Hump Day:

Half-way to freedom. Almost there. Just gotta hold out 2 more days and then the embrace of the weekend.....and some much needed sleep. I've been sleeping horribly the past week or so. Lots of bad dreams. They come and go so I know it won't last forever.

Got some games for my new PC rig. Oh man I'm loving it. Its good to be back into PC gaming again. Although I do remember why I left it. Installing games sucks balls. Sure they run faster from a hard drive....but there are ALOT of potential issues while installing a game.

Ran into about 12 of them while I was installing Gears of War. At first the game just crashed giving no error whatsoever after it was installed. So I went to the website....downloaded the patch. Installed the patch....ran the game again. It ran for 5 minutes then crashed. I blame the Games for Windows brand. I installed UT3 and the Orange Box without this many issues.

So I went to the games for windows live page and downloaded an update from there. Installed that patch. Problem solved. Now it only crashes when I go to exit the game completely. lol. But the game runs like butter. Although I will say I have no clue how or why anyone would wanna use the keyboard & mouse for this game. The melee is too far from the moving keys. Thankfully its a PC game so I can adjust all the keys exactly how I want them. So rock on.

Got it running at full steam and not a hickup to be seen. Its pretty. Much prettier than the 360 version....and it has a map builder. w00t. Although I will say, creating a map for either UT3 or Gears will take some time and dedication. Its not a point & click affair. When I started up the interface for the Editor...I about passed out. Reminded me too much of the Maya 3D interface. Lots of menus on menus with sub menus.......clickity clack. Thankfully UT3 comes with a bonus disc full of Unreal Editor tutorials teaching you how to use the whole enging. Epic for the fucking WIN!

And now my gaming circle is complete. I've got my 360 & Wii for console goodness. (not counting all the classic consoles I own...I mean this generation.) And my PC is now up to date and can run newer stuff like a monster. And whats sad is I spent twice as much to build my last PC and it barely ran anything. Thats technology for you.

So I'm gonna be spending the next few weeks learning how to use the Unreal 3 Engine to its fullest, and start working on some models, maps & mods for all to enjoy. Gonna also work on a Halo 3 + Gears of War crossover video. It'll be interesting to see this little tussle. Nothing huge. Just kind of a "what if the Chief and Cortana crashed on Sera during the middle of the war." How would the Chief interact with Marcus & the other COG crew....would they trust each other? It'll be fun to make.

I will say this though....I friggin hate the Games for Windows Live bullshit. I paid $50 for a PC game...I wanna game online for free just like I can with EVERY other PC game thats been out since PC gaming started back in the day.  Games for Windows Live is a answer in search of a question that hasn't been asked...and shouldn't.

- Gatsu OUT!