Wing Commander 3 Box Art

Wing Commander 3 Retro Review

StickyGames, , ,

As some of you might know, as of this writing GOG.com is still having its DRM-free holiday sale in which you can get all Wing Commander games at a reduced price!

Maybe it’s me. I don’t know. But after having finished Wing Commander III for the first time (really!) I can’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. So let me start with a little detour, right at the beginning, roughly 18 years ago:

Back in the day of the 386 and 486 processors, PC gaming was still an elaborate hobby – do you remember the terms “EMS”, “XMS” or “DOS4GW”? If you do, congratulations, you’ve probably been there.

We were astonished by even the smallest technological achievements back then, the CD-ROM and its “vast” storage capabilities being one of them. Back then most games came on multiple 3,5″ discs and required an installation to the hard drive (hope your 200MB drive wasn’t full when a new game arrived). The new format not only promised an end to all that disc swapping, but also much increased game fidelity thanks to the storage possibilities.

With most games taking up less than 50 Megabytes however, many developers questioned how to use all that space? Modern 3D engines requiring hundreds of megabytes worth of texture files haven’t been invented yet (besides the fact that game resolutions rarely exceeded SVGA – look it up!), so the most obvious choice was full motion video (or FMV in short).

In retrospect, FMV was rarely a blessing and anyone who survived that era would even downright call it a curse: Lots of games shunned “real” gameplay in favour of  branching “interactive” movie experiences (which would deserve a piece on their own). Wing Commander III was a blessing in that regard, but not without its own set of caveats.

When I first came into contact with Wing Commander, I was a staunch supporter of X-Wing and its successors. Old Wing Commanders still used sprites instead of true 3D graphics while Lucasarts’ (or more correctly Totally Games’) space shooter was already using a polygon engine, which lacked some detail in comparison, but made the experience a much more fluid affair.

But what Wing Commander lacked in 3D spaceflight fidelity, it made up with pure storytelling skills. The player could fail missions which not necessarily led to the Game Over screen (unlike X-Wing were the player had to succeed in each mission to continue) and cut scenes together with the rec room chats allowed for a deeper sense of interaction with your wingmen – all of which helped in creating a more meaningful approach to storytelling compared to its competition.

Alas even that stronger emphasis on storytelling didn’t result in “good” plots or even balanced characters: Christopher Blair is your archetypal “good guy” player character, singlehandedly saving the Terran Confederation. The Kilrathi are pure evil incarnate with all kinds of possible atrocities thrown into the mix to justify military action that borders on genocide (Wing Commander III in particular).

Needless to say that the player has not only one, but two possible choices for love interest in this game, both of which feel forced, shoehorned and out of character – but I guess my 12-year-old self would’ve liked it.

So the story is not without its fair share of (very) broad strokes, but does the actual play fare any better? Well it depends on personal taste really – Kilrathi are zig zagging through space without any sense of self-preservation and in a way that forces you to throw any tactical considerations right out of the window.

Rarely does the game need more of you than to destroy all enemy forces, advance to the next waypoint, rinse and repeat. If it does actually change-up its objectives, it shoehorns this into the existing gameplay – transports that need disabling just need enough damage until the game proclaims that they are disabled.

And somehow the only reason to care are the actors and the cut scenes – there is not much to care for storywise, too one-dimensional is the conflict between Terrans and Kilrathi. But by giving the major players a face (and well-known ones too), players can’t help but feel compelled not to let Mark Hamill down – he was Luke Skywalker for all its worth.

What remains after 18 years is a game that once pushed gamers’ budgets by requiring top of the line hardware, marrying FMV video with proper gameplay and continuing the legacy that is the Wing Commander universe. And it gave Chris Roberts his first chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of creating cinematic experiences – but that is exactly what is felt throughout the game:

The “gamey” parts of it were created by a more or less independent team with Roberts focusing on the live action parts of it all. Besides the new 3D engine not much of the core gameplay was changed and compared to its later installments (especially Prophecy) the combat didn’t age well.

So if you wish to experience the “legendary” Wing Commander III for yourself, try to get it during GOG’s holiday sale, because at $2.99 it’s a steal and will give you at least a few hours of old school space shooter fun. But don’t expect much: A lot has happened in 18 years!

Note: Only the DOS version of Wing Commander III is sold on GOG.com, so videos will remain low quality (compared to the Playstation version of the game) and you have to play the game in a DOSBOX window. Wing Commander IV (also available at reduced price on GOG.com) is available as a native Windows game with DVD quality videos, so better get both games at once, as the successor is better in every regard while retaining the core caveats of the Wing Commander experience.

Being an Atheist

Blogging, ,

Having been an Atheist ever since I’ve been in contact with religion, I’ve often come across people that try to show me the “errors of my way” and how Atheism is either non-existing (as everything is based on their Christian faith) or morally wrong (as Atheists have no morals). Well, here’s what the late Christopher Hitchens said about that:

“About once or twice every month I engage in public debates with those whose pressing need it is to woo and to win the approval of supernatural beings. Very often, when I give my view that there is no supernatural dimension, and certainly not one that is only or especially available to the faithful, and that the natural world is wonderful enough—and even miraculous enough if you insist—I attract pitying looks and anxious questions. How, in that case, I am asked, do I find meaning and purpose in life? How does a mere and gross materialist, with no expectation of a life to come, decide what, if anything, is worth caring about?

Depending on my mood, I sometimes but not always refrain from pointing out what a breathtakingly insulting and patronizing question this is. (It is on a par with the equally subtle inquiry: Since you don’t believe in our god, what stops you from stealing and lying and raping and killing to your heart’s content?) Just as the answer to the latter question is: self-respect and the desire for the respect of others—while in the meantime it is precisely those who think they have divine permission who are truly capable of any atrocity—so the answer to the first question falls into two parts. A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called ‘meaningless’ except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one’s everyday life as if this were so. Whereas if one sought to define meaninglessness and futility, the idea that a human life should be expended in the guilty, fearful, self-obsessed propitiation of supernatural nonentities… but there, there. Enough.”

Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

Couldn’t have said it better…

Undefeated – Battlefield 3 at its best

Games, , ,

I’ve not been playing Battlefield 3 (PC) a lot in recent times – partly because I’m preoccupied with my new relationship – which is a good thing, thank you – and partly because I haven’t had a lot of time for playing on pc as well.

So it came that I just had a quick round (or two) on my last day of work before my vacation the other day and while I had to eat a lot of lead on the first map, the second one turned out.. well.. let’s just say “better”.

I’ll just let the scoreboard talk:

Not having played a lot on PC, I’ve shown those guys how it’s done!

MVP and Ace Squad, fucka! Don’t ask me how I did it, but being a level 15 among all those colonels sure felt good – so thank god for games where skill is king (and not the size of your wallet).

Das Problem mit Aspirational Advertising

Blogging, , , , ,

Kennt ihr diese H&M Kampagne? Seit Anfang Mai präsentiert das schwedische Billig-Modehaus seine neue Bademoden-Kollektion mit erheblich nachbearbeiteten Bildern (aus dem englischsprachigen Raum hat sich hierfür der Begriff “Tanorexic” etabliert). Bilder, welche inzwischen auch dank Adbusting in Hamburg eine erneute Diskussion über derartige Werbung ausgelöst und dank Social Media auch den Blogpost einer jungen Dame hier aus Hamburg gewisse Bekanntheit verschafft haben.

Natürlich ist es legitim, eine erneute Magermodel-Kampagne von Hennis & Mauritz insbesondere aufgrund ihrer Wirkung auf Jugendliche oder junge Erwachsene zu kritisieren. Auch ist es legitim, dies mit entsprechend drastischen Sätzen zu tun (ich persönlich begrüße das sogar und für die Reichweite/Klickrate jenes Blogs wird es sicher auch nicht negativ gewesen sein).

Doch die Kritik wirkt halbgar, wenn wenige Sätze vorher H&M für seine günstige, tragbare Kleidung hervorgehoben wird – gerade wo die niedrigen Preise (und die niedrige Qualität der Ware) einen viel größeren Teil des Problemkomplexes H&M ausmachen. Auch der fast vollständige Verzicht einer guten Auswahl in allen Größen gehört dazu (neben der Werbung “diskrimiert” also auch das Sortiment in Bezug auf Kleidergröße, Figur und Gewicht). In diesem Sinne ist die Kampagne denn auch schon fast Service am Kunden – wer nicht über diesen Body verfügt, wird sich nur noch über kleinen Teil ihres Sortiments erfreuen können.

H&M wäre also nicht einfach dadurch wieder “gut”, wenn sie andere Models und weniger Bildbearbeitung in ihren Werbekampagnen nutzen würden – bei H&M sollte man als bewusster Verbraucher generell nicht einkaufen (die schon angesprochene miese Qualität sollte der bestechendste Grund sein) – doch das Heilsversprechen, auch mit kleinem Geldbeutel Kleidung erstehen zu können die “fast” so aussieht als wäre sie von Hilfiger/Abercrombie/et al. ist leider für viele zu stark.

Gleichzeitig darf dann aber auch nicht unter den Tisch fallen, wer denn mit H&M “gemeinsame Sache” macht: Castingshows, Modelshows, Scripted Reality im Nachmittagsprogramm, “Superstar oder Hartz IV” – wir produzieren in unserer aktuellen Lage ein Heer von jungen Idioten, die 15 Minuten Ruhm als Y-Prominenz als das einzig Erstrebenswerte betrachten; dass bei jeder Kleinigkeit einfach nur ein Privatsender anzurufen wäre und man vor dessen Kameras sich (entweder psychisch oder physisch) auszuziehen braucht, damit einem vermeintlich geholfen wird; die Privatsender aus reinem Kalkül regelmäßig junge Frauen zeigen, die sich allen möglichen Schönheits-OPs unterziehen und damit den Eindruck erwecken, dass dies ein vollkommen normaler Vorgang wäre.

Der regierende Zynismus der Senderverantwortlichen wird von diesen Menschen natürlich nicht wahrgenommen: Sie zerren diese armen Leute in’s Fernsehen, präsentieren deren fehlgeleitete Selbsteinschätzungen und machen falsche Versprechungen – das alles nur, damit die Zuschauer ihren eigenen verkorksten Alltag einmal vergessen und sich als etwas besseres fühlen können.

Wer als Gesellschaft jedoch diese Sendungen oder emotional manipulativen Mist wie “Schwer verliebt” oder “Bauer sucht Frau” auch noch mit guten Einschaltquoten goutiert, darf sich am anderen Ende nicht darüber beschweren, dass unsere Gesellschaft oberflächlicher und kälter wird. Magermodels in der Werbung, die Magerklamotten von H&M, “Geiz ist Geil” – das Heilsversprechen des Konsums und das ganze auch noch für wenig Geld.

So bleibt mir am Ende nur auf Charlie Brooker zu verweisen, der in seiner Sendung Screenwipe schon vor einigen Jahren gezeigt hat, wie uns das Fernsehen mit seinen Sendungen (und analog die Werbung dazu) ein Leben präsentiert, das wir selbst gefälligst zu leben haben:

Ocean Marketing – A Cautionary Tale in Three Acts

Games, ,

There are days where you just gotta love the internet – take this little tale of a marketing representative who thought he’d just put a little customer in his place and get away it.

Act 1

Let’s start at the beginning: Just yesterday this little post appeared on Penny Arcade detailing the email exchange between some guy named “Dave” and “Ocean Marketing”, the firm seemingly responsible for customer relations around the Avenger N-Controller.

The Avenger itself is a clip-on enhancement for vanilla controllers of either Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, allowing their use without one’s thumbs to ever leave the thumbsticks.

Poor Dave preordered two of those sticks and was simply asking whether or not he’d receive his units before christmas as he planned to give one away as a christmas gift. But instead of replying with helpful information and understanding (Dave and other early adopters have been waiting for two months already), Ocean Marketing, later revealed to be some guy named Paul Christoforo, adopted a condescending way of customer relations.

Let’s just say that the relationship between Paul and Dave became quite sour, so sour even that Dave deemed it necessary to include Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik in his reply to Paul and this is where the real shitstorm begins.

Apparently Paul doesn’t really know who Mike is and doesn’t even budge a little. Citing all his business and industry contacts he tries to bully Dave as well as Mike, even going so far as mentioning that he knows the people that “run the city [of Boston] inside and out” after Mike announces cancelling Paul’s booth at Pax East.

Paul doesn’t stop there however:

pax east pax west , e3 , CES , Gamer Con , SSXW ,Comic Con, Germany I’m all over the place. If we want to be there we will be there with industry badges or with a booth you think I can’t team up with turtle beach , Callibur or Koy Christmas , I can’t get Kevin Kelly to pull some strings or G4 , Paul Eibler Ex CEO of take 2 ,  Rich Larocco Konami , Cliff Blizinski Epic who were working with on a gears version , Activision who were working with on a MW3 and Spider man Bundle , The Convention Center Owners themselves , Mayor of Boston come on Bud you run a show that’s all you do and lease a center in Cities you have no pull in its all about who you know not what you do.  I’ll see space where ever I want , with who I want when I want and where I want so many ways around you and so many connections in this industry its silly.

That’s quite some speech, to which Mike just replies:

I do run Pax, but I also run a website called penny arcade. It’s kinda popular.

[...]

I’m glad you like it! You will be on it tomorrow:)

Rest assured that Paul doesn’t stop there either – instead he promises a “smear campaign” against Penny Arcade, citing his team of 125 PR people and closing with the an attempt to induce fear by uttering the usual “you have no clue who I am”.

Act 2

Even though the timeline is somewhat unclear, things started to heat up over at reddit after Mike Krahulik posted the whole story at Penny Arcade, doing what the internet does best: Data mining all available information about either Ocean Marketing or Paul himself. Even though most information has since been deleted in the opening post due to personal identifiable information of Paul and his wife (as of 4am CET the opening post is still available in the comments section), the basic revelation was that the company’s website was (as it’s now more or less offline) a patchwork of copied elements from elsewhere on the web.

Paul himself starts to get a whiff of the situation he’s in, renaming his twitter account “@oceanmarketting” to “@oceanstratagy” resulting in other people claiming both “@oceanmarketing” and “@oceanstrategy” for use as Paul Christoforo parody accounts.

In the meantime Kotaku did some digging of their own and painted a somewhat more vivid picture of Paul, even more vivid than his own postings could so far.

Trying to get in touch with their previous official contact for the Avenger controller Brandon Leidel, the guys at Kotaku got a reply that seemed to come from an imposter and truth be told, they were right: Turns out that our pal Paul even got access to all previous contact addresses for the Avenger controller and replies in other person’s names now.

The new mail address found this way was then used for a simple google search which turned up forum posts by a guy named “TheAngryPimp” on Steroid.com, detailing his usage of steroids and estrogens. While a clear link between this persona and Paul can’t be established, the quoted forum post is citing Paul’s email address as a means of getting in direct contact with this forum persona.

Fortunately, Kotaku was contacted by the real former Director of Marketing, who had the following to say about the whole mess:

Hi Joel,

I have been following this story since this morning when someone notified me about what was going on. I did not write that response to you.

Yes, in the past I received email at brandon@avengercontroller.com but even then we were an outsourced marketing agency for N-Control. I no longer receive email at that address because we fired N-Control as a client about 8 months ago due to constant shipping delays (which we had to deal with) and their association with Paul Cristoforo who is a street thug masquerading as a self proclaimed “Marketing Professional”. This guy is a complete fool and somehow strong armed his way into working with the company so we walked away. I am not surprised in the slightest bit by what’s going on right now. In fact, we told the owners of the company on many occasions that this would eventually happen.

I wasn’t going to chime in but since he is replying as me, I can’t resist. I personally can’t stand him.

Brandon

_____________________________________________________________________

Brandon Leidel – CEO, Director of Operations
The HAND Media, Inc.

Act 3

So what has been established so far:

  • Paul paints a picture of himself as being a guy who knows all the people in the right places, yet nobody has heard of him up until now
  • His website is a plagiarized mess
  • His mails and postings show a strange mix between either very tidy grammar and expression and pure smack talk, obmitting all kinds of punctuation or grammar
  • His obvious spelling problems extend to his twitter account names
  • If he is in fact “TheAngryPimp” he’s also taking steroids to get into shape

Not being oblivious to what’s happening around him, Paul tries to rescue what’s left of his reputation and asks Mike for forgiveness. Mike however is not so easily swayed, citing the difference between “being sorry and being sorry you got caught”.

His reaction is understandable however, now that not only parody videos have appeared on Youtube and even a website with Paul’s own word creations has popped up (see one of Paul’s emails in the original Penny Arcade posting for reference):

So just a day later, Paul has not only destroyed his reputation (if he ever really had one), he has become an internet meme with youtube videos and dedicated websites, his personal details as well as domestic violence reports having been posted on reddit. And now even Geico makes fun of him on Twitter – priceless.

The End (?)

So is this the end of Paul’s tale? Well if it were up to me, I’d say we had enough fun with him for a day – let him reflect on what’s happened and recover, anybody can make a mistake (even a big one and even on the internet). Because at the end of the day here’s what he learned, even if it was the hard way:

You can lie on the internet, but you can’t lie TO the internet