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Topics - hOMEr_jAy

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1
Off-Topic / The money-game
« on: 05-04-2016, 21:04:16 »
I know it´s not very popular, but I´d like to talk about....money.

Now that I graduated from university, found myself a steady, well-paying job with good future career opportunities I´ve come to the point where I save more than I spend. Unfortunately the old "save it, put it in the bank account, enjoy high interest rates"-scheme doesn´t work anymore. Even fixed-term deposits only give meagre interest rates that barely beat inflation.

Alternative investment schemes are highly popular these days: real property, gold, natural resources, "ethical investments", crowd financing and what-not: all try to entice people with high interest rates and supposedly low risks.

Now my question is: how do you guys, from different countries, all walks of live and from varying age groups, handle your finances: your inccome, your expenses, any investments?

I´m currently running a giro account which covers my monthly expenses and contains one months worth of net income. Another savings account, which pays just enough interest to cover the current, very low inflation rate, contains my "iron reserve" of three months worth of net income incase some larger expenses arrive.

Now since these basic necessities are organised I´m struggling with how to turn the rest of my (future) savings into something more profitable which would enable me to create a nice bonus for my later years. So therefore I´m looking forward to hear about your money strategies and how you plan your finances (or how and why you don´t) and would like to talk about your experiences, plans and ideas, whatever they are.

2
Gaming / Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
« on: 17-10-2012, 16:10:48 »


Quote
“You have a sword and you want to hurt some people.”

- Basic concept of the game.

The game is skill-based and controls like a FPS, but instead of guns and grenades, players are given swords, shields, maces, battleaxes and longbows. Set in a fictional yet gritty and realistic world, players will fight in fast paced online battles besieging castles, raiding medieval villages and fighting for glory in the arena with up to 32 players.


The game was released yesterday and despite a nasty hangover I´ve already played several hours and enjoyed pretty much all of them.

CMW has a pretty unique combat system that differs from M&B and WOTR. Blocking and actually fighting is much more intuitive and fluid, yet still extremely skill-based.

One of the games main points is its great atmosphere and feeling. There´s lots of violence, blood and people screaming, the HUD is pretty minimal and the great Team Objective mode actually makes you feel like you´re a medieval fighter, looting, burning and pillaging or defending your good and true, yet a tad filthy peasants.

The game´s now available on Steam or can be directly purchased on the game website. Price is 25 US Dollars or 20 Euros.

TL;DR: Some good introduction videos from the beta:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF7NIn61oow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ijb69jekYw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfMTbbUGOgc

The game´s really lots of fun and despite having "only" 32 players max. it´s constant action. Catapults shooting rocks, arrows whirling through the air and players dueling for their lifes. Death can come pretty quick if you don´t pay enough attention!

http://www.chivalrythegame.com/




3
Gaming / Natural Selection 2
« on: 05-08-2012, 10:08:38 »



"So, what is Natural Selection 2? Does that bloody Homer want people clicking on his link again so he can get into a closed beta? And why should I even care about this game?", you might think.

NS2 is a hybrid FPS/RTS game that was released as a Half Life 1 mod in the early 2000s. It takes place in a dystopian future where mankind has spread all over the galaxy, but during its conquest of the stars discovers a terrible species whose only goal is to expand and expand and destroy everything in its path.
The game is heavily influenced by the cult movies "Alien" and "Aliens". You´re either playing as human Marine with advanced technology or as alien, who relies on biological engineering and evolution.

The game play is, as I said, a mix of FPS/RTS. This means that both teams have a comander, who gives orders to his "boots on the ground", researches new technology, builds infrastructure and supports his team, when they encounter enemies.

This mix makes NS2 a unique game that makes people collaborate and work together, to defeat the other team.

Both teams are fighting assymetrical. While mankind relies on technology (including robots, different sorts of weaponry, jetpacks etc.), the aliens feel way more organic. Different lifeforms can evolve into more specialised types of aliens or can get new "add-ons", such as carapace armour or the ability to spit poisonous phlegm.
The aliens also have different types (or classes), such as flyers, builders, warpers or the massive Onos who are the biggest alien lifeform and tramples nearly everything in their path.

The games athmosphere reminds one of the Alien movies or the Space Hulk bord game by Games Workshop: tight corridors, futuristic drilling bases that are slowly covered by alien goo etc. The rooms are either fully dark, lit by red emergency lights or (if all goes well for humans) fully lit, creating an exciting athmosphere.

Imagine you´re a Marine  and you´ve cleared a room, secured it and now you´re forced to move to the next room that is completely pitch black. Aliens could be anywhere, on the ceiling or in a ventilation shaft, seeing you with their thermal view, and the only light source is your flashlight. The only thing keeping you safe is your buddies covering your backs. Suddenly a loud scream, something falls on the ground next to you. Everyone starts shooting, going cyclic with their assault rifles. A flame thrower starts lighting the room. Something´s burning while next to you one of your mates goes down.
An now imagine this scene from the alien POV. This is NS2.

NS2 is currently in closed beta and if you preorder the game for 35 Dollars or 30 Euros, you get immediate acces to the beta. If you want to wait, the game will be released in "summer 12". There´s no fixed release date yet. The game will be released on Steam. Hopefully there´ll be a demo, for those who are not yet fully convinced.



Since pictures say more than words, here are three good videos made by TotalBiscuit, where he introduces the game. You´ll see the Marine and Aliens and also the commander mode in action:

Natural Selection 2 Coverage - Marines

Natural Selection 2 Coverage - Aliens

Natural Selection 2 Coverage - The Commander


And here´s the games homepage for further info, media and the pre-order option:
www.naturalselection2.com


4
Gaming / War of the Roses
« on: 09-07-2012, 22:07:47 »
What´s WotR?

WotR is a 3rd person melee game that is set in the medieval world of the conflict with the same name, that racked the United Kingdom in the 15th century and escalated in a full-scale civil war.

The game offers you the chance to play either as Yorkist or Lancastrian, fighting for your side to gain the British throne.
All weapons and equipment are fully costumizable and players can build unique characters. Wanna be a knight, riding a fearfull destrier? Or would you rather be a grizzled man at arms or a bowman, showing those highborn knights their place with your halberd or longbow? Everything is possible!

Check out these early alpha videos for a good impression of the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnNrHdihGSY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_zXOQI7qFE





Kinda like an updated M&B, though with lesser player numbers. I hope they´ll go to atleast 64 untill the release.

Interested?
You can sign up to the open beta here:
http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/?ref=84de842700d

5
Clans and Tournaments / Team Germany
« on: 08-06-2009, 17:06:02 »
Ja, das ist jetzt halt der Thread fürs Teutonenteam. Im Grunde dient er als Treffpunkt für alle Spieler (soweit sie denn hier angemeldet sind(wenn nicht: Account erstellen und melden, aber zack zack, Soldat!) und als Sammelstelle für alle notwendigen Informationen.

Teamaufstellung

Country: Germany
Teamname: Sturm, Vorwärts, Front, Angriff, Die mit dem roten Halsband, Eisen und Blut
Team Captain: MasterOhh
Player 1: maxtower
Player 2: weapi
Player 3: Schneider
Player 4:
Player 5: Heizefeiz
Player 6: Spreckels
Player 7: GraveDigger
Player 8: Bolovoneichkamp
Player 9: Gabber4Life
Player 10:Ts4EVER
Res 1:
Res 2:
Res 3: bosco
Res 4:
Res 5:

Wichtige Infos

Wann?
Sonntag, 14. Juni 09
17.00 GMT, also 18.00 MESZ

Wo?
TS IP: 193.93.46.62:8787
Server werden wohl noch bekannt gegeben.

Training
Es wär mal sinnvoll, wenn wir uns an einen (oder zwei?) Abend im TS treffen würden und ein wenig zusammen auf nem Public zocken würden, einfach um uns einzuspielen und ein wenig kennen zu lernen. Es wär von Vorteil, wenn jeder mal seinen Wunschtermin angeben würde, damit wir einen Abend finden.
Mir persönlich ist jeder Abend passend, da ich meine Präsentationsprüfung vorbereiten muss, also diese Woche öfters zuhause sein werd. Postet einfach mal nen passenden Termin, dann finden wir schon was.
Und gut wärs auch, wenn jemand die nicht-angemeldeten Spieler dazu bringen würde, sich hier zu melden ;)

Zum Schluss noch was Inspirierendes, immerhin ist ja Platz 1 quasi Pflicht, nachdem die Spanier uns so fertig gemacht haben (Lobo wirds Lachen dann vergehen :D).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vZsmXUFAg

6
Off-Topic / The Book Club
« on: 02-04-2009, 13:04:35 »
I´ve always been a book worm and like reading, so I thought, why not open a topic where other readers can tell the other forum members about the books they read? Doesn´t matter if you have that book in your closet for years or just bought it, tell us what you read and how you like it!
In the recent days I read "The Zombie Survival Guide", "World War Z" (both by Max Brooks) and "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright.

The Zombie Survival Guide
It´s a book that gives you ideas on how to survive a Zombie apocalypse. Although it is a "comedy boo" you won´t find many jokes. But that´s not because the book isn´t good but because it´s funny in a whole different way. It shows you different techniques and tricks to get yourself not killed, once the dead take over the world. And it does it in a totally serious way. After reading the book you find yourself thinking thing slike "How can I fortify my house" or "Are the reports cover-ups of zombie attacks?". It´s really cool and if you like the genre I suggest that you buy it. It also shows "historical sources" of zombie attacks. If you have a very creative mind you find yourself thinking about how to survive the outbreak. If not, well then it´s not my faul. I´m prepared once the living dead come! ;)

World War Z
It´s by the same author as "TZSG" and is written from the perspective of a journalist who survived the big Zombie War, a global outbreak of the Zombie-virus. He travels around the world and interviews people who survived the war, known as World War Z and writes their stories down. It all starts with the interview of a Chinese doc who witnessed one of the early outbreaks. The more you read, the more you get to know not just about the individuals who made it through the war but also about the global scale of mankinds struggle. The whole book is written in the "War of the worlds"-style. it´s basically a "fantasy-documentation" that really sounds plausible and is sometimes funny and sometimes shocking. Again, if you´re into the Zombie genre, this book may be good for you.

Gernation Kill by Evan Wright
This book was written by the "Rolling Stone"-journalist Evan Wright and describes the advance of the American forces in 2003 during the Invasion of Iraq. He follows a unit of recon marines whose job is to advance infront of the invasion forces and to trigger ambushes and cause chaos behind enemy lines by simply moving through them. The whole book is based on a true story and was published as a TV series. It´s a great book that gives you an insight in the minds of the marines and in the whole organisation of the advance. Sometimes the book is surreal when Wright describes the war and all the chaos and havoc. Especially for civilians it´s very surreal when you read about incidents that the marines don´t really care about but are sholcing for people living in a peaceful environment. I didn´t finish it yet, but so far the book is great. It describes everything uncensored and some things are just disturbing. It´s said this book is one of the best about the War in Iraq and I can just second that.

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