Combat Mission : Normandy - going in beta
eddys...@hotmail.com
The game officially went into beta-stage, but going by the fact
there's no dedicated forum for it yet, it might be in this state for a
while.
But as far as talking the game up is concerned they're already in full
swing :
"I am sure that CM: Normandy will be the best game we've ever released
from our perspective. Meaning that the technology, feature set, depth
of play, etc. will be far superior to any of the CMx1 games and better
than CM:SF."
Steve Grammont - http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1176390&postcount=27
After the disaster that was the CM:SF release you'd think they'd have
the hubris knocked out of them a bit, but no :
"But I think the number of people that will be disappointed with CM:
Normandy, overall, will be limited to a few crazies who
(as usual) can be safely ignored."
http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1176390&postcount=27
"However, I do not think anybody interested in this time period will
have rational, reasonable grounds for being "disappointed"
with CM: Normandy. If someone is "disappointed" then I'm going to
guess that they have irrational, unreasonable expectations
that could never be satisfied. Hence me calling such people
"nutters"."
http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1176509&postcount=37
... and you know what they do with crazy people on their forum ...
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Holdit
@b2g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> "I am sure that CM: Normandy will be the best game we've ever released
> from our perspective. Meaning that the technology, feature set, depth
> of play, etc. will be far superior to any of the CMx1 games and better
> than CM:SF."
>
I wouldn't say that a game that has only a fraction of the nations/troop
types available in the original has expanded its feature set very much
at all. There would need to be some mind-bogglingly wonderful other new
features added in order to overcome that failing in this buyer's eyes.
> Steve Grammont - http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1176390&postcount=27
>
> After the disaster that was the CM:SF release you'd think they'd have
> the hubris knocked out of them a bit, but no :
>
> "But I think the number of people that will be disappointed with CM:
> Normandy, overall, will be limited to a few crazies who
> (as usual) can be safely ignored."
A very handy variation of the "No True Scotsman" fallacy.
>
> http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1176390&postcount=27
>
> "However, I do not think anybody interested in this time period will
> have rational, reasonable grounds for being "disappointed"
> with CM: Normandy. If someone is "disappointed" then I'm going to
> guess that they have irrational, unreasonable expectations
> that could never be satisfied. Hence me calling such people
> "nutters"."
>
I guess, expecting Canadians, British, Free French and SS to be included
is crazy now. Funny how it was possible to satisfy these irrational,
unreasonable expectations in CMx1.
I expect to be giving this one a pass.
Holdit
--
"I watched the footage of Saddam being executed, and it really made me
think...it made me think, is there nothing on the Internet that I won't
masturbate to?"
- Frankie Boyle
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <1ecd717d-fd4d-4e42-a22a-0d2ba7413675
>
> > "I am sure that CM: Normandy will be the best game we've ever released
> > from our perspective. Meaning that the technology, feature set, depth
> > of play, etc. will be far superior to any of the CMx1 games and better
> > than CM:SF."
>
> I wouldn't say that a game that has only a fraction of the nations/troop
> types available in the original has expanded its feature set very much
> at all. There would need to be some mind-bogglingly wonderful other new
> features added in order to overcome that failing in this buyer's eyes.
It has a very serious additional feature : it looks 300% better.
Some may laugh here, but I don't. Good graphics sells games.
In general what happened is that I think Battlefront has fallen victim
to the famous second system syndrome - to quote wikipedia : "...
refers to the tendency, when following on from a relatively small,
elegant, and successful system, to design the successor as an
elephantine, feature-laden monstrosity"
CM:SF was supposed to be CM on steroids : real-time play AND turn-
based, super-duper graphics, a 1-1 scale. The end result was that to
make the (Paradox) deadline certain features they wanted to have in
that 2.0 system were scrapped but we're slowly seeing them being
implemented now.
Now, as to the limited scope of the proposed game : many CM gamers
will buy it anyway because there's simply no alternative. Oh, I know,
Matrix has taken over the Panzer Command line and a new guy is being
worked in, but I'm not optimistic about it seeing how long it takes
them to release a final patch for the Kharkov game.
And given that it takes Battlefront a year or more to even release a
module you've got to be realistic about it : at the rate they're
working a new "theater in a box" game like the original CM series
would take them 10 years to complete. A yearly dose of CM at $20 or so
isn't exactly a problem for most gamers and it keeps them afloat.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
old....@cmaaccess.com
>... and you know what they do with crazy people on their forum ...
Put them on "Giftzwerg Christmas mailing list".
--
We're in a war dammit. We're going to have
to offend somebody. - John Adams
KG_Jag
release he knows has to be successful (perhaps very successful) for BF
to continue to exist.
In attempt to grab military contracts and the twitch market, they went
with a RT based engine and poorly/strangely modeled & conceived 1 x 1
to go with it. The price is that they also went way down in scope--
time frame, terrain, troops, battle size, etc. In addition they had
to dumb down certain aspects of the game so it could be played in RT.
So for the CM x 1 player, who cares little about RT and their largely
failed attempt at 1:1 modeling (btw which makes no sense if you play
RT), they offer far less than CM x 1--not a good place to be.
All of this assumes that upon release it works far better than CMSF
v1.07--when PBEM was still porked.
As for graphics improvements--remember that the release dates between
CMBO and CMN will be a decade apart.
CMN, when moduled out, may end up being a good little game--but is
very unlikely to the classic that CMBO was in its time.
Vincenzo Beretta
> very unlikely to the classic that CMBO was in its time.
CMBO wasn't *spectacular* in the graphics department even for its time. What
was amazing was (and is) the 3D portrayal of the battles itself: for the
first time wargamers could watch the action unfolding like in a movie -
camera shakes et al. On the top of it add the complete WF OOB 1944-45, the
random scenario/map generator, the editor and the "short" campaign system.
This is why I still play the CMx1 games enhanced with some graphics mods.
Some years ago I found on the internet some zips with all the CM BO, BB and
AK user-made scenarios - hundreds of them - and I still have to play them
all. Just talking about them is putting me in the mood for a game.
So, maybe CM:N will be spectacular in the graphics department, but it isn't
what I look for in a wargame. IMHO, a sure-hit would have had been CMx1
enhanced (some engine and graphics improvements) with ETO's OOB 1939-45 in a
"Steel Panthers"-like package. Is this approach that gives the edge to
WC:NAW over "DG: Jutland" even if one doesn't consider the DRM problem.
Cronos
> Some may laugh here, but I don't. Good graphics sells games.
Except when it is a Total War game, then it is eye candy for kiddies,
right Eurofag?
eddys...@hotmail.com
> IMHO, a sure-hit would have had been CMx1
> enhanced (some engine and graphics improvements) with ETO's OOB 1939-45 in a
> "Steel Panthers"-like package.
Yup, that's pretty much what everyone wanted. But Battlefront were
sick and tired of doing WWII. Fair enough I guess, but then they made
1 crucial decision which can be viewed as the main source of their
problems : they decided to drop the scale down to 1-1, at which level
you can't build abstraction into the game and everything must look
ultra-realistic or it will look bad. With just a single programmer to
work on it that proved just too much.
> Is this approach that gives the edge to
> WC:NAW over "DG: Jutland" even if one doesn't consider the DRM problem.
The old principle of more bang for the buck.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Mike Kreuzer
news:13c3a065-961e-4ffd...@l30g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> On 12 jan, 22:03, "Vincenzo Beretta" <reck...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> IMHO, a sure-hit would have had been CMx1
>> enhanced (some engine and graphics improvements) with ETO's OOB 1939-45
>> in a
>> "Steel Panthers"-like package.
>
> Yup, that's pretty much what everyone wanted.
Ain't ever going to happen in a 3D game. Ditch the 3D and it's a
possibility: Steel panthers with wego turns rather than its own special
stumble bum unit at a time movement. No need for anything fancier than that
to get me excited. So long as the strippers are realistic of course.
Regards,
Mike Kreuzer
www.mikekreuzer.com
eddys...@hotmail.com
> Ain't ever going to happen in a 3D game. Ditch the 3D and it's a
> possibility:
Well, it did happen - CM:AK pretty much did that.
But from Battlefront's pov a new CM "theater in a box" with just
improved graphics and streamlined functionality was commercially not
viable. They say that CM:BO outsold CM:BB which in turn outsold CM:AK.
In essence : while the games were getting better, the sales took a
nosedive.
It's arguable if what they ended up with did improve their sales
numbers (they say it did) but given the haste with which they're
returning back to WWII I think that's bs.
> So long as the strippers are realistic of course.
That's quickly becoming a must-have for wargames :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Vincenzo Beretta
> possibility
But they already have the 3D models for most of the needed vehicles and
equipments. Put some hi-res textures on them (i.e. plagiarize the ones
already done by the community), whip together a Polish and French army OOB
for the early part of the war, and ETO 1939-45 for CM is done. Grab the cash
and program "CM3: Three Paratropers at Sainte-Mere-Eglise" at your leisure.
Holdit
rec...@hotmail.com says...
> > CMN, when moduled out, may end up being a good little game--but is
> > very unlikely to the classic that CMBO was in its time.
>
> CMBO wasn't *spectacular* in the graphics department even for its time. What
> was amazing was (and is) the 3D portrayal of the battles itself: for the
> first time wargamers could watch the action unfolding like in a movie -
> camera shakes et al. On the top of it add the complete WF OOB 1944-45, the
> random scenario/map generator, the editor and the "short" campaign system.
>
Exactly. I never looked for the CM series to be a portrayal of real
life. I was happy for it to funtion as a virtual wargame table, which is
what I got. Adding in sexier graphics and effects and 1:1 representation
doesn't add anything new that I was looking for, and is completely
overshadowed that it will be necessary to buy, what, four?, games in
order to effectively get an updated version of CMBO.
I can understand why it might suit BFs business model, but according to
Holdit's purchasing model, it represents poor value for money. (Unless
each module is going be sold at a lower price, in which case a
reassessment would be in order.)
Holdit
--
"But, for sheer thrill-a-minute stuff we turn to King Muley Hassan of
Morrocco. His contribution to brighter chess was to use prisoners from
the royal dungeons [as pieces]. What made his games prime-time viewing
was that captured pieces were beheaded on the spot. And you thought
American Football was rugged. The prisoners must have taken a keen
interest in Muley's opening repertoire. Gruesome (but not necessarily
accurate) legend has it that he was particularly fornd of the Danish
Gambit."
-The Even More Complete Chess Addict
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <Qs53n.84121$813.24...@tornado.fastwebnet.it>,
> reck...@hotmail.com says...
>
> > > CMN, when moduled out, may end up being a good little game--but is
> > > very unlikely to the classic that CMBO was in its time.
>
> > CMBO wasn't *spectacular* in the graphics department even for its time. What
> > was amazing was (and is) the 3D portrayal of the battles itself: for the
> > first time wargamers could watch the action unfolding like in a movie -
> > camera shakes et al. On the top of it add the complete WF OOB 1944-45, the
> > random scenario/map generator, the editor and the "short" campaign system.
>
> Exactly. I never looked for the CM series to be a portrayal of real
> life. I was happy for it to funtion as a virtual wargame table, which is
> what I got. Adding in sexier graphics and effects and 1:1 representation
> doesn't add anything new that I was looking for, and is completely
> overshadowed that it will be necessary to buy, what, four?, games in
> order to effectively get an updated version of CMBO.
You're being optimistic. The initial base game will cover June-Oct
'44, German and US forces only. 3 modules are planned :
'Commonwealth', 'Market-Garden' and 'Miscelaneous'
Then there's going to be a "Late War" new base game covering Fall '44
through '45 and an additional 3 modules.
By my count that's 2 base games + 6 modules to get to the CM:BO level
if quantity is your measurement stick.
I'm looking at this a bit differently : it'll take Battlefront the
better part of a decade to produce all of this - and even then only if
they don't switch to the Russian front or a modern setting in between
to satisfy the guys screaming for that.
If the base game is any good (wait and see) an additional $20/year for
a new module to play with ain't that bad.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
MJB
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1fd2ebc4-d393-4b10...@j19g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
> I'm looking at this a bit differently : it'll take Battlefront the
> better part of a decade to produce all of this - and even then only if
> they don't switch to the Russian front or a modern setting in between
> to satisfy the guys screaming for that.
>
> If the base game is any good (wait and see) an additional $20/year for
> a new module to play with ain't that bad.
>
Yeah, but what about rate of change in computer technology?
Ten years ago the state of the art was what? A single-core pentium III
computer running windows 98 with under a gig of available RAM? Compared to
today's quad-core behemoths running windows 7 with 8 gigs of RAM? I
bought my winXP computer right at the end of 2005 and in terms of
performance it can run circles around my win98 computer manufactured six
years earlier. But I also see game-breaking incompatiblites between win95
and win98 games on my XP box - which is one of the reasons the win98 box is
still in harness and not just in storage alongside my win95 computer.
By trying to string-out all these penny-packet games over a decade, the
incompatibilites between current software and operating systems still
undesigned and technology still unmanufactured is going to be legendary. I
think the first games released under the new 'Normandy' title are going to
be completely incompatiable with the last games released under the
'miscellaneous' title ten years later. And if I can't run 'Combat Mission:
Normandy" with the bogage module and the Hitler Jugend module on my
Octo-core Extreme PC with a gazillion RAM using windows 8 in five years....
<shrug>
I'm done with this company. I bought 'Afrika' a couple of years ago and I
still haven't even installed it, let alone played it. So I think I'm
fine...
--
MJB
Mr. Tin's Miniature Painting Workshop:
http://web.newsguy.com/Mrtinsworkshop/
eddys...@hotmail.com
> By trying to string-out all these penny-packet games over a decade, the
> incompatibilites between current software and operating systems still
> undesigned and technology still unmanufactured is going to be legendary. I
> think the first games released under the new 'Normandy' title are going to
> be completely incompatiable with the last games released under the
> 'miscellaneous' title ten years later.
Yup. And it's by design : every base game is a new start and modules
for one base game will not be compatible with any other base game
probably just because technology will have evolved so much in the
meantime that a new base game is simply a must.
In other words : even if you buy every base game and every module you
won't be able to mix and match maps and units irrespective of the
technological evolution. So no what-if the Germans had King Tigers in
Normandy and so on.
Deplorable ? yes, but given the choices they made, especially the move
to a 1-1 scale, and the size of the company I don't see any other
approach to be viable.
Here's a thought experiment : let's say that the original Combat
Mission never existed and now there's this new company producing a 3D
tactical real-time and turn-based wargame on the US/German fighting in
Normandy. Would you buy it ? I would if it was half decent and didn't
have DRM.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
MJB
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:a2c26336-baaa-44ef...@q4g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
MJB: I try very hard NOT to buy half-decent games. I already have several
cardboard boxes full of half-decent games that weren't worth the money I
paid for them. Half-decent games get a big pass from me.
<shrug>
I understand what you're saying. I just think that Battlefront is a
zombie - a dead company walking. And this is the last, dying attempt to
wring money out of a fanbase that was rapidly (and perhaps fatally) eroded
by the Shock Force debacle. I never bought that game - despite buying all
the original combat mission games - and can honestly say never felt a moment
of anxiety because of that decision. And nothing - nothing at all - Steve
at BF has said has made me re-consider.
There is a saying I like: "Life's too short to drink bad beer." I think
life's to short to play bad games. Or even half-decent games.
Mike Kreuzer
news:MBi3n.84502$813....@tornado.fastwebnet.it...
>> Ain't ever going to happen in a 3D game. Ditch the 3D and it's a
>> possibility
>
> But they already have the 3D models for most of the needed vehicles and
> equipments. Put some hi-res textures on them (i.e. plagiarize the ones
> already done by the community),
Polygon count would be the issue, the models would look just as 90s as
before I think. Such things seem to matter to 3D heads.
> whip together a Polish and French army OOB for the early part of the war,
> and ETO 1939-45 for CM is done. Grab the cash and program "CM3: Three
> Paratropers at Sainte-Mere-Eglise" at your leisure.
>
Grabbing the cash seems to be their ongoing obsession, I wonder how marginal
their operation really is. I wonder the same thing about Sturm Eagle, all
those begging emails I keep getting, not a good look.
Regards,
Mike Kreuzer
www.mikekreuzer.com
eddys...@hotmail.com
> Grabbing the cash seems to be their ongoing obsession, I wonder how marginal
> their operation really is.
Battlefront == 5 people of which at least 3 full-time. At 30-40K/year
you do the math.
> I wonder the same thing about Sturm Eagle,
4 people full-time. But with JR having made an estimated 20 million in
the past, money ain't the problem.
> all
> those begging emails I keep getting, not a good look.
JR's prime ambition isn't to make a buck, it's to become wargaming's
top dog, numero uno, #1 again. Just take a look at their website, it
just oozes that ambition. After 4 years of getting nowhere he might
have begun to realize he needs those pesky pirating customers to
achieve that ambition.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
eddys...@hotmail.com
>
> There is a saying I like: "Life's too short to drink bad beer." I think
> life's to short to play bad games. Or even half-decent games.
Normally I'd agree wholeheartedly with this, but to continue the
analogy : when you're dying of thirst for a new game in the current pc
wargame desert, and you finally spot what looks like an oasis you'll
even drink water.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Vincenzo Beretta
>> equipments. Put some hi-res textures on them (i.e. plagiarize the ones
>> already done by the community),
>
> Polygon count would be the issue, the models would look just as 90s as
> before I think. Such things seem to matter to 3D heads.
Which begs the question: how many players interested in a new CM are "3D
heads"? Personally I would settle with hi-res textures and a refined gaming
system. Yesterday I played a quick game at CM:BB, and the graphics were just
fine even now.
eddys...@hotmail.com
Well, I've got to admit that I can't play the old CM games anymore -
they look too antiquated and feel clunky. So I'm a "3D head" when it
comes to tactical wargames.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
says...
> > whip together a Polish and French army OOB for the early part of the war,
> > and ETO 1939-45 for CM is done. Grab the cash and program "CM3: Three
> > Paratropers at Sainte-Mere-Eglise" at your leisure.
> >
>
> Grabbing the cash seems to be their ongoing obsession, I wonder how marginal
> their operation really is. I wonder the same thing about Sturm Eagle, all
> those begging emails I keep getting, not a good look.
Feh. It doesn't matter, anyhow.
I view this whole thread with some amusement, given that Battlefront
will certainly inflict some worst-case Nazi eLicense on anyone dumb
enough to buy it.
Are people really interested in this gawdawful thing?
--
Giftzwerg
***
"I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from
and correcting these mistakes to make us safer."
- President Barack Obama
"<laughter> I'll bet you are, particularly since you're to blame."
- Giftzwerg
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <4b4ec...@dnews.tpgi.com.au>, m...@FIRSTNAMEkreuzer.com
> says...
>
> > > whip together a Polish and French army OOB for the early part of the war,
> > > and ETO 1939-45 for CM is done. Grab the cash and program "CM3: Three
> > > Paratropers at Sainte-Mere-Eglise" at your leisure.
>
> > Grabbing the cash seems to be their ongoing obsession, I wonder how marginal
> > their operation really is. I wonder the same thing about Sturm Eagle, all
> > those begging emails I keep getting, not a good look.
>
> Feh. It doesn't matter, anyhow.
>
> I view this whole thread with some amusement, given that Battlefront
> will certainly inflict some worst-case Nazi eLicense on anyone dumb
> enough to buy it.
>
> Are people really interested in this gawdawful thing?
Let’s have a look at the alternatives for WW2 tactical level combat :
Close Assault - Code of Honor - Real-time Tactical World War II
Eastern Front Combat : vapourware
Close Combat - <new title> : been there, done that.
Combat Command Series - Turn-based tactical WWII : vapourware
Combat Leader - Cross of Iron - Turn-based tactical/operational WW II
wargame : cancelled
Kharkov 1943 - WWII Tactical combat game - style Close Combat : very
focused and probably with DRM too
Panzer Command <Western Front> : Koios is defunct.
Point of Attack 3 - Point of Attack 2 converted to WWII : cousin of
Duke Nukem …
Squad Battles - <WWII title> : <sigh>
Tacops WWII : Major H is just having too much fun kayaking
It’s really becoming a case of Combat Mission Normandy becoming the
only saloon in town. I’ll never like DRM and I’m pretty sure I’m going
to regret it, but I’ll grit my teeth and swallow it if I must, and I'm
pretty sure others will too.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
eddys...@hotmail.com
wrote:
> Let’s have a look at the alternatives for WW2 tactical level combat :
Ooops - forgot about "Lock 'n Load" - ok, maybe that one can scratch
my WWII tactical itch without having to get myself all dirty covered
in DRM. If Mark Walker can be bothered to move it up the priority
queue that is. But as his boardgame business seems to be booming with
no less than 4 games published in 2009 ...
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
@j4g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> It s really becoming a case of Combat Mission Normandy becoming the
> only saloon in town. I ll never like DRM and I m pretty sure I m going
> to regret it, but I ll grit my teeth and swallow it if I must, and I'm
> pretty sure others will too.
The same could have been said (and was said...) about DISTANT GUNS and
JUTLAND, at least in the period before the release of WCNAW. Indeed,
there's still *only* WCNAW for naval surface combat junkies even now.
The situation in that genre is much worse, but I didn't buy these two
because of DRM, and I won't buy this one for the same reason.
Oh, and the other reason; the "penny packets" thing. Battlefront is
following in SES's footprints by releasing narrowly-focused games where
gamers will be forced to wait years and pay tons of additional bucks to
get where we were the first day we bought the original COMBAT MISSION.
Oh, and then there's the third strike - YEEEEEEE'RE OUT! - involving the
incredibly nasty attitude Battlefront displays towards anyone who fails
to guzzle all the Kool-Aid and dares to question some facet of the
design in public - or *just asks a troublesome question*. Another leaf
from the SES battle plan? Who cares.
All in all, it adds up to something I'm just going to avoid.
In another post, you liken this to a wanderer in the desert forced to
drink from the only oasis available. I'd argue that no matter how
dehydrated one becomes, the worst idea of all is slaking one's thirst
with outright poison.
No sale.
HermanH
Can't agree with that. Supporting half-decent games with cash is only
diluting the pool of money for the games that might deserve it. The
companies with the poor products need to suffer as badly as possible
so that games like WC: NAW (which delivers what it promises) can
prosper properly. Anything else is just encouraging continued bad
behaviour and mediocrity.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <fd0955fe-0bda-463e-ba55-3c6a0b8050d7
>
> > It’s really becoming a case of Combat Mission Normandy becoming the
> > only saloon in town. I’ll never like DRM and I’m pretty sure I’m going
> > to regret it, but I’ll grit my teeth and swallow it if I must, and I'm
> > pretty sure others will too.
>
> The same could have been said (and was said...) about DISTANT GUNS and
> JUTLAND, at least in the period before the release of WCNAW.
True.
> Oh, and the other reason; the "penny packets" thing. Battlefront is
> following in SES's footprints by releasing narrowly-focused games where
> gamers will be forced to wait years and pay tons of additional bucks to
> get where we were the first day we bought the original COMBAT MISSION.
Also true.
> Oh, and then there's the third strike - YEEEEEEE'RE OUT! - involving the
> incredibly nasty attitude Battlefront displays towards anyone who fails
> to guzzle all the Kool-Aid and dares to question some facet of the
> design in public - or *just asks a troublesome question*.
"We have never, ever, even ONCE banned someone for expressing an
opinion that is critical of our work."
http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=52;t=003385
Except when it *really* hurts like someone poking too many holes in
their lying DRM scheme ... been there, got send to Bansville for my
trouble.
> All in all, it adds up to something I'm just going to avoid.
Torn between 2 options here as I really liked the original CM. I'll
definitely be downloading the demo on day 1
> In another post, you liken this to a wanderer in the desert forced to
> drink from the only oasis available. I'd argue that no matter how
> dehydrated one becomes, the worst idea of all is slaking one's thirst
> with outright poison.
Well, maybe the guys from Gamecopyworld will have the anti-dote :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
eddys...@hotmail.com
> On Jan 14, 12:46 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"
>
> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > On 13 jan, 17:34, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
>
> > > There is a saying I like: "Life's too short to drink bad beer." I think
> > > life's to short to play bad games. Or even half-decent games.
>
> > Normally I'd agree wholeheartedly with this, but to continue the
> > analogy : when you're dying of thirst for a new game in the current pc
> > wargame desert, and you finally spot what looks like an oasis you'll
> > even drink water.
>
> Can't agree with that. Supporting half-decent games with cash is only
> diluting the pool of money for the games that might deserve it.
In my case it's not. Whether or not I've wasted $50 on game x has no
influence on my buying decision for new game y.
It also depends on what one considers half-decent as I'm quiet picky
in what I like or not.
> The
> companies with the poor products need to suffer as badly as possible
> so that games like WC: NAW (which delivers what it promises) can
> prosper properly. Anything else is just encouraging continued bad
> behaviour and mediocrity.
If there's one thing the current WotY election has tought me is that
one man's bad game is another man's WotY pick ...
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
@e27g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> > Oh, and then there's the third strike - YEEEEEEE'RE OUT! - involving the
> > incredibly nasty attitude Battlefront displays towards anyone who fails
> > to guzzle all the Kool-Aid and dares to question some facet of the
> > design in public - or *just asks a troublesome question*.
>
> "We have never, ever, even ONCE banned someone for expressing an
> opinion that is critical of our work."
>
> http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=52;t=003385
>
> Except when it *really* hurts like someone poking too many holes in
> their lying DRM scheme ... been there, got send to Bansville for my
> trouble.
And, as an old hand at watching these boards, you will understand that
the reason cited is never "expressing an opinion critical of our work,"
but something like "disrupting the forum with repeated off-topic posts
about DRM" or "ad hominem attacks," or "failing to utter the phrase,
'Simon Sez' before posting negative opinions."
Yep, another express ticket to Bansville. Not for "criticism," but for
"violating the forum rules."
[In related news, I never broke a date with a woman because she was "a
bit thick," only because she was "not my type" or "a Democrat."]
> > All in all, it adds up to something I'm just going to avoid.
>
> Torn between 2 options here as I really liked the original CM. I'll
> definitely be downloading the demo on day 1
Despite some flaws, CM is a classic game, and I own (Dear Battlefront, I
paid BTS some $150...) all three games in the series. But the
antithesis of my three reasons above applied; they didn't hose me with
DRM (IE, I can *still install these games, even 10 years later...), they
didn't try to hose me by breaking WW2 down into three dozen sausages,
and they didn't call me a criminal / asshole when I pointed out flaws in
the original.
This time out, they whiffed on all three pitches.
> > In another post, you liken this to a wanderer in the desert forced to
> > drink from the only oasis available. I'd argue that no matter how
> > dehydrated one becomes, the worst idea of all is slaking one's thirst
> > with outright poison.
>
> Well, maybe the guys from Gamecopyworld will have the anti-dote :)
Even this gets dicier as time goes on. I heard a story from a world-
traveling pal (and it may be just bullshit, so take it with the usual
boulders of salt ... ) about someone who had their laptop confiscated by
the TSA ... not because of al-Qaeda personnel files, not because of
kiddie-porn, but because he had a hard-drive full of jailbroken music.
I won't believe such things until I read about them at arstechnica.com
or the EFF, but damned if I don't already replace my laptop's hard drive
with a bare, straight-outta-the-.iso Ubuntu installation whenever I (a)
leave the USA or (b) take it in for warranty repairs.
Giftzwerg
@u41g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> > Can't agree with that. Supporting half-decent games with cash is only
> > diluting the pool of money for the games that might deserve it.
>
> In my case it's not. Whether or not I've wasted $50 on game x has no
> influence on my buying decision for new game y.
In a larger sense, though, the only way to teach developers that they
shouldn't, say, infect games with DRM is to stop giving them our money.
Money is the only "hand" we've got with such people.
> > The
> > companies with the poor products need to suffer as badly as possible
> > so that games like WC: NAW (which delivers what it promises) can
> > prosper properly. Anything else is just encouraging continued bad
> > behaviour and mediocrity.
>
> If there's one thing the current WotY election has tought me is that
> one man's bad game is another man's WotY pick ...
But that's the frustrating thing about games like NORMANDY; *I should
buy them*, but I don't - for reasons that have little to do with the
game itself.
My three reasons for not buying this game are (1) Nazi DRM, (2) shitty
attitude of developer, and (3) "penny packets." Only the third reason
has anything to do with the game, and it - by itself - wouldn't be
enough to cause me to hold onto my $50 bill.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <e7782f0f-7226-4ef8-95be-d92f334b7ef4
>
> > > Oh, and then there's the third strike - YEEEEEEE'RE OUT! - involving the
> > > incredibly nasty attitude Battlefront displays towards anyone who fails
> > > to guzzle all the Kool-Aid and dares to question some facet of the
> > > design in public - or *just asks a troublesome question*.
>
> > "We have never, ever, even ONCE banned someone for expressing an
> > opinion that is critical of our work."
>
>
> > Except when it *really* hurts like someone poking too many holes in
> > their lying DRM scheme ... been there, got send to Bansville for my
> > trouble.
>
> And, as an old hand at watching these boards, you will understand that
> the reason cited is never "expressing an opinion critical of our work,"
> but something like "disrupting the forum with repeated off-topic posts
> about DRM" or "ad hominem attacks," or "failing to utter the phrase,
> 'Simon Sez' before posting negative opinions."
>
> Yep, another express ticket to Bansville. Not for "criticism," but for
> "violating the forum rules."
IIRC it was for "inciting piracy" :)
Given that they have me on record for buying TacOps, Strategic Command
and 1 or 2 CM games directly from them that's a hoot.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
MJB
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:548bf60f-93d1-49af...@j24g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
MJB: But are things really that dire? I've got such a backlog of GOOD
games I've still got to even install, let alone buy more 'just-okay' games.
Add in games I've installed but never really got into - like play a campaign
through - and buying more just seems like wretched excess. And
Battlefront's 'penny-packet' plan just enforces the situation.
Why should I buy Normandy right now and all their little modules as they are
released when I know that in a couple of years, after I played through my
current backlog of GOOD games now lanquishing in their boxes, Battlefront is
going to release a GOLD edition with everything packaged into a
complimentary anthology?
<shrug>
I bought Combat Mission: Afrika and I never played it.
I bought AGEOD's Napoleonic game (the name is gone from my head) and never
played it.
I just bought IL 1946 from GOG and haven't even tried it out yet.
I'm checking Total War Center daily for a Trojan war mod I'm dying to try.
Gogamer just put an email in my in-box with Valve's Half-life 2 Orange box
for 12$ and I've never played HL 2.
One of my friends gave me the LOTR on-line game for Xmas and he'll pay the
first six months if I'll just play it with him this winter.
And that's just the stuff I can run on my four-year old and four month old
computer. If I upgrade - like I planned earlier in the year - then games
like Bioshock and Fallout II take precedence over what Battlefront is
planning. And I can't be alone in having too many games to play and too
goddamn little time with which to do it.
Buying more games seems like hauling coal to Newcastle. Extremely
expensive, drm-infested coal at that...
Frank E
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> > In another post, you liken this to a wanderer in the desert forced to
>> > drink from the only oasis available. �I'd argue that no matter how
>> > dehydrated one becomes, the worst idea of all is slaking one's thirst
>> > with outright poison.
>>
>> Well, maybe the guys from Gamecopyworld will have the anti-dote :)
>
>Even this gets dicier as time goes on. I heard a story from a world-
>traveling pal (and it may be just bullshit, so take it with the usual
>boulders of salt ... ) about someone who had their laptop confiscated by
>the TSA ... not because of al-Qaeda personnel files, not because of
>kiddie-porn, but because he had a hard-drive full of jailbroken music.
I just got back from a month of pretty heavy traveling and unlike the
'good 'ole days', I didn't hit a single security check where I had to
turn on my laptop. In the US they just x-rayed it while in Europe they
also used sniffers to check for chemical traces.
Even if I had had to power it up, what are the odds of a security or
customs guy being smart enough to find and recognize cracked software
or music on a hard drive? That story has gotta be an urban myth.
>I won't believe such things until I read about them at arstechnica.com
>or the EFF, but damned if I don't already replace my laptop's hard drive
>with a bare, straight-outta-the-.iso Ubuntu installation whenever I (a)
>leave the USA or (b) take it in for warranty repairs.
For me, one of the downsides of a laptop is that you can't just take
out the HD before you send one in for repairs. I tend to keep my
laptops generic and stick any sensative stuff on my desktops.
Rgds, Frank
Rgds, Frank
Giftzwerg
@s31g2000yqs.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> > Yep, another express ticket to Bansville. Not for "criticism," but for
> > "violating the forum rules."
>
> IIRC it was for "inciting piracy" :)
<snort>
Might as well be for "heresy" or "apostasy."
Giftzwerg
fakea...@hotmail.com says...
> >Even this gets dicier as time goes on. I heard a story from a world-
> >traveling pal (and it may be just bullshit, so take it with the usual
> >boulders of salt ... ) about someone who had their laptop confiscated by
> >the TSA ... not because of al-Qaeda personnel files, not because of
> >kiddie-porn, but because he had a hard-drive full of jailbroken music.
>
> I just got back from a month of pretty heavy traveling and unlike the
> 'good 'ole days', I didn't hit a single security check where I had to
> turn on my laptop. In the US they just x-rayed it while in Europe they
> also used sniffers to check for chemical traces.
>
> Even if I had had to power it up, what are the odds of a security or
> customs guy being smart enough to find and recognize cracked software
> or music on a hard drive? That story has gotta be an urban myth.
I would tend to agree 100% ... if I didn't keep reading stuff like:
http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/customs-and-border-patrol-
agents-are-still-randomly-confiscating-laptops/
I'm willing to consign this to the "urban myth" or at least "apocryphal
story" category, but I still get a pervasive sense of not wanting to be
the legal system's guinea pig for trying to take my cracked version of
Photoshop or my jailbroken iTunes through some security checkpoint -
despite having paid full price for these.
And I've had my laptop turned on several times at the US / Canadian
border by Border Patrol agents. They never get past the login screen -
and I've never been asked to log in - but I'm still not happy about a
process which seems to have exactly squat to do with preventing
smuggling dirty bombs into Highgate.
> >I won't believe such things until I read about them at arstechnica.com
> >or the EFF, but damned if I don't already replace my laptop's hard drive
> >with a bare, straight-outta-the-.iso Ubuntu installation whenever I (a)
> >leave the USA or (b) take it in for warranty repairs.
>
> For me, one of the downsides of a laptop is that you can't just take
> out the HD before you send one in for repairs. I tend to keep my
> laptops generic and stick any sensative stuff on my desktops.
The Lenovo ThinkPads are nice in this respect in that they have
"cartridge" style hard disks that can be replaced in 30 seconds.
Giftzwerg
> I bought Combat Mission: Afrika and I never played it.
Why not? It's excellent.
MJB
"Giftzwerg" <giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.25b8eff73102ee51989722@localhost...
> In article <hin5t...@news2.newsguy.com>, mrt...@OLDsguy.com says...
>
>> I bought Combat Mission: Afrika and I never played it.
>
> Why not? It's excellent.
I know - that's why I bought it. But I'm still happily playing 'Beyond
Overlord' and 'Barbarossa to Berlin'. And I'm not prepared to delete either
of those games off the hard-drive yet.
<shrug>
I can't be alone in buying games that I never get around to playing - or put
aside for years. Or who - when a new computer is purchased - goes back and
re-plays games that barely ran on the old computer to see how they perform
on the new hardware. I'm doing that right now - my current XP computer was
purchased specifically to play 'Oblivion'. And now I'm back playing
'Morrowind', which I haven't touched in almost five years when I last
regularly used my win98 computer. And the difference in perfomance is a
revelation...
"Like hauling coals to Newcastle".
Frank E
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>In article <thFPS8AtXRzVXZ...@4ax.com>,
>fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> >Even this gets dicier as time goes on. I heard a story from a world-
>> >traveling pal (and it may be just bullshit, so take it with the usual
>> >boulders of salt ... ) about someone who had their laptop confiscated by
>> >the TSA ... not because of al-Qaeda personnel files, not because of
>> >kiddie-porn, but because he had a hard-drive full of jailbroken music.
>>
>> I just got back from a month of pretty heavy traveling and unlike the
>> 'good 'ole days', I didn't hit a single security check where I had to
>> turn on my laptop. In the US they just x-rayed it while in Europe they
>> also used sniffers to check for chemical traces.
>>
>> Even if I had had to power it up, what are the odds of a security or
>> customs guy being smart enough to find and recognize cracked software
>> or music on a hard drive? That story has gotta be an urban myth.
>
>I would tend to agree 100% ... if I didn't keep reading stuff like:
>
>http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/customs-and-border-patrol-
>agents-are-still-randomly-confiscating-laptops/
I stand corrected. If I did have sensitive stuff on my laptop I'd have
to rethink how I store and access my data.
Rgds, Frank
Giftzwerg
fakea...@hotmail.com says...
> >> Even if I had had to power it up, what are the odds of a security or
> >> customs guy being smart enough to find and recognize cracked software
> >> or music on a hard drive? That story has gotta be an urban myth.
> >
> >I would tend to agree 100% ... if I didn't keep reading stuff like:
> >
> >http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/customs-and-border-patrol-
> >agents-are-still-randomly-confiscating-laptops/
>
> I stand corrected. If I did have sensitive stuff on my laptop I'd have
> to rethink how I store and access my data.
Here's why I take this kind of thing so seriously. On one of the
"college / tasteless type humor" sites I look at from time to time, I
recently found this link:
... which is a (totally NSFW) video of an idiot who spent six years
injecting silicon into his gonads and ended up with gentials that
resemble a bloated, misshapen wineskin. And the comments are
particularly hilarious.
OK, you say, comical, incredible, and a bit disturbing - but nothing
illegal, right? But how do I *know* the guy isn't 17 years old? He
*looks* like he's 30-ish, but for all the legal cover I have, he could
be in high school.
And his picture is now in my Temporary Internet Files directory.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> "Like hauling coals to Newcastle".
"Port Waratah Coal Services Limited (PWCS), located in the Port of
Newcastle, NSW, Australia, operates the world's largest and most
efficient coal handling facility."
So it seems a lot of people are making a lot of money hauling coal to
Newcastle :)
Yeah, I know, the proverb refers to the English town of Newcastle and
their virtual monopoly on coal production in the middle ages.
Seriously : I get your point, but I'm a "new game junkie" or if you
listen to my wife : a little kid who regularly needs a new toy. Same
difference.
2009 has (for me) been a very bad year in pc wargaming but thanks to
Yin/Yang an excellent year for tabletop and boardgaming.
So while I know the next new boardgame I'll play will be a game of
Here I Stand and my next tabletop game will be a try-out of a new
homebrewn heavy C&C oriented WWII tabletop system the next new pc
wargame can be months away so I've got this build-up demand inside of
me :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
MJB
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20d8b226-79e6-4071...@35g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
> On 14 jan, 15:20, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
> Seriously : I get your point, but I'm a "new game junkie" or if you
> listen to my wife : a little kid who regularly needs a new toy. Same
> difference.
I have a word for people just like you: Clients.
>
> 2009 has (for me) been a very bad year in pc wargaming but thanks to
> Yin/Yang an excellent year for tabletop and boardgaming.
It's all just gaming to me. If it's fun, do it. If it isn't, do less. Or
stop.
>
> So while I know the next new boardgame I'll play will be a game of
> Here I Stand and my next tabletop game will be a try-out of a new
> homebrewn heavy C&C oriented WWII tabletop system the next new pc
> wargame can be months away so I've got this build-up demand inside of
> me :)
I understand completely. I've started brewing beer - I'm just finishing-up
the last of a really nice Porter I brewed back in November. So I'm starting
to obsess just a wee-bit about the next beer I'm going to be
putting-together in the next few weeks. So maybe I'm just substituting one
obsession for another?
<grin>
Frank E
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>OK, you say, comical, incredible, and a bit disturbing - but nothing
>illegal, right? But how do I *know* the guy isn't 17 years old? He
>*looks* like he's 30-ish, but for all the legal cover I have, he could
>be in high school.
Taking it a step further, there are countries out there where things
that are perfectly legal in the US can get you into hot water. Any
type of Porn if you're going to a muslim country for example. Hell, I
think that a wargame which shows a swastika could get you into trouble
if you're flying to Germany.
Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
Rgds, Frank
eddys...@hotmail.com
> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:20d8b226-79e6-4071...@35g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On 14 jan, 15:20, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
> > Seriously : I get your point, but I'm a "new game junkie" or if you
> > listen to my wife : a little kid who regularly needs a new toy. Same
> > difference.
>
> I have a word for people just like you: Clients.
LOL - yeah, I'm indeed the kind of guy who'd use a painting service.
The old time/money balance. But you don't have Perry Napoleonic 28mm
plastics, Baccus 6mm ACW or Uncharted Seas ship models in your
catalogue so ... :)
> I understand completely. I've started brewing beer - I'm just finishing-up
> the last of a really nice Porter I brewed back in November. So I'm starting
> to obsess just a wee-bit about the next beer I'm going to be
> putting-together in the next few weeks. So maybe I'm just substituting one
> obsession for another?
>
> <grin>
I'd *never* get a hobby like that past my wife, so I'll stick to
wargaming :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
eddys...@hotmail.com
> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:56:54 -0500, Giftzwerg
>
> >OK, you say, comical, incredible, and a bit disturbing - but nothing
> >illegal, right? But how do I *know* the guy isn't 17 years old? He
> >*looks* like he's 30-ish, but for all the legal cover I have, he could
> >be in high school.
>
> Taking it a step further, there are countries out there where things
> that are perfectly legal in the US can get you into hot water. Any
> type of Porn if you're going to a muslim country for example. Hell, I
> think that a wargame which shows a swastika could get you into trouble
> if you're flying to Germany.
Matrix had to "adjust" their big World at War banner with black tape
at the Essen game show in 2004 just because of this reason.
But it works the other way around too : things which are perfectly
legal over here will get you into trouble in the US. From smoking in
pubs to buying a beer for your 16 year old son so it has always been a
good idea to check the local legal system of whatever country you're
going to visit, even before 9/11
> Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
> from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
> laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
> of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
> retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
> into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
There are USB sticks with build-in encryption.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
MJB
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ddb319f4-fd4b-447d...@b2g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
On 14 jan, 17:30, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:20d8b226-79e6-4071...@35g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
LOL - yeah, I'm indeed the kind of guy who'd use a painting service.
The old time/money balance. But you don't have Perry Napoleonic 28mm
plastics, Baccus 6mm ACW or Uncharted Seas ship models in your
catalogue so ... :)
MJB: Sorry Eddy - but I don't buy the models for my clients. Ever. I just
provide the paint... and the expertise.
> I understand completely. I've started brewing beer - I'm just finishing-up
> the last of a really nice Porter I brewed back in November. So I'm
> starting
> to obsess just a wee-bit about the next beer I'm going to be
> putting-together in the next few weeks. So maybe I'm just substituting one
> obsession for another?
>
> <grin>
I'd *never* get a hobby like that past my wife, so I'll stick to
wargaming :)
MJB: Try this - I brought two beer kits - a Porter and a English-style Ale.
Total Price - 42$ plus shipping. Ended-up with four cases plus extras -
around 108 bottles - of some pretty excellent beer. If have 60$ to spend -
either on a drm-infected, penny-packet game from Battlefront OR on ten
gallons of good beer - which is apt to give me more pleasure?
eddys...@hotmail.com
> MJB: Try this - I brought two beer kits - a Porter and a English-style Ale.
> Total Price - 42$ plus shipping. Ended-up with four cases plus extras -
> around 108 bottles - of some pretty excellent beer. If have 60$ to spend -
> either on a drm-infected, penny-packet game from Battlefront OR on ten
> gallons of good beer - which is apt to give me more pleasure?
Depends on whether or not you consume the item in one sitting or
not :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
fakea...@hotmail.com says...
> Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
> from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
> laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
> of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
> retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
> into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
What happens, though, when the guy running the checkpoint says,
"Unencrypt this. Instantly. Or else."
I don't even rely on something like Truecrypt for stuff like that any
longer - even though it can offer things like "hidden volumes"
accessible through a secondary password; I've simply heard too many
horror stories (true or not).
When I travel, I leave anything sensitive "at home" and access it
through an encrypted VPN tunnel, then image my Ubuntu to out-of-box
state before crossing a border either way. The most they can do in this
case is rob me of a pristine $800 laptop and find nothing that wasn't
put there by Linus Torvalds et al.
And I don't trust *anything* like CCleaner.
Giftzwerg
a9a3c4...@c34g2000yqn.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com
says...
> > Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
> > from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
> > laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
> > of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
> > retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
> > into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
>
> There are USB sticks with build-in encryption.
The problem here is that the mere existence of something which cannot be
fully examined can raise suspicions on the part of god-knows-who at
these purgatories between borders. Unless you're into some pretty heavy
steganography, you might as well try to carry a locked safe through
customs; first order outta the gate is going to be "open this."
Even worse, the only US court case I've heard of on the topic has
already ruled that 4th and 5th Amendment protections do *not* apply to
encryption passwords; a subpoena means you have to open the container or
go to jail. If that's the case in the USA, one shudders to think what
might be encountered at Beijing International.
So better to not have anything on you at all that you can't freely and
cheerfully give up.
Vincenzo Beretta
> expressing an opinion that is critical of our work."
> http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=52;t=003385
It's me or this post was (coherently, I guess) nuked?
Vincenzo Beretta
> arstechnica.com or the EFF, but damned if I don't
> already replace my laptop's hard drive with a bare,
> straight-outta-the-.iso Ubuntu installation whenever
> I (a) leave the USA or (b) take it in for warranty repairs.
Some frontier posts are really scary when it comes to laptops...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135243.html
Vincenzo Beretta
> has no influence on my buying decision for new game y.
I would agonize to no end about all the good things I could have bought with
those $50 - from some (costume) jewelry for the GF to a perfectly fine, of
course Conway's All the World's Fightning Ships 1922-1946 for me.
But that's just me. I spent $80 on the two new Forgotten Realms books for
D&D 4E last year. Should I win $1,000,000 tomorrow, they would still be
$1,000,000 minus those $80. Some losses are never filled.
Giftzwerg
rec...@hotmail.com says...
The strange thing is that this would bother me *less* than some American
border guard wanting to search the *files* on my PC - and it's not like
you can hide a bomb *logically*.
If my laptop were *destroyed*, there would be no security / privacy
issues to worry about; if my laptop were taken from me, on the other
hand ...
Frank E
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>In article <LkBPS88XPb+QXU...@4ax.com>,
>fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
>> from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
>> laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
>> of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
>> retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
>> into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
>
>What happens, though, when the guy running the checkpoint says,
>"Unencrypt this. Instantly. Or else."
My answer would be no, feel free to keep the USB stick and laptop if
you insist. I don't travel to places any more where they'd throw your
ass in jail for things like that.
... but speaking of customs checks, back in the late 80s we did get
pulled over heading into East Germany and asked to hand over the two
Blaupunkt car stereos we were trying to smuggle into the country. Now
for that border guard to have that particular piece of information,
someone had to overhear us 6 months previously when we were setting up
machines there and promised the two guys helping us that we'd bring
them some decent stereos on our next trip. Someone had to think that
piece of highly seditious information was important enough to pass it
up the stasi chain of command. Someone else had to flag our names so
that they'd know the next time we entered the country and then tell
the border guards to be on the lookout for us.
I was seriously paranoid for the rest of that trip, which, I assume,
was the point. They were just looking to intimidate people. I didn't
make it back there till after the wall came down but I was told that
the story did have a happy ending. The stereos were delivered a few
weeks later. Our techs drove in with brand new stereos installed in
their cars, drove back out with piece-of-shit russian radios and
nobody was ever the wiser. <g>
>I don't even rely on something like Truecrypt for stuff like that any
>longer - even though it can offer things like "hidden volumes"
>accessible through a secondary password; I've simply heard too many
>horror stories (true or not).
>
>When I travel, I leave anything sensitive "at home" and access it
>through an encrypted VPN tunnel, then image my Ubuntu to out-of-box
>state before crossing a border either way. The most they can do in this
>case is rob me of a pristine $800 laptop and find nothing that wasn't
>put there by Linus Torvalds et al.
>
>And I don't trust *anything* like CCleaner.
Now you're talking a whole nother level of paranoid though. If I ever
had data that was so sensitive that I needed to make sure nobody could
ever get at it I don't think I'd trust a VPN. Instead, I'd fill up my
HD with a few thousand homemade pictures and write a program to encode
the data in the LSB of the RGB color bytes of those pictures. Easy to
code, undetectable and unbreakable even if you could detect it unless
you had access to the original pictures and the key file.
But it's a moot point, CCleaner and an encrypted USB stick would be
more than enough for my needs.
Rgds, Frank
Frank E
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On 14 jan, 13:08, HermanH <herman...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Jan 14, 12:46 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"
>>
>> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> > On 13 jan, 17:34, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
>>
>> > > There is a saying I like: "Life's too short to drink bad beer." �I think
>> > > life's to short to play bad games. �Or even half-decent games.
>>
>> > Normally I'd agree wholeheartedly with this, but to continue the
>> > analogy : when you're dying of thirst for a new game in the current pc
>> > wargame desert, and you finally spot what looks like an oasis you'll
>> > even drink water.
>>
>> Can't agree with that. �Supporting half-decent games with cash is only
>> diluting the pool of money for the games that might deserve it. �
>
>In my case it's not. Whether or not I've wasted $50 on game x has no
>influence on my buying decision for new game y.
>
If games x and y came from the same publisher then it does influence
me. I'm definitely more hesitant to buy a new game from someone if
their last release was a piece of shit.
If it's two turkeys in a row then I might well write off that
publisher completely. Stardock/Impulse just entered that catagory for
me. After buying two 3rd party titles through Impulse and getting
fucked on both purchases, the odds of me ever buying another game
through them is now zero.
Rgds, Frank
MJB
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:a2439bb0-bd34-4372...@b2g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
MJB: Dude, try to show some self-restraint. Limit yourself to twenty or
thirty bottles at one sitting...
<smirk>
Giftzwerg
fakea...@hotmail.com says...
> >> Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
> >> from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
> >> laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
> >> of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
> >> retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
> >> into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
> >
> >What happens, though, when the guy running the checkpoint says,
> >"Unencrypt this. Instantly. Or else."
>
> My answer would be no, feel free to keep the USB stick and laptop if
> you insist. I don't travel to places any more where they'd throw your
> ass in jail for things like that.
Fair enough. And given travel only to civilized countries, a dandy
solution.
But still. Why not an even better solution that gives the prospective
Nazi manning the turnstile no "hook" whatsoever to confiscate / harass /
annoy you?
> >I don't even rely on something like Truecrypt for stuff like that any
> >longer - even though it can offer things like "hidden volumes"
> >accessible through a secondary password; I've simply heard too many
> >horror stories (true or not).
> >
> >When I travel, I leave anything sensitive "at home" and access it
> >through an encrypted VPN tunnel, then image my Ubuntu to out-of-box
> >state before crossing a border either way. The most they can do in this
> >case is rob me of a pristine $800 laptop and find nothing that wasn't
> >put there by Linus Torvalds et al.
> >
> >And I don't trust *anything* like CCleaner.
>
> Now you're talking a whole nother level of paranoid though. If I ever
> had data that was so sensitive that I needed to make sure nobody could
> ever get at it I don't think I'd trust a VPN. Instead, I'd fill up my
> HD with a few thousand homemade pictures and write a program to encode
> the data in the LSB of the RGB color bytes of those pictures. Easy to
> code, undetectable and unbreakable even if you could detect it unless
> you had access to the original pictures and the key file.
Consider this, though.
As a former police officer and current computer systems professional, I
often give lectures to aspiring police forensics candidates for local
law enforcement agencies about technology and potential issues.
With them in mind, here's my word to you (guys) as people whom I (a)
like, (b) respect and (c) believe are honest, non-criminal folks:
"You can't be paranoid enough when it comes to police agencies - they
are *not* your friends."
And it's not limited to computer issues at the border. My advice to
citizens involved in *any* police beef is similar; utter exactly three
sentences, then go silent:
1) I do not wish to make any statements.
2) I do not consent to any searches.
3) Am I free to go?
Paranoid?
eddys...@hotmail.com
> But still. Why not an even better solution that gives the prospective
> Nazi manning the turnstile no "hook" whatsoever to confiscate / harass /
> annoy you?
True story : a guy got picked up at an airport and thrown into jail
for having a "5-point chinese throwing disc" in his possession.
Turned out it was his Medal of Honor.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Frank E
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>In article <2VVPS9JDhOnigu...@4ax.com>,
>fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> >> Now you've got me thinking about a setup that would make a laptop safe
>> >> from traveling. CCleaner would be at the top of my list to give the
>> >> laptop a thorough scrubbing before I travel. Second would be some type
>> >> of encryption program that would automatically let me store and
>> >> retrieve sensitive data encryted on a USB stick. I've never looked
>> >> into it but I'm sure such a program exists.
>> >
>> >What happens, though, when the guy running the checkpoint says,
>> >"Unencrypt this. Instantly. Or else."
>>
>> My answer would be no, feel free to keep the USB stick and laptop if
>> you insist. I don't travel to places any more where they'd throw your
>> ass in jail for things like that.
>
>Fair enough. And given travel only to civilized countries, a dandy
>solution.
>
>But still. Why not an even better solution that gives the prospective
>Nazi manning the turnstile no "hook" whatsoever to confiscate / harass /
>annoy you?
Two reasons. First, having met a few of those nazis manning the
turnstiles, they don't need an excuse to be an asshole. If they want
to give me a hard time, they'll find some reason to do it whether I
have an encrypted USB stick in my pocket or not. US customs seems to
have a pretty high asshole quotient but maybe that's just because I
deal more with them than any other.
Second reason would be that if I'm in a country where I had reason to
be paranoid, the last thing I'd want to do is use a VPN. That's bound
to raise all kinds of red flags and catch the attention of people that
I'd rather not have to deal with.
>And it's not limited to computer issues at the border. My advice to
>citizens involved in *any* police beef is similar; utter exactly three
>sentences, then go silent:
>
>1) I do not wish to make any statements.
>2) I do not consent to any searches.
>3) Am I free to go?
>
>Paranoid?
Nah. I wouldn't call that paranoid, just good advice.
Rgds, Frank
Giftzwerg
fakea...@hotmail.com says...
> Second reason would be that if I'm in a country where I had reason to
> be paranoid, the last thing I'd want to do is use a VPN. That's bound
> to raise all kinds of red flags and catch the attention of people that
> I'd rather not have to deal with.
Which is why we need to be clear on exactly what country we're talking
about. The country I'm most worried about is America, IE the border
guys when I try to get back into the USA. So a VPN tunnel isn't an
issue, but something I'm carrying back in would be.
Of course, flashdrives are so cheap these days that one could just
reformat the thing and flush it before coming back through US customs.
Vincenzo Beretta
> about. The country I'm most worried about is America, IE the border
> guys when I try to get back into the USA.
Hear hear... ^_^
Giftzwerg
rec...@hotmail.com says...
Yeah. And it's *worse* now under Obama. So much for the fuckwit theory
which held that Bush had anything to do with it ... riiiiiiiiiiight?
Funny, though. A lot of complaining has stopped.
Vincenzo Beretta
> which held that Bush had anything to do with it ... riiiiiiiiiiight?
True: we tend to forget how the nazi-DRM at the US frontiers JUST FELL FROM
THE SKY while poor Bush Jr. was running the country.
> Funny, though. A lot of complaining has stopped.
Not from this place. And, of course, as it happens with every nazi-DRM
scheme, I have to explain what every single medicaton I had with me,
meanwhile the Christmas day bomber was merrily just a step away from
committing his nice terror act.
An act which, while luckily being victimless, totally fulfilled its purpose:
now Al-Qaeda can sit back and enjoy another decade of fun and planning while
the Western world will invest billions (that, thanks to some "advanced
anti-socialist economy brightness" we don't have anymore) to anal probe
every single dude who wants to be near an airplane model. Meanwhile Binny &
Co (Binny waves: "Thanks for Iraq BTW! That close call at Tora Bora had been
really dire!"). will simply study the new procedures and then invent some
new cool stunt (TNT hidden in fake prostates! - just to see what new
nazi-DRM will be devised against this one, and have fun...)
Giftzwerg
rec...@hotmail.com says...
> > Yeah. And it's *worse* now under Obama. So much for the fuckwit theory
> > which held that Bush had anything to do with it ... riiiiiiiiiiight?
>
> True: we tend to forget how the nazi-DRM at the US frontiers JUST FELL FROM
> THE SKY while poor Bush Jr. was running the country.
He's not running the country. Hasn't been for a full year. Democrats
have been 100% in charge of Congress for three years now, and have held
the White House since last January.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
> > Funny, though. A lot of complaining has stopped.
>
> Not from this place. And, of course, as it happens with every nazi-DRM
> scheme, I have to explain what every single medicaton I had with me,
> meanwhile the Christmas day bomber was merrily just a step away from
> committing his nice terror act.
That's because we don't allow ourselves to differentiate between an
Italian and a raghead who summers in Yemen.
POP QUIZ: Which side of the political aisle disallows profiling?
> An act which, while luckily being victimless, totally fulfilled its purpose:
> now Al-Qaeda can sit back and enjoy another decade of fun and planning while
> the Western world will invest billions (that, thanks to some "advanced
> anti-socialist economy brightness" we don't have anymore) to anal probe
> every single dude who wants to be near an airplane model. Meanwhile Binny &
> Co (Binny waves: "Thanks for Iraq BTW! That close call at Tora Bora had been
> really dire!"). will simply study the new procedures and then invent some
> new cool stunt (TNT hidden in fake prostates! - just to see what new
> nazi-DRM will be devised against this one, and have fun...)
Talk to the light-skinned Negro, m'man.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> Not from this place. And, of course, as it happens with every nazi-DRM
> scheme, I have to explain what every single medicaton I had with me,
> meanwhile the Christmas day bomber was merrily just a step away from
> committing his nice terror act.
We’re still in the Chamberlain phase of this clash of civilizations.
I think it’s highly likely that at one point in the future some sort
of “dirty bomb” will be exploded in the USA and then the gloves come
off. When the dust settles Saudi Arabia will not exist anymore, nor
will any other individual or state still be funding Madras schools,
Jihadi websites or training camps. Kadhafi got that message already,
it’s time some “friends” of the US, like Saudi Arabia, received the
same message.
Meanwhile, thanks to political correctness, border patrols spend as
much time on a retired WASP couple from Britain entering than on a
young, single guy from an Islamic country with a one-way ticket and a
Koran in his luggage.
And don’t tell me Bush is responsible for the political correctness
which has poisoned common sense in the past 2 decades.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Vincenzo Beretta
>> > theory
>> > which held that Bush had anything to do with it ... riiiiiiiiiiight?
>>
>> True: we tend to forget how the nazi-DRM at the US frontiers JUST FELL
>> FROM
>> THE SKY while poor Bush Jr. was running the country.
>
> He's not running the country. Hasn't been for a full year. Democrats
> have been 100% in charge of Congress for three years now, and have held
> the White House since last January.
>
> The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Uhm: re-read what I wrote. I don't agree with the fact that Bush HADN'T
anything to do with it.
> That's because we don't allow ourselves to differentiate between an
> Italian and a raghead who summers in Yemen.
>
> POP QUIZ: Which side of the political aisle disallows profiling?
>
>> An act which, while luckily being victimless, totally fulfilled its
>> purpose:
>> now Al-Qaeda can sit back and enjoy another decade of fun and planning
>> while
>> the Western world will invest billions (that, thanks to some "advanced
>> anti-socialist economy brightness" we don't have anymore) to anal probe
>> every single dude who wants to be near an airplane model. Meanwhile Binny
>> &
>> Co (Binny waves: "Thanks for Iraq BTW! That close call at Tora Bora had
>> been
>> really dire!"). will simply study the new procedures and then invent some
>> new cool stunt (TNT hidden in fake prostates! - just to see what new
>> nazi-DRM will be devised against this one, and have fun...)
>
> Talk to the light-skinned Negro, m'man.
Personally, I think that with all this "secrecy, violation of privacy
rights, wiretapping et al." there would be a simplest way to undermine any
terrorist attack: either to deny that it was a terrorist attack, or to
downplay it. "A plane blew up near Detroit. S*it happens. Now, this week
fixtures..." and move on. It would cut by 90% the damage (in time, money,
stress and whatever) done by every terrorist act (like closing half of the
JFK airport for three hours because a dude jumped a line). Pity that in our
drama-chasing/instant-global-effect modern society this is impossibile -
which is the best leverage terrorists have.
Vincenzo Beretta
> correctness which has poisoned common sense in the past
> 2 decades.
Ah, but in general principle I would agree to nuke *Saudi Arabia* after
9/11, both the former and an hypotetic next one - which makes even more
baffling why the US Army got lost and attacked some guy living some miles
north from there.
Giftzwerg
rec...@hotmail.com says...
> > He's not running the country. Hasn't been for a full year. Democrats
> > have been 100% in charge of Congress for three years now, and have held
> > the White House since last January.
> >
> > The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
>
> Uhm: re-read what I wrote. I don't agree with the fact that Bush HADN'T
> anything to do with it.
My point is that all these fiendish policies the left got their panties
in a twist over became Barack Obama's policies as of 1/20/2009.
Interestingly enough, they don't appear to have been changed, yet the
yelling has stopped.
If you'll recall, I predicted this some years ago. Same policies, yet
somehow they no longer "shred the Constitution" and "destroy our
liberties."
> > Talk to the light-skinned Negro, m'man.
>
> Personally, I think that with all this "secrecy, violation of privacy
> rights, wiretapping et al." there would be a simplest way to undermine any
> terrorist attack: either to deny that it was a terrorist attack, or to
> downplay it. "A plane blew up near Detroit. S*it happens. Now, this week
> fixtures..." and move on. It would cut by 90% the damage (in time, money,
> stress and whatever) done by every terrorist act (like closing half of the
> JFK airport for three hours because a dude jumped a line). Pity that in our
> drama-chasing/instant-global-effect modern society this is impossibile -
> which is the best leverage terrorists have.
Eddy has it right; the problem is this PC attitude which holds that a 70
year old Korean grandmother traveling with two children might represent
the same threat as a 28 year old Syrian with a one-way ticket and no
luggage.
The Israelis do it correctly. They look for the terrorist, not the
weapon. Cheaper, quicker, and far more effective.
Briarroot
> ...
> Eddy has it right; the problem is this PC attitude which holds that a 70
> year old Korean grandmother traveling with two children might represent
> the same threat as a 28 year old Syrian with a one-way ticket and no
> luggage.
>
> The Israelis do it correctly. They look for the terrorist, not the
> weapon. Cheaper, quicker, and far more effective.
>
Bingo.
--
"Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and
disaster" - William Tecumseh Sherman