Guns_N_Roses_Child

@charlie_victor_bravo said:

I would go as far as to say that the STALKER series has the best AI I've in any shooter thus far! GSC Game World pretty much perfected the AI in Call of Pripyat. Being open world, it was challenging when the human AI would take cover and move between cover based on your location. They also used squad tactics too, the way they flanked you was downright scary! Half of the team would keep your fire focused on them, while the other half somehow would stay out of your line of sight, long enough to sneak up behind you with a point blank shotgun blast.

@devildoll: I have faith that most people do some research before investing in anything expensive ;)

1 ms GTG is just an initial spec to look for when narrowing down your search for a gaming monitor. It's also the fastest color switch a monitor can do, more opposing colors will take slightly longer to switch. Gray to Gray is something that the manufacturers touted themselves, so take it with a hint of salt.

@bbalpert: @vackillers: 120 Hz monitors use twisted nematic (TN) to display the image, instead of in-plane switching (IPS) that's more common on 60 Hz monitors. TN monitors have really poor viewing angles, even if you're a little bit off-center, you'll get some color distortion. Any further off and the colors will become inverted.

Because TN monitors can only display a limited number of color shades compared to IPS monitors, it uses interpolation to mix adjacent pixels together to approximate the correct color. Most TN monitors have a Gray to Gray (how long it takes for a pixel to switch from one shade of gray to another) of only 1-2 milliseconds, compared to IPS monitors that have a GTG time of 8-10 ms. This makes input lag on high-end (or gaming focused) TN monitors indiscernible.

If anyone's buying a TN monitor, I suggest getting one with a GTG time of 1 ms, and look for one that's LED lit. The vibrancy of LEDs help to eliminate the washed out look of TN monitors.

Does anyone know of any good media players (that supports MP3 and MP4 files) that saves how far into a video/audio file you're currently in for Windows? So if you close and open it another time, it will resume exactly where it left off. I usually consume Giant Bomb content that's over an hour long in multiple sittings, and it's getting tough trying to find where I left off, especially Unprofessional Fridays and the Bombcast.

Thanks! :)

You're definitely on the right track by forcing yourself out of your comfort zone. Don't be too hard on yourself on the girl issue, make sure you're happy and content with yourself beforehand, and don't depend on a girlfriend to make you happy. Those relationships are symbiotic, and when they end, you'll be worse off than when you started.

To be honest on the gaming thing, keep your expectations low for that as a career, but keep your enthusiasm high for it as a hobby. Like someone said, indie developers and YouTube content producers are a dime a dozen, so you'll have to be really unique to stand out in the sea of mediocre stuff. Keep your library job for now for the steady income, and start getting serious about game development just as a hobby, nothing more. Download free trials of Unity, Game Maker, etc. and build up your scripting and coding skills. Post whatever rudimentary games you make on forums, no matter how crappy they are. Listen to feedback and advice, and keep improving. Eventually you'll see tangible evidence of yourself improving, and hopefully that'll give you the drive to keep at it. Yeah, you'll get trolled for making garbage at first, but fuck them. You'll get better, and success is the best revenge.

You can do better than a book keeper at a library, so look for a job that'll lead to a career. Unless you know a professional game developer that can get you in the door in the future, don't have your heart set on becoming a developer. But definitely stay passionate about it.

Sorry I can't give you recommendations on video gear and development books (I'm in the music industry,) but I hope that helps :)

At least you have Internet?

Mostly the stereotypical stuff. Boomerangs, kangeroos, Fosters, that weird instrument that makes a humming/buzzing noise, koala bears, dingo ate my baby, another shrimp on the barbie, etc.

Sorry.

Well, just stumbled on to some Happy Hour shows, and I see now why that idea died. But it does have that 'it's so bad it's good' vibe a lot that none of the other videos have.

@envane said:

i can and will listen to alot of other podcasts because sorry to say giant bomb isnt the be all and end all of video game "journalism" giantbomb is entertainment

Not at all. I just get that "the grass is always greener on the other side" feeling when I'm watching something besides Giant Bomb. I even do this with Giant Bomb content itself. When it's a video of a game with the most potential for hilarity, or my favorite Quick Look pairings, I usually save that for later watching with a nice dinner.

@Portis said:

Love everything Giant Bomb does, and their content is a big part of our relaxation time. My girlfriend and I cancelled our cable TV years ago, so Netflix, the Giant Bomb Roku Channel, the CNET Roku channel (well, that's mostly me -- SHOUT OUT TO BRIAN COOLEY) and to a lesser extent Hulu Plus keep us entertained. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Wow, this is the same exact thing that happened with me. I'm more of a Brian Tong guy myself, though :)

I feel like I'm not fully mentally mature yet to have a final opinion on marriage. I kind of want all of the benefits of marriage, without the cons if we do decide to split. I hate drama and bullshit, and I know I will have to deal with tons of that if a marriage does turn sour. Right now, and for the near future, co-habitation is the best and only option for me.

@blueduck said:

Can you give some examples of shows you did find interesting before?

Parks & Recreation, Late Night with Conan O'Brien/Jimmy Falon, Community, The Office (US), The Daily Show, and I used to be able to listen to podcasts from IGN, 1UP, and GameSpot. I used to love Let's GameSpot and On the Spot back when Rich Gallup and Jeff were there. I'm not sure if I would still enjoy those shows if Jeff and the crew didn't split off and become this quirky bunch, or if it's just a general change in tastes. I even prefer watching videos that I've already seen on Giant Bomb over again than new content on TV or Hulu.

@SomeDeliCook said:

As much as they say some pretty childish shit, I find the GB crew are way more 'mature' than other journalists. Whenever I see a Gamespot or IGN or 1up or whatever interview or show, everyone in it are all really young and giggling every 5 seconds about shit thats not very funny and usually quoting memes. Patrick is the same as this in my opinion, however its totally fine when theres only one of these types of guys because they help balance stuff out. When there's 4 or 5 really young hipster like guys who just want to troll and are a bit inexperienced, its abysmal and makes for a boring show.

I think you might've nailed it! It seems like the Giant Bomb guys know when to act dumb make fun of situations without resorting to cringe-worthy memes. I'm starting to like Patrick a lot more recently, now that he doesn't seem to be trying too hard to fit in. I do wish he would stop feeling the need to recite an entire wiki article on a game for his Quick Looks, though.

@captain_clayman said:

In terms of video game video content, absolutely, GB is nailing it pretty consistently. I think the GB have just done a great job of adding their own personality into their content, and when you watch their vids its like you're right in the room with them. it's refreshing compared to the fake plasticy nature of most TV show/podcast/internet personalities.

I've been thinking about it, and it seems like a bit of Jeff's personality or mannerisms have rubbed off on each of the Giant Bomb staff in some way.