe I'll be jumping in and bringing as much fire as I can.
Other than the cyphers, I've been listening to some classic hip hop and some newer albums and artists that I missed out on my hip hop absence. I also have some ideas for new songs and albums. Been toying with the idea of making an album that... umm... well, i'll hold off on divuldging that info just yet... but I got ideas. Will I have the drive, energy and time to get anything done? Maybe.
The passion for getting back and writing lyrics and making beats was swelling up for a couple weeks, and last week I decided I wanted to jump back in, and so I jumped back into what helped propell me a few years back, the reddit makinghiphop subreddit weekly cypher competitions.
In my opinion this is the perfect way to ease my way back into music again and shake the rust off. I entered 2 competitions so far, I got no votes in my first entry (which was a Thanos' perspective tale of redemption (keeping the MCU obsession alive!)) and my second entry, which I thought was pretty good (the theme was appearance vs. reality) and I didn't even make the damn voting thread. This kind of irked me, but it gives me some drive to improve my work and keep going from here.
The newest cypher theme will be posted either today or early tomorrow and better believe I'll be jumping in and bringing as much fire as I can.
Other than the cyphers, I've been listening to some classic hip hop and some newer albums and artists that I missed out on my hip hop absence. I also have some ideas for new songs and albums. Been toying with the idea of making an album that... umm... well, i'll hold off on divuldging that info just yet... but I got ideas. Will I have the drive, energy and time to get anything done? Maybe.
Monday, March 4, 2019
2019 Q & A
Q: Hey Dummy, this blog isn't about coffee at all, is it?
A: That's barely a question and no, it's not about coffee. If you could read maybe you would've seen that in the byline.
Q: You took another long absence from this blog, what's up with that?
A: Was just busy eating, sleeping, watching movies, watching TV, having more kids, making music, playing games, eating, transcribing the holy texts of the god of underwater cloud people, and sleeping.
Q: ...having more kids?
A: Yep, we had another little girl, Kenzie, who is now 9 months old and is my second world! My first world, Sydney, is already 4 years old.
Q: Who killed Tommy's Boy?
A: Yes
Q: You mentioned you were making music? I haven't seen that to be true... is it true?
A: Well, yes and no. Obviously with a hectic schedule and 2 younglings, I haven't had the time I used to have for making music, but I've been dabbling a bit here and there. I plan to soon release an unreleased (and unpolished) E.P. I made a few years ago.
Q: You seem interested in Comic Book movies and Virtual Reality. Are you mentally challenged?
A: Far from it, in fact I'm intellectually superior to a vast number of peons, normies, jabronis and mouthbreathing neanderthals.
Q: Why are you breathing through your mouth right now?
A: Uh, well, that's an unrelated head-cold. Leave me alone.
A: That's barely a question and no, it's not about coffee. If you could read maybe you would've seen that in the byline.
Q: You took another long absence from this blog, what's up with that?
A: Was just busy eating, sleeping, watching movies, watching TV, having more kids, making music, playing games, eating, transcribing the holy texts of the god of underwater cloud people, and sleeping.
Q: ...having more kids?
A: Yep, we had another little girl, Kenzie, who is now 9 months old and is my second world! My first world, Sydney, is already 4 years old.
Q: Who killed Tommy's Boy?
A: Yes
Q: You mentioned you were making music? I haven't seen that to be true... is it true?
A: Well, yes and no. Obviously with a hectic schedule and 2 younglings, I haven't had the time I used to have for making music, but I've been dabbling a bit here and there. I plan to soon release an unreleased (and unpolished) E.P. I made a few years ago.
Q: You seem interested in Comic Book movies and Virtual Reality. Are you mentally challenged?
A: Far from it, in fact I'm intellectually superior to a vast number of peons, normies, jabronis and mouthbreathing neanderthals.
Q: Why are you breathing through your mouth right now?
A: Uh, well, that's an unrelated head-cold. Leave me alone.
My Top 3 Podcasts Of All Time (and a few others that aren't Top 3)
3 is not only the magic number, but it is also the magic number of podcasts that I listen to. There are only 3 and 3 are the only ones. There is 2 but there is also another one, which is 3. There are no 4, although 4 has come and gone before it has not remained which leaves us right where we began at 3. These 3 are the ones of which are the ones (meaning the threes, or 3.) 5 is just out of the question.
I do indeed highly recommend the following podcasts to... well, myself, whether you choose to listen to them or not is inconsequential to anything except that maybe you'll like them, but if you don't, I will still continue to like them.
Video Game Outsiders - One of the earliest podcasts in existence, probably. It started in August 2005, and I started listening not too long after that. Back in those days there weren't many options for podcasts, so upon searching for 'Video Game Podcasts' this one came up. I liked the hosts so I kept listening. It is either underrated, or just under-known, but I'm glad that I over-know it, because I over-love it.
Comedy Bang! Bang! - The next podcast that I listen to regularly... this one started way back in 2009 (although sorry CBB but Video Game Outsiders beat you by like 4 years!) It started as Comedy Death Ray Radio, which was an offshoot of a UCB comedy stage-show of some sort. The dude, Scott Whaterman is hilarious, and he has guests on, who aren't really guests but are "other" guests and it's ongoing, but not like a serial, but sometimes it is. If you don't know, well then you don't know, but check it out. You'll laugh, or at least, I laugh.
Hollywood Handbook - Way back in 2013 is when this gem of a podcast started shining. Sean and Hayes are real people who are funny, but they also play characters who are funny too, so it's all mixed up, and although they started by giving us a glimpse at the "backdoor hallways and carpeted spots of Hollywood" (or something), it has evolved into a whole different, although similar, type of thing. Hilarious isn't the word for it, but, it's the one I use. I like this one the most... sometimes.
These three podcasts are interchangeable as my favorite podcast, sometimes it's 2 that's 1, sometimes 3 is 1, often times 1 is 1 but they are all 1 in my book, so technicalities be damned!
Some mentionable 4's that sometimes try to creep into my 3 (which would then be my 4, so it just wouldn't work) are:
Stuff You Should Know - This one is OK, sometimes they dig into the history of stuff or the theory of things or the way things work, and sometimes it's interesting and fun. Good hosts with a good rapport, although they talk about a lot of topics that I couldn't not care any less about, so they will never make the 3 by doing that.
Rebel Force Radio - Star Wars stuff. I like the hosts, but near and around the release of the new sequels, which aren't very good, they kept saying that they were very good, and I said to myself, "uh, nope," so that became the end of that one (for me.)
Big Brother Gossip - Again, the hosts are what make the shows. There's a few hosts on this, and they are funny, witty and full of snark. This is very niche for a podcast because it's all about the niche reality show, Big Brother. Unless you like Big Brother and unless you like snarky hosts who talk a lot about Big Brother, you probably wouldn't like this. I do, so I do. Since it's seasonal (Big Brother Seasons) it'll never make the 3 either, but it's worth the mention.
There are a few other podcasts I sometimes frequent, but for the most part I only listen to an episode here or an episode there based on guests or topics... those podcasts will remain secret.
I do indeed highly recommend the following podcasts to... well, myself, whether you choose to listen to them or not is inconsequential to anything except that maybe you'll like them, but if you don't, I will still continue to like them.
Video Game Outsiders - One of the earliest podcasts in existence, probably. It started in August 2005, and I started listening not too long after that. Back in those days there weren't many options for podcasts, so upon searching for 'Video Game Podcasts' this one came up. I liked the hosts so I kept listening. It is either underrated, or just under-known, but I'm glad that I over-know it, because I over-love it.
Comedy Bang! Bang! - The next podcast that I listen to regularly... this one started way back in 2009 (although sorry CBB but Video Game Outsiders beat you by like 4 years!) It started as Comedy Death Ray Radio, which was an offshoot of a UCB comedy stage-show of some sort. The dude, Scott Whaterman is hilarious, and he has guests on, who aren't really guests but are "other" guests and it's ongoing, but not like a serial, but sometimes it is. If you don't know, well then you don't know, but check it out. You'll laugh, or at least, I laugh.
Hollywood Handbook - Way back in 2013 is when this gem of a podcast started shining. Sean and Hayes are real people who are funny, but they also play characters who are funny too, so it's all mixed up, and although they started by giving us a glimpse at the "backdoor hallways and carpeted spots of Hollywood" (or something), it has evolved into a whole different, although similar, type of thing. Hilarious isn't the word for it, but, it's the one I use. I like this one the most... sometimes.These three podcasts are interchangeable as my favorite podcast, sometimes it's 2 that's 1, sometimes 3 is 1, often times 1 is 1 but they are all 1 in my book, so technicalities be damned!
Some mentionable 4's that sometimes try to creep into my 3 (which would then be my 4, so it just wouldn't work) are:
Stuff You Should Know - This one is OK, sometimes they dig into the history of stuff or the theory of things or the way things work, and sometimes it's interesting and fun. Good hosts with a good rapport, although they talk about a lot of topics that I couldn't not care any less about, so they will never make the 3 by doing that.
Rebel Force Radio - Star Wars stuff. I like the hosts, but near and around the release of the new sequels, which aren't very good, they kept saying that they were very good, and I said to myself, "uh, nope," so that became the end of that one (for me.)
Big Brother Gossip - Again, the hosts are what make the shows. There's a few hosts on this, and they are funny, witty and full of snark. This is very niche for a podcast because it's all about the niche reality show, Big Brother. Unless you like Big Brother and unless you like snarky hosts who talk a lot about Big Brother, you probably wouldn't like this. I do, so I do. Since it's seasonal (Big Brother Seasons) it'll never make the 3 either, but it's worth the mention.
There are a few other podcasts I sometimes frequent, but for the most part I only listen to an episode here or an episode there based on guests or topics... those podcasts will remain secret.
VR REVIEWS: Pixel Ripped 1989
This game has been on my radar since I got my Oculus Rift, yet with the vast number of apps and games I had already acquired, it kept getting put on the backburner.
Yesterday I was in a nostalgic mood and even went in and replayed (or at least started to replay) a few old classic PC games. I then remembered Pixel Ripped, which I heard great things about. Without much hesitation I decided to grab this off of the Oculus Store and booted it up.
My immediate reaction upon entering the Pixel Ripped-iverse was, 'Wow, this is going to be awesome,' and for the most part, yes, yes it is.
The basic premise is simple, you play as a pixelated dot in an old school side-scrolling platformer
game, jumping about, collecting 'pixels', shooting enemies which eventually leads to a boss battle. But wait, there's more... you also play as a girl sitting in school, playing these games on her game-boy type device, avoiding harassment from the teacher as you cause distractions in class. In the game she's playing you have to defeat more enemies and the main villain, who as it were, has taken control of a magical stone and is now combining the game world and the girl's real world (all while you are playing this in a virtual world... it gets a tad confusing.)
The gameplay absolutely transports you back to the 80s/90s and the games you play in the game have a perfect (albeit generic) mechanic and give you the feeling of playing an actual game-boy game of the time.There are moments you are transported either deeper into the game itself, or times when the game is transported into the girl's real world, or a combination of both. To avoid spoilers, I will just say you get immersed in many different ways when playing Pixel Ripped and there is a lot of jumping around between the different dimensions.
The main gripe I have thus far is the length of the game. I started this game last night, and (unless I'm missing something) it appears to only have 3 main levels. I had almost gotten to the end of level 2 after an hour or two (if that) and it will probably only take another hour tonight to complete it. For the price-tag ($25) it is a hard pill to swallow, but the overall experience of the game is definitely one to try for any VR enthusiast who either remembers or wants to get a taste of gaming in the late 80s/early 90s.
On my scale of Almond to Filet Mignon... this game comes in at a clear Chicken Pot-Pie.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
MCU RE-WATCH
I'm like a ping pong ball, bouncing back and forth from Marvel to VR... and it's a blast. Anyway, as long and storied as the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is, having a complete re-watch is almost occasionally necessary as the newer movies fill in some insight into the older films and give you a new way to view them (plus they are all (mostly) such great movies, any excuse to re-watch them is welcome.)
I started my current re-watch a week or so ago, as the hype-train for Captain Marvel keeps getting closer and closer (Next Weekend as a matter of fact!)
At first I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to watch them all, but there was a post on reddit somewhere that presented an interesting Viewing-Order, not totally chronological (although the MCU itself is a little wishy washy on timeframe details here and there.) but it combines more of the "Earth" movies together and the "Cosmic" movies together and keeps similar themes and ideals together to make a cohesive experience. It seems to be working nicely so far.
I have already gotten through (in this viewing order): Captain America - the First Avenger, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Avengers, Thor - the Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
I just started watching Iron Man 3 last night, and the conclusion of the watching order is: Captain America - the Winter Soldier, Avengers - Age of Ultron, Ant Man, Captain America - Civil War, Black Panther, Spider-Man - Homecoming, Ant Man & Wasp, Dr Strange, Thor - Ragnarok, and Avengers - Infinity War to finish it out.
Captain Marvel is due out next Friday and the final conclusion to (apparently) much of the MCU is right on the heels with Avengers - Endgame coming in late April, which means I may have to do another re-watch as soon as I am able to obtain those two films for my viewing pleasure.
One thing that has helped make watching these a (semi) new experience is my Oculus Go. The Go is an excellent VR device that is perfect for consuming media, and one of it's strengths is that you can watch 3D films without the need for expensive 3D TV's or 3D glasses of any kind. It is absolutely impressive and gives you much more depth in whatever you are watching. I was able to find 3D copies of most MCU movies, and am trying to make it a goal to complete this rewatch in only 3D.
OK... that is all.
Excelsior!
I started my current re-watch a week or so ago, as the hype-train for Captain Marvel keeps getting closer and closer (Next Weekend as a matter of fact!)
At first I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to watch them all, but there was a post on reddit somewhere that presented an interesting Viewing-Order, not totally chronological (although the MCU itself is a little wishy washy on timeframe details here and there.) but it combines more of the "Earth" movies together and the "Cosmic" movies together and keeps similar themes and ideals together to make a cohesive experience. It seems to be working nicely so far.
I have already gotten through (in this viewing order): Captain America - the First Avenger, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Avengers, Thor - the Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
I just started watching Iron Man 3 last night, and the conclusion of the watching order is: Captain America - the Winter Soldier, Avengers - Age of Ultron, Ant Man, Captain America - Civil War, Black Panther, Spider-Man - Homecoming, Ant Man & Wasp, Dr Strange, Thor - Ragnarok, and Avengers - Infinity War to finish it out.
Captain Marvel is due out next Friday and the final conclusion to (apparently) much of the MCU is right on the heels with Avengers - Endgame coming in late April, which means I may have to do another re-watch as soon as I am able to obtain those two films for my viewing pleasure.
One thing that has helped make watching these a (semi) new experience is my Oculus Go. The Go is an excellent VR device that is perfect for consuming media, and one of it's strengths is that you can watch 3D films without the need for expensive 3D TV's or 3D glasses of any kind. It is absolutely impressive and gives you much more depth in whatever you are watching. I was able to find 3D copies of most MCU movies, and am trying to make it a goal to complete this rewatch in only 3D.
OK... that is all.
Excelsior!
Monday, February 25, 2019
VRChat Adventures Pt 2
My Adventures in VRChat continued a bit over the weekend (not as much as I would have liked) and good times were had by... most.
At one point I found myself joining an animated FBI division, there were probably 4-6 of us running around The Pub, attempting to arrest various avatars. We managed to book a few individuals before something happened with the server and just like Thanos' snap, there were only 2 of us left.
I continued my adventures in the good old Open Mic Night, where you truly never know what you'll get, but I found a nice little bird backstage playing guitar, he wasn't bad, and we got the talking. A few other people joined in and this is where I got my first two friend requests. Good Times.
There seemed to be a trend of giant Loli girls taking over the bars for a while too this weekend, at one point there were three giant Loli girls all riding on each others heads. True Story.
At one point I was hanging out with various people in The Hub, which is kind of a open area with various games and introductory portals and such. I was threatened a few times by a little girl with a gun, and broke up a fight between some Anime dude and an insulting Ed from Ed, Edd, Eddy cartoon. After all that, we played a little yahtzee and attempted stacking blocks.
Nothing else too notable occurred, I just have a good time going into these worlds and either listening to people's conversations, jumping in with general quips and enjoying the community, as toxic as it may sometimes be. There really isn't any other experience quite like VRChat, where there are hundreds if not thousands of different worlds, there are games, experiences and every person can be the avatar of their dreams, pop figures, or whatever (at one point we were waxing philosophical with a giant can of protein shake mix)... copywrite be damned!
At one point I found myself joining an animated FBI division, there were probably 4-6 of us running around The Pub, attempting to arrest various avatars. We managed to book a few individuals before something happened with the server and just like Thanos' snap, there were only 2 of us left.
I continued my adventures in the good old Open Mic Night, where you truly never know what you'll get, but I found a nice little bird backstage playing guitar, he wasn't bad, and we got the talking. A few other people joined in and this is where I got my first two friend requests. Good Times.
There seemed to be a trend of giant Loli girls taking over the bars for a while too this weekend, at one point there were three giant Loli girls all riding on each others heads. True Story.
At one point I was hanging out with various people in The Hub, which is kind of a open area with various games and introductory portals and such. I was threatened a few times by a little girl with a gun, and broke up a fight between some Anime dude and an insulting Ed from Ed, Edd, Eddy cartoon. After all that, we played a little yahtzee and attempted stacking blocks.
Nothing else too notable occurred, I just have a good time going into these worlds and either listening to people's conversations, jumping in with general quips and enjoying the community, as toxic as it may sometimes be. There really isn't any other experience quite like VRChat, where there are hundreds if not thousands of different worlds, there are games, experiences and every person can be the avatar of their dreams, pop figures, or whatever (at one point we were waxing philosophical with a giant can of protein shake mix)... copywrite be damned!
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
VR HIGHLIGHTS
Since I'm discussing my VR obsession, I might as well highlight some of the other experiences and games that have stood out for me thus far.
Robo Recall - The first game I tried after purchasing my Rift (it came free with the system.) This was a great experience and the intro alone is enough to suck you in (and scare you half to death.) This game involves 'dismantling' (by way of numerous weapons) swarms of robots who have gone rogue and deadly. Lots of fun, especially being able to grab a robot by the chest-plate and ripping his arms off then beating another robot with said arms.
AltspaceVR - This app is very similar to VRChat, but a lot safer and not as wild and crazy as VRChat tends to be. It features some user-content, but the avatars can only be created from a few presets. The social aspect and events are the shining star here, with Open Mic Nights, Movie Nights and Live Performances by semi-celebs (such as Reggie Watts (Comedy Bang Bang Heynongman!) and Drew Carrey.)
Bigscreen - There are a few good apps like this, but this one may be near the top of the list. Imagine throwing on your headset and then entering a virtual movie theater. You can access movies from your computer or wherever, and throw them on the big screen. Grab some friends to join and you have quite a fun time ahead of you.
Virtual Desktop - Along the lines of accessing things from your computer, the Virtual Desktop is one of the most useful apps that can be had in VR. This is pretty much what the title is, a Virtual Desktop that you can access. You can have multiple screens and place them wherever you want in a virtual space. It's very useful having a screen playing videos, another screen searching the internet and maybe a couple more screens with various other useful things on them. Or play a 2D game on a customizable size screen, or a dozen other things you can do.
Superhot - A fun, but short, shooter that has very intersting physics and dynamics. You jump into various scenarios where you are pretty much being attacked, but the twist is that the attackers (which are bright red polygon humanoid figures) only move when you move, it creates a bullet-time kind of effect and allows you to plan out your attacks (as long as you don't move) it's a lot of fun and I'm hopeful for a sequel soon.
Face Your Fears - More of an experience than a game, you are thrown into various scenarios that are meant to scare the sh*t out of you. Everything from a giant monster attacking a skyrise that you happen to be in to lying in bed as monsters move about your room, and a lot more.
Medium/Tilt Brush - These are two different apps, with similar functions (I should probably add Google Blocks in here as well.) All of these apps allow you to create 3D pictures. Medium is more a clay/sculpting simulator, Blocks is closer to Medium but you can create low rez, polygon (think minecraft) style creations and Tilt Brush is like painting with colors (and lights) in 3D. For the creative type, these are all a blast. As far as your Medium and Blocks creations, they can also be exported to be used in other 3D programs, or send them to a 3D printer if you have one.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew - This game puts you on the Bridge of the USS Enterprise (a few of them, actually) You can play as either Helmsmen, Weapons, Captain or engineering and it's sort of a social game, you play with other players in order to complete your objectives. Admittedly I haven't played this a lot because it's best to play with friends (which I don't have) and random match-ups can tend to be pretty wild. Regardless this game is extremely well polished and a lot of fun.
Skyrim VR - This (along with Fallout 4 VR) are the biggest games available in VR at the current time, and they are very well done. Of course they could be better if they were built from the ground-up for VR, but they are great games and translate fairly well to VR. Definitely give you a new way to experience a couple games you are probably already familiar with.
Angry Birds VR - The newest addition to my highlight reel, it is what you think it is... Angry Birds but in VR. You actually get to hold the slingshot in your hand, pull back and fire off various birds at those bastard Green Pigs and their fragile structures. There are a few welcome changes to the traditional Angry Bird formula, such as being able to change your location, move around, duck down, etc. It is another shorter game, but a lot of fun.
Well, that's about it, I have a bunch of games I still haven't had the time to try, and a bunch of games that I feel just aren't worthy for this list, but VR has happily taken over my gaming time. I haven't touched a PC "Pancake" game in a while thanks to my Rift, and at least for the foreseeable future, I don't see myself backtracking. I am already looking into expanding my VR obsession in the form of better equipment. (the new Oculus Quest is due out soon, which takes 6 DOF VR into the wireless realm... I plan on picking up a Quest as soon as I'm able, and I can't wait!)
Robo Recall - The first game I tried after purchasing my Rift (it came free with the system.) This was a great experience and the intro alone is enough to suck you in (and scare you half to death.) This game involves 'dismantling' (by way of numerous weapons) swarms of robots who have gone rogue and deadly. Lots of fun, especially being able to grab a robot by the chest-plate and ripping his arms off then beating another robot with said arms.
Bigscreen - There are a few good apps like this, but this one may be near the top of the list. Imagine throwing on your headset and then entering a virtual movie theater. You can access movies from your computer or wherever, and throw them on the big screen. Grab some friends to join and you have quite a fun time ahead of you.
Virtual Desktop - Along the lines of accessing things from your computer, the Virtual Desktop is one of the most useful apps that can be had in VR. This is pretty much what the title is, a Virtual Desktop that you can access. You can have multiple screens and place them wherever you want in a virtual space. It's very useful having a screen playing videos, another screen searching the internet and maybe a couple more screens with various other useful things on them. Or play a 2D game on a customizable size screen, or a dozen other things you can do.
Superhot - A fun, but short, shooter that has very intersting physics and dynamics. You jump into various scenarios where you are pretty much being attacked, but the twist is that the attackers (which are bright red polygon humanoid figures) only move when you move, it creates a bullet-time kind of effect and allows you to plan out your attacks (as long as you don't move) it's a lot of fun and I'm hopeful for a sequel soon.
Face Your Fears - More of an experience than a game, you are thrown into various scenarios that are meant to scare the sh*t out of you. Everything from a giant monster attacking a skyrise that you happen to be in to lying in bed as monsters move about your room, and a lot more.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew - This game puts you on the Bridge of the USS Enterprise (a few of them, actually) You can play as either Helmsmen, Weapons, Captain or engineering and it's sort of a social game, you play with other players in order to complete your objectives. Admittedly I haven't played this a lot because it's best to play with friends (which I don't have) and random match-ups can tend to be pretty wild. Regardless this game is extremely well polished and a lot of fun.
Skyrim VR - This (along with Fallout 4 VR) are the biggest games available in VR at the current time, and they are very well done. Of course they could be better if they were built from the ground-up for VR, but they are great games and translate fairly well to VR. Definitely give you a new way to experience a couple games you are probably already familiar with.
Angry Birds VR - The newest addition to my highlight reel, it is what you think it is... Angry Birds but in VR. You actually get to hold the slingshot in your hand, pull back and fire off various birds at those bastard Green Pigs and their fragile structures. There are a few welcome changes to the traditional Angry Bird formula, such as being able to change your location, move around, duck down, etc. It is another shorter game, but a lot of fun.Well, that's about it, I have a bunch of games I still haven't had the time to try, and a bunch of games that I feel just aren't worthy for this list, but VR has happily taken over my gaming time. I haven't touched a PC "Pancake" game in a while thanks to my Rift, and at least for the foreseeable future, I don't see myself backtracking. I am already looking into expanding my VR obsession in the form of better equipment. (the new Oculus Quest is due out soon, which takes 6 DOF VR into the wireless realm... I plan on picking up a Quest as soon as I'm able, and I can't wait!)
VRChat is Way More than just Chat
I could go on and on about VR in itself, but there's one thing I just want to rant about a bit, and it's a fun little free app called VRChat. It's a social platform where users can create their own avatars and worlds, and it's a bit of a freakshow at times, but that is what makes it great.
Picture going into a bar with Spider-Man in a wheelchair, the Iron-Giant, Peter Griffin, a baboon and more trap-loli "girls" and furries than you can shake a stick at, all while being insulted and hearing various racist ranting from a KKK member and a gang of Ugandian Knuckles. This is very typical.
I couldn't even begin to go into the fullest depth of all you can do, but there are game worlds, role playing worlds, hang-out worlds and everything in between. The imagination is the only boundary, and as long as players can create their own content, the scope of this (game? app? experience?) is limitless.
Last night, for example, I ventured into VRChat to see what was going on. I spent a good while in an 'Open Mic Night' world and heard some talented people playing guitar and singing, but it eventually divulged into an almost riot-like enviornment when a rapper took the stage (in the form of a Goron from Zelda's Ocarina of Time) and spit some bars about his wildly explicit homosexual escapades. That experience ended up with a bunch of people using Shaders and blasting music and insulting Cookie Monster, who ended up crawling into the corner and not talking to anyone. Very sad.
After that I went into one of the main-stay locations in VRChat, The Pub, which is the bar I previously mentioned. There was a good time had when a red skeleton, a miniature Mario and an unnamed female anime character were tossing bottles and mugs back and forth trying to catch them. But this all ended up with a group of 4 or 5 shadow-men who ran around the bar harassing any 'white' avatar, calling them 'crackers' and shouting various other racist epitaphs. Fun times. I decided to leave around the time a 20 foot tall Loli in a bunny outfit started picking up random avatars and using them like puppets, shaking them around the room.
My next venture was into a "spooky" world, that was crafted like a haunted neighborhood of sorts. After showing off my Alien and Freddy Krueger avatars and talking about all things horror with a few people there, we somehow ended up all being dancing Raptors, riding on each others backs and flying through the sky on what we dubbed a Raptor Pyramid of maybe 5 people (dinosaurs). Around this point, it was already past midnight so I had to log off for the night.These things sounds, perhaps a bit odd, but in VRChat this is the norm, and it is more fun than I can even explain. I can't wait to jump in tonight and see what wild adventures and experiences lie ahead.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
DA MCU
Let’s take a brief look back at how we got here and where we
go from here.
How’d we get here?
Iron-Man
Where do we go from here?
I dunno
Thank you, and have a wonderful evening… oh wait, what?! You
want more? Geez… Ok fine!
The concept for this ‘Universe’ of films was conceived a
long time ago, in a galax… no wait, it was probably the early 2000s. Spider-Man
was doing well at the box-office for Columbia Pictures, and Marvel (who foolishly sold away big
chunks of their movie rights to various studios,) figured ‘hey, we should cash
in on this whole ‘Superhero Movie’ business.’ Good thinking Marvel, DC has only been doing
it since the 60s, way to play ketchup (catch-up ((catsup.))
But wait… there’s more. Marvel did intend on a few new
variables and used their bread and butter for inspiration. No, not just their
famous and infamous characters (that they still owned the rights of,) the
entire concept of the comics themselves could be used in their films. Introduce
Characters, Introduce more characters, get fans excited about characters,
sprinkle characters from one movie into another movie, sprinkle a little more
into the next movie and then BOOM, all out cross-over events and team-up
movies! The concept was intriguing, potentially impossible, but intriguing.
Marvel figured, fuck it, and went about doing just this… they
did Iron-Man and then Incredible Hulk, then they did Thor, then they did Captain
America and to Cap it all off (get it??… Cap!?) they brought all these
characters together in The Avengers. This first ‘phase’ was the test phase, and
it worked. Audiences ate it up. The interconnectivity, the heroes themselves,
the team-ups, the universe of it all. A winning formula was born and there was
no stopping it now!
That was 2008 or 2009, and here we are 10 years later with
more than 20 movies under the belt. It has been a mostly positive ride… mostly
(Thor: Dark World, I’m looking at you!)
and it has been a great service to fans
who like the comics, fans who like Superheroes or just fans who like great
movies in general.
We are now closing in on what is expected to be the ending
of the first major chapter of the MCU, and the beginning of chapter
2. There are some characters that may not be returning, which will be
disappointing, but I imagine that there are protocols in place that will
alleviate the alienation of an entire fan base. Of course much of this is
speculation, we don’t know for sure about anything and instead are forced to
wait it out for another 2 months, desperately clinging to any kind of news and
leaks we can find, all the while hoping for the best.
Avengers: Endgame, what kind of heartbreak do you plan on
bringing us? What kind of joys and what kind of defeats? Are you going to kill
off Tony Stark? (probably.) Are you going to sink and re-freeze Captain America?
(something like that.) Will you be introducing the hard-to-tackle concept of
time travel by way of the quantum realm in order to acquire past versions of infinity stones to
counterattack the efforts of Thanos the Titan who’s only desire is to see the
universe’s population balanced by eradication of half it’s lifeforms or introduce the even more complicated multiverse structure? (huh?)
We shall see. Here's the the MCU. Cheers!
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