QUOTE “Robotic resurrection
FREEWARE MECHWARRIOR 4: MERCENARIES IS NOW FREE
Microsoft has finally caved, permitting the free release if its 100-ton robot-bashing sim, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries.
Its a copious package. A game of massive (if now slightly low-res) battlebots going metal to metal across varied and large arenas, but also an interesting sim with a few surprising additions.
You're in charge of a squad of mechs-a mercenary team that'll cause you to fret over their configuration, condition and costs. Things you probably didn't envision looking after when you first clapped eyes on these metal buggers. But if Mercenaries is as much about management as mechanical mashing, it's a worry tempered by the choice you have over what missions to fight, when and where. If you need to buy a more powerful add-on, you can choose to take time-limited military missions that'll throw staggering amounts of ammo at you. You can coast easily through the standard battles, but that's just treading water. Or oil, possibly.
In battle, you'll have to ponder the systems of your mech, worrying about overheating your vast lasers while fighting off a valley stuffed with enemies, routing coolant and dodging missiles. And all the time, you've got a squad to order around on the battlefield. It's a multilayered, complex and exciting robot stomper. Grab it now.
Size 1.2GB Link bit.ly/aeje4s “
QUOTE “It's like WWF wrestling, but with more lasers”
All of the above was taken from the September edition of PC Gamer magazine, page 89. I received my copy earlier this month. I hope you have yours.
While I am sure MekTek is thankful for the advertisement and the link to their web site (but the link is cryptic and does not say “www.mektek.net”), they are not mentioned in the article or even in the link (even though the link points to their web site). MekTek have put in untold numbers of man-hours on MW4 Mercs, maybe even more than the original team did. Maybe. They (MekTek) have given us MANY new battlemechs to choose from and more weapons than you could possibly use. Because of their work, others (including some of the MekTek folks) have also added many maps and even modified the single player game to be able to be played in multi-player mode (less the Solaris battles).
Now it is just my opinion, but it seems to me that the person that penned that article, just took an obligatory look at the download, played a mission or three and said 'yep, thats nice.' I am almost positive that the author NEVER went to multi-player mode and got online with some of the real players of the game. Even though I always enjoy running back through the single player game, it pales in comparison to going online.
What bothers me the most about the article is not so much that it is obvious to any MechWarrior fan that the author did not bother to go online, or even go in depth about the game and the additions MekTek made, but this simple statement, quote “It's like WWF Wrestling, but with more lasers”. What?
WHAT? MW4 Mercs is in no way like WWF Wrestling ( a male oriented soap opera featuring steroid laden goons faking their way through matches while afterwards having dinner and beers together). Mercs online is more like game of hide and seek and kill or be killed, quickly. Mercs can get VERY intense and leave your palms sweating, while you sit on the edge of your seat seeking that next enemy that you have very little idea of where they are and what shape they are in and what weapons they have left while you watch your temp gauge slowly descend back to normal operating temperatures and look over your radar to hopefully catch a glimpse of a red dot before you are the red dot.
Its pretty doubtful that any of you have ever stepped into the squared circle of the WWF to face off against John Cena or The Undertaker or whoever is the next greatest wrestler currently. But it very likely that if you are reading this, you have picked your favourite battlemech and loaded it to the hilt with your most useful weapons and electronics and the launched yourself into some world where the buildings are huge and landscape is vast. You and your team mates are on a mission to seek and destroy the enemy to keep them from meeting their mission objectives, which are most likely the same as yours, destroy all the other team in 30 minutes or less.
I would even say that if you are reading this, it is highly possible you played in a league match at sometime during your playing days. If you have, you know the intensity level. Two to twelve team mates are “dropped” onto some terrain that maybe be covered in snow or trees or buildings or lava or any combination. You all run passive except for your scout mech or your drop commander and you follow along closely so as not to be separated from your team and become an easy target for the enemy. Slowly you make you way around the map searching for those bad guys and a good place that is advantageous to your team to stake the battle. If you are good, or just lucky, you physically spot them before they spot you. Over teamspeak or ventrillo you discuss which mech to hit first and what the chain of command is should your DC get whacked, all the while maneuvering into attack formation. When the command is given, you either open fire or charge the enemy force at full speed hoping to take them by surprise and to come out alive. The weapons start blazing and mechs begin to explode. Parts are blown off and mechs explode shutting down other mechs close by making it tougher to determine who is on top of the scoreboard. After only two to three minutes, the dust settles and the ballistics are smoking while the lasers begin to cool down, a lone voice over comms says “good job gentlemen, we kicked their asses”. Now thats intensity.
So, yes, I am glad to see the freeware post in a world wide magazine publication, but I would have liked to see MekTek get some of the credit they deserve for so much work to such a great game and I would have liked to see the person who wrote the article actually “play the game”.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
FREE MW4 Mercs and MTX
Greetings Mech Fans
By now you all know that MekTek has released MW4 Mercenaries along with the Microsoft Mech Packs and the MekTek Mech Paks. If you did not know this, then I suggest you head over to the MekTek web site ( www.MekTek.net) and download the MTX program and then let it download MW4 and install it for you. It will search out and get all the updates and bring your installation current. You will NOT need any discs and this will be a completely NEW installation, separate from any others may already have on your system. Please note that the new download for MW4 Mercs is just over 1.7gig in size, so it may take a bit to download. MTX Client is similar to a torrent program except that it handles the installation of the software for you and then checks to see if you need any updates.
Some people had issues with MTX. If you do have issues, please visit the MekTek Forums and do a search for your problem before making a new post. IT is most likely that some else had that problem or one very similar and that the issue had been resolved already.
I had NO issues with MTX. I installed it on 3 different machines and used it to install “Free Mercs” on each of them with no problems. In fact, my download times were very fast and so were the installs. Yours, of course, will depend on the speed of your internet connection and the speed of your machine as well as the number of users 'feeding the seed'.
Why MTX? Many have asked this question. I am not part of the MekTek Team even tho I was part of the Beta Test Team early on, but I completely understand the MTX solution. MTX was designed with the idea that all people could install MTX, and then use MTX to install whatever you download (AT1 or MW4 Mercs currently). MTX would also act as a revision checker to make sure that each person using MTX ALWAYS has the most current up to date installation of whatever game they installed.
In the past, MekTek would come up with some ideas and Battlemechs and release those as a patch. Most times they were large installs and they would completely 'revamp' your game to have the latest and greatest version of Mercs. With the introduction of MTX, you only will have to contend with 1 really big download (version 021) and then MekTek can make adjustments to that or, and more importantly, they can release “parts” of what we would have known as a complete patch or newer version (example MP1 to MP2). MTX allows the team to work on something specific, lets say new types of armour, test it completely, and when they deem it complete, they can release it via MTX and everyone can download it poste haste rather than having to wait for MekTek to complete work on something else. They can do this with just about any part of the game they are working on including adding new Battlemechs one at a time, or lump many things together. MTX also allows them to put out bug fixes rather quickly if something was missed in Beta Testing. All in all, MTX is a good way to do what MekTek wanted (and still wants) to do.
Bugs? Sure there were bugs. I have been watching the MekTek forums, specifically the 'problems' with the game and MTX. Since the release of version 017, the numbers of issues has continued to reduce. This is good. In defense if MekTek, I am pretty sure that they were not expecting the number of downloads that occurred during that first week to ten days. During that time, I was running a Linux version of U-Torrent and the numbers of seeds and peers surprised me. The high numbers I saw exceeded 40,000 users for that version. Thats a lot of MechWarrior floating in hyperspace.
I think since that time that MTX has become more stable and the flow is better. MekTek is now up to version 023 with 024 just on the horizon (maybe before this even hits the web). I would like to post kudos and accolades to the Team and also members of the forums for their patience in helping (many times very rude) users. Some of the folks that did this are not even part of the Beta Team, but still they took their time to help people with installation issues and other basic and even complex troubleshooting problems so that person could enjoy a “free” game with many times no thank yous involved. Hell, I even tried to help some of the people. And this type of 'community' effort is what is needed to keep this game going and to support the MekTek staff so we can get MORE goodies from them.
I dont often go out and say you should donate to this or that because money is a very personal thing and many dont have it to spare (especially in these economic times), but I suggest that if you can spare 5 or 10$, please do so. Every little bit helps and MekTek is mostly just a bunch of users like you and me that love the game and found a way to make it better and decided to share their abilities with all of us so we can enjoy a better MechWarrior too. They do this for no pay and give up LOTS of their own personal time so WE (you and I) can have a new 'toy'. So think about that next time you pull up to the drive thru at Macky D's or Taco Hell, or the next time you go to the local store and ask for a pack of Marlboro Lites or Newports and save that 5$ this one time and send it to MekTek. They use PayPal (I think) or most credit cards. IF you dont have access to either of those, send a PM to Vam or Whitefeather and ask them for info and mail them a money order or personal check. We are not talking Hundreds of dollars form any one user, just a little from you.
I do have one thing I need to get off my chest concerning MekTek even tho I have a complete understanding of why. What is it? Well, sometime ago, I had asked Jeho for an interview about the free release and possible inclusions for MP4. Jeho had responded positively, but then said I would really need to clear it with Vam first. My idea was to do an interview, record it, post it to my blog and even offer a “podcast” of it for download. I did not get a response from Vam, so after several days (week or even longer, dont remember now) I sent another PM to him and still no response. Maybe a month or so later, I see a post where they were do a live interview on MWL radio (shout cast) about the same thing(s).
I know the MWL shoutcast would reach a bigger audience so I have no issue with that, but I would have liked to at least received a response from Vam telling me no, or no thank you, or we decided to go do it at MWL or whatever, but I got nothing. Yeah, I was miffed about that, but I completely understand the reasoning behind why they went with MWL and I dont disagree with that decision. I just felt slighted, and yeah I may be old but I still got feelings. This does not affect how I feel about MekTek and their product and I will continue to be a supporter, donater and user and if asked, I would be on the Beta Team again, or even do an additional interview and post it on my blog with a podcast if they (MekTek) agreed to it.
IF you dont have it yet, I suggest you go get the download started and then enjoy the game. It's not the same old MechWarrior. Play thru the single player to get accustomed to the controls and the battlemech movement and weapons abilities, then go on line and get with real people playing and having fun. I would like to remind you that this game has been around for 10yrs or more. There are MANY veteran players out there and they are VERY good. If you need help once on line and in a server, dont be afraid to speak up and ask someone. Most of the players I have seen are more than willing to help you learn the game to make yourself better and to give them a better opponent as well, RGMU Corrine has a nice server called “coolants theme park” or something like that and Oneshot has a great server called +PT+Sunder II. I know the players in these 2 servers will go out of their way to assist you. You can also view older pages of my blog where I reviewed some of the mechs or maps or tactics and the SunderJunkies web site is also full of info for pilots. You can get there by typing www.sunderjunkies.com into your browser. Be sure and tell 'em Vettie sent ya.
So there you have it. Mercs released for FREE. MekTek working on more and more fun stuff for us. Get MTX and get the game. Then Get online and destroy stuff. What more could you want from a game? Its FREE, its GOOD, its fun, lots of maps, its FREE, its well supported, many players, its FREE, it works, you can customize your favourite mech and did I mention it was free? Well it is. Get it, get it today, get online later today or tomorrow and kick a little butt.
….w00t! Folks!....
By now you all know that MekTek has released MW4 Mercenaries along with the Microsoft Mech Packs and the MekTek Mech Paks. If you did not know this, then I suggest you head over to the MekTek web site ( www.MekTek.net) and download the MTX program and then let it download MW4 and install it for you. It will search out and get all the updates and bring your installation current. You will NOT need any discs and this will be a completely NEW installation, separate from any others may already have on your system. Please note that the new download for MW4 Mercs is just over 1.7gig in size, so it may take a bit to download. MTX Client is similar to a torrent program except that it handles the installation of the software for you and then checks to see if you need any updates.
Some people had issues with MTX. If you do have issues, please visit the MekTek Forums and do a search for your problem before making a new post. IT is most likely that some else had that problem or one very similar and that the issue had been resolved already.
I had NO issues with MTX. I installed it on 3 different machines and used it to install “Free Mercs” on each of them with no problems. In fact, my download times were very fast and so were the installs. Yours, of course, will depend on the speed of your internet connection and the speed of your machine as well as the number of users 'feeding the seed'.
Why MTX? Many have asked this question. I am not part of the MekTek Team even tho I was part of the Beta Test Team early on, but I completely understand the MTX solution. MTX was designed with the idea that all people could install MTX, and then use MTX to install whatever you download (AT1 or MW4 Mercs currently). MTX would also act as a revision checker to make sure that each person using MTX ALWAYS has the most current up to date installation of whatever game they installed.
In the past, MekTek would come up with some ideas and Battlemechs and release those as a patch. Most times they were large installs and they would completely 'revamp' your game to have the latest and greatest version of Mercs. With the introduction of MTX, you only will have to contend with 1 really big download (version 021) and then MekTek can make adjustments to that or, and more importantly, they can release “parts” of what we would have known as a complete patch or newer version (example MP1 to MP2). MTX allows the team to work on something specific, lets say new types of armour, test it completely, and when they deem it complete, they can release it via MTX and everyone can download it poste haste rather than having to wait for MekTek to complete work on something else. They can do this with just about any part of the game they are working on including adding new Battlemechs one at a time, or lump many things together. MTX also allows them to put out bug fixes rather quickly if something was missed in Beta Testing. All in all, MTX is a good way to do what MekTek wanted (and still wants) to do.
Bugs? Sure there were bugs. I have been watching the MekTek forums, specifically the 'problems' with the game and MTX. Since the release of version 017, the numbers of issues has continued to reduce. This is good. In defense if MekTek, I am pretty sure that they were not expecting the number of downloads that occurred during that first week to ten days. During that time, I was running a Linux version of U-Torrent and the numbers of seeds and peers surprised me. The high numbers I saw exceeded 40,000 users for that version. Thats a lot of MechWarrior floating in hyperspace.
I think since that time that MTX has become more stable and the flow is better. MekTek is now up to version 023 with 024 just on the horizon (maybe before this even hits the web). I would like to post kudos and accolades to the Team and also members of the forums for their patience in helping (many times very rude) users. Some of the folks that did this are not even part of the Beta Team, but still they took their time to help people with installation issues and other basic and even complex troubleshooting problems so that person could enjoy a “free” game with many times no thank yous involved. Hell, I even tried to help some of the people. And this type of 'community' effort is what is needed to keep this game going and to support the MekTek staff so we can get MORE goodies from them.
I dont often go out and say you should donate to this or that because money is a very personal thing and many dont have it to spare (especially in these economic times), but I suggest that if you can spare 5 or 10$, please do so. Every little bit helps and MekTek is mostly just a bunch of users like you and me that love the game and found a way to make it better and decided to share their abilities with all of us so we can enjoy a better MechWarrior too. They do this for no pay and give up LOTS of their own personal time so WE (you and I) can have a new 'toy'. So think about that next time you pull up to the drive thru at Macky D's or Taco Hell, or the next time you go to the local store and ask for a pack of Marlboro Lites or Newports and save that 5$ this one time and send it to MekTek. They use PayPal (I think) or most credit cards. IF you dont have access to either of those, send a PM to Vam or Whitefeather and ask them for info and mail them a money order or personal check. We are not talking Hundreds of dollars form any one user, just a little from you.
I do have one thing I need to get off my chest concerning MekTek even tho I have a complete understanding of why. What is it? Well, sometime ago, I had asked Jeho for an interview about the free release and possible inclusions for MP4. Jeho had responded positively, but then said I would really need to clear it with Vam first. My idea was to do an interview, record it, post it to my blog and even offer a “podcast” of it for download. I did not get a response from Vam, so after several days (week or even longer, dont remember now) I sent another PM to him and still no response. Maybe a month or so later, I see a post where they were do a live interview on MWL radio (shout cast) about the same thing(s).
I know the MWL shoutcast would reach a bigger audience so I have no issue with that, but I would have liked to at least received a response from Vam telling me no, or no thank you, or we decided to go do it at MWL or whatever, but I got nothing. Yeah, I was miffed about that, but I completely understand the reasoning behind why they went with MWL and I dont disagree with that decision. I just felt slighted, and yeah I may be old but I still got feelings. This does not affect how I feel about MekTek and their product and I will continue to be a supporter, donater and user and if asked, I would be on the Beta Team again, or even do an additional interview and post it on my blog with a podcast if they (MekTek) agreed to it.
IF you dont have it yet, I suggest you go get the download started and then enjoy the game. It's not the same old MechWarrior. Play thru the single player to get accustomed to the controls and the battlemech movement and weapons abilities, then go on line and get with real people playing and having fun. I would like to remind you that this game has been around for 10yrs or more. There are MANY veteran players out there and they are VERY good. If you need help once on line and in a server, dont be afraid to speak up and ask someone. Most of the players I have seen are more than willing to help you learn the game to make yourself better and to give them a better opponent as well, RGMU Corrine has a nice server called “coolants theme park” or something like that and Oneshot has a great server called +PT+Sunder II. I know the players in these 2 servers will go out of their way to assist you. You can also view older pages of my blog where I reviewed some of the mechs or maps or tactics and the SunderJunkies web site is also full of info for pilots. You can get there by typing www.sunderjunkies.com into your browser. Be sure and tell 'em Vettie sent ya.
So there you have it. Mercs released for FREE. MekTek working on more and more fun stuff for us. Get MTX and get the game. Then Get online and destroy stuff. What more could you want from a game? Its FREE, its GOOD, its fun, lots of maps, its FREE, its well supported, many players, its FREE, it works, you can customize your favourite mech and did I mention it was free? Well it is. Get it, get it today, get online later today or tomorrow and kick a little butt.
….w00t! Folks!....
Monday, April 26, 2010
Looks like its Finally Here
Greetings Mech Fans!
Couple of things to go over today.
Big news on the MechWarrior Front. I am sure most of you know by now, but Microsoft has given MekTek the “OK” to release MW4 Mercenaries for FREE. Yes, I said FREE. That means, to you and me and hopefully many new and old players that the game will mo longer require the original CDs to work AND it is legal.
Our thanx go out to the MekTek Crew for all their hard work and diligent attitude to make this happen. You can read more on the thanx at www.MekTek.net front page.
How is this to be accomplished? Well, if you dont know by now, MekTek released a small program (13megs or so) called MTX. MTX is used as a “bit torrent” type of interface to download AND INSTALL Mercs. As of this morning, the “Free Release” was not yet available, however, the prerequisites ARE available. (I left out the part about all the infrastructure MekTek did insure good download speeds and server availability and the insurance requirement placed on them by Microsoft, but all this can be read at the MekTek web site. Take some time and browse around.
What do I have to do? You might ask? Simple. Download MTX and install it on your gaming rig or whatever machine(s) you wish to have Mercs installed on. After the download and installation, run the program. There are a few tabs, but one of them is “Games Available”. Click that tab and let the software check the servers to see what is out there. It will give you a list, something Like AT1, and Mechwarrior Mercenaries release xxxxx017 (or something similar). If you want Mercs, click on it and it wills tart downloading AND it will install automatically. This is a major download, some 1.7gigs. Yes GIGs. It may take you a while to download, be patient. I also recommend you try AT1 if you are a true Mech Fan.
After it installs release xxxxx017, there will be an update available to you, release xxxxx018. (This is a very small patch) This release puts the Unseen Mechs (The Warhammer, The Rifleman, The Archer, The Marauder (family, i.e. Mar and Mar II) and others) BACK in the game. Whatever the hassle was over the unseens seems to have been greased. Oh yeah, I forgot, the MekTek download INCLUDES the Microsoft Mech Packs, you know the eight mechs (4 Clanners and 4 Inner Sphere) that you need the packs for? Well they are in the download and unlocked for you to use.
Now these 2 downloads get you the ability to run the game with all the MekTek Content to date included plus the 2 Microsoft Mech Packs. It is also REQUIRED for the “Free” (no CD version) release, so go ahead and get the basics installed. Currently, you will need one of the CDs to run the game that will be changing VERY soon. The Beta Testers are finalizing the changes to MTX as well as the “free patch” for the main game.
Yes, we know MekTek said they were ready some time ago, but things change. Here's the deal folks, MekTek went ahead and released MP3.1. They then changed it to include the Unseen mechs, thus giving us the first patch. This allowed them to work out any “bugs' or glitches that MTX may have had or the actual game had, not to mention SOME of the content that was slated for MP4. In finding some of those issues, Mektek has made corrections and is now testing those fixes. See, with code, every time you change something, you have to see what else it affects hopefully BEFORE you give it to the public. Here's the REST of the deal, there is NO WAY a code writer, programmer, whatever the proper wording is (And I mean NO disrespect), that person or group of people can cover ALL situations that may arise. Thats why they have a Beta Team, to get a broader view of the possible issues, but even that view still only covers a part of the spectrum. There are simply too many variants of software installs and hardware to cover every unique issue. MekTek makes a change, they test it, the betas test it and then they release it. That's how it goes. Be patient. IF you DO incur a problem, post the issue at their forums in the correct area, but search for your issue first, it is likely someone else has had a similar problem and it has been resolved or at least noted for the next patch.
In the next few days, the Free release patch will be out. Get yourself ready, get your machine(s) up to date. If you got it, donate to MekTek. Most of all, spread the word and join an online game. That is where the real fun is.
A secondary note – for those of you that enjoyed my ASL post, it is most likely that I may start a NEW blog just for ASL (and mostly for the current campaign game in progress).
Folks enjoy the game!
Couple of things to go over today.
Big news on the MechWarrior Front. I am sure most of you know by now, but Microsoft has given MekTek the “OK” to release MW4 Mercenaries for FREE. Yes, I said FREE. That means, to you and me and hopefully many new and old players that the game will mo longer require the original CDs to work AND it is legal.
Our thanx go out to the MekTek Crew for all their hard work and diligent attitude to make this happen. You can read more on the thanx at www.MekTek.net front page.
How is this to be accomplished? Well, if you dont know by now, MekTek released a small program (13megs or so) called MTX. MTX is used as a “bit torrent” type of interface to download AND INSTALL Mercs. As of this morning, the “Free Release” was not yet available, however, the prerequisites ARE available. (I left out the part about all the infrastructure MekTek did insure good download speeds and server availability and the insurance requirement placed on them by Microsoft, but all this can be read at the MekTek web site. Take some time and browse around.
What do I have to do? You might ask? Simple. Download MTX and install it on your gaming rig or whatever machine(s) you wish to have Mercs installed on. After the download and installation, run the program. There are a few tabs, but one of them is “Games Available”. Click that tab and let the software check the servers to see what is out there. It will give you a list, something Like AT1, and Mechwarrior Mercenaries release xxxxx017 (or something similar). If you want Mercs, click on it and it wills tart downloading AND it will install automatically. This is a major download, some 1.7gigs. Yes GIGs. It may take you a while to download, be patient. I also recommend you try AT1 if you are a true Mech Fan.
After it installs release xxxxx017, there will be an update available to you, release xxxxx018. (This is a very small patch) This release puts the Unseen Mechs (The Warhammer, The Rifleman, The Archer, The Marauder (family, i.e. Mar and Mar II) and others) BACK in the game. Whatever the hassle was over the unseens seems to have been greased. Oh yeah, I forgot, the MekTek download INCLUDES the Microsoft Mech Packs, you know the eight mechs (4 Clanners and 4 Inner Sphere) that you need the packs for? Well they are in the download and unlocked for you to use.
Now these 2 downloads get you the ability to run the game with all the MekTek Content to date included plus the 2 Microsoft Mech Packs. It is also REQUIRED for the “Free” (no CD version) release, so go ahead and get the basics installed. Currently, you will need one of the CDs to run the game that will be changing VERY soon. The Beta Testers are finalizing the changes to MTX as well as the “free patch” for the main game.
Yes, we know MekTek said they were ready some time ago, but things change. Here's the deal folks, MekTek went ahead and released MP3.1. They then changed it to include the Unseen mechs, thus giving us the first patch. This allowed them to work out any “bugs' or glitches that MTX may have had or the actual game had, not to mention SOME of the content that was slated for MP4. In finding some of those issues, Mektek has made corrections and is now testing those fixes. See, with code, every time you change something, you have to see what else it affects hopefully BEFORE you give it to the public. Here's the REST of the deal, there is NO WAY a code writer, programmer, whatever the proper wording is (And I mean NO disrespect), that person or group of people can cover ALL situations that may arise. Thats why they have a Beta Team, to get a broader view of the possible issues, but even that view still only covers a part of the spectrum. There are simply too many variants of software installs and hardware to cover every unique issue. MekTek makes a change, they test it, the betas test it and then they release it. That's how it goes. Be patient. IF you DO incur a problem, post the issue at their forums in the correct area, but search for your issue first, it is likely someone else has had a similar problem and it has been resolved or at least noted for the next patch.
In the next few days, the Free release patch will be out. Get yourself ready, get your machine(s) up to date. If you got it, donate to MekTek. Most of all, spread the word and join an online game. That is where the real fun is.
A secondary note – for those of you that enjoyed my ASL post, it is most likely that I may start a NEW blog just for ASL (and mostly for the current campaign game in progress).
Folks enjoy the game!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Red Barricades
Many of you know Ol' Vettie is a huge Mech Warrior fan. Heck I have an entire blog devoted to MW. Well guess what? MechWarrior aint the only game in town for the old guy.
You see, many years ago, I was a big “war game” geek. Yeah I said geek. Not only that, but I had some friends and buddies that were War Gamers too. Huntsville had a “club” that was devoted to playing war games. Once a month they would have a meeting and play games from about 7.00a Saturday morning until sometime Sunday night.
I played many different war games of all varieties, from Civil War battles to World War I games to World War II games to Modern Day warfare and even some futuristic games. Of all those I played, I seemed to like WWII games best and so did the group of guys I hung out with.
Avalon Hill and Victory Games were two of the big publishers back then and between our group, we probably had every WWII title those companies released. Heck, we even went to “Cons” like AvalonCon where the game company sponsored tournaments. We got a couple of rooms and made the 3 day event like it was Woodstock or some political convention.
During that time frame, one of my best buds and I decided to try this game called Squad Leader. It was a tactical level game of WWII where the counters represented single vehicles and squads and even single men (leaders). The game was rated as a 8.5 to 9 (on a scale of complexity) but it had a programmatic scale of rules. That is, you learned a few rules and you played a scenario that used those rules. Then you learned a few more and you played another scenario that had all the first set of rules PLUS the ones you just learned. This went on until you had all the rules learned Then, Avalon Hill released “modules” adding more stuff (nationalities) and more specific rules. The first of these was Cross of Iron adding some serious rules for the Russians and Germans. Next came Crescendo of Doom adding the European forces (Brits mostly) and finally, G.I. Anvil of Victory that included the Americans.
It was about this time that Avalon Hill decided to consolidate ALL the rules from those modules and clarify them into one rule book. In doing so, the game became quite a bit more complex and they even had to redo the counters to account for some of the new rules. The result was a game called Advanced Squad Leader.
Let me clarify a little something here. Advanced Squad Leader is not a game per se', it is only a rule book used for playing ASL Modules. The group that I played with most of the time decided we needed to move in that direction. For it's day, ASL rulebook was very expensive (25$) and the supporting modules were roughly just as expensive. To get started, you needed ASL Rules and a module called Beyond Valor. This gave you a complete set of rules and ALL the historical Russian and German (including Finns) units that were seen in combat in WWII. Let me remind you that ASL did not include Air Forces altho Planes are in the mix, it is mainly a ground combat simulation.
So we bit the bullet and we continued to bite with each release of a new module. The group of guys I played with changed some over the years, but a core group of us STILL play. Yes, I said we still play. The new rulebook is on its 3rd edition (and yes we have kept up) even tho Avalon Hill long ago sold out to Hasbro. A friend of ours, who also shares a love for this game called ASL, bought the rights to publish ASL and anything old and new generated from it from Hasbro. You may know the guy. He was an All-Star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (as well as many other teams in his past). Curt Schilling is the guy and he formed his own publishing company to keep the game afloat. MultiMan Publishing now is the release point for all things ASL. We thank you Curt.
There is a small group of us now, that continue to play on a weekly basis. In fact, we just embarked on a new (another) Red Barricades campaign. This game was released back in the mid 1980's. The campaign reflects the German attack into Stalingrad during 1942 and more so revolves around the Nazi effort to take over the ordinance factory known as Krasnaya Barricady, or simply The Red Barricades ordinance factory. This is a re-creation of the actual Nazi campaign to push the Russians out of the factory and into the Volga, thus shutting down a major source of supply for gun barrels for tanks and anti-tank guns. The actual campaign lasted 30 days, from Mid October thru November.
Prior to the release of Red Barricades, all the ASL scenarios had been (relatively) small encounters lasting only a few game turns, somewhere between 5 and 12. The numbers of units used would depend on the battle or skirmish being represented, but would generally be a small number of units depending on how long (in game turns) the scenario was. These were “based” on actual battles, but usually represented only a small part of a battle or the prelude to a larger battle.
The group I played with (and I am sure we were not the only ones) sent a letter (no email in those days) to Avalon Hill suggesting some rules changes and, more importantly, suggesting that they do some sort of campaign game. The reason for the request was pretty simple. In a typical ASL scenario you had just a few game turns to meet victory conditions. Additionally, you had just a few units to accomplish victory (or to keep your enemy for doing so). A single mistake, or a bad set of die rolls could cost you the game. Many times it was decided early in the game OR it came down to a mad, unrealistic rush to get the victory condition (whatever it was, capturing a building or multiple buildings, inflicting X number of causalities, or exiting so many units of the game board.) Altho these were quite fun, it had that unrealistic feel to it. In the war, there weren't that many times that a leader would continue to send men (squad after squad) to their death just so some could leave the area, no most were fought with some bit of conservatism to save that tank or that squad for the next days battles. We often did DYO (design your own) scenarios that were “campaign like” so that you could “save” forces from the battle to use in the next one.
Obviously the designers were already on that train of thought. AH released a “Historical Campaign Module” that did all the things we were looking for. Red Barricades recreated and actual battle from day 1 of that battle through the very last day of the battle. Each 'scenario' represented 1 day of fighting. Things that didn't die got to stick around for the next day of fighting and so on. The victory condition was that the German Forces had to take over the entire map in 30 days of fighting and the Russians had to stop them to win.
The game is much more complex than that, but in a nut shell, the Nazis attack the factory and the Ruskies try to keep them out. The map is a 44” by 22” hexagonal grid overlaying a “fly by” picture of the actual battlefield taken from WWII photos, then obviously enhanced some to make things a little more clear for the players. The Order of Battle is taken from historical records of what actually fought in the battle, in other words, if it was there, its in the game. Players make “purchases” from day to day based on “what was there” and what they had previously bought. This means if only 3 Sturm Companies appeared in the entire battle, the German player can never buy more than 3 Sturm companies, but they could buy less. To make it more fun, each players purchases may not be a FULL company. They may be depleted, meaning they only get part of a company but they cost the same and the only control a player has over this is a die roll depending on some modifiers (based on historical events and actual game play events).
Anyway, as I said earlier, we have started a new campaign. Its 2 teams of 2 players each. Representing the German forces will be my old friend Ron who has been playing since the original Squad Leader game days, and my old friend Phil who joined us in playing war games some 18 years ago (maybe?). For the Russians, it will be a new comer to the gaming world, a friend of all of us Hugh and of course, Ol' Vettie. One of our plans is to use this (or maybe a new one) blog to keep up with the day to day (we meet once a week) battles. To list what each team bought for battle and to get their current battle strategy going in to the daily battle, note any changes of strategy and finally to get their point of view once the battle (daily battle) concludes and then repeat this for the next day and so on. Not really a series replay, but more so an overview of thoughts and ideas from both points of view. When we can, we might add some pictures of the battlefield so you readers can see where we are and what it looks like.
Let me know what you think and especially if there are any “gamers” out there, let me know your favourite game. I know Battletech got its beginnings (it still is) a board game.
W00t!
Friday, April 2, 2010
MP3.1 RELEASED
MP3.1 has been released from Mektek
THIS IS NOT THE FREE RELEASE, however, it does include the MS MechPacks.
The Unseens are out for now
YOU STILL NEED YOUR GAME CDs TO RUN THE GAME
MTX is required for download
Check it all out at
WWW.MEKTEK.NET
PLEASE TAKE SOME CASH OUT OF YOUR ACCOUNT AND DONATE TO MEKTEK. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.
5$ to 500$ give what you can. Give up your coffee or McD's for 1 lousy meal and help MEKTEK.
w00t folks!!!!!
EDIT
The UNSEENS have been released via a patch.
USE MTX to UPDATE your game. Its smooth.
Love me some Marauder!!
edit posted 4-5-2010 by Vettie!!!!!
THIS IS NOT THE FREE RELEASE, however, it does include the MS MechPacks.
The Unseens are out for now
YOU STILL NEED YOUR GAME CDs TO RUN THE GAME
MTX is required for download
Check it all out at
WWW.MEKTEK.NET
PLEASE TAKE SOME CASH OUT OF YOUR ACCOUNT AND DONATE TO MEKTEK. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.
5$ to 500$ give what you can. Give up your coffee or McD's for 1 lousy meal and help MEKTEK.
w00t folks!!!!!
EDIT
The UNSEENS have been released via a patch.
USE MTX to UPDATE your game. Its smooth.
Love me some Marauder!!
edit posted 4-5-2010 by Vettie!!!!!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Nothing to Write About
Sometimes you just cant think of anything interesting to write about. Sometimes “stuff' just flows from your mind to your fingers to the screen and somehow it all makes sense. Lately, for Ol' Vettie, its been one of those times where I just cant seem to find or think of anything interesting to write about. I mean I have a lot of topics floating about in my head, but I cant seem to get anything on the screen to come across as I am thinking it. When I actually get it typed out, its not really what or the “way” I wanted it to sound so that someone reading this understands where my head is on whatever the subject is.
I usually write about mechs or something connected with MechWarrior Mercs, or I write about something that is bugging me, you know, one of my “rants”. We all know that MP3.1 (Free Mercs) from MekTek is “ready” to be released and we all know that Free Mercs is on hold because someone at Microsoft hasn't taken the time to sign off on the piece of paper giving Smith and Tinker the “ok”. We all also know that MP4 is still being worked, albeit at a much slower pace because of the surprise announcement from Smith and Tinker that MekTek would handle the Free Mercs Distribution. We all know that MekTek had to scramble to get “MP3.1” ready for the public and they also needed a vehicle and infrastructure to deliver the downloads no matter what the expected internet traffic might be. It is my understanding that MekTek has everything in place and when given the “ok”, people like you and me can get our new copy of the slightly improved Mercs.
For some folks, this will be good because they never bought, or couldnt find copies of the Microsoft Clan and IS Mech Packs (even tho over the past year or so MANY copies were available on EBAY IF you wanted to pay the outrageous prices folks were asking). I dont know how many players out there do not have the Packs, but for them, it will be an added bonus, giving them access to eight Mechs they have never been able to use before. For the IS, you get the Zeus, Highlander, Dragon and the Hunchback. The Clanners get access to the Kodiak, Masakari, Cauldron Born and the Arctic Wolf. Looks like fun in the mechlab for you folks.
For those of us that already have the MS Packs, MekTek has made some 'adjustments' to the game and for those new to the game, it will include all the previous MekTek Mek Paks full of mechs and weapons. The exceptions will be the “unseen” mechs. Maybe someday, that too will be resolved and MekTek can release its own Mek Pak containing those mechs. Unseen mechs are, and I am guessing here, the Marauder (it might also include the Marauder II?? Dont know for sure) the Archer, the Warhammer and possibly the Rifleman to name a few. At least, those are my favourites of the ones possibly in jeopardy. MekTek has a few threads about this on their forums, so I suggest you check that out for yourself and see if one (or more) of your favourites is on the official “unseen” listing.
As I mentioned above, all that is on hold for now until they get the “ok”. So, I dont really want to write about that anymore, because most folks know all that already and if you are new to MechWarrior 4 and you somehow discovered my little blog, then I just told you a quick version of the story above, a refresher for us old hats.
I dont want to spend any time on MP4, because some of the stuff originally slated for MP4 will be included in the Free Mercs release, but I dont know everything that will be included. Many of the things I speculated about to come in MP4 were actually included in some of the beta rounds. Remember tho, it was just a beta and the end product may be totally different and MekTek isnt saying for sure what is and is not included. As is with their past history, MekTek always has some cool surprise and there are always little tweaks.
The little tweaks is part (or most) of the reason I quit reviewing mechs for the time being. There COULD be some changes and I dont really want to go back and re-do an article about a mech because of some slot changes or additions or deletions. Sorry, call me lazy.
I dont really have anything to “Rant” about right now because I havent ventured out too much to see anything to cause me to rant and rave. The cold weather and all the rain we have had has me a bit “stiff”. My back and knees have days where they really dont want to cooperate with my brain and they make it really difficult to navigate terrain or drive or pretty much anything else for that matter. So no “Rants” currently.
I went to see my optometrist earlier this week. That visit went very well. He told me I didnt look my age (I hear that a lot) and that my eyes were not acting their age. I have never really had to wear glasses or contacts in my life, other than for reading back in the 6th grade and 12th grade, As you get older, you start to lose some of that focus and things just arent as sharp as they once were. With all my medical issues, I try to keep my eyes in good health as well as my teeth. About 6 years ago, I was told by my eye doc that I needed glasses for reading. Every year since then, I have gone for my check up and everything is status quo. This year, the doc says my distance seeing ability actually improved to better than 20/20 and there was no worsening of my “close-up” vision. He said my eyes were very healthy and looked great considering the other things I have going medically. I ordered some new specs. My six year old pair are still functional, but are starting to show their age and I dont really have a back-up should these break, or whatever. So nothing to rant about there.
Like I said when I started writing this article, sometimes you just cant think of anything to write about or you cant put anything together to make it where others can understand what you are saying. I am in that frame of mind lately. I need to write, I have things to say, but I just cant seem to get them together for a decent article.
An old lit professor I had in college once said (and I dont remember exactly so I will sort of paraphrase his quote) “if you get writer's block or you find yourself unable to put together more than two thoughts about any one subject, which is the case for most of you in here after reading the papers you turned in, well, I say to you, just start writing. Once you do, the thoughts will flow...” I thought I could try that here. It didnt work for me professor. Any chance I could get my money back on the class I had to take where you were supposed to 'help' us or 'teach' us something worthy? Doubtful.
I guess I just wanted to write something to let you people know I am still here and I still have my ears open to what is going on with our game, but there is nothing new to report. MekTek assures us that as soon as they get the green light they will open the dam. I hope it is soon. I have a pc that I need to reinstall Windows and (of course) MechWarrior after I do some updating to the hardware, but I have held off because of the weather (lots of static right now, even if you ground yourself properly which I do even if there is no static) and because we are so close to having Mercs for Free. Even if I re-install to my current settings, the Free Mercs will show as a different version and I will need to install it too. So I am like the rest of you, sort of waiting for this thing to happen and to see just how many folks come to the game.
We already know there are new players (and previous players) joining the mechwarrior ranks. Just look at the MekTek forums, many new names and lots of n00bs asking questions. When the switch is turned, I wonder just how many we will see? Maybe some of the league activity will increase. Maybe NBT will adopt MP3.1 over Hardcore or maybe NBT and MekTek will form a new league. League play is a lot of fun, especially a planetary league where you actually battle for 'stuff' instead of just a win loss record and bragging rights. Of course, the “open” servers should pick up with activity too.
Lately, I have been playing Vengeance. Thanks to Frost and SoE for their server and the many maps I was able to download and install. Why? Just to see what it was like. Vengeance was the 1st of the MW4 series and the game has changed a lot since those days, but that game is still fun. I remember being on dial up and playing in the opens night after night. The in-game browser window would be full of games that were full of players. Sometimes (often times) you would have to wait to get into your favourite server until someone else disconnected. Those games were always respawn and you would play a map for 30 mins or an hour and the basic object was to see who could rack up the most kills or sometimes to see who could rack up the most points.
Like many of you, I spent countless hours playing that game. I even joined a league. It was a blast. We didnt even use teamspeak, lol!!! Just MSN or screen chats. What a blast. Then this new game appeared. MW4 Mercenaries. I had to build a better machine just to play it. Man how times have changed.
Well, I guess I a going to close this one out for now. Like I said before, I cant really think of anything to write and I dont see any news to report. Keep checking back. There will be more stuff to write about SOON (so I am told). Oh, yeah w00t! Folks!
I usually write about mechs or something connected with MechWarrior Mercs, or I write about something that is bugging me, you know, one of my “rants”. We all know that MP3.1 (Free Mercs) from MekTek is “ready” to be released and we all know that Free Mercs is on hold because someone at Microsoft hasn't taken the time to sign off on the piece of paper giving Smith and Tinker the “ok”. We all also know that MP4 is still being worked, albeit at a much slower pace because of the surprise announcement from Smith and Tinker that MekTek would handle the Free Mercs Distribution. We all know that MekTek had to scramble to get “MP3.1” ready for the public and they also needed a vehicle and infrastructure to deliver the downloads no matter what the expected internet traffic might be. It is my understanding that MekTek has everything in place and when given the “ok”, people like you and me can get our new copy of the slightly improved Mercs.
For some folks, this will be good because they never bought, or couldnt find copies of the Microsoft Clan and IS Mech Packs (even tho over the past year or so MANY copies were available on EBAY IF you wanted to pay the outrageous prices folks were asking). I dont know how many players out there do not have the Packs, but for them, it will be an added bonus, giving them access to eight Mechs they have never been able to use before. For the IS, you get the Zeus, Highlander, Dragon and the Hunchback. The Clanners get access to the Kodiak, Masakari, Cauldron Born and the Arctic Wolf. Looks like fun in the mechlab for you folks.
For those of us that already have the MS Packs, MekTek has made some 'adjustments' to the game and for those new to the game, it will include all the previous MekTek Mek Paks full of mechs and weapons. The exceptions will be the “unseen” mechs. Maybe someday, that too will be resolved and MekTek can release its own Mek Pak containing those mechs. Unseen mechs are, and I am guessing here, the Marauder (it might also include the Marauder II?? Dont know for sure) the Archer, the Warhammer and possibly the Rifleman to name a few. At least, those are my favourites of the ones possibly in jeopardy. MekTek has a few threads about this on their forums, so I suggest you check that out for yourself and see if one (or more) of your favourites is on the official “unseen” listing.
As I mentioned above, all that is on hold for now until they get the “ok”. So, I dont really want to write about that anymore, because most folks know all that already and if you are new to MechWarrior 4 and you somehow discovered my little blog, then I just told you a quick version of the story above, a refresher for us old hats.
I dont want to spend any time on MP4, because some of the stuff originally slated for MP4 will be included in the Free Mercs release, but I dont know everything that will be included. Many of the things I speculated about to come in MP4 were actually included in some of the beta rounds. Remember tho, it was just a beta and the end product may be totally different and MekTek isnt saying for sure what is and is not included. As is with their past history, MekTek always has some cool surprise and there are always little tweaks.
The little tweaks is part (or most) of the reason I quit reviewing mechs for the time being. There COULD be some changes and I dont really want to go back and re-do an article about a mech because of some slot changes or additions or deletions. Sorry, call me lazy.
I dont really have anything to “Rant” about right now because I havent ventured out too much to see anything to cause me to rant and rave. The cold weather and all the rain we have had has me a bit “stiff”. My back and knees have days where they really dont want to cooperate with my brain and they make it really difficult to navigate terrain or drive or pretty much anything else for that matter. So no “Rants” currently.
I went to see my optometrist earlier this week. That visit went very well. He told me I didnt look my age (I hear that a lot) and that my eyes were not acting their age. I have never really had to wear glasses or contacts in my life, other than for reading back in the 6th grade and 12th grade, As you get older, you start to lose some of that focus and things just arent as sharp as they once were. With all my medical issues, I try to keep my eyes in good health as well as my teeth. About 6 years ago, I was told by my eye doc that I needed glasses for reading. Every year since then, I have gone for my check up and everything is status quo. This year, the doc says my distance seeing ability actually improved to better than 20/20 and there was no worsening of my “close-up” vision. He said my eyes were very healthy and looked great considering the other things I have going medically. I ordered some new specs. My six year old pair are still functional, but are starting to show their age and I dont really have a back-up should these break, or whatever. So nothing to rant about there.
Like I said when I started writing this article, sometimes you just cant think of anything to write about or you cant put anything together to make it where others can understand what you are saying. I am in that frame of mind lately. I need to write, I have things to say, but I just cant seem to get them together for a decent article.
An old lit professor I had in college once said (and I dont remember exactly so I will sort of paraphrase his quote) “if you get writer's block or you find yourself unable to put together more than two thoughts about any one subject, which is the case for most of you in here after reading the papers you turned in, well, I say to you, just start writing. Once you do, the thoughts will flow...” I thought I could try that here. It didnt work for me professor. Any chance I could get my money back on the class I had to take where you were supposed to 'help' us or 'teach' us something worthy? Doubtful.
I guess I just wanted to write something to let you people know I am still here and I still have my ears open to what is going on with our game, but there is nothing new to report. MekTek assures us that as soon as they get the green light they will open the dam. I hope it is soon. I have a pc that I need to reinstall Windows and (of course) MechWarrior after I do some updating to the hardware, but I have held off because of the weather (lots of static right now, even if you ground yourself properly which I do even if there is no static) and because we are so close to having Mercs for Free. Even if I re-install to my current settings, the Free Mercs will show as a different version and I will need to install it too. So I am like the rest of you, sort of waiting for this thing to happen and to see just how many folks come to the game.
We already know there are new players (and previous players) joining the mechwarrior ranks. Just look at the MekTek forums, many new names and lots of n00bs asking questions. When the switch is turned, I wonder just how many we will see? Maybe some of the league activity will increase. Maybe NBT will adopt MP3.1 over Hardcore or maybe NBT and MekTek will form a new league. League play is a lot of fun, especially a planetary league where you actually battle for 'stuff' instead of just a win loss record and bragging rights. Of course, the “open” servers should pick up with activity too.
Lately, I have been playing Vengeance. Thanks to Frost and SoE for their server and the many maps I was able to download and install. Why? Just to see what it was like. Vengeance was the 1st of the MW4 series and the game has changed a lot since those days, but that game is still fun. I remember being on dial up and playing in the opens night after night. The in-game browser window would be full of games that were full of players. Sometimes (often times) you would have to wait to get into your favourite server until someone else disconnected. Those games were always respawn and you would play a map for 30 mins or an hour and the basic object was to see who could rack up the most kills or sometimes to see who could rack up the most points.
Like many of you, I spent countless hours playing that game. I even joined a league. It was a blast. We didnt even use teamspeak, lol!!! Just MSN or screen chats. What a blast. Then this new game appeared. MW4 Mercenaries. I had to build a better machine just to play it. Man how times have changed.
Well, I guess I a going to close this one out for now. Like I said before, I cant really think of anything to write and I dont see any news to report. Keep checking back. There will be more stuff to write about SOON (so I am told). Oh, yeah w00t! Folks!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friends
Greetings once again Mech Fans and friends. A new year has crept up on us and with that brings hope for a better year for all. 2009 was not that good to Ol' Vettie overall, but things has calmed a bit and seem to have settled. Oh yeah, forgot, every January brings another birthday to the old guy but I heard he is happy to see one come this time.
When you find out that you just have a few left (according to the Doctors) each one becomes something special. Since I found out that I am supposed to kick the bucket, I have lived almost as long as they said I would before shutting down for good and yet, I dont feel any worse. I am thankful to GOD for helping me and my family get through so far and also to my Doctors for finding the problem, hopefully soon enough to prolong fate that awaits me. Things take on a different perspective when you are given a short lease on life. So many things you once thought very important become so immaterial. The real important things that I have found are my faith, my family and finally my petty happiness. I made my peace with GOD a long time back and I renewed it recently, you know, just in case HE forgot or in case I acted like the idiot that I can be sometimes. When my time does arrive, I'll be ready, but until then, I have learned to live and enjoy and not be so caught up in the little things.
Well, sorry to eat your time on myself, but I needed to put that out there somewhere and maybe, just maybe, someone will read that little bit and think a moment about their own life and the things that are really important to them. Maybe...
This blog is usually devoted to MechWarrior and reviews on Mechs or maps or weapons or electronics and occassionlly I throw in one of rants about something that I think is just wrong, or something some of you can relate to. Today I plan to write about friends. Thats right friends. No not that sitcom, about people.
Old Man Webster defines a friend as 1. one attached to another by affection or esteem, 2. one that is not hostile, 3. one that favors or promotes something, 4. a favored companion. For todays discussion I like number 4., a favored companion. Yeah I like that.
How many friends do you have? I mean really, think about it, how many friends to you have? In my non-internet life I have known many, many people from all over the world. I have many of them that I would consider to be “friends” as in we are 'friendly' as in non hostile. There are also several that I would actually consider as 'friends' in a way that I like to spend time with them and they like to spend time with me. And then there are those few that I consider 'close friends' that would actually do something for me (or my family) if I really needed them. These are what I call “true friends”. Most people dont have many of those types of friends, but if you do have those types, hold on to them and keep them close to you, be there for them if they need you even if they dont or wont ask cause you never know when you might need them.
Of course I have many “online” friends too. Many of the folks that read Vettie's Views are my 'on line friends' and many of the Sunder Junkies are too. Some of those folks overlap from 'on line friends' to 'non-internet' friends. I wont call them out, but they know who they are. Of course, ALL The Blood Pearls are my friends and some them are non-internet friends as well.
My father was an Air Force man for 24 of years here with us, so I moved around a bit when I was a kid. I had friends way back then and I wonder what happened to the ones I can recall the most. When he retired from active duty, we settled in Alabama even though neither of my folks were from there. We settled here because of friends of my folks that Dad had served with lived here.
I have thought about some of my friends from my earlier years and wondered how many of them were and what they were doing now. Facebook is a fairly decent way to get in touch with some of your friends you have seen in long time and even the friends you have now. I signed up for a facebook account and I did a few searches for some of my old high school friends. To my surprise, I located a few and I have sent them a 'friend request'. Hopefully they will respond and I will let them know who I am and maybe we can revisit some of those days.
See, when you are a kid you have friends or buddies. I am sure that many of you lived as I did and were forced to move away for one reason or another. Kids make friends pretty easy so you meet up with a new bunch then the cycle reboots itself and again you start over.
In high school, I am sure many of you had friends that you hung out with, or played sports with or whatever. That is until graduation. Many of you went on to college or to work or both and you lose touch with your high school friends. Again the cycle starts turning and you meet new ones in school or at work and the cycle repeats.
Over my professional career I have met many that I would call friends. I was fortunate enough in my career to travel often, either in the States or in Europe or Mexico. I met folks in countries far away that became friends. I still “talk” to some them via email or Skype every once in a while. I cant forget about the many friends that worked with me or for me over the years plus all the friends I made during my work career in various states. Cant forget about church friends or socail friends either. Just so many
When it comes down to it, friends make up a big part of our lives. They help you each day whether you know it or not. Think about it like this, what if you accepted a job for another company in another location far away from where you are now. For the first few days you would meet people, but not really “know” them and you would have no friends there. Just you and your work and hopefully you go home to you best friend ever, your spouse (if you are married). That would be a tough thing if you never made friends. A lonely existance for sure. We as humans rely on others in so many ways...
Get out and make a friend today. If you have a close knit friend, call them up or drop them a text message or send them an email and let them know they are your friend(s) and you appreciate that. You'd be surprised at how that might make them feel. If you have friends like mine, they might ask you what the hell is wrong with you, but just let them know you appreciate their friendship.
Just so we keep this blog in line with MechWarrior, I hope our friends at MekTek and Microsoft soon get their issues resolved so MP3.1 can be reased for free. Whatever the problem is, I hope it can be resolved in a friendly manner with a friendly out come for all of us (and them too).
Aanother note, yeah yeah, old men ramble on, get over it, This edition is again brought to you with the use of Linux Mint (version 8). I have been tinkering with it off and on and I really like it. For those of you out there that have been wanting to try Linux but didnt know how or where to start, I suggest Ubuntu or Mint. Mint is (more or less) built off of Ubuntu but contains some things that Ubuntu does not have without digging a bit. Mint is smooth and stable and if you are a Windows user (most of us are, right?) you will not really have any trouble using Mint (or Ubunto for that matter). It is Icon and Menu driven but you can use the “terminal”. Mint or Ubuntu, either one, is perfect for web surfing (Mint has some of the adobe stuff like flashplayer already built into Firefox) and doing emails. Open Office is installed by default (I am using Open Office Writer [very similar to Word] to write this addition of Vettie's Views) and for Microsoft Office users you will have no trouble using it. Evolution is the email program (looks and acts a lot like Outlook) but Mozilla Thunderbird is also available. For those who use an IM program, Pidgeon is there and connects with all the other like Yahoo messenger, MSN Messenger and, well you get the idea. So a big thanks to our Linux friends and dont be afraid to give it a shot, it can be fun and you might learn something.
Well, I guess that will do it for this edition. To my friends, I appreciate and care for you all. Find an old friend today and try to make a new one, but let your old ones know you care.
When you find out that you just have a few left (according to the Doctors) each one becomes something special. Since I found out that I am supposed to kick the bucket, I have lived almost as long as they said I would before shutting down for good and yet, I dont feel any worse. I am thankful to GOD for helping me and my family get through so far and also to my Doctors for finding the problem, hopefully soon enough to prolong fate that awaits me. Things take on a different perspective when you are given a short lease on life. So many things you once thought very important become so immaterial. The real important things that I have found are my faith, my family and finally my petty happiness. I made my peace with GOD a long time back and I renewed it recently, you know, just in case HE forgot or in case I acted like the idiot that I can be sometimes. When my time does arrive, I'll be ready, but until then, I have learned to live and enjoy and not be so caught up in the little things.
Well, sorry to eat your time on myself, but I needed to put that out there somewhere and maybe, just maybe, someone will read that little bit and think a moment about their own life and the things that are really important to them. Maybe...
This blog is usually devoted to MechWarrior and reviews on Mechs or maps or weapons or electronics and occassionlly I throw in one of rants about something that I think is just wrong, or something some of you can relate to. Today I plan to write about friends. Thats right friends. No not that sitcom, about people.
Old Man Webster defines a friend as 1. one attached to another by affection or esteem, 2. one that is not hostile, 3. one that favors or promotes something, 4. a favored companion. For todays discussion I like number 4., a favored companion. Yeah I like that.
How many friends do you have? I mean really, think about it, how many friends to you have? In my non-internet life I have known many, many people from all over the world. I have many of them that I would consider to be “friends” as in we are 'friendly' as in non hostile. There are also several that I would actually consider as 'friends' in a way that I like to spend time with them and they like to spend time with me. And then there are those few that I consider 'close friends' that would actually do something for me (or my family) if I really needed them. These are what I call “true friends”. Most people dont have many of those types of friends, but if you do have those types, hold on to them and keep them close to you, be there for them if they need you even if they dont or wont ask cause you never know when you might need them.
Of course I have many “online” friends too. Many of the folks that read Vettie's Views are my 'on line friends' and many of the Sunder Junkies are too. Some of those folks overlap from 'on line friends' to 'non-internet' friends. I wont call them out, but they know who they are. Of course, ALL The Blood Pearls are my friends and some them are non-internet friends as well.
My father was an Air Force man for 24 of years here with us, so I moved around a bit when I was a kid. I had friends way back then and I wonder what happened to the ones I can recall the most. When he retired from active duty, we settled in Alabama even though neither of my folks were from there. We settled here because of friends of my folks that Dad had served with lived here.
I have thought about some of my friends from my earlier years and wondered how many of them were and what they were doing now. Facebook is a fairly decent way to get in touch with some of your friends you have seen in long time and even the friends you have now. I signed up for a facebook account and I did a few searches for some of my old high school friends. To my surprise, I located a few and I have sent them a 'friend request'. Hopefully they will respond and I will let them know who I am and maybe we can revisit some of those days.
See, when you are a kid you have friends or buddies. I am sure that many of you lived as I did and were forced to move away for one reason or another. Kids make friends pretty easy so you meet up with a new bunch then the cycle reboots itself and again you start over.
In high school, I am sure many of you had friends that you hung out with, or played sports with or whatever. That is until graduation. Many of you went on to college or to work or both and you lose touch with your high school friends. Again the cycle starts turning and you meet new ones in school or at work and the cycle repeats.
Over my professional career I have met many that I would call friends. I was fortunate enough in my career to travel often, either in the States or in Europe or Mexico. I met folks in countries far away that became friends. I still “talk” to some them via email or Skype every once in a while. I cant forget about the many friends that worked with me or for me over the years plus all the friends I made during my work career in various states. Cant forget about church friends or socail friends either. Just so many
When it comes down to it, friends make up a big part of our lives. They help you each day whether you know it or not. Think about it like this, what if you accepted a job for another company in another location far away from where you are now. For the first few days you would meet people, but not really “know” them and you would have no friends there. Just you and your work and hopefully you go home to you best friend ever, your spouse (if you are married). That would be a tough thing if you never made friends. A lonely existance for sure. We as humans rely on others in so many ways...
Get out and make a friend today. If you have a close knit friend, call them up or drop them a text message or send them an email and let them know they are your friend(s) and you appreciate that. You'd be surprised at how that might make them feel. If you have friends like mine, they might ask you what the hell is wrong with you, but just let them know you appreciate their friendship.
Just so we keep this blog in line with MechWarrior, I hope our friends at MekTek and Microsoft soon get their issues resolved so MP3.1 can be reased for free. Whatever the problem is, I hope it can be resolved in a friendly manner with a friendly out come for all of us (and them too).
Aanother note, yeah yeah, old men ramble on, get over it, This edition is again brought to you with the use of Linux Mint (version 8). I have been tinkering with it off and on and I really like it. For those of you out there that have been wanting to try Linux but didnt know how or where to start, I suggest Ubuntu or Mint. Mint is (more or less) built off of Ubuntu but contains some things that Ubuntu does not have without digging a bit. Mint is smooth and stable and if you are a Windows user (most of us are, right?) you will not really have any trouble using Mint (or Ubunto for that matter). It is Icon and Menu driven but you can use the “terminal”. Mint or Ubuntu, either one, is perfect for web surfing (Mint has some of the adobe stuff like flashplayer already built into Firefox) and doing emails. Open Office is installed by default (I am using Open Office Writer [very similar to Word] to write this addition of Vettie's Views) and for Microsoft Office users you will have no trouble using it. Evolution is the email program (looks and acts a lot like Outlook) but Mozilla Thunderbird is also available. For those who use an IM program, Pidgeon is there and connects with all the other like Yahoo messenger, MSN Messenger and, well you get the idea. So a big thanks to our Linux friends and dont be afraid to give it a shot, it can be fun and you might learn something.
Well, I guess that will do it for this edition. To my friends, I appreciate and care for you all. Find an old friend today and try to make a new one, but let your old ones know you care.
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