XsT - Team Fortress Est. 1999

Rollerblading outing @ ECP

2009-11-13T15:48:00.012+08:00

Hi sexies. Dejomel and I feel like going lollerblading and cycling at East Coast park next Saturday. Who wants to join? All TF2 friends are welcome to join us :)

Date: 21st November, Saturday

Time: Morning/Early Afternoon?

Where: East Coast Park

Food: 11am, eat brunch?

Budget: ~$6/hour for bike/rollerblade rentals, ~$10 for food

Confirm going:

Mut

Dee

Dejomel

Levi

Botak Snipa

Unconfirmed but interested:

Evil Genius

VGD

Nasty

Pokie

Wish

Lok

Lumi

Wet weather plan suggestions:

Dejomel: Ice skating

Mut: drink tea, have cake and talk cock

Thanks :D Oh gf or bf also welcome ~_~

COD MW2

2009-11-10T16:15:00.000+08:00

Just bought COD Modern Warfare 2 for the PC... going to play tonight, any kaki?

Cat Tea Party

2009-10-19T18:23:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I went to this cat tea party @ Dempsey Road organised by STRIP and Cat Welfare Society. All the cats were so adorable and fat! Hope to have more of this soon :) (I also recently went to a guinea pig run at Bishan Park, if you're interested you can check out the pics here )

A few pics of very cute cats:

And angrier ones...

Pretty Melody Chen was our host for that afternoon with lots of yummy snacks and gorgeous merchandise. More pics here.

Dee and I went to the Cookie Museum and Supperclub last Thursday... will be uploading pics soon (once I find my mum's camera cable).

fire sound waves

2009-10-10T18:01:00.000+08:00

L4D Trailer in Hokkien

2009-09-28T21:19:00.001+08:00

Flower

2009-09-22T11:37:00.004+08:00

Okie I've one more game!

It's called Flower by thatgamecompany, creators of fl0w.

If you're tired of testosterone-driven blood and gore or if you'd just like to de-stress the healthy way, try this!

The main mechanic is simply tilting the PS3 game controller, traveling as the wind as we gather petals which make make a complete song. Playing this on HD with 5.1 surround really adds to the immersive experience with seamless transitions and amazing audio integration. I feel so happy saving trees and making the grass greener. Hope you do too!!!

A good reason to have another joint after Rock Band Beatles :P

A couple of games

2009-09-21T10:44:00.002+08:00

Hey guys! For this short break post-GCA, I managed to acquire/try out a couple of awesome games. First and foremost, Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslim friends :)

1) Rock Band Beatles (360)
Not really a true blue Beatles fan but the songs are a joy to play through compared to GH or Rock Band 1. The main draw of this Rock Band version is really the trippy theme and graphics, much unlike the graffiti street art.

Btw, the vocals now feature harmonic voices (as with Guitar Hero 5), which means that the game can support up to 3 mics singing different parts at one time :D

Was completely blown away by the whole psychedelic visuals; playing this game just makes you soooo happy :D Having completed the entire game, I must say the ending cutscene is just breathtaking!

*SPOILER*

Definitely not for your typical e-peen conscious rocker because the hardest songs aren't really that hard (in that case you could go try out Guitar Hero 5, THAT is challenging.) but more for the casual rocker who appreciates easy-going songs, the Beatles themselves, aesthetically pleasing visuals, transitions or better still, smokes a whole lotta stuff.

BOOMS!

2) Scribblenauts (DS)

I've just played the sandbox part of this game and haha, it provided hours of entertainment. Maybe I'm just easily amused but Scribblenauts does have a HUGE library of stuff, from your daily words like cats, fishes, stones, paper, to time machine, flamethrower, and the most comprehensive library of obscure bird breeds.

I've come to conclusion that God was able to prevent a fight between Satan and a Trex by walking around with one eye, holding a kangkung wearing a bikini. But apparently well, to some the puzzle might be too predictable. To others, it's hard like fuck.. but my brother pointed out that he was able to solve almost every level with a jetpack and fishing rod, so there might be some balancing issues there.

Nevertheless, just exploring the library of items is a good enough reason for me to get this game!!!

3) Fat Princess (PS3)

Ahaha yeeees! Okay this is only reason why I got a PSN account (add me @ muthucurry). For us TF2 players, the element of teamwork should be quite intuitive with the various classes. Stuffed in the RTS genre, it's a little bit of that and yet strangely similar to TF2 in some ways.

Attacks usually come in 2 forms - individual target or AoE, with damage types being upgraded by a Worker.

The classes are Mage (spell damage like burn or freeze), Priest (heal individuals like a TF2 medic or AoE heal), Worker (probably one of the most impt classes here to do fixing/upgrades like a peon), Archer (ranged) and Warrior (melee).

Basically the fat princess is your flag and there are different modes of gameplay very much like Unreal Tournament (CTF, territory control, team deathmatch etc) BUT in order to make it difficult for the enemy to bring the princess back, you gotta keep stuffing her with cake which can be found lying around randomly on the map.

The more cake she eats, the fatter she gets, and more players are needed to quickly carry her back... but that also means that the players CANNOT attack when they're carrying her.

I'd say the game is pretty much balanced for now (points-wise naturally the Priest gets it faster like a TF2 medic)

If you're bored of the princess, you could release your inner jock and just have a bloody game of soccer!

4) Brutal Legend (360)

Only managed to play a bit of this at GCA so can't say much... it's a little glitchy on the tech side but the winning factor is most probably Jack Black humour so if you're into that sorta thing, it's actually quite funny :D

OR if you're a gamer AND a metalhead.

BOOOOOOMZZZ!!!11

GCA 2009

2009-09-11T13:08:00.003+08:00

Hey all,

Games Convention Asia 2009 will be next week 17th-20th September at Suntec! I'll be down on most of the days at the business centre or at the office (nearby) but will be free to roam about the exhibition mostly on Saturday. Will also be lucky enough to attend the conference on Thursday :)

If any of you guys are dropping by for lunch or anything, give me a ring or a msg ~_~

Apologies for my absence as well :( While Dome has his exams, I've also been busy at work preparing the games showcase for GCA (and other deadlines). Free time is a luxury these days and the drive to improve in TF2 has dropped to zero; I've become a casual TF2 player!!!!111

Nevertheless, good luck for your exams Dome!

Inactivity Notice

2009-09-09T18:44:00.002+08:00

Hey people!

The O' Levels begin in exactly 48 days from today, and I am scared shitless at how completely unprepared I am.
But in either case, heading to the TF2 WCG 2009 with my fellow XsTs is one thing I will never regret.

My first paper begins on the 26th of October 2009, and my final paper ends on the 14th of November 2009.

So until then, I'll be completely inactive and just busy sorting my academic life in order.

Hope to see everyone soon (preferably at an XsT paintball gathering cum outing sometime in November).

Wish me luck!
-Dominic

Been a bit quiet lately...

2009-09-08T17:53:00.001+08:00

Hello all!

Wow its been a bit quiet lately huh! Guess the last TF2 update didnt really perk up interest.... as opposed to how the class updates usually do.

In anycase, Insanity, Hero and myself (Sick) have been playing quite a bit lately and look forward to you guys joining us! Usually at night around 9pm. Just give us a PM.

Cheers,

Brendan

For all MMO friends:)

2009-08-19T14:44:00.004+08:00

Classless Update

2009-08-14T10:29:00.002+08:00

Ooh lah lah!! Some very interesting changes there...

Additions / Changes:

Added "Auto Reload" option to the multiplayer advanced options.
Clip-based weapons that reload a full clip at a time can now have their reloads aborted by firing.
Pistol now fires at a fixed rate, not based on the speed at which you press the firing button.
Added a color blind option to add a Jarate icon above enemies who are busy accepting a terrifying existence where they have no dignity.
Significantly reduced the amount of network traffic being sent.
Capturing the flag in a CTF game mode gives the entire capturing team 10 seconds of critboost.
Sappers attached to a teleporter automatically place another Sapper on the other end of the teleporter, if it exists.
Engineers wrenching a teleporter will repair the other end as well, and remove Sappers from both if they exist.
Disguised Spies no longer trigger On-Hit effects (like the Blutsauger's heal).
Removed self-inflicted minicrits. Fixes Jarate'd Soldiers/Demomen having ineffective rocket/grenade jumps.
Added an item panel to the spectator cam that shows non-standard items being carried by the player you're spectating.
Added an "Inspect" key that allows you to look at items being carried by your team mates.
Backpack improvements:

- Added drag & drop to move items around. Item positions are maintained on the backend.
- Added multi-select, allowing you to delete multiple items at once.
- Added a new key to the key binding page that opens your inventory directly to your backpack.
- Fixed mouseover panel being incorrectly position when the backpack first appears.

Cloaked Spies standing in valid backstab positions no longer raise their knife.
Added current map name and gametype to the bottom right of scoreboard.
Added class icons to tips on the loadout and loading screens.
Improved visuals around flags when they're being carried by a player.
Improved critboosted visuals, making it much clearer when an enemy has critboost.
Updated the loading panel to show the game type under the map name during level transition.
In-game chat dialog now supports full Unicode characters.
Added BLU main menu background.
Added response caching for some server queries to help reduce the CPU load from DOS attacks.
Teammates no longer block friendly radius damage. Prevents nearby teammates causing rocket/grenade jumps to fail.

The rest can be found here.

Carneyvale: Showtime on PAX10!

2009-08-11T22:09:00.007+08:00

Hello everyone! A bit of good news for those who've been following the local indie games scene... for those who don't know, Carneyvale: Showtime is an XBox Live Arcade game developed by Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Gamelab (7 developers in our team, of which one of them is yours truly :P) and has won several awards last year.

I'm proud to say that this game has represented Singapore in various prestigious competitions such as Dream.Build.Play (Grand Prize), IGF (Finalist), and most recently, Penny Arcade Expo Top 10(PAX10)! So very happy for the team :)

Apologies, I just learnt that XBLA is finally available for Singaporeans! You can get the game for 400 points. Do try it out!

For aspiring game developers, you can read this interview.

To view the gameplay, watch this (@ 4:37):

Hopefully gamers will be more aware of how our local game developers are doing and the games that they produce, from mobile games, casual games to hardcore games.

Developing AAA titles is definitely not far off!

That's my share of *cough*patriotism for Singapore heheh

Btw, a couple of Showtime developers play TF2 too. If you see player(s) by the name of Fang or Bman, please do say hi to them ^^

Mut's 21st Gathering

2009-08-02T17:45:00.002+08:00

Hello TF2 friends, thanks so much for coming. Hope you all enjoyed yourselves :) More pics can be found HERE.

Happenings over the past few weeks!

2009-08-02T11:58:00.003+08:00

Hello all!

In a blink of an eye and it is already August! Yikes! A couple of things have happened over the past few weeks and so this is an update!

1) Our lovely ladies Dee & Mut have both turned 21yrs old! Woohoo! I have personally known them since secondary school and now they are legally adults! XsT wishes them all the best in their future plans and hope that we have many more wonderful gaming years to come!

2) We have a new member! Pokiepoke-|XsT|, who I got to know during the WCG, has now officially joined us! Say hi to this dangerous demoman if you see him around the servers! He is also our resident GHWT drummer heh.

3) Our dear Hero-|XsT| is now back from studying in the UK and is now playing on our local servers. Do guide him along as TF2 is new to him! The more kaki we have the better eh.

Ill be in the servers these few days, following which I'm heading for my graduation trip and ceremony (UK, Paris and Melbourne). XsT Paintball session will follow in September/October yeah!?

cheers,
Sick.

Mut's 21st Birthday Gathering

2009-07-31T10:21:00.002+08:00

Hello XsT friends or friends of Mut (or crashers), please check if you've confirmed your attendance for Mut's Birthday tomorrow evening.

Dee
Spam
B1
Dejomel
Rivace
Null
UGL
TheNork
Sick + Tiff
Pokie
H3ro

For details, please check:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106605727023&ref=ts

Thanks!

Cheers,

Tan Hong Ming

2009-07-27T14:17:00.000+08:00

R.I.P Yasmin Ahmad, film-maker with a heart of gold.

Holy Grail: Black Knight (Gmod version)

2009-07-26T10:59:00.000+08:00

Scrumdiddlyumptious

2009-07-19T02:47:00.000+08:00

Half-life 2: Stalker Rape

2009-07-13T20:46:00.003+08:00

Childhood Gems

2009-07-08T14:22:00.003+08:00

Recently, my sister got re-hooked into playing Heroes of Might and Magic 5. With the introduction of online games, turn-based strategy games and adventure games have been forced into a steep decline, though many of them still live, ironically because of online communities.

I was fortunate enough to be introduced to games when genres such as adventure games were at its peak, games which my siblings and I picked up along the way, thoroughly enjoyed, and were never forgotten.

Here are some of the games I grew up with (aside from great, popular titles like Monkey Island)

1) Heroes of Might and Magic (1995 - 2006)
Genre: Turn-based strategy
Developer: New World Computing , Nival Interactive
Publisher: 3DO, Ubisoft

HoMM1 Screenshots: Main, Battle, Faction
HoMM2 Screenshots: Main, Battle, Faction
HoMM3 Screenshots: Main, Battle, Faction
HoMM4 Screenshots: Main, Battle, Faction
HoMM5 Screenshots: Main, Battle, Faction

2) Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (1993)
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Al Lowe (Leisure Suit Larry) and Josh Mandel
Publisher: Sierra

Download

3) Odell: Down Under (1996)
Genre: Education
Publisher and Developer: MECC

For some reason, I really enjoyed this game (which they installed in every school PC) and have bits of marine knowledge with me till this day.

4) The Neverhood (1996)
Genre: Adventure/Puzzle?
Developer: The Neverhood Inc.
Publisher: Dreamworks Interactive

5) Creatures (1996 - 2001)
Genre: AI Learning (?)
Developer: Millenium, Cyberlife Tech,
Publisher: Mindscape Entertainment, Creature Labs

Creatures Screenshot
Creatures 2 Screenshot
Creatures 3/Docking station Screenshot

6) Lode Runner: The Legend Returns (1994)
Genre: Puzzle, Platform
Developer: Presage
Publisher: Sierra

7) Grim Fandango (1998)
Genre: Adventure
Developer and Publisher: LucasArts

8 ) Princess Maker 2 (1993)
Genre: Life Simulation
Developer and Publisher: Gainax

This is actually quite fun, don't let the kawaii exterior fool you!
(especially the M18 hack)

9) Space Quest (1991 - 1995)
Genre: Adventure
Developer and Publisher: Sierra

10) Commander Keen (1990-1991)
Genre: Platform
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Apogee Software

11) Jazz Jackrabbit (1994-1998)
Genre: Platform
Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Gathering of Developers

Just sharing a few random 11 titles, hope it brings nostalgia for those who got introduced to gaming during the 1990s :) Feel free to share your childhood gems !

WCG 2009

2009-07-04T18:41:00.003+08:00

Hey everyone!

Dome Jnr, Mut and myself (Sick) just participated in the WCG 2009 under the team name "PIE", formed just 5 days before the event. It was the brainchild of Dome Jnr. and for that we are very grateful to him.

We were teamed up with dKiwi, Best_Lame and PokiePoke, who became great friends to us over these few days. Thanks for the training, the company and the experience guys!

Even though we lost 5 - 0 in the first round to Malaysian clan Anomaly (congrats to them!), it was such a fun learning experience for us.

Thanks to all who came down to support us (Dee, Indi, Insanity) and thanks to Clan O9K who trained with us yesterday.

Hopefully we can continue training and play more games in the future!

cheers,

Sick

It is time to choing the servers!

2009-06-17T12:44:00.002+08:00

Hello Team!

Yes yes, I am finally back! And this time, it is more or less for good!

It is time to choing the servers once again!

Do join me or drop me an SMS if you guys/girls want to play online.

Cheers,

Sick

Left 4 Dead 2

2009-06-03T23:10:00.003+08:00

"By the time you read this, Valve will have announced the existence of Left 4
Dead 2 at Microsoft's E3 press conference.

By watching the announcement trailer, you'll discover that there are new characters, special zombies, and even melee weapons like a chain saw.

But if you want to learn more, read on, because we were at Valve last week to actually play through one of the sequel's campaigns (the E3 demo only features the first two levels of the campaign that we played), and we got all the bloody details.Now it might seem unusual for Valve to be rolling out a sequel to Left 4 Dead so quickly; after all, the original game shipped on November 18.

The sequel is due out on November 17, almost one full year later. However, Valve's Chet Faliszek (known almost universally in the industry as just Chet) told us that when they finished production of Left 4 Dead last year many of the developers had ideas they wanted to pursue for a sequel. And since Valve employees get to choose their next project, it quickly paved the way for Left 4 Dead 2.

Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/988/988161p1.html

Left 4 Dead 2 will feature five new campaigns that are linked together as part of a larger and more coherent narrative story.

The all-new cast of characters will also develop their personalities as the game progresses.All of the existing Boss Infected will return, along with new additions. Two of these were shown in a Rock Paper Shotgun exclusive hands-on preview of the game – The Charger, a miniature Tank with a powerful charging attack, and the Wandering Witch, who wanders the entire map instead of staying stationary, forcing the Survivor team to rethink their tactics for Witch evasion.Melee combat in Left 4 Dead 2 has been expanded.

Axes, baseball bats, chainsaws and even frying pans are some of the tools available for players. It is not clear if Valve intends to retain the "right-click" melee attack option in Left 4 Dead, or if it will be completely replaced.

The new and improved AI director has been given the ability to alter the layout of certain sections of the campaign, forcing players to seek out different pathways with each playthrough. The director also has the ability to change weather effects and to create random objects in the game world.

Wandering Witches .. Chainsaws .. Insane maps ..

No shit man.

May 21, 2009 - Team Fortress 2 Update Released

2009-05-22T15:13:00.001+08:00

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Maps

Added new map, Pipeline. Pipeline is the first map in a new game mode named payload race, which uses two carts in each map instead of only one like traditional payload maps
Added new arena map Sawmill
Added new arena map Nucleus
Added new community payload map Hoodoo
Updated Dustbowl to fix not being able to jump into the window in the first building of the second stage

Sniper Changes

Added new sniper rifle replacement, The Huntsman. Instead of a sniper rifle, you have a bow that allows you to move around faster while firing, and fire more quickly than the sniper rifle. Works better at medium range than the standard rifle
Added new SMG replacement, Jarate. If thrown on an enemy they will take more damage for short period of time. Also extinguishes flames on yourself or allies
Added new SMG replacement, The Razorback. Will protect you against a single spy backstab, and stun the spy for a short period of time. Comes with a 15% move speed penalty for the wearer
Standard sniper rifle now shoots through friendly players
Added 54 new Sniper voice lines
Added 35 new Sniper achievements

Spy

Added new revolver replacement, The Ambassador. First shot is very accurate and will cause a critical hit if it hits an enemy's head. Accuracy is poor for a period after that
Added new watch replacement, the Dead Ringer. When armed, you will appear in all ways to die to the first damage you take from an enemy. You'll be cloaked for 8 second after taking this damage. Upon de-cloaking you'll make a loud, distinct sound
Added new watch replacement, the Cloak and Dagger. Your cloak meter is only depleted when you move, so you can stay invisible indefinitely if you're standing still
Spy name tags now show up properly when disguised as their own team
Fixed a bug that would cause spectators to see disguise weapons incorrectly
Fixed a bug where enemy spies disguised as friendly spies would have cigarettes that didn't burn
Fixed a bug where overhealing disguised spies would show the wrong overhealing amount to the medic
Made it more obvious on first person view model when your motion cloak is out of juice and you are partially visible
Also made it more obvious on first person view model when you're bumped while cloaked
Improved the way your disguise weapon is determined to make it clearer and fix a couple of rare issues
Spies disguised as enemy spies now get a random mask to help complete the disguise, and their target id will be set appropriately
Spies disguised as medics now have an Ubercharge: line in their disguise target info
Spies outward facing "disguise health" now matches their disguise target when they first apply the disguise
Spies can now pick up health kits for their "disguise health", even when uninjured
Disguise UI doesn't show up in minimum UI mode (hud_minmode)
Spies that disguise as a player using an unlockable now show that unlockable in hand
Spies can now use enemy teleporters
Added 70 new Spy voice lines
Added 34 new Spy achievements

Scoreboard changes

Dominations no longer get wiped when teams switch sides
Dead players draw slightly darker in scoreboard
Converted class labels to class icons
All players now display the total number of people they are dominating

General

You now find new and old items as you play, instead of through achievements
Fixed a bug that would cause the scout's ball to regenerate at inappropriate times
Demomen can now detonate their stickies while taunting
Flamethrower's air burst now extinguishes fire on friendly targets
Grenades and rockets deflected by a pyro under the effects of Kritzkrieg will now be criticals
The Heavy and Sniper now have new custom death animations
Fixed payload HUD not updating properly if you join in the middle of a match and the cart isn't moving
Engineer's dispensers now give 20%, 30%, or 40% of player's max_ammo (for each ammo type) on each use, based on the level of the dispenser
Added -sillygibs commandline parameter which will allow the non-violent gibs to be enabled
Added a new taunt for the Kritzkrieg, which also heals for 10 points
Improved the deathcam camera handling used when a player plays a custom death animation
Added missing chalkboard and serverbrowser images for community maps shipped in previous updates
Removed "Final" from map names in the serverbrowser quick list

Servers

Added "sv_allow_voice_from_file" convar, which defaults to 1. When set to 0, it'll prevent clients from using the "voice_inputfromfile" feature to broadcast wav files over voice
Enabled "sv_allow_wait_command" convar, which defaults to 1. When set to 0, it'll prevent clients from using the "wait" command