Load State

I finally have access to my computer again after several months.  Not that anyone noticed except some spambots.

And it just so happens that something called "GamerGate" erupted during that time...

How to Force a Gamepad to Work with Saints Row 2

I purchased Saints Row 2 off Steam only to discover my PlayStation DualShock controller doesn't work out-of-the-box with it.  After spending an hour experimenting with it, I figured out how to make it work.

The problem is the axes are screwed up.  The game assumes there's an Xbox 360 controller, which has more than four axes.  It also assumes the axes do different things or are in different positions.  This causes the uncontrollable scrolling effect when starting up the game.

How Saints Row 2 recognizes controller input:

Axis 1: Non-existent.  Doesn't correspond to any button or axis on a DualShock.  (May also be a default setting for unused axes.)
Axis 2: Left analog stick back/forth movement.  (Y-axis)
Axis 3: Left analog stick left/right movement.  (X-axis)
Axis 4: Right analog left/right movement.  (Z-rotation +/-)
Axis 5: Right analog up/down movement.  (Z-axis +/-)

If it weren't for Axis 1, this would work perfectly.

The in-game controller settings only allow the user to assign Axes 1-4 when using a DualShock controller.  Axis 1 doesn't work with the DualShock.  Axis 5 does work, but the user can't assign it.  However, hex editing the file "input.bin" can force the game to use Axis 5.

The red number "04" corresponds to "Axis 5".

The game will play perfectly with this setting, but changing gamepad input with the in-game menu causes graphical glitches.

It sort of works.

Simply switching 0x2C4 in input.bin back to "00" fixes this and allows the player to change buttons again.

Here are the steps to get a DualShock or similar controller working with Saints Row 2:

1. Start game with controller off or unplugged (to prevent scrolling problem).
2. Set Movement X/Y to Axis 3/2 and Camera X/Y to Axis 4/1.
3. Exit game.
4. Open input.bin with a hex editor (such as HxD).  File should be located in "D:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Local Settings\Application Data\THQ\Saints Row 2".
5. Change address 0x2C4 (row 0000002C0, column 04) from "00" to "04".  Make sure it overwrites (replace characters) and doesn't insert (add characters, lengthening the file).
6. Save and start up Saints Row 2.
7. If you need to change the controller's other buttons (such as changing fire button to a shoulder trigger), repeat steps 4-6, but change the hex value from "04" to "00".  The in-game menu should work then.  (Then change back to "04" to get the camera working again.)  You can also just keep the hex editor open, but the file might change if you make input changes via the game's interface.  The game needs to be restarted with every change via hex editor as well.

If this doesn't qualify as "forcing", I don't know what does.

How to Reset Dandelion's Lute Quest in The Witcher

I've been playing The Witcher recently and ran into a problem with a quest.  Basically, I messed up Dandelion's Lute quest:  I found the lute before even talking to Dandelion thus robbing Geralt of a Romance Card.  I found a somewhat successful way to fix this using The Witcher save game editor.

Here are some things you'll need:

• The Witcher save game editor.
• Make sure the run shortcut points to your install and save game files.  Right-click on the shortcut, select Properties, and check the Target text box.
• For example, my shortcut link is: 
• %windir%\system32\javaw.exe -DTW.install.path="D:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\The Witcher Enhanced Edition" -DTW.language=3 -Xmx256m -jar TWEditor.jar 
• DTW.install.path is the install location of The Witcher.  In this case it is Steam, but your system may be different.
• DTW.language=3 apparently puts it in English.
• DTW.data.path (not seen in above example) controls save data path.  The default is "C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\The Witcher".
• Two save files:  One from the beginning of the game (your "source save game") and the one you want to change (your "target save game").
• A backup of the to-be-changed saved game in case anything goes wrong.

Steps to reset the quest:

1. File->Open the target save game.
2. Delete Dandelion's Lute from Inventory.  (Important since it affects dialogue choices.)
3. File->Save to save these changes.
4. Click on the "Quests" tab.
• Click on the name of the quest you want to change, such as Dandelion's Lute, and click the Examine button.
• Note at the end of the description a file is listed.  This is the file we need to copy from the source save game to the target save game.  In the case of Dandelion's Lute, the file is called "q3031_lute".
5. Actions->Unpack Save the target save game to a directory such as "target".
6. File->Close the target save game.
7. File->Open the earlier save game.
8. Actions->Unpack Save the earlier source save game to a directory such as "source".
9. Close the save game.
10. Copy the quest file (such as "q3031_lute.qst" for Dandelion's Lute) from the "source" directory to the "target" directory, overwriting as necessary.
11. In the save game editor, select File->Open and open the target save game again.  Select Actions->Repack Save and choose the "target" directory to merge all those files into the target save.
12. File->Close to close the file.
13. Play the fixed save.  Talk to Dandelion about the quest.  He should say to go see a woman.
14. Visit the woman and this time she'll talk about Dandelion more and enable a Romance Card.
15. Return to Dandelion, save the game, and edit this save file.  Re-add Dandelion's Lute to inventory and save.  Talking to him again will complete the quest.

This successfully reset the quest triggers to the point Geralt could earn a Romance Card.  However, this did not reset every conversation or previous action:  the woman who held the lute already knew Geralt, Geralt had already dealt with her father, and the lute wasn't returned to the trunk.  I also experimented with completing the quest and then resetting the quest file.  The conversation with Dandelion already occurred, so Geralt couldn't activate the lute quest.  In short, this quick and dirty way of resetting quests has very limited use. 

Oculus Rift and Facebook

Facebook acquired Oculus Rift for some two billion dollars in cash and stock.  While I've never been a fan or proponent of virtual reality or the Oculus Rift, I can understand why some backers are upset.

Facebook isn't a games industry company.  Games run on their platform, but the games only serve as a way to draw people into their system.  Facebook churns through users and depends on a massive number of them in order to sell advertising.

The problem is that virtual reality probably won't be used by hundreds of millions of people.  It will be a niche product like stereoscopic 3D games and movies, although it could be a very large niche with millions of users.  A company like Valve can support a small to large niche, but Facebook demands higher returns for its investments.  It's unlikely Facebook will derive significant consumer revenue from Oculus Rift without gaming.  That leaves business and government purchases, but there's a problem there as well.

It doesn't quite make sense that Facebook bought Oculus Rift to compete with Google Glass.  Google Glass provides a heads-up display to deliver environmental information to users.  The business application is readily apparent:  a delivery man equipped with Google Glass can track a package, drive an optimal route, and receive updates from headquarters in real time (individual technologies already exist for this, but Google Glass can combine all these functions into one portable unit).  Oculus Rift only allows the wearer to explore a virtual environment.  It might be useful for training medical or military personnel, but its applications are inherently limited.  Gaming is one of the larger potential roles for the Oculus Rift, but since Facebook isn't primarily interested in it, the Rift's backers may be left out in the cold.

Of all the possible suitors for Oculus Rift, Facebook may prove the worst.  Companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have all shown a willingness to support new technologies for a length of time.  Facebook is too young and their recent spendthrift buying spree suggests little if any long-term planning or strategy.  The second Facebook runs into serious financial difficulty, they'll jettison Oculus Rift as dead weight.  Facebook will either sell it or, possibly to forestall competitors, simply shut it down and cease all production.  Oculus Rift fans and backers are right to be worried.  A more traditional gaming company could guarantee a certain level of support.  Backers could trust that it wouldn't be dropped on a whim.  Facebook can't buy that.

HDMI and VGA Video Converters

I'm interested in recording gameplay from my computer and I bought two products to try to do this:  a ViewHD HDMI to Composite and a Monoprice VGA to RCA converters.  My hope was to use my DVD recorder to capture computer footage.  The output would only be standard definition, but I'd be mostly interested in recording older computer games.  Software recorders carry significant CPU overhead and I hoped to record video without dropping frames or quality.  Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed after using these two products.

(HDMI to Composite with The Witcher at resolution 800x600.  The colors are darker most likely due to a bad contrast setting.)

The ViewHD's video quality proved sufficient except that it included a copy-protection signal in the composite output.  My DVD recorder added a distorting/banding effect to deliberately ruin the picture.  It connected to a television just fine, but VCRs and DVD recorders were useless.  Oddly enough, a USB composite capture dongle I own displayed the video without the distortion.  Either the hardware itself or VirtualDub ignores the copy-protection signal. As such, the ViewHD could record to a computer, but that defeated the purpose of getting the device in the first place.  It might be possible to find something to strip the signal, but that's an added expense and may not work.  Footage in a 16:9 aspect ratio might work with the converter since the distortion could be cropped out of the video.

Strangely, the ViewHD works perfectly well with a second-generation Apple TV, but won't work at all with an iPhone 4s with iOS 7.  The iPhone seems finicky about which devices it will work with.


(VGA capture footage of The Witcher at 800x600 resolution.  No sound.)

The Monoprice VGA to RCA converter didn't introduce any copyright protection, but its overall quality seemed quite poor.  The right and bottom borders clipped so the image wasn't an exact copy.  These border problems were probably due to over-scanning, but there was no way to fix it despite a switch which claims to do just that.  It definitely receives the whole image since zooming will show the correct border, but for some reason it clips in the normal view.  The device reset once, but refused to do so after the first time.  It seems designed for PowerPoint presentations and not gameplay capture.

The sad part is that with all the money I spent on this little project (due to needed cables and whatnot), I could have purchased a GeForce 650/750 with ShadowPlay recording technology.  It requires a little CPU overhead, but far better than most capture software thanks to the inclusion of an encoder chip.  Since I use a Dell desktop which includes a proprietary power supply, I'd need to purchase a drive bay power supply.  I haven't used either of these products, but my buyer's regret makes me think this is a workable solution.  The biggest problem I can see with this plan is that the graphics card might be too large for my system and that my PCI Express version might be too old.  [Edited 2014-04-29:  That drive bay power supply apparently requires a special type of PSU that it plugs into (for purposes of grounding and whatnot).  However, I also found out that Dell no longer uses proprietary supplies, so swapping one out shouldn't be a problem.  And I discovered that EVGA creates GeForce 750 graphics cards that function on 300 Watt power supplies without six-pin connectors (assuming an Intel processor is used instead of a rather power-hungry AMD).]

For Radeon-oriented users, there's the AverMedia Game Capture HD, but there have been some complains about that one.  It requires a hard drive as well.  This is another product I've yet to use.

Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri (DOS - Looking Glass Technologies - 1996)

Terra Nova:  Strike Force Centaui is a first-person combat simulator with squad-level tactical control.

Story

In the year 2327, pirate groups menace the Centauri system, raiding farms and killing people.  Strike Force Centauri and other similar units must intercept and eliminate these groups wherever and whenever possible.

An in-game computer database explains the history of the Centauri system, its clans, and other information.  It explains minute details about the economies and societal structure of nations.

Dotted throughout the game are Full Motion Video sequences.  These enhance the game and give the characters personality.  The quality is in the B-Movie range even compared to other similar games released in the 90s.  Unfortunately, there aren't enough video sequences.  It seems like there should be more of them.  Plot points and threads are introduced and never reach a definitive conclusion.  It's almost as if the developers wanted a larger story, but cut everything down to fit on a single disc.  Even worse, DOSBox sometimes skips the movies entirely (restarting DOSBox after each mission seems to help avoid it).  The game even crashed repeatedly before Operation Goblin could even begin (fixed by correctly configuring sound settings to use SoundBlaster's IRQ and whatnot).

Combat

Missions take place in the first-person point of view.  The player controls a mechanized suit armed with weapons and devices to defeat the enemy.  These weapons and items include lasers and rockets as well as spy drones, electromagnetic dampeners, and medical kits.  The player gives commands to squad members such as scouting an area, protecting a location, destroying a bridge, or retreating to an evacuation point.  The artificial intelligence on the squad members is pretty good, but the player needs to take care to give appropriate weapons for the mission (squad members will use auto-turrets to defend an area, but won't deploy them offensively; grenade launchers carry a risk of friendly fire).

Sometimes there are numerous tactics to win a mission, but others, especially timed missions, require precise planning and foreknowledge of what events occur in said mission.  Performing well earns the player medals.  Players must retry failed missions until achieving a minimum set of objectives.

Team members can not be killed during a mission since they evacuate whenever damage is critical.  However, wounded team members may not be available for a mission or two unless the story requires their presence.  Story and mission progression are linear, so missing out on a needed specialist can make the subsequent mission significantly more difficult.

Overall the combat is both fun and challenging, requiring the player to quickly react to changes in the enemy formation or mission parameters.  The trick is to give the right set of equipment to squad members along with proper tactics to defeat an all-too-often numerically superior foe.  A small bit of luck is handy as well.

Conclusion

Terra Nova is an enjoyable military simulator though there aren't enough missions or story sequences for my tastes.  There weren't enough missions to experiment with every weapon or tactic.  There weren't enough story sequences to give a sense of completion; the villain never receives their comeuppance.  I finished the game in about five hours, though that may not include aborted mission attempts.

Five and a half hours on standard difficulty.  It may not include aborted missions.

Perhaps combining the real-time combat of Terra Nova with X-COM's base management, enemy interception, and strategic overlook would create an even better game.  The developers already created fairly large maps to represent planetary surfaces.  The game engine could randomly generate terrain for this hypothetical hybrid game.  Non-story missions would extend the game's length and give the player an opportunity to experiment with weapons and tactics.

Fiend vs. Mystic (Chrono Trigger - DS vs. SNES)

In the Chrono Trigger DS review/overview, I mentioned that "Fiend" isn't a good fit for the monster-people in Medina.  Here, I'll go into detail about that.

There were many other names, words, and terms that TOSE and Square-Enix could have re-translated to better match the original Japanese (Crono to Chrono, Ozzie to Vinegar, Masamune to Grandleon, etc.), but most survived the cut.  "Mystic" did not despite that it seems to be the superior term.  "Mystic" is better because it indicates the creatures are magical, but not necessarily evil.  "Fiend" doesn't hint at their magical nature and casts them as unthinking monsters.  A society with a mayor, shops, town square, and an inn can't be Fiends.  One of them even gave Crono cake.  How Fiendish is that?

In Japanese folklore, "demon" can include fairy-like or magical creatures that aren't necessarily evil.  This is a problem in American English as there is no general term that I know of for a magical creature that could be good or evil (there may be some regional, outdated, or esoteric terms, though).  "Fairies" are benign, but that term brings forth images of Tinkerbell.  "Demons" are inherently evil.  "Monsters" commit evil acts and may be unthinking; ditto for "Fiends".  Dungeons and Dragons solved this by using the term Fae/Fey (reminiscent of "fairy") to indicate a magical realm and creatures.  "Mystic" could be used similarly to imply magical origins, but not an evil disposition.

Likewise, Magus gained the title "Fiendlord" because of his Japanese title, Maou.  According to Chrono Compendium, this can be translated as either "Demon King" or "Magic King".  Calling Magus "Magus" seems analogous to "Magic King" and thus "Fiendlord" is wholly unnecessary.  Perhaps he could have a second title, "Lord of the Mystics", but it doesn't seem natural to refer to him as such.