NeX

http://www.xfire.com/videos/6238a1

Man what a bunch of fruitcakes. I need to know what the original was that they got so upset about...

Halo: Revolution This is a project that I started originally for Vanilla Halo: PC (Combat Evolved), and was initially Join-Friendly. It featured an updated tagset from the original Halo, with new models, textures, effects, etc. The original project was intended so that you could replace your original .map files with the new ones, and join any regular server simply to see newer graphics. There had been mods like this in the past, such as the FTW projects, or RTE (relive the experience). I did figure out with this original side how to expand texture sizes to make the same reference call a higher resolution texture without adding bitmaps, which was pretty neat. I also figured out (independently, however I don't claim to be the first to use this method at all) how to use cubemap reflection and specular alpha channels on diffuse texture for scenery environments to get bump maps to show independently of dynamic lighting (explosion, light volume tags, etc) . These maps ranged in size from 200-300MB/map, which I found unacceptable. Not only this, but the BSPs must be the same in order for a join-friendly map to work, which limits what you can do creatively very much. -Detail Objects -upgraded level geometry -baked lightmaps -balanced and variable gameplay ...to name only a few drawbacks of join-friendly. I've decided to release the completed version one maps, that should work fine, on here now. Of these, some are open source, the others I could not find the originals to, however if I do stumble across them, I'll update this post with links. Join Friendly .map files for Vanilla Halo PC (.zip) Complete(ish): Derelict (carousel) Chillout Damnation Prisoner Chiron TL34 (putput) Wizard Incomplete: Bloodgulch *if any links are wrong, let me know so I can update* I do not claim to have made any of this stuff from scratch, except for some textures. A lot of particle effects I have made from scratch, or have made use of others' high resolution sprites and sometimes re-used particles used elsewhere in the mod. However, every asset that I did use has been tweaked and customized. I don't remember all the credits that are due, but here's the list I can remember: Godlike Shiro CMT Moses Kirby Tucker933 Sceny Waev [TMM] zteam altis Gaigher zteam NOS guys for helping me test these. and others I can't remember. If you use the content directly from Rev, please credit, this may not be all 100% custom, but it took some damned hard work to get it all together and working that way. That includes the original authors of the stuff, mainly because I ripped a lot of it without permission (sue me). Nothing in the protected versions should be absent from the open source maps, so all of the tags should be available in some form or another. Obligatory update of current progress **WARNING** The following spoiler is here as an archive of the original post at the start of this project - it's an OLD download, and doesn't reflect current progress. It was left behind in favor of the new version because it is large, buggy, and cumbersome to play. View and read, but download and install at your own risk.

Background: If you care about this: How it works: Again, if you care Constraints: There are a few things to keep in mind to make this work correctly. 1) Normal weapon sets only This was made for high level competitive (or just fun) play, so I did not take the time to account for "special" weapon gametype modes. If you play a variant with all rockets, obviously this timer will provide very little use other than for timing powerups. If you use any of the non-generic weapon sets, this will not work right. It will likely just end up spawning everything as normal, and you won't get your rocket or sniper fest gametype. I'm not going to fix this, although as stated in the how it works section, the script is documented well enough you could probably get that working pretty easily. 2) Custom tags not guaranteed The easiest way to figure out what tags were what types was by parsing their names. Most maps played in the style this script was designed for use the classic tagset anyway, so no problems there. I tested it on Revolution maps, and because the rev tagset follows a pretty standard naming convention, they work as well. However, your [h3]yonlex2[reach][h4]Spiker.weapon certainly won't have its own timer. All tags should spawn correctly, given how the spawn system works by reading the scnario, so if you're going to use this for that, you can just alter the timer printouts to do away with unnecessary ones, or disable the item spawn timers altogether in the script config section. Easy peasy. You'll still get the timer at the bottom, but I didn't have the time or patience to make a notification system that caters to all tags, nor would I even have a good system to do so. Even the weapon-type enum in the weapon tag isn't necessarily consistent. 3) Multi-item spawns This was a pain in the ass with how the "percentage chance of spawn" works, so I made sure it worked with the shield-invisibility correctly, gave it a logic system that would handle n-number of items inside the item_collection, and left it at that. If you want to have a "random heavy" item_collection that spawns a flamethrower/fuel rod/rocket with each 33% chance, that should work. If you want to levitate them, it won't. I didn't support levitation for these types because I'd not seen it happen in any map, and it was more work than what the incredibly small percentage of maps that would benefit from it warranted. Sorry? Setup: There are two versions of this script here for download: <links at bottom> Classic PC Xbox The classic PC is probably the one you want, unless you're specifically using ported Xbox maps that don't feature the Fuel rod or Flamethrower. Either way, the setup is the same. Place the two (or all) lua files within the sapp/lua folder just like any Global Spawn Replacement (Xbox or standard) Dynamic ITMC (Xbox or standard) Within your SAPP init.txt you will need to load the global_spawn_replacement script. Classic PC: lua_load global_spawn_replacement Xbox: lua_load global_spawn_replacement_xbox Relevant FYIs: Map Skipping: STFU: Hac2 Beta: The official release of hac2 that is out right now (or if you aren't using it at all, lol) does NOT have the necessary console printing fix, and will likely result in print stuttering unless you use VSYNC. This is because OG Halo (and current Hac2) ties the console printing to your framerate, meaning nothing good. Generally this results in some weird stuttering and odd formatting, maybe even complete "blank outs" of the notifications. BETA FIX This is a file "hac.dll" that just goes on top of the existing release. If you have hac2 already installed, stick this hac.dll file in your root Halo directory: "C:\........\Halo\hac.dll" or "C:\........\Halo Custom Edition\hac.dll". It's a plug and play fix. hac.zip SCRIPTS: Release v1.3 global_spawn_replacement v1.3 (xbox and pc).zip PC: global_spawn_replacement.lua dynamic_itmc.lua Xbox: global_spawn_replacement_xbox.lua dynamic_itmc_xbox.lua I would appreciate it if anyone could post a video showing this in action, as I don't have any and am not at home right now to record one.

Well, it's finally here. After 2 years in development and countless hours of work, including 2 complete restarts, this project is finally in the final stage before its completion. This post itself is a tad premature, as only the CE versions of the maps have been loaded onto HAC2, but within the next few weeks MD versions of the maps will be uploaded to provide server(s) for MD and PC players. Once sehe finishes the codecaves to allow changing object spawns at runtime within SAPP, Spartans vs Elites and Flood servers will be available as well. With the release of TSC:E, I'll be incorporating some new sounds, effects, and a model or two into the tagset before the final release. This post will be updated if/when new servers open up. Links can be found in the Revolution WIP thread if manual downloads are preferred, although they are a bit redundant as they are on HAC2's database. Map List: Beavercreek Deltaruins Icefields Lockout Midship Prisoner Ratrace Sanctuary Snowcast Trench Valhalla Images ____________________________________ Servers ____________________________________ 1) The Cave Server Hosted by Iggy and Blue Iris 74.91.126.92:2315 All maps on rotation with a variety of gametypes

It's been a while since this game came out, but I figured since it's now "officially" out of Early Access with its v1.0 release, I'll give it a whirl. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds This is a Third or First person Survival/Shooter game, played in a Battle Royale scenario. Gameplay: ~100 players drop from a plane as it flies across an 8km x 8km map. Weapons, gear, and vehicles spawn in the world in a RNG style system. Some areas have higher/lower weights for loot density and item tiers. High level gear is consistently dropped in a high-visibility air drop crate, which emits red smoke after landing to draw player attention. The map is restricted by a continuously shrinking area of play - the "circles" The new circle is shown on a player's map in advance, along with a timer to show how much time remains before the blue circle begins shrinking to the white circle. The blue circle indicates the current bounds of the match (as a blue field), and any player outside of it will take damage scaling higher with each successive circle, and their distance from the boundary. The further the game progresses, the higher the damage from the circle, and the further the player from safety, the higher the damage dealt. The last player (or team) to survive is the winner. The game only ends when only one player or team remains alive. If opposing players are still alive within the final circle (roughly 10m in diameter), it will close completely and deal damage to all remaining players until a winner is decided. The Maps There are two maps available, and matchmaking will randomly choose between the two when joining a lobby. Each map supports different weather/time of day modes that are chosen randomly as a subset option of the map. Currently there is no way to manually select or alter settings to improve chances of playing any particular game mode. Erangel Erangel is a map canonically situated in the Adriatic sea. All signs and much graffiti is written in Cyrillic, and many buildings sport old Soviet Star/Sickle memorabilia - particularly present in certain state-sponsored buildings like police stations, hospitals, or military compounds. Size: 8x8 km (64 km^2) Notable Features: Loot Hot-Spots Several large towns Pochinki Yasnaya Polyana Georgopol Novorepnoye Severny Primorsk Rozhok Large military base on the Southern Island Hospital (Georgopol) Commercial Docks (Novorepnoye + Georgopol) Prison (Mylta) Power Plants (Mylta) Military Bunkers/Tunnels (between Mylta and Pochinki) School (Rozhok) Apartments (Rozhok) Mansion Estate (Yasnaya Polyana) A rolling hilly landscape, along with several mountains provide high ground and consistent cover for players who utilize the landscape strategically. Vegetation is common, and helpful for use in cover and concealment. A Ghillie Suit may be acquired from an air drop, making players even harder to spot among the plentiful vegetation. Common choke points include roads that are flanked by hills, large open fields that players may have to cross on foot, and the bridges connecting the southern island to the mainland. If a player from the southern island cannot find a boat, they may have to risk a long slow swim, or brave the open sightlines and scant cover of a bridge. Interactive map with markers for locating potential vehicle spawns and high level loot locations. Miramar Miramar is a desert map canonically on the coast of Mexico, close to the border with the United States. The northernmost section of the map includes a border wall that players cannot cross. It has very sparse vegetation away from the coastline, namely a handful of farm fields with waist high wheat, and the occasional palm tree, dead tree, or cluster of bushes. Much of the cover in this map comes from its high vertical distribution of elevations present throughout. Many cliffs and mountains preside over the spaces between towns and other locations, with uneven terrain a standard feature. Boulders and crags are frequent, giving players opportunity for cover if needed, but concealment can be difficult to come by. Size: 8km x 8km (64km^2) Notable Features: Loot Hot-Spots Several large towns El Pozo Los Leones El Azahar Pecado La Cobreria San Martin La Bandita Valle del Mar Puerto Paradiso Large prison on the Southern Island Hacienda del Patron (San Martin) Graveyard (La Bandita) Power Grid (between Pecado and El Pozo) Military Camp (Northeastern Corner) Others that I may not know of yet Interactive map with markers for locating potential vehicle spawns and high level loot locations. Weapons PUBG has a decent arsenal of weapons to choose from - some are world spawns and map-specific, others are only available in air drop crates. TO simplify gameplay, many weapons share a common caliber size regardless of its realism. There are 5 types of ammunition: 9mm .45 ACP 5.56mm 7.62mm 300 Magnum Below is a non-comprehensive list of weapons as I've used them and remember. For a complete list of statistics, please see this page. Key: Erangel only Miramar only Air-drop only Pistols P92 9mm pistol with 15 round magazine. Low damage, high rate of fire. Semi-auto. P18C 9mm pistol with 17 round magazine. Low damage, Extremely high rate of fire. Semi or Automatic firing modes. P1911 .45 ACP pistol with single-stack 7 round magazine. Medium damage, lower rate of fire. Semi-auto R1895 7.62mm 7-shot revolver, capable of mounting a suppressor. High Damage, low rate of fire. Very slow reload time. R45 .45 ACP 6-shot revolver, capable of mounting a red-dot sight. Medium Damage, Medium rate of fire, High accuracy. Fast Reload Sawed-off Shotgun Double-barreled breech-loaded 12-gauge shotgun. Large spread, High damage, Medium reload speed. Goes in pistol weapon slot SMGs Micro UZI 9mm. Low damage, Extremely High ROF. 25 round magazine. Very Innacurate UMP9 9mm. Medium Damage, High ROF. 30 round magazine. Medium accuracy Kriss Vector .45 ACP. Medium Damage, Extremely High ROF. 13 round magazine. Medium Accuracy Tommy Gun .45 ACP. High Damage, Medium ROF. No sights. 30 round magazine. High Accuracy Shotguns S1897 WWI Trench gun. Pump action, slide holds 5 rounds. Medium spread, high damage, slow reloading speed, longer time between shots S686 Double Barreled, breech loaded. No time between shots, tighter spread. High damage. S12K Semi-automatic magazine-fed shotgun. Large spread, Larger recoil. Short time between shots, fast reload. Assault Rifles M16A4 5.56mm rifle. 30 round magazine. Single-fire or 3-round-burst. High accuracy, medium damage, low recoil M4A1 5.56mm. 30 round magazine. Single or Automatic fire. Medium recoil, High accuracy, medium damage. SCAR-L 5.56mm. 30 round magazine. Single or Automatic fire. Lower recoil than M4A1, High accuracy, medium damage. Slower ROF than M4A1 AKM 7.62mm. 30 round magazine. Single or Automatic fire. High recoil, medium accuracy, high damage. Groza 7.62mm. 30 round magazine. Single or Automatic fire. Low recoil, medium accuracy (between any 5.56 and AK), high damage (same as AK) AUG 5.56mm. 30 round magazine. Single or Automatic fire. Medium recoil, High accuracy, High damage. DMRs Winchester94 .45 ACP lever action rifle. Iron sights only. High bullet speed, Extremely high damage, slow reload, medium time between lever cycles. Mini-14 5.56mm marksman's rifle. 20 round magazine. Higher damage than 5.56mm ARs, higher bullet speed. Single fire only. Extremely high accuracy SKS 7.62mm marksman's rifle. 10 round magazine. High damage, lower bullet speed than Mini-14 Mk14 7.62mm marksman's rifle. 10 round magazine. High damage, high bullet speed, high recoil. Single or Automatic fire. Comes with bipod (auto deploy on prone) Sniper Rifles Kar98k 7.62mm, bolt action. Clip fed (can single reload), 5 round capacity. High accuracy, can 1-shot a level 2 helmet. M24 7.62mm, bolt action. Magazine fed, 5 round capacity. High accuracy, slightly higher damage than Kar98k but with faster bullet speed. AWM .300 Magnum, bult action. Magazine fed, 5 round capacity. High accuracy, Extremely high damage, 1sk for any headshot. Extremely high speed. .300 Magnum rounds come in drop with the rifle, only 20 rounds. LMGs DP-28 7.62mm, fully automatic. Dinnerplate magazine with 47 round capacity. High recoil, medium accuracy, high damage, medium ROF. Comes with bipod (auto deploy on prone) M249 5.56mm, fully automatic. Belt fed, 100 round capacity. High recoil, high accuracy, high damage, high bullet speed, extremely high ROF. Comes with bipod (auto deploy on prone) Bipods drastically reduce the recoil when prone, and other attachments can be found in the world. Attachments are interchangeable within their weapon classification (Extended Magazine for Assault rifle will fit any weapon of the Assault Rifle class). DMRs take sniper attachments where applicable. Attachments Tip: Flash Hider Minimal muzzle flash detectable, helps fight some recoil. Common Compensator High recoil reduction, no muzzle flash dampening. Uncommon Supressor Hides all muzzle flash and drastically reduces sound footprint. No effect on recoil. Rare Grips: Vertical Foregrip Reduces vertical recoil and time to ADS Generally best for tapping single-shot or burst, it doesn't mitigate horizontal recoil, which IMO is harder to control than vertical. Angled Foregrip Reduces both vertical and horizontal recoil (less vertical than VFG) Best for automatic fire, as there is lest horizontal recoil and vertical recoil is easier to mitigate at the input Magazines: Quickdraw Increased reload speed Extended Extra bullets in magazine (amount depends on weapon. Rule of thumb is +~25%) Extended Quickdraw Full benefits of both other magazine types. Optics: Red Dot Sight Simple Aimpoint sight. Reduces time to ADS Slight zoom when holding breath while ADS Holographic Sight Simple Aimpoint sight. Reduces time to ADS Slight zoom when holding breath while ADS Slightly bulkier than Red Dot, lowers visibility when ADS 2x Scope Offers 2x magnification with simple circle-dot reticle. Bulky and less visibility than Aimpoints 4x Scope Offers 4x magnification with variable reticles (varies by weapon) Distance ticks in reticle are weapon-specific like the reticle, keeping it accurate regardless of bullet speed/drag 8x Scope Offers variable zoom from 4x-8x magnification Distance ticks in reticle. Cannot be mounted on SMGs or the M16A4 (nerfed) 15x Scope Offers variable zoom from 4x-15x magnification Distance ticks in reticle. Cannot be mounted on SMGs or the M16A4 (nerfed) Stocks: Wire stock Increases stability, accuracy, and reduces recoil Only for Micro UZI Tactical Stock Increases stability, reduces recoil Only for M4A1 and Vector Misscelaneous: Cheek Pad Reduces weapon sway when scoped for SKS, Mk14 and Sniper rifles Bullet Loops Increases reload speed (quickdraw magazine for non-magazine weapons) Kar98k + Winchester94 SG Bullet Loops Increases reload speed S686 and S1897 Gear There are several tiers of wearable gear as well. Helmets, Armor, and Backpacks. Level 1 through Level 3. For armor and helmets: Level 1: 30% damage reduction Level 2: 40% damage reduction Level 3: 55% damage reduction Armor and Helmets have a durability that once depleted causes them to break. Even 1 durability will apply the damage reduction to the shot that breaks it, however. Backpacks simply have a capacity that scales with their level. Level 3 gear can sometimes be found in an airdrop crate. Medical Items When injured in the game, 75% health is a significant cut-off for low-level healing items. Bandages and First aids cannot be used unless health is below 75%, and will only heal up to the remaining portion stopping at 75%. Boosts or higher level medical gear must be used to regain 100% health. Players cannot move much while applying medical items, or the action will cancel. Bandages Bandages heal ~10% of health, and take 3 seconds to apply. The heal isn't instant, but ticks upward over 2 seconds. Bandages can be spammed without losing any heal. Common Lightweight First Aid First Aid heals the player instantly to 75% health. It takes 6 seconds to apply. Uncommon Medium weight Med Kit Med Kits instantly heal players to a full 100% health. It takes 8 seconds to apply. Rare Heavy Boost Items Boost items are technically a medical item in that they do cause healing over time - but the boost bar also increases run speed if brought high enough Energy Drink Heals ~23% damage over time. Fills boost bar 25% Lightweight Common Painkillers Heals ~40% damage over time. Fills boost bar 50% Heavier than Energy Drinks Uncommon Adrenaline Shot Found in air drop crates only, this takes 10 seconds to apply, and fills 100% of the boost bar in one go. Boost bar is divided into segments and drains over time. The first segment is healing, second is faster healing, and final two are for increased movement speed (25% and 35% respecitvely) All effects stack. Vehicles There are a smattering of vehicles to choose from that will spawn on the sides of roads, in cities, or in garages. They can sometimes be the only way to ensure you don't take blue circle damage, but they are loud and very visible targets for enemy players. Shooting from a vehicle is difficult and highly inaccurate. Boat Water only, seats 4. Very open for shooting Dacia Sedan, seats 4. Fairly fast on-road, bad handling off road. Brightly colored UAZ Jeep. Seats 4. Similar on and off-road speeds. Decent handling. Slow. Green and comes in tarp cover or open with roll-bars Buggy Off-road buggy, seats 2. Fast, poor handling. Passenger is highly exposed in a rear bucket-seat. Motorcycle Seats 2 (or 3 with sidecar). Very fast and maneuverable. Dangerous if flipped Players are easy to shoot Aquarail Seats 2, similar to a bike on the water (or a waveruner) Faster and more maneuverable than a boat. VW Bus Slow, very high durability. Seats 8. Not maneuverable, horrible off-road. Pickup Truck Slower than Dacia on Erangel, but better offroad handling than the UAZ. Great handling, all around a decent choice. Conclusion 7.5/10 This is absolutely one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. The concept and when the game goes well would give it an easy 9.5-10. However, this game only just came out of Early Access, and there are still many issues to address, such as Early game rubberbanding Tickrate is very low Client crashes are common Many calculations are performed client-side, leading to desync or high ping advantages Physics are fucky, especially in vehicles. That being said, they've added QoL changes such as Vaulting and Climbing, which allows a freedom of movement that this style of gameplay desperately needed. In this game, expert gunplay is rewarded, but tactics and strategy can be even more overwhelming. Gunfire will draw out players you didn't know were there, or you may go for a kill only to announce your presence before the circle requires you to run towards the enemy with little cover. It's a fantastic game, and gives me an adrenaline rush unlike any shooter I've played before. Winning is rare, and getting into the top 10 is an edge-of-your-seat experience. Personally, I find this game to be the most enjoyable with a group of friends, but even solo play is fun and rewarding. I think in a few months and with some more polish from Bluehole, I'll be able to edge this score upwards as the quality of the game improves. Pros: Requires a good trigger finger and innovative playstyle Rewards both aggressive and passive playstyles when appropriate Forces players to improvise and play the hand they're dealt Decent bullet mechanics make each kill rewarding Winning a match in this game may be the most satisfying win experience in any game I've played - subjective, but honest. Every game plays out differently due to the nature of the battle royale style Developer is relatively transparent and open about changes, upcoming patches, and QoL Feature updates. Frequently listens to community feedback Cons: Game is poorly optimized (although the latest patch is a huge step in the right direction) Server/Client issues (tickrate, rubberbanding) are present frequently enough to be noticeable and frustrating Client crashes are not uncommon Until recently, hackers were common. I haven't seen any since the last anti-cheat measures, but I imagine it's just a matter of time before the new checks are circumvented. No way to choose gamemode (map+weather) If this happens to move anyone to get the game, I'm online playing fairly often and would love to party up!

Thanks guys! Sorry I wasn't here to thank you earlier.

Ok, I'm trying to replace the gametype icons (the ones that appear in a rhomboid box in the upper right hand corner of the default HUD) with new ones. The ones I have should be a smidge higher resolution, and also hopefully move the position of the images around. I ended up replacing the team_background (the box) with "nothing" to get it to disappear, since removing the reference gives an error in tool. Obviously the game needs these tags to think straight, but replacing the "original" team_background.bitmap with a new one wasn't an issue. Tool spits "this bitmap is a different size (x) than expected (y)", but it compiles and seems to work fine. However, when I try to alter the individual bitmaps themselves, I get weird things. The .bitmap tags themselves are referenced by a tag_collection tag, which is seemingly referenced by....nothing. Expanding in eschaton seemed to agree. Well, that's odd, but I replaced the tag_collection references for the ui\shell\bitmaps\team_icon_<take your pick>.bitmap tags with my new ones. For my effort I recieved nothing - just empty space where the old images were. Ok, well, maybe the tag_collection doesn't like to be tampered with. Simply replacing the .bitmap file with a new one of the same name should "trick" it right? Or at the least give me the same issue of not appearing? Not so! I actually get the SAME image that was there before...even though that bitmap no longer exists in that path, and the bitmap that DOES exist there (with the same name) isn't the image that is displayed. It's like a ghost file. I even went so far as to take the original .bitmap that I had renamed completely out of the folder, flush my HAC cache after rebuild, follow the chain to make sure the renamed custom .bitmap was indeed the correct image, and still I get the default images. I'm really not sure what's going on, I've checked the virtual cache as well, and still nothing seems to make sense. Are this bitmaps even changeable? Do they have to be the same dimensions? I'll keep trying things, but if anyone has any input on it, it'd be greatly appreciated. I feel like I've exhausted all of the logical operations based on my current knowledge, so I ask now when I'm reduced to simple experimentation, which, while enjoyable, is very time consuming with a poor cost:reward ratio.

Lol It's not the hex that bothers me, it's the hacky nature of modding stuff this way. I suppose there's no decent alternative available than to completely learn the HEK and then convert back from CE to Xbox format. Best of luck

Started watching Black Sails. It was pretty slow for the first season, some action here and there but a lot of 'set up'. Classic political scheming and the like, but mostly character development. Second season has been fantastic so far.

This is gross...

Started watching The Americans. It's...actually really good. Blew my expectations out of the water.

So I have the next ~ 3 weeks off before I start my new job, so I figured it's time to watch some movies that I never got around to watching (mainly because my wife doesn't really want to watch them with me :P). Just finished Ip Man, and I have to say, even though it's obviously embellishment - a movie about the legend of Ip Man, not a biopic - it was pretty damn good. Some solid drama, decent acting, and really good choreography for the fight scenes. I feel like a little bit of the dialog was lost in translation (I watched it with subs rater than dubs, which helped), which was sad. Some of the contextual and cultural stuff didn't quite translate well into English, maybe some idioms or the like. All in all, I'd say a good 7/10, fun Kung Fu movie. About to fire up Ip Man 2, or maybe The Raid: Redemption. Gotta get some Kung Fu in my life today!

Hey hey hey. I think it's about time for me to start thinking about building a new rig, and turning my current one into a livingroom media center. Here's my current specs: CPU: i7-2600 (4core 8thread) RAM: 8GB DDR3 (Corsair) GPU: MSI GTX 970 (4GB GDDR5) MOBO: Gigabyte something or other, does its job but nothing special. Mini ATX PSU: Corsair 750W Modular So far this guy has done pretty much everything I need it to, but I've been noticing some gradual loss in FPS in newer games due to my CPU bottleneck. Don't get me wrong, it's a great little processor and has served me well for its >6 year lifespan, but it's not (easily) unlocked, so I can't overclock to compensate, and I'd have to get better cooling even if I did. My GPU rarely hits over 75% load when I notice performance hits, so it's doing OK, but even though the 970 is no slouch, there are a lot more future-proof items on the market. I think this PC will do great as a low-budget living room rig, it'll serve up my Plex media and some couch gaming just fine - but it can't really handle the smooth ride I'm looking for in my main rig, and I've had these components for a long time. It's a bit of a frankenstein's monster, with my having upgraded the mobo and GPU along the way (there's another story on here about that and my fuckups along the way lol), so it's time to get the backseat sometime soon. So I'm asking you guys, since a lot of you have a ton of experience in building PCs and the nuances of the compatibilities of hardware I may not possess - what should I do here? I'm trying to keep my budget around $1000 - I also think I can salvage some parts from the current guy if needed, such as the PSU. That PC doesn't pull 400W, so I can easily use the 750W for the new build, and but a cheaper PSU to put in the old one as a more reasonable replacement. Same goes for the case. It's nothing special, but it's large enough to house all the components I could fit without issue, so i can always get a cheap ass case for the old rig's parts since it's going to be sitting in the living room doing nothing anyway. I'm hoping some tradeoffs like that could save me a few hundred without having to sacrifice any specs of consequence along the way. Things I definitely need: new CPU (unlocked), better GPU, new MOBO + RAM (DDR4 obv), SSD, water cooling system - preferrably not overly complicated, just a simple bolt-on with a vent fan is fine with me. Here's what I've got in terms of an ideal build, but it's around $1400: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/N2rYtJ CPU: i5-7600K RAM: Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4-2666 (2x8GB) GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 (8GB VRAM) MOBO: MSI Z270-A PRO (ATX) (LGA1151) PSU: EVGA 650W Full Modular Case: NZXT S340 ATX Mid-Tower SSD: Samsung 850-EVO 250GB 2.5" HDD: Seagate 2TB 7200 RPM Cooling: MasterLiquid Pro 280 Total: ~$1500 So my final questions are: Do you think the 1080 is worth the price? The 1070 is about half the price, and the RX480 is even cheaper, but the benchmarks aren't even close to the 1080 at the moment. If it is, would the step up to the 1080 Ti be worth the extra money? That's a serious beast that should be solid for several years to come. Should I fuck with an external sound card? I have a Yamaha Audiogram 6 for my microphone, which handles its business pretty well via USB, and I've never had a big issue with sound quality, but then again I may just not know what I'm missing. Are AMD processors worth it for gaming? I'd be down to try one out if the price:specs ratio was good enough (although that means a MOBO change, not a big deal). I'm down for any and all suggestions here, I'd love to knock off that $400, but not if it's a massive sacrifice in specs. By switching to all AMD I may be able to come in around $1000, but if it's also 1/3 less powerful, I'm not looking for a 1:1 tradeoff in price to performance. Thanks guys!

Yeah, that's the cycle alright. That's also the reason that I want to get something fresh - I know it'll be outdated in a few years, but that's a few extra years I get out of it. If I buy something that's already outdated....well...it's already outdated. Microcenter is about an hour away from me....how are they in terms of customer service reps knowing their shit? If at all possible, it'd be great to go in and get all the parts I need in one stop, even if it's a bit more expensive on some of the components. Especially if there's a way to build it in-house so I don't have to deal with shipping and warranties if one of the components is bogus

Definitely. I think with all the advice, my current estimate is that I'm not going to end up coming in at $1000. The real consideration now for me is how far towards the $2000 mark do I really want to get, and that is going to boil down to how far into the future do I want to not mess with needing an upgrade. If I go full on towards the 1080 Ti, and drop an extra bit on the i7 for the virtual cores it gives (clock speeds aside), that'll sit me right up into that $1700 - $2000 range. That's not really where I wanted to be at, but it seems like a more sound decision in the long run. The 1070 will definitely give me what I need right now, but on the off chance that the Vega ends up being some enigmatic breakthrough and at AMD prices, I may end up just burning my cash on it with respect to price:value ratio. At this moment I'm leaning towards sitting on my hands - 002 made a great point that what I'm running now will definitely do fine for 90% of the things I want to do, and it'll handle the other 10% well enough to live with for the time being. I'll keep saving up some cash for this eventual build in the meantime while I wait to see how these new reveals go; if they're anything short of what they claim, I'll just aim towards the higher-end marks and end up with a rig that I can be satisfied with for the next 4-6 years either way. Thanks for all the help! I greatly appreciate it.

Interesting for sure...wouldn't the lack of another 8pin limit the OCing ability of the card, if it can't physically draw as much power? After doing a bit more research, it looks like a lot of people are pretty hopeful for dual-BIOS 1070s and being able to unlock some of the intentionally disabled features that differentiate it from the 1080. I'm also interested to see what AMD unveils with this spooky mysterious Vega chip. They claim it will compete with the 11GB 1080 Ti, but with it only being 4GB-8GB, I'm skeptical. However, I'm willing to wait until there's at least some benchmarks released to see whether or not it would be worth it to get the AMD chip. Then again, that sounds like at least a few months away, which sucks. I was hoping to get this all built and set up in the next....2-3 weeks.

Makes me wonder if you've accidentally overwritten some of the stock assets that come with the HEK. I remember vaguely some mention of those tags not being able to be extracted properly by HEK+, and it corrupting them if you tried. Maybe try reinstalling your HEK, which should restore all of those and trying the stock BG again

Mmmm. Is it any map? It sounds like something is corrupted in there, but obviously process of elimination is about the only way to find out what :/ Maybe try adding your assets to tutorial.map or something like that until it breaks again... It's been a long time since I've messed with CE, was just hoping it was something I'd seen before.

Is there anything else output above it? Those are just stop codes, probably won't help much, and the EXCEPTION halt message isn't very helpful either (thanks tool lol)

About to start my last week of work at this place. Got offered a new (much better) engineering job at Ball Aerospace, doing waaay more interesting work. Oh, and on top of everything else, it's going to cut my commute from 40 minutes each way, down to 5. I mean come on, what's next, a daily massage? I have to get security clearance, but that's not too bad. They do significant tuition reimbursement, so I've been toying with going back to school for a masters in Machine Learning. My alma mater just opened a brand new neuroscience engineering building which is partnering heavily with our computer science/engineering department, so that's bad ass. And I'm taking 3 weeks off between jobs for a little 'me' time. All in all, this may be one of the best turns my life has taken in a long while

Here on OpenCarnage, users are entitled to display avatars and signatures - images that reflect their personality, interests, projects or hobbies in picture form. I figured I'd start a topic here for those of you who want to request a specific type of avatar or signature as mentioned in this topic. If you have some cool avatars or signatures you've made, post them here and show them off! If you decide you want to use an avatar or signature that someone has made (either by request or display), please post here letting us know you liked it enough to use it yourself! So, to start with, I fiddled around with Pixlr today, a web-app image editor like a very toned-down version of Adobe PhotoShop, or GIMP. I love the Marathon symbol, especially since it shows up in every subsequent Bungie game in some context, so I decided to make a version of that as a negative relief from a blue star. As you can see it's a bit cropped on the right side, so I'll recreate it tonight in Photoshop for myself and post the result here for comparison. Pixlr was pretty cool and easy to use, especially since it only requires a web-browser and packs quite a bit of power all things considered. Even has really good Layer support. Have at it!