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mhoc > • news archive
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| Sat Jul 23rd 2022 12:35 PM | Well after a few years of no LAN compliments of Covid19... we are going to see if we can get this going again! No need to per-register i don't expect we will fill up our space with such short notice and no advertising, BUT it will be good to get back into the habit of having LAN parties again.
LAN will be Aug 6-7th at the Yankton Community Library. Starts at 5 on Saturday, and ends Sunday afternoon. We will see if we can still get in 24 hours of gaming or if im too old to handle that anymore! Please use front(east) doors to enter, the rest will be locked.
We will still be having pizza delivered sat night, and i have a limited amount of Bawlz available to those who want one. Suggested donation is $15, and that money will pay for pizza and cookies. All leftover proceeds will be donated to the library.
Dedicated servers will be setup for: Quake 3, BF1942, COD4, HL2 (MvM), Blur, Wreckfest, Insurgency:Sandstorm. Other games expected to be played: Rocket League, Warcraft 3(Tower defense), L4D, B4B... and whatever anyone else wants to play. 
If you have any questions, as always feel free to contact me!
Milkman
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| Fri Jul 12th 2019 05:14 PM | Well, lets see if we can do this again! Aug 10th 5PM. Maybe we can make it to 20th Annual yet! BUT we need more new blood, or the old blood needs to start coming back. Last years turnout was only a dozen or so, lets see if we can get that number back up in the 20s! Of course key to that is not just only playing the old standby games of the golden age of LAN gaming such as Quake and CoD, but newer ones as well. Some newer games DO support LAN such as Rocket League, Wreckfest, Insurgence:Sandstorm. Of course the oldies but goodies will still be around as well.
Currently plan to have dedicated servers for: Quake 3, TF2, BF1942, COD4, Mechwarrior Living Legends, Day of Infamy, Insurgency: SandStorm, and Wreckfest. Not all good LAN games need dedicated servers though! These LAN favorites expected to be played include: Warcraft 3 with TD maps, Blur, Left 4 Dead, and likely more. Also recently quite a few OLD games have come back thanks to GOG.com, and would be fun to play. Im really hoping we can get more X-Wing vs Tie Fighter games going! So, bring your joysticks if you want to fly!!!!
Quick reminder though, this is a LAN with limited internet access. We will have it, but 20 people will not all be able to download their games after they get here at the same time very quickly. PLEASE try to download your games before coming!!! We/I also spend alot of time troubleshooting games and new installs of things. Try to TEST your games before coming so everyone is just ready to go when you get here.
We will have Pizza delivered late Saturday night, and lots of cookies for everyone to share as always.
Don't forget your mice, headphones, power cords, network cords, etc etc. Please do leave your speakers at home though.
If you have questions toss me an email!
See everyone at the LAN!
Milkman
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| Tue Jul 10th 2018 04:12 PM | On August 4-5th we shall have our 17th annual LAN! We will have some VR to play and both old and new games should be showing themselves. Currently plan to have dedicated servers for: Quake 3, TF2, BF1942, COD4, Mechwarrior Living Legends, Day of Infamy. Not all good LAN games need dedicated servers though! These LAN favorites expected to be played include: Warcraft 3 with TD maps, Blur, Left 4 Dead, and likely more. Some newer games such as Ashes of the Singularity and Rocket league support LAN play and i expect to get a few games in! Maybe even some impromptu tourneys?!?!? Also recently quite a few OLD games have come back thanks to GOG.com, and would be fun to play. Im really hoping we can get a good X-Wing vs Tie Fighter game going! So, bring your joysticks if you want to fly!!!!
Quick reminder though, this is a LAN with limited internet access. We will have it, but 20 people will not all be able to download their games after they get here at the same time very quickly. PLEASE try to download your games before coming!!! We will have Bawls energy drink available again! We will have Pizza delivered late Saturday night, and lots of cookies for everyone to share as always.
Don't forget your mice, headphones, power cords, etc etc. Please do leave your speakers at home though.
If you have questions toss me an email!
See everyone at the LAN!
Milkman
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| Tue Jun 13th 2017 06:03 PM | Aug 12-13th MHOC LAN. Same place, same time.
Once again we will be running more old school games that allow for LAN servers and don't require internet access. Likely to be played is, Quake3, CoD4, Blur, TF2, L4D, Insurgency, BF1942, Mech:LL
I have to say it again, but I know many of you want to play games that require online play. Im not saying you CAN'T play those games i just can not guarantee the internet will be able to handle everyone playing those games. When you get a large group of people trying to play online while others are patching or downloading new games things tend to turn south for play-ability/fun.
We will have an HTC Vive for people to try out at the LAN. So, that should be fun for those who don't have one, and a new experience for those who have never used VR. Because of this though, we will only have room for 25 people at the LAN. So, make sure you register to reserve your seat and try to invite a friend so we get all 25 seats full!
Signup here!
See everyone soon!
Milkman
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| Mon Jul 11th 2016 01:26 PM | August 6-7th!!!!!! I finally got the registration page updated! Signup here!
Games.. sticking to mostly older games still, that we can run local dedicated servers, or have offline LAN support. Quake3, CoD4, Blur, TF2, L4D, Insurgency, BF1942, Mech4, Empires Mod, Etc.... If you have any ideas for games we can all play that have local dedicated servers please let me know! If we add more titles to our dedicated server lineup, i will make an updated post!
I know many of you want to play games that require online play. Im not saying you CAN"T play those games i just can not guarantee the internet will be able to handle everyone playing those games. When you get a large group of people trying to play online while others are patching or downloading new games things tend to turn south for play-ability/fun.
Some points of note: remember this is a public building so no Alcoholic beverages! NO SPEAKERS!!!! Please bring headphones/headset for your sound. Don't forget cables, disks, mousepads, etc!
Also, sorry for not updating this sooner, i need to be less lazy on my very old website! So, hopefully we can still get a good turnout for our 15th Annual LAN! Make sure to spread the word and perhaps drag a friend along!
As always if you have questions or suggestions please feel free to ask!
Milkman
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| Thu Aug 6th 2015 04:23 PM | What should i do to prepare you may ask? Well, get some sleep so you can stay up all night playing games!!! But, more importantly you need to INSTALL AND PATCH your games. Which games? Here are the games most likely to be played by at least some people at the LAN. BF1942, Quake 3, HF2 CTF2.1, TF2, Blur, CoD4, Insurgency, L4D, Demigod... and whatever other game you may want to play with others.
We are up to 19 registered users as of this posting! Plus there maybe a few more drop-ins, im going to have to scramble a bit to change the planned layout to make room for everyone! Make sure to bring a blanket and/or pillow if your going to spend the night and need a bit of rest!
Lastly i will be setting up the Bridge simulator on Friday. If anyone wants to play it on Friday or Saturday before the LAN party, your more than welcome to stop out. If you come early Saturday, you can bring your PC early, but be aware that there will not be any power available for your PC until the library shuts down at 5, and i can run extension cords to other circuits in the building.
See everyone in a few days!!!!
Milkman
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| Mon Jul 13th 2015 11:31 AM | Ok, i finally got the registration page updated! Signup here!
Games.. sticking to mostly older games still, that we can run dedicated servers. Quake3, CoD4, Blur, TF2, L4D, Insurgency, BF1942, Mech4, Empires Mod, Etc.... If you have any ideas for games we can all play that have local dedicated servers please let me know! If we add more titles to our dedicated server lineup, i will update the post!
Sadly i am expecting less than 20 people this year. However that leaves us extra room so we are setting up the bridge simulator again for all to play all weekend long. In fact we will be setting it up on FRIDAY August 7th in the morning and it will be running all day Friday and Saturday before the LAN starts.
SO, what you waiting for? Its LAN time!!!
Milkman
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| Wed May 20th 2015 10:40 AM | Just a quick update, we are planning on having another LAN this year! So, mark your calendars!
I will update the site again when registration opens up, and a better idea on what games we will be playing this year. Im also planning on setting up the Artemis Bridge Simulator this year. Should be lots of Fun!
Should have more data and per-registration up in June.
ps. Yes i DO have pictures of the last few LANs.. just been to lazy to get them uploaded to the website. I will try to find some spare time to do that.
Milkman
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| Wed Jun 11th 2014 04:38 PM | Registration is up for MHOC 2014 Aug 3-3rd. For more information on the LAN, and to signup for the LAN, click the links.
If you have additional questions feel free to ask in the forums or send me an email, link is below!
Milkman
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| Wed Apr 23rd 2014 03:49 PM | Just a quick update, we are planning on having another LAN this year! So, mark your calendars!
I will update the site again when registration opens up, and a better idea on what games we will be playing this year. Hopefully a few new ones to the mix can be added.
Milkman
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| Tue Aug 6th 2013 01:41 PM | Well, we had 21 people attend this years LAN, which was great! Lots of fun was had, lots of pizza and cookies eaten, and lots of Bawlz drank! Thanks to everyone who attended, and hopefully we will have another LAN next year!
On a slightly different topic, work has again begun on the next version of MHOC's website. Doing so, has lead me to need to upgrade some of our back end software to handle some of the new stuff we are going to be testing. So, if the website or forums go up and down for the next week or 2, sorry! Don't worry though they will be back up, and hopefully better.
Thanks!
Milkman
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| Mon Jul 29th 2013 04:07 PM | Less than a week to go for the LAN. Pre-registration numbers are looking better than last year so hopefully thats a good sign. I will be shutting down per-registration Thursday night at midnight, so if you want a discount at the door and a free bottle of bawlz SIGNUP!!! We will have Pizza delivered late again and Bawlz will be available for purchase, plus your free one for per-registering, to give us our energy boost for the night. Remember LAN starts at 5. You can arrive a little early, but we need to keep it down and not everyone will have power until after 5 when the library closes. We will also be using the front doors this year again. Its a bit more of a walk from the parking lot, but made it much easier to keep watch over the door all night long.
A reminder to all to make sure your games are installed and updated before you come to save you time. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to play a game because your steam is updating really slow because 10 other people are updating at the same time and the poor internet at our location is slowly dying. ON that note, if you have not started some of the games we will be playing up in quite some time, just because your steam says its updated doesn't mean it is. Between LAN's steam changed the 'format' of its game files, which may not show until you start to play the game which then it wants to convert and update your system. So.. start those games and maybe practice a bit!
BUT
What games are we going to play? Well... the LAN's are always a bit fluid in what we play. That being said, here is what i have dedicated servers prepped for. CoD4, TF2(MvM?), Empires(mod), HL CTF(2.1), L4D(1&2), Q3, BF1942, Mech4(mektek*), Red Eclipse(new this year). Other games we might play so you should bring along.... Blur, Split Second,WC3(TD), IL2 (1946?), Starlancer, Demigod, Sins of a Solar Empire(SoaSE?). As always bring any other games you would like to play, you never know what other people might want to do. Never quite know what mood everyone will be in. Special note on Mektek, it isn't publicly available anymore i don't think. I DO have it however, so we can distribute that as needed if people want to play.
Don't forget your power cords, ethernet cords, surge protectors, headphones, and any other accessories you may want/need. As always i will have some spares of everything, but not enough to cover everyone! Also if your going to sleep there, don't forget a pillow and blanket!
If anyone has any questions my email is below!
Milkman
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| Mon Jun 24th 2013 04:35 PM | Registration is up for MHOC 2013 Aug 3-4th. For more information on the LAN, and to signup for the LAN, click the links.
If you have additional questions feel free to ask in the forums or send me an email, link is below!
Milkman
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| Tue Apr 23rd 2013 11:53 AM | Yes, we are having another LAN this year at the Library. I have the room reserved and time to start planning and preping servers. As we get closer to the date, more info will be available. For now, mark your calendars and when i get a chance to update the site information and registration i will make another post with more information.
Game on!
Milkman
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| Wed Aug 8th 2012 10:34 AM | Well another LAN has come and gone. Everything went well, other than the typical internet couldn't handle everyone downloading and patching at the same time which caused some games to not be played. Mostly CoD4, Blur, and WC3(tower defense) were played the most again this year. Some fear combat, empires, and HL2 CTF were played a bit as well. Thanks again to everyone who attended! While the LAN isn't as big as it used to be, its still a great time and i plan on having another LAN again next year.
Milkman
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| Wed Jul 25th 2012 11:47 AM | UPDATE! It seems if you register with a hotmail or Yahoo email address your registration appears to work, but in fact does NOT. Im working on a fix, but for now please use a different email address if possible. If not possible, just send me your registration information in an email. As of this updated post (July 27th 1:40 PM CDT) all registrations i have received are on the roster. If you have registered, but do not show on the roster, please try to register again!
Thats right, its less than 2 weeks(Aug 4-5) until our 11th Annual LAN! If you have not signed up, SIGNUP!!!! Remember per-registering means only $10 instead of $15 at the door. Of course we will have lots of cookies and will be ordering pizza that night, and everyone gets a bottle of bawlz! Extra money collected then is donated to the library! The event starts at 5PM and goes 24hours or until everyone leaves on sunday. We will be using the front door (east entrance) again this year instead of the south door because it is just easier to watch and keep the library locked and secure while allowing people to come and go.
What we playing? Good question! Whatever the masses want, is the answer. BUT more specifically the list of games likely to be played is here. Many of them are free mods, and most are older games so you can pick them up on steam/GOG/bargin-bin for relatively cheap.
What should i do to prepair? Another good question! Please try to download/install all the games we might be playing that you are interested in. Make sure they are patched and ready to go. If they are a steam game, make sure they are updated and then set your steam to offline mode just in case we have internet issues. That way you can still play games even without being able to log into steam.
What to bring? Please remember to bring your own headphones(no speakers allowed), power cords and strip, ethernet cable(if you have one), and all your PC stuff. Bring some snacks and beverage if you want, but please no ice in coolers and of course no alcohol. If your planning on taking a nap here, make sure you bring a blanket and pillow!
If you have any questions, as always my email box is open!
Milkman
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| Wed Jun 20th 2012 10:25 AM | Hi, just a quick announcement. We WILL be having another LAN this year(signups will be updated and working shortly). It will be August 4-5th at the Yankton Library. It will start at 5PM Sat, and run until Sunday afternoon. Price will be $10 and will include pizza and a free bottle of bawlz! Yes we also plan on having extra bawlz for all your gaming fuel needs.
What game we are playing and such is still up in the air, although i expect it to be similar to the last few years with the addition of RO2. Im starting on getting the dedicated servers all setup/updated. As i get those working i will post them so everyone knows what games to have pre-installed and updated.
More specific info and such will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
Milkman
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| Wed Nov 23rd 2011 03:57 PM | This update is a little overdo... but just finally got an understanding of how MW3 'LAN' supports doesn't actually work. In the end the only FPS im aware of that has been released this year that doesn't require constant internet connection is RO2. So that will be the only new FPS that MHOC will add to its server lineup for next years big LAN party. Of course we will still have the older servers running such as CoD4, BF1942, Q3, etc.
I encourage everyone to purchase Red Orchastra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad to show your support for their keeping pointless DRM to a minimum. Hopefully we can have some nice big battles at our LAN next summer!
In other news... TaLA continues to raid and has started on the firelands bosses this month. The last big patch (4.3) before the next expansion is due any week now with the last lvl of raiding. While it might take us a bit to get into the new raiding as an all 10 man TaLA group, the 25man raid finder should help us get some experience with the new raid and gear to help us get going quicker this time.
Milkman
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| Mon Sep 12th 2011 12:12 PM | I have been trying to decide if we will have another big LAN at the library next year, or if i should just stick to smaller home LANs. I haven't made up my mind, but the last 2 years have been frustrating in terms of new games and their abilties to work in a LAN setting. As many people may know most of the new games released in the last few years have not had any LAN support, or if they do still require and internet connection. Because of this we have been playing older games like Quake 3, CoD4, Warcraft 3, etc. There have been a few newer titles like Demigod and Blur that have supported LAN and we have latched onto those for bringing something "new" to the LAN. Saddly there has not been any good FPS that allowed us to customize a LAN server and let us play with our internet simply unstable with the number of people trying to use it at the same time.
Just as i was about ready to throw in the towel there is a little light shining ahead. In fact 2 lights. Red Orchastra 2and Modern Warfare 3. Both have said they will support LAN gaming and personal dedicated servers!!!! This is huge news! BUT i have not gotten confirmation that they will fully function in a non-internet environment yet. If they in fact do, these 2 games will likely become the new game of choice at our LAN party. SO, now time will tell if these games can bring back the glory days of our LAN party. So, watch this space and when i find out if they will work without internet access, i will update.
Milkman
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| Thu Jul 28th 2011 01:17 PM | Well the LAN went really well. We ended up playing mostly CoD4 and Blur. Some good old WC3 TD was played as well as Demigod and a few other random games people played. 16 people ended up attending and after expenses we ended up with $80 donation to the library! Also thanks to our only sponsor GalaxyGaming for the t-shirts, hats, and Bawlz. If your in Sioux Falls and have some time to game check them out! I will try and get some pictures up from the event sooner than later.
Milkman
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| Sat Jul 23rd 2011 07:16 PM | So far good so good here at the LAN. Much fun is being had! More room for anyone who wants to join us!!!
P.S. Use the front Door! One of them is unlocked.
Milkman
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| Sat Jul 9th 2011 10:21 PM | July 23-24th starting at 5PM at the Yankton Library, and we go all night and into sunday! Signup here!. We will have bawls for purchase and everyone will get a bawlz coupon with registration that is redeamable anytime during the lan for an ice cold bawlz! Also as tradition we will have cookies for everyone and then pizza delivered 11PM to give us gaming fuel for the night! Remember preregistering will save you $10 at the door.
The list below are the servers i have confirmed to have working and will be an option of playing for the night. I will update this post as i get more working.
BF1942
Quake 3
COD4 (also get the starwars mod)
Mech4 (mektek free download)
FEAR combat (free download)
Empires Mod (free download)
Below are games that do not need dedicated servers and run fine without internet
Blur
Flatout/Flatout2
C&C Generals
Supreme Commander
DemiGod
Left 4 Dead
A reminder to all that if you have any of the above games via steam that you have them fully patched and set to offline mode if possible to make sure you can play at the LAN.
Milkman
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| Tue Jun 14th 2011 06:12 PM | All right, finally getting this info public. The LAN will be July 23-24 2011 at the Yankton Public Library. We will again be starting the Lan at 5PM when the library closes and going ALL NIGHT and into Sunday as long as people want to stay or for 24 hours. Admission will be $10 for those who pre-register and $15 for those who don't. As always that money will be used to buy pizza and pay for minor expenses then the rest will be donated to the library! Do to diminishing attendance and economy finding LAN sponsors who will donate technology related prizes is becoming more difficult. If your reading this and are willing to sponsor PLEASE give me an email!
Now, what everyone really wants to know
What games will we be playing? I have made a decision to keep MHOC focused on true 'LAN games". Meaning if the game has actually LAN support and/or the ability to make private dedicated servers without need for an internet connection we will do our best to support it. Games will vary from older games such as Quake3 and BF1942 to newer games such as Blur and Killing Floor. Im working on getting dedicated servers running for all the games that will be available for people to play and expect that post hopefully after next weekend.
Milkman
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| Thu Mar 3rd 2011 10:44 AM | Yes! We are still here... although obviously most afk. Wow last post was before the last LAN party! The LAN did happen and while again it was smaller than i would have liked, a good time was had by all. Due to internet stability issues games requiring everyone to be online didn't work well as expected. The fall back? Quake 3 Team Arena. We played that over half the night. Other games most enjoyed were Blur, Mech4(mektek), and Empires mod. Everyone still had a good time playing these old games which just reminds me that fun can still be had with old games if those present are willing to go back in time a bit. Which leads us to what to do about our next LAN party. The next one will the the 10th annual LAN party. I would love to make this a BIG event... but realistically thats unlikely to happen playing old games. So, im still planning on what to do for this next LAN.
On other MHOC news... There and Lost Again(TaLA) continues to thrive in World of Warcraft. We just started raiding in the new expansion at the end of Feb, and hopefully we will be making some good progress in the next few months. While TaLA has a presents in a few other MMORPG's, none have really been very active. STO still has 2 of us playing on sunday nights. If you want to join us, get a toon to about LC9 Rank and you can join us. LotRO is now Free to play and we have a guild there as well, although i don't think any actual playing has happened in many many months. If your interested in trying that out, let me know i will toss ya a guild invite so at least you can have access to a few guild perks even if no one is online to join ya.
Well, hopefully more info to come in the next LAN 'soon'.
Milkman
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| Wed Jun 16th 2010 10:22 AM | MHOC 2010 July 10-11th. 5PM - 5PM!!!!
My time is flying by! MHOC is less than a month away and i have tons of work to do yet. I am also giving all our attendees some work to do too. Those of you coming to the LAN please try to make sure that you have all the latest patches and updates ran on your PC. I can not guarantee that we will have a stable internet connection so it is important that everyone patch before they arrive so that is not an issue. I would also recommend setting Steam to offline mode for the games that support that just in case as well. I have also had a number of questions about COD:MW2 as well as BF:BC2. I will not be "stopping" anyone from playing these games at the LAN if they really want too. However i can not guarantee they will work as they do not have LAN servers, and require an internet server to function. It is highly unlikely that the internet available will be able to support everyone playing online at the same time. Because of the heavy internet dependency of these games, its likely they will never be popular/usable at LAN parties. Its also the reason i personally have not purchased said games.
So, what will we be playing? As always MHOC will have BF1942, BF2, TF2, Q3, Fear:Combat, AvP2, W:ET, servers available. New to the dedicated server list this year will be Empires mod and Mech4. Empires is a mod to HL2 that combines FPS with RTS. You can run and shoot, plus use vehicles, while also buildings/walls/turrets are placed and constructed like an RTS. Mech4 while not a stranger to MHOC LANs, has not been played in some time. However stars aligned somehow to allow a free release of Mech4 to the masses. Mektek has taken that release and added better graphics, better AI, new mechs as assorted items. I highly encourage everyone who is planning on attending to download these 2 games, get them installed and learn them a bit so your not totally new to them at the LAN. Feel free to post questions/problems with those games in our forums and i will do my best to help ya get squared away before the LAN.
Now as for non-dedicated server games.. that leaves us with racing and RTS's and L4D. Demigod was a huge hit last year, and i expect it to make a showing again this year. SupCom2 was a disappointment and has no LAN support so i don't expect to see much of that around. Blur and Split/Second have also recently been released and seem to be quite fun games. I prefer Blur... but mostly because thats the only one i purchased so far. Flatout/flatout2 have been very popular in past LAN's as well, so i won't be surprised if that is the case again. L4D is always fun, sadly only supporting 4-8 players isn't the best for getting everyone involved. Again if your interested in playing these games i recommend getting them before the LAN and trying them out a bit so your not new to them there.
Our first door prizes have arrived compliments of SDN. A Swiss Army backpack, a super all in one tool thing, and some flash drives. As always thanks to our sponsors for their support! And if you need something one of our sponsors sells, PLEASE consider buying from them their links are on the right here on the main page.
So... if you have not yet signed up... DO SO. If you have questions about the LAN feel free to ask!!!! And see everyone soon!!!!
Milkman
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| Mon May 24th 2010 10:52 AM | Yup, we ARE having a LAN party again this year! July 10-11th at the Library again! As always we start at 5PM when the library closes and then Game-On for 24 hours until Sunday afternoon!!! For more specific information please visit the LAN page and don't forget to signup to reserve your seat. Im working on a few new fun things this year to make up for the fact that we won't be able to support playing the newer non-LAN games that have been coming out as of late such as CoD:MW2 or BF:BC2. I will have more on that 'soon'.
Milkman
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| Tue Aug 18th 2009 11:54 AM | A terrible epidemic is gripping the planet, one that the news agencies aren't covering and one that if left unchecked, may very well send our species into a tailspin.
I'm of course talking about CWS.
CWS, referred to by some as Coop Withdrawl Syndrome, is the #1 silent killer of online social interaction for gamers. Often left undiagnosed, CWS can cripple an entire community before even one victim shows enough symptoms to receive proper treatment. In its early stages, CWS begins to effect a person's ability to think cooperatively, making situations that require multiple human interaction seem foreign and unnecessary. These feelings quickly turn into behavioral issues that are seen in a preference to solo even when the option of pairing with friends is an option. Common symptons include:
- Heavy, obsessive grinding
- Infatuation with knowing an ending with the aim to spoil it for others
- A preference towards pick up games versus games with established friends
- Friends lists with that include names containing the words "LOL", "Queer", multiple z's or the use of numbers to spell words
- Leaving a planned social event with friends to grind achievements before an MMO's next update
- Wearing clothes that included graphics depicting your WoW Armory breakdown.
However, its not too late. CWS can be cured through simple, regular treatment but as with any illness, early detection is key to a quick recovery. Planning and participating in recurring events with friends is the first step towards the cure.
Act now, before it's too late.
GrimFalcon
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| Mon Jul 20th 2009 04:48 PM | Well party is over, library is cleaned up, and much more sleep is needed for recovery. We had a good turnout, and everyone seemed to have fun. Sadly we did have a few internet/router issues but nothing that a few LAN members couldn't figure out and fix. A huge thanks to our sponsors and the library for their support. After expenses we donated $96 to the library. The next LAN date is not set yet, but as soon as i do set it, everyone will know. Also watch for pictures from the LAN. I promise they will be put up sooner than last year...
Again thanks to all who attended and see everyone at the next LAN!!!!
Milkman
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| Sat Jul 18th 2009 08:12 PM | The LAN is up and going. We still have room for more! SO, if your reading this and thinking of attending.... come on down!
Milkman
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| Fri Jul 17th 2009 01:22 PM | Looks like we will have a nice crowd coming to the LAN this year. Our LAN has again made a local newspaper the P&D! I was a bit worried on how the article started off, but it ended up being a nice article, and thanks to Mike Keitges for writing that up and putting me on the front page.
LAN prep is coming along very well! Prizes are all here from our sponsors, Pizza is already ordered, almost all the servers are up and going, and now i just have a ton of equipment to move from my house to the library. Thanks to those of you who pre-registered, but those who haven't are still welcome to attend! And if your curious about what we are up to, feel free to come over and check it out!
If you have any last minute questions on the LAN please send me an email or post on the forums.
Milkman
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| Mon Jul 6th 2009 11:43 AM | July 18-19th is fast approaching!!! I am cutting off the pre-registering discount on the 15th, so if you want to get in cheaper and get a free bottle of bawlz make sure ya register soon!!!! I have had a number of questions on the LAN, so here are some answers. We will be having pizza delivered again at 11ish and that is included with your admission. We will have cold Bawlz for sale at the LAN for $2 a bottle.
While we are waiting for more things to arrive, we are getting some decent prizes from our sponsors which include:
Multiple 1 gig USB drives,
A Swiss army backback,
T-shirts,
Mugs,
CPU Mag subscriptions
Lastly, what games are we going to play? Here is some of the top games listed by registered attendees:
Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty 4/5, Battlefield 1942/2/2142, Unreal 2004/3, Flatout 1/2, Warcraft 3/TD/DotA, Quake 3, Team Fortress 2, DemiGod, Red Alert 2.
Of course there will likely be more games played. I will have dedicated vs servers for L4D, CoD 4, BF1942, Quake 3, TF2... perhaps more if i get enough time. The library does have internet access, but for the sake of sanity please try to patch your games before you come. Lastly, don't forget to bring headphones, your game CD/DVD's, a network cable, and a blanket/pillow if ya need to take a nap at night.
Off the LAN subject but a topic for all the MHOC family. Our vent server is up for renewal in July. The Cost is $120 a year, and any MHOC member is free to use it. Of course this service is paid for via donation, and we still need $100 yet to cover the costs before July 20th. So, please donate!!!
Lastly a brief WoW mention, TaLA is still up and going those of you who have strayed away during the start of summer don't forget about us. I haven't been online much since june was our family vacation/travel month, but should be around more again. We have a guild meeting tonight to discuss the guild status, and raiding schedule (yes we are still raiding). So, see ya online!
Milkman
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| Fri Jun 12th 2009 10:18 AM | Finally making an official announcement. We had issues with venue this year, and ended up going back to the library at the last minute. Because of library hours we will be starting the LAN at 5PM on Sat July 18th. And LAN will be ending Sunday July 19th... sometime after 5PM. That gives us at least 24 hours of gaming goodness! So mark your calendars and go Signup!!!!!
More info on prizes and specifics of games/food/etc will be forthcoming shortly.
Milkman
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| Mon Feb 23rd 2009 01:12 PM | Things are going well here with our new addition to the family. Had ourselves an RSV stay at the hospital a few weeks back, but everyone is home and healthy again... well except me. Damn cough just wont go away.
In "site news" we will be upgrading our services here shortly to allow some additions/changes to the site. Those of you who are currently having things hosted by MHOC will get some new options for how we host your site/info. Things like getting your own Cpanel, access to your own sql db's, control over your own domain email, etc. Of course this will be free as long as your not eating all my bandwidth/space/cpu usage. I will be contacting those of you who use the site more will more details shortly. If your a member of our community and wanting a small site to host stuff, give me a shout.
TaLA's WoW progress is going well. Hopefully we will have our first full TaLA only naxx clear completed tonight. We have made great progress and hopefully by the time the next content patch arrives we will be ready to try raiding Ulduar.
Lastly, im working on securing a location for our LAN party this year. Its likely date will be end of june or july. Hopefully i will have more info on that in a few weeks.
Milkman
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| Fri Jan 16th 2009 11:43 PM | Just a quick mention that our WoW guild has reached its 4th anniversary. 4 years ago, some crazy guys decided it was a good idea to start playing this game... and now here we are. Next week we will hopefully do our first all TaLA 10man run in the new expansion and start working our way through the end game content. Thanks to everyone who is and has ever been a party of our TaLA family.
Milkman
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| Fri Dec 19th 2008 01:03 PM | Well, we did great! MHOC's family and friends have raised enough money to donate:
Xbox 360 Pro Holiday Bundle 2008 Includes 60GB Hard Drive
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller
Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Controller Battery Pack White
That is very cool, and im very humbled by the show of support by our community. Thanks to all who donated!!!!
Milkman
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| Fri Dec 12th 2008 07:26 PM | Well, this is just crazy. Dave sets a goal and you guys had to go and blow it out in four days. Great. Now Dave has to go back to the Sioux Falls Children's Hospital, his tail tucked squarely between his legs and tell them the bad news that we raised more money than we set out to do and that they'll have to let their kids know they'll be able to buy a Xbox 360 Console with game bundle and something extra on top of it and the gifts our rebellious friends bought them directly off Amazon already.
I don't even want to think about how they're going to react to that news.
In other news, the goals been blown out already and there's still 7 days left for any additional cruel acts of charity. God help us all.
GrimFalcon
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| Tue Dec 9th 2008 12:43 PM | Yup, its time to give back! Every year i post or throw up a banner for Child's Play (http://www.childsplaycharity.org/). This year though i figured it was time to be a bit more pro-active. Several of our members showed interest on the forums and so i went ahead and set it up. For those of you unfamiliar with Childs Play, its organized by the guys at Penny Arcade and raises money or items to be donated to childrens hospitals. This year is the first year that a South Dakota childrens hospital (where a majority of our readers hail from) so that is where we will be focusing our efforts this year. Our front page (for those of you only reading the forums) now has our progress of our goal in the right hand side and an easy "chipin" button for you to help donate to the cause. IF everyone who can read this chipped in 5-10 bucks we could buy a lot of stuff for these kids. Individually we could all get some small items for them but with with our powers combined we could get a console or two for them to actually be able to PLAY the games on. So far they have not had a X-Box360 donated yet, so that is our goal. IF we fall short or go over i will buy other items from their list, and donate the remainder of the cash. If ya have questions feel free to email me, or post in the topic on this in our forums So, donate what ya can!!!
In WoW news, WotLK is going in full force. Several of our TaLA members have lvl 80s already and are gearing up for raiding. We do have an upcoming guild meeting this sat at 6 Server time so try to be there. Have a number of things to discuss about our plans and expansion happenings. Tree jumping afterwards of course!
In FPS news, most if not all talk has been on Left 4 Dead. Its a great co-op FPS and we have been in need of that for YEARS. If ya have not picked it up yet, i do recommend it.
Lastly, im still boycotting EA games for their wonderful DRM that they have decided to dump on all their games from now on. Someday perhaps they will get it.... but until then the money i spend on computer games isn't going to them, and of course frees up cash to donate to the Charity Drive!
Milkman
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| Mon Sep 22nd 2008 04:01 PM | The fact I was gaming online before gaming online was defined as requiring a monthly subscription sometimes means I get a little nostalgic about simpler times.
I'll save the rant on why MMO's I feel are ruining the state of PC gaming on the non-fiscal front and instead, shed some light one why despite the majority, I continue to consistently go back to my roots.
Way back when, multiplayer meant taking turns with the controller, the classic side-scroller Contra action, fighter games or sports multiplayer that usually consisted of the focus player and arrows representing where your opponent "was". It wasn't immediate that the idea of splitting the screen came about and when it did, that right there was a pretty revolutionary step. Having your own separate point of view, while shared on the same 19" TV, was a pretty intense experience. My first experience with this was playing a pretty low-profile game on the SNES called Faceball 2000. While the game wasn't the most edgy, the concept was well ahead of it's time back in 1992. It was based off a previous game called MIDI Maze but it was officially, the very first first person shooter I had played. It was for a few months, the only game I would play whenever I had friends over and despite the fact it was a game about floating smiley faces battling with nerf-like guns, it wasn't long before my friends and I got bored of my punishing them soundly and moved on to other games. As my FPS time went back to zero as Faceball had been years before it's time, I instead got into the old fighting games like Street Fighter Turbo, Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat. My family was far too poor back then to even think about affording anything past a Word Processor and the school I attended then thought they were ahead of their time by having one color screened Apple IIe. My only experience in high school with PC games was when I would go to my friends Keith's house and watch him play SWOTL in between our weekly group sessions of Dungeons and Dragons with all of us gathered around his basement pool table.
My junior year, my sister decided to try an alternative high school that had opened in our city, a school that I would tutor at as part of my volunteer hours that were required at my school. Her school, named the New Country School had the latest PC's and Mac's, all hooked up to some magical device named back then, the Information Super Highway. My sister would come home talking about all these glorious thing she had learned at her new school. She started talking about classes where her teachers would let her simply learn the internet doing whatever project they felt was aiding them in understanding what her school had identified already in 1994 the next great technology. It was during these projects she found something called TinyTim and had came home yammering on about some really cool online game she was playing that was like my Dungeons and Dragons but less nerdy in her opinion. The next day when I was at her school just completing my tutoring schedule, my sister asked me the question "What would you like to be called on the internet?". It was the first time I would use the nickname [b">Panther[/i"> online. You see, back then, I had a poster of a black panther and had a thing for Drizzt books. For a few years I was known across the world of TinyTIM (both as Panther and another original name, Wulfgar) as one of the more famous "scripters" in the game, designing my own text-robots and mansions that interacted with users. Odd, but good times.
Anyway, skip ahead a year and college came about. I meet the same yahoo's that still run around this place and get introduced by Genixx and his roommate to a game called Doom2. No matter what games I've played since, Doom2 is still one of my favorites. Genixx and myself got a name for ourselves pretty quickly in the very computer-centric college we attended as talented Doom2 players. These were the days when I didn't own a computer so these sessions that we had were usually on those computers existing in a computer lab. Once I had purchased my own computer and Quake1 had arrived, Genixx and I had started growing a following which eventually would culminate into the little gaming group that originally made up MHOC years ago. Crow, Milkman and others that had started with Doom2 would see Quake1 as the game that would officially put the nail in the coffin so to speak of our addiction to online FPS.
I could go on but in the service of space, the real lesson here for me was that of all the gaming I've done since my first time on an Atari2600, no other genre of games has provided so many memories, excitement and adrenaline for me (virtually) as the FPS genre. Everything from being a double-barrel marksman in Doom2, to being a dodge-induced flag capturing fanatic as we ran about the first iterations of Threewave CTF during Quake1, to realizing just how deadly a corpse could be in Team Fortress1, to the lessons of gravity taught by Descent, the awful chicken battles of Heretic, the effects of strippers and pipebombs in Duke Nukem, the importance of arc with grenades by Rainbox Six, how jetpacks make all the difference with Tribes2, the epic battles inspired by Battlefield 1942, the deadly CTF duo that Quake 3 provided and eventually, the insanity that now is Team Fortress 2. Everyone of these brings about vivid memories of happiness shared amongst friends in such a way that a level progression ladder, gear and raids could ever mimic for me.
These, for me, were when the playing field was level. When even a man wielding a BFG could find himself flattened by a crazed lunatic armed only with a chainsaw. The ordered chaos of FPS had always been the thrill that made the genre so addicting. Watching Genixx defend an entire base as if he had 10 others behind him, knowing that despite the fact Crow would most times pour loads of ammo at powerups thinking them opponents didn't mean that if pushed, his aim wasn't potent when the game was on the line, the fact Milkman led the classic underdog story as weeks of Unibots had honed his abilities that would surprise us all come the next LAN, that ToeCutter has this way about getting a tank to your spawn point regardless of how long you thought you had, the promise that Dagger never forgets that friendly fire is turned on and that while my aim isn't the most apparent, it's the fact I know you've got to run out of ammo at some point and that Genixx never runs out when he knows I'm being chased down with the enemy flag.
It's not that I think FPS is for everyone, it's not even that I think it's the perfect genre. It's merely that, of all the games I've played over the decades, FPS is the one that leaves the lasting memories even after this long. Sure, I have my share of memories from Starlancer, IL2, Total Annihilation, Neverwinter Nights, World of Warcraft and a slew of others. Yet, FPS is where it all started for me and where I'm always welcome to just start and stop without a shed of guilt. The same talents I learned with Doom2 aid me when I'm pushing that cart past that last remaining soldier in TF2. The same skills at speed I harnessed with Quake 3 help me everytime some Scout bounces by thinking I can't anticipate his trajectory with my next shot.
Nothing for me, embraces the idea of teamwork more than the FPS and when I look back, every fond memory I have of my days of gaming centers around those memories I shared with friends. Each match, each contest is a tiny individual event in time where me and my mates conquered the odds, lost our asses despite our best efforts or had a highlight reel that would be the envy of ESPN. That's why I keep going back to the FPS. It's the one genre that still clings to the mentality that any match, any contest can be swayed not by the weapons, gear, expansion or you have but by the quality of your team.
At any rate, I digress. The real point for me was that we're having Team Fortress 2 night every Thursday and that anyone that just wants to join in is welcome and the above is the reason why I keep trying 
GrimFalcon
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| Wed Sep 3rd 2008 06:18 PM | Yup i am to surrender myself Sept 9th at 10:30 AM... What did i do? I am being held to help the children! No not to protect them from me, but my hard earned bail will aid and abet the March of Dimes in funding lifesaving programs of research, education and community services. Programs that will save babie's lives! If you could spare a bit to bail me out, or really to help the children as that is what this is about, it would be greatly appreciated. You can find out more and donate via credit card or PayPal from my Jail and Bail website. http://jailandbail.marchofdimes.com/milkman.
As for the MHOC LAN pictures, they should be up before the end of the week and hopefully a winner and new header will be seen?
Milkman
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| Thu Aug 14th 2008 03:29 PM | Imagine the word this in the title, is accented with italics, to infer vulgarity.
There. That's better.
So, some of you are probably wondering:
"Hey, along with this inexplicable rash, where in the Nation for which it stands are the pictures from this year's MHOC?"
Well, calm down Mr. Topical Ointment because here at MHOC, we hear you loud and clear and there's a reason from what to the common eye, seems like simple procrastination and forgetfulness. In actuality, a bone-chilling, dark and terrifying reason.
The pictures are all of Milkman.
I'll assume you've returned to your chair by now. Here at MHOC, we take into account things like this and weigh it against the cons. Sure, we'd love to post the pictures but since the hippies during the 20th century went ahead and made their precious Geneva Convention, there's international laws against certain things.
Ok, but really. It's been months already, we get that.
So, in the meantime as Milkman uses whatever 1990 freeware graphics program his sinister anti-establishment mantra has forced him to use to alter these pictures into appropriate displays of LAN fun, perhaps a fun contest would suffice to satiate the masses hunger for appeasement? (I get points per syllable).
Pick your favorite drawing method, be it MS Paint, a notepad, a common napkin and a scanner or just graffiti and present your own pictures of what you imagine a camera captured at this year's LAN. Then, post them upon MHOC and we'll vote on them. The winner's picture will proudly be displayed upon the header of the site.
In other news, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog is on http://www.Hulu.com.
GrimFalcon
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| Mon Jun 30th 2008 05:45 PM | Thanks to all who attended. Sadly it was much smaller than last year. It seems a number of things lead to this, and hopefully the next LAN will be back to our higher numbers. A good time was had by all i believe, and i will be posting an image gallery as soon as i get a chance.
Huge thanks to our sponsors! Thermaltake, edimensional, CPU Magazine, GalaxyLAN, Bawlz, Shur-Co., and Netdevil. Lastly our over sea's sponsor Steel Series stuff didn't make it in time for the LAN. Im told there is a package waiting at home for me today which likely is theirs. Missed it by 1 day! More stuff for next LAN i guess!
Plans are already taking shape for next year. Working on another new venue, also the possibility of doing a tourney LAN this winter... but blizzards can wipe out travel to a LAN quickly so we shall see.
Milkman
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| Sat Jun 28th 2008 10:40 AM | Well network is up, servers are up, people are setting up and playing. There is plenty of room for more, so come on down and join us!!!!
Milkman
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| Mon Jun 23rd 2008 11:52 AM | Thats right! June 28th is the day! I have had a number of questions on what games will be played. Judging by what people put on their registrations, COD4 and TF2 look to be the most popular. Flatout2 still looks to be a hit as well as a smattering of various RTS's and FPS's. We will have dedicated servers for COD4, TF2, CS:S, Q3, BF1942, AvP.
We got lots of prizes to give away as well. A Full version of COD4, UT3, R6:V2 will be giving away thanks to Shur-Co. We have a golden orb2 from thermaltake, 2 one year subscriptions to CPU mag, a 12pack of bawlz, 10 $25 gift certs to Galaxy Lan in SF, 4 $25 gift certs to edimentional, and various other odds and ends from our great sponsors!
Food! We will have pizza delivered late afternoon early evening, bawlz(cold) for sale, and hopefully plenty of cookies.
SO, remember if you preregister by 5PM on Friday you get a free bottle of bawlz as well as only a $10 entry fee instead of $15. Get signed up, and we will see you there!!!!
Edit: I almost forgot! We also have 2 beta keys to give away from Netdevil's upcoming MMOG Jumpgate Evolution!
Milkman
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| Tue Jun 3rd 2008 09:57 AM | MHOC 08 is approaching fast! Sponsors are signing up, and prizes are coming in! So far we have free play time at Galaxy LAN, coupons at Edimensional, free CPU magazines, and two beta Keys from Netdevil's Jumpgate Evolution. Any day now we should be receiving a box from Thermaltake and steel series with some goodies as well. I expect a few more sponsors to signon before our LAN dates as well.
As of this posting we only have 16 people pre-registered but i know there are more of you out there who plan on attending! Remember pre-registering will save you $5 at the door as well as get you a coupon for a free bottle of Bawlz! So Signup!
Lastly we are working on a 4v4 TF2 tourney for the LAN but didn't want to announce it until we have prizes lined up for the winners. Sadly i have not got gotten that yet, but DO be prepared for that possibility. I suggest if your coming to the LAN you bring 3 other friends with you so you don't have to PUG a team! Even if we don't have cool prizes we will still do a for fun tourney for those interested.
Milkman
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| Thu May 15th 2008 11:02 AM | MHOC 08
June 28th 2008: 8am - Midnight
United Methodist Church
207 W 11th
Yankton SD
Ok, i finally have a locked in location for the LAN. It will be at the United Methodist Church here in Yankton. Huge thanks to the church for letting us rent their kitchen/dinning area for a non-standard function. I promise we will be kind and leave the place in better condition than it was when we arrived. The address is 207 W 11th St Yankton, SD 57078. A quick google maps shows they don't have the address correct.. in fact its about a block off from where the church really is.... so i will get a custom map made up when i get a chance. This year the LAN will be a 1 day event starting at 8AM and going until midnightish. We do have a number of sponsors already and those will be updated on the website shortly... and expecting many more to sign on yet. I am looking for volunteers to help setup, tear down, and watch the front door. If interested in helping, let me know! Also working on plans for a Toury, either TF2 or COD4, more info on that will be coming shortly.
So... if your not signed up yet.... What ya waiting for?
Milkman
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| Tue Apr 8th 2008 03:59 PM | Yup, i finally have a date. The date is in stone... the location is not. I am trying for a larger location, and it looks like we will be ok. However if needed we will go back to the library and limit the registrations to 35 people.
For those new to our LAN or just found us, this will be our 7th Annual LAN party. Games to be played vary from year to year on what is popular, but generally involves FPS's, RTS's, and Racing/Flying Sims. Here is a wrap up of last years LAN party. We also made the front page in a local newspaper Page1& Page 8.
Exact start time and location will be forth coming "soon". For those who know that weekend works for them your of course welcome to register to reserve your spot at the LAN
Game On!
Milkman
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| Thu Mar 27th 2008 04:12 PM | Huh, my computer broke last night. If any electronic or mechanical device I owned broke as much as computers do, I'd have sworn of the brand/technology years go. I swear to god, I think people like Milkman pay off these companies to make sure they break repeatedly just for the added job security.
Bastard.
So, in between reinstalling everything I own and all the fun shit I tweaked that I won't remember how I tweaked all of a sudden that will happen in the next few nights, I had some time to read last night. You know, that thing we all did before we invested in carpal tunnel/chair-spine as the next big Prescription Drug gold-mine.
I tend to forget that I have a habit of spending way to fucking much time using a specific device until I get forcibly removed from it via engineered redundancies. I work on a computer, I go home and relax on a computer. Fuck sakes, I'm pretty much a six-foot-eight-inch computer accessory if I really think about it. So when I'm unplugged from my usual behavior, I get back into what we all did before Microsoft and Intel got a patent on our creativity.
I sat around imagining things. In my brain.
You know what? I've got a scary amount of ideas shoved into the wrinkles up there, ideas I need to start writing down and diving into. Really, I'm chock-full of them. Those George Romero films suddenly take on a new meaning once you detach from the machine. Instead of just rolling through months on auto-pilot, you realize, holy crap, technology is evolving way faster than I am. That's never good when you realize technology is determining your usefulness in your short existence.
Eh, I go on rants, you all know that. Three days from now, I'll have my computer working and be plugged back in like Neo and his bald-self. However, I figure that instead of getting mad the next time Sea-gate decides to make me use their extensive warranty, I should be a little happy that fate itself has lodged me away from just being a damn automaton. That little voice up in my head needs to get an audience once and a while and really, it's sad to know I put so much work into drowning it out.
In other news, MHOC 08 hit a snag regarding the location we were banking on but fear not, Milkman has skills in always having a backup. You know, it's sort of his thing. Delayed the announcement of a hard and fast date so just hold on a little more and you shall revel in data to add to your calendars.
As well, I plan on holding a little FPS workshop at this years MHOC for anyone that maybe isn't the most proficient First Person Shooter. I'm no expert and nor am I the force I was once to be reckoned with by any means but there's tales that echo through certain circles of a predatory feline that could dodge the moon if a man would throw it at him. If I can teach someone anything, it's how to make people like Genixx foam at the mouth as their precious rockets go lonely into the void. Look for more information on this workshop and the small prizes I plan to hand out to those that participate and excel.
GrimFalcon
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| Fri Mar 21st 2008 04:04 PM | Yes, a year after i started on the quest of updating our forum software, i have finally got it done. That being said, im sure there will be kinks to work out yet. If you notice something wrong let me know!
Few side notes...
TENTATIVE LAN party date is June 21&22. So, if that really doesn't work for alot of you let me know ASAP. The date will be set in stone this week.
A few of us from MHOC are going to be at Starfest in Denver. If your going to be there, let us know so we can meet up.
Lastly, we have added a spot for a banner add on our front page. If your interested in putting something there, let me know and we will talk about it!
Milkman
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| Mon Mar 17th 2008 04:45 PM | Fear my ridiculous amount of game-related jargon.
I suppose it's getting near that time now, where people start asking David (Milkman) when his Lan Party shall be. Faces full of hope, their eyes a-glitter of anticipation, hungrily holding onto their over-priced keyboards that accurately display in graphic-fashion what key you just stroked.
Well, to those, I say you shall have your answer soon. There's a general rule of LAN Party planning that states that those who are in the business of renting event space, for events, have no clever instruments to measure their locations ability to host a LAN Party other than time-honored inspection.
Gigawhatsits?
In other news, I've determined that if I ever want to be good at something, I need to continually do it so that I may garner an ability to do something well. You'd think that was obvious, but my guitar, library of drawing guides, unfinished novels, snowboard and website would argue on that point, I assure you.
GrimFalcon
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| Wed Mar 5th 2008 01:21 PM | If you have every roleplayed in game-like fashion, then news of the passing of Gary Gygax should be at least something you've taken note of.
For those of you that have gotten your RPG on but don't know much about the man, he's the co-father of Dungeons and Dragons, the concept of leveling, gear that makes you different and the reason there's an industry that designs and produces dice. Everything from dimly lit basements full of Cheetos and Mountain Dew to the online saga that is World of Warcraft were by products of his creation.
Yeah, so? Well, that's fair. Dungeons and Dragons has never been a well-accepted social escape. It's had its share of bad press, calling in the hounds like the modern day Rockstar Games does. Everything from Ritualism and Satanism, murder and brainwashing has been pinned on the simple pen-and-paper board game and I could spend hours on how giving items living, breathing moral accountability is ridiculous. However, that's neither here nor there.
What is, is a little reflection on how Dungeons and Dragons affected me from childhood to the present-day, notably, without ever seducing me to interact with Pagan Rituals, sacrifices or sociopathic behavior.
I'm not one to buy into the "X and Y changed my life forever". I think that's something people do to place an anchor in the past so that the randomness of life has a hindsight-like relevance. However, what Dungeons and Dragons did for me was give me an outlet for my desire to write and share the stories that clutter my over-active imagination. Prior to my first act of dice-rolling, I was a very quiet, shy and reserved kid. Mostly, it was due to my moving from city to city every two years that had given me a defense mechanism of detachment and solitude. Add in that I was abnormally tall for my age, most of the focus of teachers, parents, and adults had been to pressure me towards sports. Soccer, baseball, basketball and my BMX bike had been my outlet for my hyper-activity that made it hard for me to sit still. But, despite all of that activity, I very rarely connected to others that shared an interest in sports. I would spend time on the bench, time on defense, time defending the goal by imagining stories, characters and intricate worlds. I was that kid sitting in Left Field as a pop-fly dropped at his feet because he was too busy dreaming.
Video games had been a natural outlet for that part of my mind but what it lacked was flexibility, the growth and the limitless potential that exists in a kids head. So, in school I would doodle, draw, write and stare off into space, spending time in detention or the counselor's office because of my "non-attentive attitude". Brandon as they said, just didn't apply himself.
When I hit 8th grade, we had just moved back to a city I had lived in 2 years prior for a grand total of 5 weeks. It was there I had fell into a group of guys that weren't into sports, karate or Zelda. They were into "Roleplaying Games". Me, all I had ever heard about Dungeons and Dragons was that people that told girls they played that game were first ostracized, then beaten and burnt at the stake of society.
So, I was a bit apprehensive but then again, it was hang out with guys wearing wizard hats and robes or going home and arguing with my dad. Not a difficult choice.
Oddly enough, the more my friend Shannon would tell me about the games they'd play, the more intrigued I became. Instead of spending my day drawing random things, writing random words, I started drawing knights, swords, writing stories about dragons, about heroes and villains. This was before they even let me play keep in mind. The sheer thought that you could be anything, do anything you wanted to do was a pretty appealing in those days.
Then the day came when Shannon and his group asked me to drop by and "roll a character". Three hours and twenty Mountain Dew's later, I had rolled my first character ever. A first level Cleric of the Catholic Faith living in a realm named Ravenloft, a setting modeled after the tales of Transylvania and Gothic/Mary Shelly lore that chose it's inhabitants through a mystical and roaming fog that would transport any traveler, city or world unlucky enough to fall under it's path to the terrible and dark setting of Ravenloft.
My character's name was Lysander, a name I had plucked from a Shakespeare tale a day prior. We had just enough time that day to talk about the setting, the plot-hooks and the rules. The next day, I had convinced my dad to buy me a Player's Handbook, some dice. Sitting in my room, I must have spent the entire Saturday writing a complete and detailed history, character study and personality for my character. My imagination had finally had a very focused and real focus which once I had discovered it, flowed like an open dam.
Every weekend, we'd gather at our Dungeon Master's house and sit around his old Pool-table that took up his entire basement. Questions of nerdiness, pagan rituals or the like never came up when the eight of us would hang out. We'd joke, laugh, eat crappy food and just hang out and truth be told, the day-long sessions once a week let me know more about these eight guys than a whole year at school had. Over that year, I would find I was interested in writing, and that fact followed me until this day.
As well, it let me see things from a new perspective. Instead of spending my youth drunk, doing drugs or the like, I'd spend my time writing, hanging out with friends that enjoyed story-telling and fiction and I really felt like it groomed my mind in a way that people don't associate with a game. There's a certain amount of forced creativity and freedom inherit with Dungeons and Dragons, a requirement to be free-thinking and to tap your imagination, something that video games require very little of anymore and something I see that is lacking from children more and more.
Really, what Dungeons and Dragons did for me was open up my eyes to the fact I wanted to be a writer, and for a kid that had categorically failed or irked by in school every subject possible, it would mark my very first big academic passions. Writing and History.
It's why I get excited about ever getting a chance to play again. It's the unique point in time where I get to flex those skills I so rarely get to use in the real world, when I'm strapped to a computer analyzing reports, calming down clients and dealing with the dull routine that is the working world.
Dungeons and Dragon's is when I get to be myself more than any activity because it lets me use the parts of my mind I've been trained by society to silence.
So, thank you Gary Gygax for letting me see that part of myself. Rest in Peace.
GrimFalcon
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| Mon Jan 28th 2008 02:23 PM | Gather to me all, for it is time to share with you a tale, a story with significance that all of us can learn from.
Once upon a time, there was a guy. This guy went to college with these other guys. One day, these guys all decided they would give up trying to kill one another and be friends as they found they had similar interests. They became a close group and shared much joy in the fact that while their College lacked what would be called things to do, it was rich in internets and therefore, these friends became what some call, gamers.
The one called Brandon became good friends with one called Geurts and the two hit it off. Soon, the group accepted Geurts and much goodness prevailed. Such goodness, that stories were wrote of it. Games, these were only a part of their friendship, a way to pass the time, or so they thought. They had been part of each other's wedding parties, been there through hard and good times for one another.
Yet, as college ended, distances and families grew. Time was shorter now, and games, they became the outlet to socialize with one another when hanging out in person grew too few.
Then, one day, a misunderstanding broke out. Not in person, not over blood, creed or honor. Over a game. It seemed simple then, as kids we had all argued over those things most trivial. Common sense said things would blow over, as it was only a game as it was.
Six years have passed, a good friend silent still, no mends had held, no apologies had stayed. Excuses now bury the real reasons, hiding the ridiculousness of the event but not forgotten is the fact, there's plenty of reasons to dismiss a friendship, games though, are the worst reasons yet.
Two kids, a house and who knows what else have I been left out of, have we been blocked from over such a simple thing as a game. It's not the fact that fences have been broken, it's that the shame of why makes it all the more a burden.
So, when I see things go this route, I'm quick to condemn that if friendships can break, let it be for reasons not haste. Things get cloudy, games become jobs, and when it all boils down to it, I've lost enough friends to silly reasons.
The worst thing to do is let it fester and infect until the real reasons become cloudy and we forget it started over something insignificant.
Just go hug one another, hump each other's leg and make ammends or everyone's head gets a shave.
GrimFalcon
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| Tue Jan 22nd 2008 11:09 AM | The more I freaking forget. Swear to jebas.
Nothing that I can remember has made me feel so out of it than trying to get my feet wet with CSS. I remember the days, when I could design a website with relative ease. My embedded tables could hold back the Red Sea in those days. Now, my style is considered antiquated, depreciated, obscene.
Not sure what my issue is but for someone that taught himself the internets to where I have a job at a decent Web Firm, I'm hitting a wall as to why I can't just pick up these new trends in web design. After all, it's just replacing the table-structure with Divs and CSS if you really boil it down. But yet, while I know how to use both, when it's a matter of laying out an entire site using no tables, it's like my brain suddenly goes on standby, leaving me gazing at my computer with a confused look, desperately trying to fight the urge to lay down some slick embedded tableness.
Figure my next big thing right now is to bury my nose in the 3 CSS books I have strewn about my place and actually absorb their meaning. As well, soon, I'll be able to ask my lovely lady who is now getting her Masters in Web Design how to get my Div on.
All in all though, Webocrats aside with their humbling speeches about the horrors of tables and non-semantic code, MHOC's still looking not too shabby in my opinion. Sure, you don't want to even consider looking at it on your Blackberry, but then again, if you're reading websites on a Blackberry, well, you see where I'm going.
In other news, anyone think that people stating that MMO's teach people real life skills might just be trying to validate the fact that their real life has become their MMO? Just saying, I've played games since white lines felt inclined to keep white squares out of their territory and I've not once considered myself better at playing Tennis, Stacking Odd Shaped Blocks, Saving Princesses, Fighting Hordes of the Undead or Running a Large Group of Computer Jockey's because of anything related to a video game.
All my skills in those areas are from my addiction to Crack.
GrimFalcon
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| Sun Dec 30th 2007 04:19 PM | Hey, what the hell is everyone doing these days? Really, there's like 100+ games out now that I've heard rumor that gaming is in. Really, it's true, WoW has celebrities on their commercials now, MTV refers to gamers as though they've always been hip, and w00t is an official word. That pretty much means gaming will be full-fledged retarded in about a week or so, if it's not already.
You know as well as I do, making something mainstream that was once not means that all of us that did it before the bandwagons came to town will be on the losing end.
I can picture Girls Gone Wild: Lan Party edition already, hosted by a drunk Wil Wheaton, two girls from MIT dressed as Night Elves stumbling around flashing for the camera, too far gone from Energy Drinks to realize they're about to do things illegal in most of Azeroth.
At any rate, point is, now that my Mom knows what the word w00t is, doesn't that mean those of us that blazed the trail should be basking in the over-saturated market that is 2007? I'm not sure but for me, I've become more refined than I was when the gaming industry was some barely-lit area of Best Buy. Now that I'm swimming in titles, I found myself staring blankly at the wall of games as Milkman, Genixx, Crow and I perused the Sioux Falls Best Buy trying to figure out what the hell happened.
Maybe the edge is gone, that new car smell maybe has worn to the dull odor of mass-manufactured Aspen Trees hanging from a faded rear-view mirror. Whatever it is, I long for something that calls to my inner-adventurer, the part of all of us fed at least virtually in a world that has grown all too routine.
Most likely, like I've said before, it's the lack of a group anymore. Sure, we've splintered into separate parts of the globe, lost our time, our drive for the hobby we all either met on or traversed together through but part of me feels lacking still. There's that social aspect that hasn't been rekindled for sometime but still remembers long treks through Neverwinter, firing a Crow Rocket into a well-to-guarded flagroom, fierce matches of rockets and shells, hiding in strip clubs waiting to use the Shrink gun, fleeing from the Cow Level, barely surviving the long haul across Durotar just to show off my hip Orc moves for the first time, remembering that I accidentally spawned Aes instead of a regular demon on a naked brigade of Deep Gnomes and then desperately trying to despawn him before they killed him, laughing as I overheard the most vile of conversations from a certain Fox and his crew and trying hard not to lose my wingman as a swarm of Germans almost cut off our attack.
All in all, I really miss having all of us doing the same thing. Even if it was a monthly thing, I'd really enjoy getting the entire group, DC, Tala, BAR and all the others that have joined us through the years and just tearing up some random game for a night over Ventrillo. Imagine the chaos.
GrimFalcon
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| Mon Dec 24th 2007 03:23 PM | Hmm.. another holiday post.... i need to hire a writing staff. I think its been a fairly good year for Me, MHOC, TaLA, and various other groups that visit our area.
We had a great LAN this year, and rest assured im planning away on the next one. Not sure if we will get an Aussie here again, but ya never know!
TaLA in WoW is doing well. Membership has increased over this time last year, and our group is getting into "end game" content. With the plenty of time before the next expansion, im sure we will get quite a ways into those uber instances.
TALA in LotRO has been slow and quiet like. It started off as just a core group of us looking to play for fun the way we did with WoW when it first came out. Its sort of grown into a family game night plus DHCDarkSol & GrimFalcon and Grith(when they show). I see it possibility growing into a WoW sized group someday once we max out our first characters. But who knew when we started this that i could get a full party out of family members!
FPS's have really taken off again these last few months with Quake Wars and then Teamfortress2.. which really is about the only thing else being played it seems. Poor QW.... twas a good game with bad release timing.
And last, the only game coming out next year im really looking forward to at this point is http://www.jumpgateevolution.com/. Signup for the beta if ya can! If the game actually fulfills the potential that it could, i see us starting a squad there too.
So.. thats another year! Everyone be safe while traveling and partying and we will see ya next year!
Milkman
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| Wed Nov 21st 2007 05:35 PM | Not much to post on, but wanted to wish everyone a happy T day and those traveling make sure to be safe. Also make sure you go buy those uber deals at 4AM at your local shopping centers. Just try not to charge to much, you do have to pay for those bills and rebates take a long time to come back.
See ya online!
Milkman
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| Thu Nov 1st 2007 03:24 PM | In case you have not been reading the forums or checking our LAN Page there is a LAN party here this weekend. http://www.daklan.org/ Its a new LAN party and hopefully does well. I should have put news up sooner on the LAN, sorry Sam, but i have been both busy and Lazy as of late as those who normally game with me have likely noticed my absence.
So... if your not busy this weekend.. or even if you are... plan a trip to DAKLAN so i can beat ya in any game so i can feel good about myself.
PS... yes i know the forums haven't been updated yet... "soon"....
Milkman
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| Tue Oct 23rd 2007 04:20 PM | And by close, I mean close. Not that "We're close and wear matching outfits" sort of close.
No, I mean the sort of close I rip through your entire team like a Category 5 Tornado through a cutlery store having a closeout sale on over-stocked machetes and butter while he's thinking about the smart decision he made to go that extra 8 years and get that Medical Degree and pair up with my thick Russian Accent and mobile Gatling Gun.
Yeah, that kind of close. And don't even get me started about my best friend the rocket-shooting nutjob. We're just as close.
Do I like Team Fortress 2? Hell yes. God yes. Oh, holy sweet heaven yes. I was so ready for a game that didn't think of PVP as a contest always won by those that had a more serious case of Agoraphobia and a willingness to spend their rent money on cute color-coordinated outfits.
Yeah, thats about as much Person Versus Person combat as playing Go Fish against your grandma is.
Damn I'm over dramatic.
"Puts on latex gloves* Vee still have to look upinze poopa" - Grakl
GrimFalcon
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| Mon Oct 8th 2007 12:06 PM | I think I just invented a new word. Standard rates apply.
So, I'm 30. Ain't that some shit? 30 years old I remember used to seem like a million miles away. I remember being in high-school, knowing that girl that everyone knew their senior year that was dating some guy way too old for her. He had the atypical mullet, wore sleeveless Nascar t-shirts and drove an old vintage 60's Chevy Pickup with those Yosemite Sam mud-flaps that had to have been cool at some point in history.
He was 30 years old.
Based on that, I had compiled a long list of things to do before 30 so that when that incredible milestone fell upon me, I'd be damn sure I wasn't that guy.
Success!
Odd how you can feel so under-accomplished for the majority of your adult-life (post-17 years old in my book) and suddenly realize you're not doing so bad at all. Sure, I'm not selling some startup to Google for billions like I had always dreamed of doing but at the same point, I'm not cruising the loop, listening to Def Lepard and drinking Busch Ice with a bunch of 17 year olds that lovingly refer to me as "Mr. Beerticket" as quite a few of my high-school alumni most definately are.
I will say though, while I had been in preparation for this day for a long while, there's a realization that happens when mark another decade of existence that is somewhat revatilizing. Things come into focus and what you thought was so important to accomplish by a numerical milestone suddenly is re-calculated.
Yeah, so enough of that eh?
Team Fortress 2, Quake Wars, Half-Life 2 Episode 2 and Portals. How can the FPS take such a dive for so long only to rise again in such fashion, all at once? It's like Christmas in October. Oh how I've missed your warm embrace FPS. It's good to have you back.
And yes, I didn't mention Halo 3 on purpose as I'm talking about FPS's, and not ... well, you know what I'm going to say.
GrimFalcon
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| Wed Sep 26th 2007 08:13 PM | Imagine that noise was the irritating echoes of an ill-used microphone stinging the ears of patrons unaccustomed to it's rare usage, then you'll fully understand my meaning.
So, games. Ever feel a little bit, if not a large bit silly that in this day and age, at this pinnacle of our species evolution, that there are devoted consortiums of people, strapped by debt and necessity to their workstations, earning paychecks to report and deliver gaming news. I mean, seriously. News. About Games. Aren't their vast frontiers of infinite space to conquer? It saddens me our ambitions have been refocused so awkwardly now that radio controlled cars roam the red planet, sustaining our thirst for exploration. Instead of awe-inspiring lift-offs spurring our children to dream of visiting the stars, we've dulled their aspirations to virtual encounters that are delivered with such marketed furvor that people sleep in fucking tents in parking lots to get the first copy, as if it's procurement will raise them upon the shoulders of man as their King.
Seriously...
At any rate, something about the state of man is fully cheapened by soft-drinks that are labeled as "Game Fuel". As if there's any sort of energy used up that needs replenishing when you play video games. I don't know, perhaps our nation's staggering and declining rate of health should be an indicator the last thing we need to provide our youth is fuel to continue being immobile and glued to a TV screen.
Some parts of me are happy that gaming is mainstream now but parts of me are troubled by it's almost pop-culture movement into something that has sunk so low as to have MTV hosted "Launch Specials" and magazines devoted to "The Girls of Gaming". Seriously, even when you started looking at Chun-li with a bit of drool in your mouth as a boy, you knew back then you were heading down the road to mental health problems and wearing suits made out of people. Now, now there's magazines full of it, as if somehow, that's not twisted?
Pretty sure that right there is a sign of the apocalypse. Teaching boys it's ok to get your fix via a pixel than look at a playboy, that right there requires some urgent attention.
In other news, Seattle is by far, the most spectacular city ever. It only saddens me that while there, I totally and completely forgot to call someone. Son of a...
GrimFalcon
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| Fri Aug 10th 2007 05:15 PM | This news is a little late... but i have been busy so please forgive me! We had about 35 people attend MHOC this year and i think its safe to say we have outgrown our "roots" here at the Yankton Library. A huge thanks to the Library for letting us have the LAN there all these years, and one last time. After expenses we had $120 to donate to the Library this year! Cookies, and pizza were plentiful and leftovers made a tasty breakfast! I was surprised by the popularity of Flatout... this is the first time a racing/sim game was more popular than a FPS. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues next year or if the release of Quakewars, Teamfortress, and UT2k07 will recapture the FPS dominance.
Our sponsors really came through this year as well. Thanks to: Thermaltake for a nice selection of cooling products to give away, eDimensional for the $100 in gift certificates, PrairieWave for cordless mice for everyone, CPU magazine for free mag's for everyone, Bawls for the drink and grab bag, Steelseries for the cool posters, Shurco and Truxedo for the caps/t-shirts/mugs/bags/clips/etc, and lastly Galaxy LAN for supplying us with a bottle of bawls for everyone.
LAN's seem to be dying out but ours just keep growing, and now outgrowing our location thanks to all those involved. A huge thanks to both our sponsors AND our attendees. Without you guys we would only have a LAN but no party!
Make sure you visit the photo album on our site to see the pictures from this years event.
Also MHOC 07 made the local front page in our county's weekly newspaper, the Observer (http://www.ycobserver.com). They were kind enough to let me post the article which was on page1 and page8.
So.. thats it for LAN party news. See everyone online... and at the next LAN!
Milkman
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| Sun Jul 22nd 2007 12:03 PM | Real quick note that I placed some of the pictures Milkman sent me on the Photo Gallery page. More to come as I get time. Looks like copious amounts of Flatout 2 were being played. Copious.
GrimFalcon
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| Sat Jul 21st 2007 09:46 PM | Thought I'd update the news, even though I'm not actually there but to let everyone know that the LAN is in full swing. Milkman is promising pictures soon so start holding your breath. Held?
Good.
Once again, a giant thank you goes out to our kind and generous sponsors. I would ask that everyone look to the right rail and take note of the sponsors and keep them heavily in mind the next time you're in need of something they sell. These are the businesses that keep operations like the MHOC LAN alive and well. So, please, take a look around their sites, get out that cash if you see something you like and maybe send them a little note thanking them if you received their prizes at this year's event. It lets them know their actions are worthwhile and helps us show them we're a worthy event to sponsor.
Have a great LAN everyone.
GrimFalcon
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| Thu Jul 19th 2007 09:46 AM | Yup.. only 2 more days until the LAN! Pre-Registration for getting a free bottle of bawls will close at midnight tonight. But, i will accept and do my best to make seats for anyone who signs up before Sat.
We have 24 hours of gaming, cool prizes, pizza, cookies, bawls, and an Aussie so this should be quite a LAN party!
Again a huge thanks to all our sponsors, make sure when looking for things to buy you give them the proper credit they deserve for helping us out.
Milkman
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| Sat Jul 14th 2007 01:56 PM | Just a quick update i had to make because of the coolness of this box i just received. Thermaltake has donated...
A Golden Orb II (big ass cooler)
An O3 Aircleaner (an 5.25 bay air cleaner)
A Thunderblade 80mm fan (3 color choices in 1 fan)
A Max 4 (USB 2.5' external hard drive enclosure)
Plus some magnets, posters, and lanyards.
A HUGE thanks to Thermaltake. You guys rock!
Oh.. and if you want a chance at these cool prizes... SIGN UP FOR THE LAN!!!!
Milkman
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| Fri Jul 13th 2007 09:59 AM | Only one week until the LAN party! I just hope i get all my servers patched and ready to go! Our LAN outgrew our conference room a bit, so we will be expanding into the library. I have a few options on how to do that, but will hold off on picking one until i know exactly how many people have pre-registered. Right now it looks like we are sitting at 35 people. But every year we have had walkins also... so we may push 40 people yet. And of course pre-registration is STILL OPEN!!!!
Sponsor prizes have begun to come in. So far we have 4 $25 gift certificates to http://www.edimensional.com/. Two 4 packs of Bawls thanks to http://www.galaxylan.net/. Hats and T-Shirts from http://www.truxedo.com. Some mug, notepad, visorclips from http://www.shurco.com. Tons of posters from http://www.steelseries.com/. Also something a bit different this year, we have some gifts for our pre-registers. The first 30 pre-registers will be getting wireless mice from http://www.prairiewave.com/. The first 35 pre-registers will be getting a free copy of CPU magazine http://www.computerpoweruser.com/. Lastly ALL pre-registers will be getting a coupon for a free bottle of ice cold bawls at the LAN event! You can claim that right away, or save it for when the pizza comes!
Im still hoping to get some additional sponsors/prizes yet and will announce them as they come in. Also need to thank Pizza Hut again for being willing to deliver after they close to the library to give us our tasty pizza/gaming fuel for the long night of playing.
Oh, and yes there will be free cookies for all of course.
Milkman
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| Tue Jul 3rd 2007 03:33 PM | Well, something awesome and horrible has happened. We have filled up our space with pre-registrations. We have most definitely out grown our current location for LAN parties, and i have been working on new locations for next year. However, that doesn't help us right now! I know that there are more interested people in attending that have not signed up yet, and we have a few who have signed up but we are already maxed out. This is a great problem to have from my point of view, as most LANs have died out while ours is growing. BUT i know that doesn't make it good for those who don't know if they will have a seat or not!
I will be working on ways to get you all in, but not sure what im going to do yet. As soon as i have that figured out i will post some more news as well as add the additional space to the roster page. In order to help me out, please keep pre-registering! It would be nice to know exactly how much we are going to be overflowing and hopefully i can make room for more people. Also our sponsors such as CPU magazine are providing issues for those who pre-register for our LAN. If i don't have accurate numbers then you don't get a free magazine! Also as of this weekend i have secured several cases of bawls for our LAN party, thanks to http://www.galaxylan.net. In fact the first 30 people who pre-registered will get a FREE bottle at the LAN party! I have more cool prizes and give away information.... but that will have to wait until the next news update!
Milkman
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| Mon Jul 2nd 2007 03:51 PM | If you take a gander at the Roster page for the fast approaching MHOC '07 (July 21-22nd in Yankton South Dakota), you'll notice there's only four spots left.
That's one less than five seats left. Remember, pre-registering is free. It guarantees you a seat in front of those that aren't on the roster.
Now, if you enjoy sitting on the floor, imagining what ergonomically correct posture feels like, while risking the chance you won't be able to join in the fun, then by all means skip the blistering 7-step process required to pre-register and throw conformity to the winds.
Just keep in mind, whether you live one minute or one day's travel from Yankton South Dakota, once the pre-registered roster is filled, you're on the if there's room, no promises list. And trust me, I know Milkman. I'm assuming it's written in crayon, on the back of a really cheap napkin somewhere on his cluttered desk, precariously near his paper-shredder, his oscillating fan turning dramatically toward it's location, set on low.
In other news, I'm trying to be subtle.
GrimFalcon
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| Tue Jun 26th 2007 03:05 PM | Oh yes, Yankton South Dakota's MHOC '07 is getting closer. By my mathematical estimates, it's less than a month away. Have you signed up? Because, last check left only 9 seats open. Don't be that guy whimpering at the window as we trip the light fragtastic.
By the title, you'd be interested to know that recent surveys suggest that MHOC 07 tastes better than MHOC 06 and has zero grams sodium benzoate giving your hair that classic, well-groomed shine you've always wanted.
You might have also noticed that MHOC 07 has garnered a few new sponsors. Well, you can calmly claim your astute senses accurate and sharp for you are correct. Our sponsor lists continues to grow and we would like to thank all of our sponsors for keeping the small midwest lan party alive and well.
Bawls Style Gaming
CPU Magazine
Shurco
Truxedo
eDimensional Gaming Products
Steel Series Gaming Products
Please, visit our sponsors and clamor over their precious and finely made wares as you would those made by your own mother.
You'll also notice, with our sponsors climbing, we've once more moved the Ventrillo browser to the left-navigation rail.
In other news, Dell Inspiron laptops are made of gasoline and components of refurbished explosive devices and should be avoided with caution. Trust me, it's fact.
GrimFalcon
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| Fri Jun 15th 2007 04:53 PM | I have had a few requests for more info, so i figured i would just throw it out here for all to read.
Yes the LAN party is at the Yankton Library, and that is why we are starting at 5PM on Saturday. For that is the closing time of the library and we make FAR too much noise to be going while people are trying to read in a quite atmosphere.
I do not know exactly what we will be playing. The list given on the LAN party page lists some likely possibilities, but really its you attendees who decide what we play. I will have multiple gaming servers running at all times and those will be prepared using the top 5 games suggested by those pre-registering. There is also nothing stopping you from starting up your own server if one isn't up for the game you wish to play. Since we will have a nice number of people, chances are multiple different games will be going at the same time and im sure you will enjoy playing at least one of them. As we get a bit closer to the LAN i will update everyone on what servers i am preparing and what preregistration says about game popularity.
Our registration fee is as stated for "food and location donation". We will again have pizza delivered as late as Pizza Hut will deliver for us. Cookies will also once again be provided to snack on as tradition expects. We may have a few other things for people, but that is still being worked out. Your registration goes to paying for that food. The rest of the money is donated to the Yankton Public Library for their gracious use of their facility. Last year after expenses we ended up donating $140 to the library!!!! Hopefully we can have and even bigger turnout and give them even more money. Those who would like to donate an additional amount are of course more than welcome.
Lastly, YES it is my understanding that our favorite Australian member(hey he is coming to the LAN, he is favorite) Snellopy of MHOC/TaLA/BAR fame is attending our LAN party. So, that may be a bit more incentive for a few others to attend if for nothing else to visit with him. Those of you who just want to meet and chat with him are of course welcome and you only have to pay if you bring a computer to play, eat our food, or want a chance at a door prize. No fee for coming to have a yarn with the fellow. More info can be had here about his trip.
Right.. so.. go register!!!!
Milkman
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| Fri Jun 1st 2007 12:53 AM | Information regarding MHOC's LAN Party taking place in Yankton South Dakota can be found here. Just in case you Midwest folks don't like links though, here's the complete information regarding our 6th annual Lan Party:
What: 6th Annual Lan Party 2007
Where: Yankton Public Library
When: July 21-22nd 2007. Doors open at 5:00 PM CT
Cost: $10 at door (for food and location donation)
Register: Register to enter here. Remember space is limited (30 people)
What to bring: Bring Your Own Computer/Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse. Headphones will be required.
Food: Will provide one pizza delivery before things close. You will be responsible for all other meals.
Alcohol: No alcohol will be allowed.
Sleeping room: If you need sleep, the library has plenty of room to lay down. Bring a pillow.
Door Prizes: Don't plan on having any prizes for tourneys.. but should have lots of door prizes such as mouse pads, t-shirts, and hats as well as some prizes from local area stores.
What games: Anything goes. This lan, while including a lot of FPS, will not be limited to simple frag wars. I know many people who are bringing joysticks and racing wheels in hopes to enjoy a weekend of racing/flying and the similar. We have 24hrs.. so plenty of time to get a variety of games played.
If you're in the Midwest, in South Dakota, in the Yankton area and looking for a great LAN party to meet some good people, sign up and join the fun and help keep the Great American LAN Party alive and well.
GrimFalcon
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| Wed May 30th 2007 12:41 AM | I made changes to the left navigation once more on some sound advice that we were essentially wasting precious real-estate by doubling links and section headers. Who knew? Who?
So, in regards to that, you'll noticed that the bold navigation headers are now links to those very sections! In essence, I've created space. Pure, unhindered, raw space for more links. Look on with awe at my ability to mold matter with but a keyboard.
GrimFalcon
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| Sun May 27th 2007 03:43 AM | Quick update that I updated the Area Lan List page. Quite a bit of former LAN parties that have gone MIA sadly. However, not a bad amount of upcoming LAN parties on the horizon if you don't mind traveling a little bit in the Midwest United States. As well, went and added a few Midwest Gaming Centers to the list as well. I'll keep adding to the list as I find out about such things.
Also, updated the left navigation some. Place the area lan list under its own heading, as that's where it should be and revised the MHOC Lan navigation to make better sense of it. Changed up the header image's horizontal navigation to represent that as well.
In other news, I posted news twice in 24 hours. Eat that Milkman, eat it with the bucket-full of minnow's you caught this weekend.
As well, in case you're illiterate, MHOC 07 bitches. MHOC 07. Next person to pre-register gets to call Milkman "Dorothy" the entire weekend.
GrimFalcon
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| Sat May 26th 2007 04:38 PM | If you look around the home page of MHOC, you'll notice a few differences. That is, you'll notice them if you're especially sensitive to change.
For starters, we've moved the MHOC Ventrillo display to the left navigation where you can make it available by clicking on the "Pop-up Browser". This was to make room for some sponsor tiles, etc for the upcoming MHOC-oh-seven-stravaganza. It's actually nice this was as having that, and banners running would be a bit hard on the load times.
More importantly though, to me at least, I've finally got around to finding and hacking a random image jscript for the misleadingly named "Screen Shot of the Week" area on the left column. After some tweaking or as I call it, mangling, we've got some randomness-on-refresh in the Screen Shot area now. There's 13 different images right now but I'll be adding more to the folder after I find some more. Please, feel free to post ones you'd like to submit here and I'll place them in rotation when I can.
The only downside is that the random script that I mangled from available free scripts took away the fancy pop-up window that we had. Feel like it's a fair trade though. I'll be making a Screenshots page so people can peruse through the screenshots without waiting for them to appear randomly as well.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be reworking some design and functionality as MHOC's core design is over 7 years old almost now and needs to get a bit of back-end face-lift. Feel pretty good that my uber-tabled layout has held out this long though. She's a beast of code that could be far slimmer in the load-time area as well as flexibility area if I swapped out tables for div's and css. However, that's a gigantic project and one that I'm trying to put off until it's necessary.
In other news, pre-registering for MHOC 07 is proven to prevent Sorrynomoreroomitis and Youhavetositontheflooria. As well as providing preventative care, Pre-Registering gives you fuller chest hair, thicker accents and stronger cologne. Just ask our clients. Don't be a statistic. Pre-register now!
GrimFalcon
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| Fri May 25th 2007 10:48 AM | Well i am happy to report we have gotten confirmation of our first sponsor for this years LAN. As you can see on our right side they are Computer Power User Magazine, which i have found to be a very good publication. Luckily, you won't just have to take my word for that because CPU magazine has offered to give every attending player a free copy of their magazine. Of course for this to work, you need to actually PRE-REGISTER so i can get an accurate count of who is all attending. Even if you don't want a free magazine, please pre-register anyway. We may be a bit cramped this year and pre-registering will guarantee you a seat. Also, if i know in advance that we will have a large overflow we can plan and prepair for that and hopefully make more room.
On the personal front, im the proud owner of a new house! We will be finishing moving in next week. And if that doesn't make me busy enough, this weekend is the annual fishing trip i take to Roylake. So, i will be mostly AFK for the next week or so. Hopefully my internet will be hooked up in the new place mid next week.
Well thats it for now!
Milkman
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| Thu May 10th 2007 01:12 PM | The 6th Annual MHOC LAN party will be July 21-22. Sorry for the long delay in officially announcing the LAN party. I was originally looking to have a 1 day LAN this year instead of 2 day and change its location to a larger area. It seems that is more difficult than i realized. I will spare you the boring details, but long story short we are going to have the LAN at the library again and in the same time frame. Other options are still being considered, but with many people trying to plan their summer, i needed to get this information out ASAP. So, while exact details may change the date will remain the same. Current start time for the LAN will be 5PM on Saturday and the LAN will continue until 5PM on Sunday. Currently i will be stopping the pre-registration at 30 people. However, if you don't make that cut, we are working on some other ideas yet on how to get more people in. All sorts of fun things are being considered including closing the library early on sat and setting up everywhere (not just the meeting room) and that could also allow us to start early. So stay tuned for updates on the LAN.
Also just an FYI my wife and are in process of purchasing a new house, which kind of explains my increased absence as of late online. we are packing up and getting ready to move in a week or 2. Exact closing date of our house hasn't been set yet, other than on or before June 1st. During the actual move, i likely will be offline until the cable/telephone gets changed over. Hopefully that will occur quickly, but i have heard horror stories of things like that taking weeks.
Also it sounds like we have an aussie or two considering a US tour. Of course your more than welcome to visit during the LAN although im not sure how much actual visiting will occur. Also no drinking in the public library....
Well back to the grind!
Milkman
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| Mon Apr 2nd 2007 01:30 AM | Well, I went for it as planned today and began my month-long experiment to see if I could turn for the best and refocus my ambitions without my old-reliable escape. I've started a blog for it that you can find here if you have any interest in seeing me put myself though a self-imposed Lent of sorts.
As well, Milkman has set the "when" announcement of MHOC 07: With A Vengeance for soon, so keep posted so that you can be the first to reserve your spot in the line-up. Can you afford not to put down at MHOC 07? If you can't show off your mad rocket-jumps, bunny-hops and Frag-licious scores while gleaming at your down-trodden opponents face-to-face, then what point is there really in that Logitech keyboard you just bought? I mean, really?
In other news, seems there's a hint of April Fools in the air over at Worldofwarcraft.com. Tin Hats the new Loot-o-choice?? World of Warcraft Heroes? Oh Blizzard, have you no shame in your comic hijinks?
GrimFalcon
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| Wed Mar 28th 2007 07:56 PM | The tech industry, as well as other big industries (automotive, etc), I've always surmised built their premise on short-shelf life to keep their profits rising. Buy a gadget the day it ships, it's already outdated, in need of firmware, missing a new component you can't live without or has a sequel with a hint more stuff. From PC's to cell phones to software, it's all the same. Don't bet on the product, bet on the technorati.
So, when it happens with my beloved gaming, it comes as no surprise as the industry is more and more dependent on having the biggest bang for the buck and for some time now, the bang equated to graphics. For those that would agree, gameplay in recent years has very much sat a backseat to graphical performance, frames-per-second and pushing the cgi-envelope. With it has come noisier machines, higher-price points, longer-load times and rehashes of old games with a new look focused more on the tune and less on the lyrics. Consoles sold more for their peripherals (HD, wifi, DVD) than if they provide you know, quality gaming. The consoles more made timely by the fact the include new DVD technology that is as yet, undecided on the sole medium, making their consoles even more so a timely and already endangered hardware if neither format take root.
Thats why, when I read everywhere I look that an underdog like Nintendo is winning the console wars versus two behemoths that rather sell high priced home-theater boxes that oh yeah, play Madden 2007, it makes me feel down right giddy that Nintendo's leading the pack by reinventing how games are played and quality gameplay. For me, despite that there's more games available to purchase and play than ever, I've had a real disinterest in gaming as of late. While my Gamefast O'April is about to begin, I still like seeing an old favorite of mine getting their time in the limelight. It shows that gaming can be about the games and the verb, and not just the effects (odd how that correlates with my movie tastes as well) and be wildly successful.
In other news, does it bother anyone else that Google seems to be following the same path as every other previous search-king? The bigger they get, the worse their results become. If only someone would challenge the growing behemoth so to make them once more refocus on what they gained their fame from.
GrimFalcon
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| Tue Mar 27th 2007 10:25 AM | Go figure im a Sci-Fi nut! http://www.starland.com/sf-sc/ GrimFalcon lives in Devener so i shall be meeting up with him.... enjoying a bit of sci-fi fantasy sillyness and just having a good time. Still trying to convince others to go with me... which is a bit difficult since its a 9 hour drive... or $300 plus flight. BUT Nimoy shall be there and therefore so shall I!!!!
Any of you in the Yankton Area interested in going feel free to give me a shout... carpooling is GOOD. Those of you elsewhere/near to denver, there has been talk for some time about trying to have an MHOC get together somewhere... and well we don't seem to get anywhere. This maybe be as good a place as any to have a little impromptu get together.
Of course this just reminds us that we need to setup some sort of TaLA/MHOC/BAR get together... preferably months/year in advance? So if you got ideas on how to do that... please let me know. Also watch the site in the next week or 2 for our confirmed LAN party date.
Milkman
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| Fri Mar 9th 2007 03:12 PM | Seems the market has been just saturated in reality-based entertainment these days. Most of which, aren't reality, just scripted events with the phrase "reality TV". In fact, reality stops usually about the time people are getting paid to be in front of a camera. It'll be interesting when the discovery channel starts realizing this and starts putting chickens in the same cages as panthers and acting all shocked when the chicken gets devoured.
Based on my pure hatred of all things Reality TV though, I had an idea for my own "Super Size Me" documentary. I've been battling almost daily regarding how I spend my free time lately. Add on, age 30 is around the corner, I'm almost addicted to thinking about change and realize I have actually been doing anything regarding all that brain-processing.
Big topic? My gaming hobby. Well, in more realistic terms, my dwindling interest in my gaming hobby the more I realize it's become more tedious than entertaining when weighed against several factors. Let's examine.
Since moving to Colorado, I've had some odd luck with employment. Odd luck meaning I've been fired (or laid off as they say when you're fired because of a budget) two times in 5 years. While I've no doubt made a lot of career/salary advancement throughout my trials since moving to Colorado, the question stabbing into my mind has always been my actions when I was unemployed and it somewhat troubles me still. What did I do with that free time I spent I had while looking for a new job? Did I start my own business? Write that book I've had 100 ideas for? Learn the guitar? Start a web-comic? Work out? Run a Marathon? Learn to climb?
No, I got a character on a game to level 60. While doing that, I spent money to do that. I gained weight doing that. I passed up social interactions doing that. I neglected my girlfriend doing that and I started treating it like the job I didn't have while doing that.
So, I quit that game once I got a new job because I realized I wasn't playing, I was working and it wasn't paying bills or furthering a career.
Oddly enough, during that down time, I still played games but more of the start and end types (flying sims, FPS, racing). I also started thinking up comic ideas, story ideas, fixed my bike, got a new job, got in better shape, started going out with friends and making friends. But, I got back into the habit again and noticed, the ambition and follow-thru disappeared once more, and I found myself again, back on the same rails, steaming further away from all the ambitions I had outside of work.
Regrettably, I didn't keep notes, didn't have a camera or any sort of scientific study relevant to show a difference in MMO Brandon and Non-MMO Brandon.
So, I've decided for my own sanity, I'd do a scientific experiment. I start a new position tentatively April 1st, changing a lot of things work/salary wise for the better, and I figure it's good timing to enact some martial law on personal time as well.
Come April 1st, I'll be taking a one-month leave of absence from gaming entirely. I'll be locking my consoles away, removing my exe's from my desktop and locking away their cd's, pausing my accounts and seeing what happens when my distractions are barred from use.
Maybe I'll notice I'm more stressed out without my escape, that my blood pressure rises without my trained release there to help ease my nerves. Perhaps I'll put that nervous energy I have nullified through games towards other avenues. My hope is that I'll dive into some of those old projects I've had in the corner collecting dust. And in many ways, I'm hoping my addiction to games has been my obstacle all this time to writing, drawing, acting and getting back in shape again. Because, if after a month, if I fail at my self-imposed Gaming Fast, or if little has changed as far as projects I've wanted to persue, then I'll know it's time to get some Ritalin and maybe a therapist
But, if not, perhaps I'll finally have some investment in projects that make it hard to drop them similar to the addiction mechanism WoW employs so that you're less likely to quit your in-game investments.
We shall see.
In other news, this might just be something to start a blog about.
GrimFalcon
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| Thu Mar 1st 2007 11:07 AM | Seems no matter how you search the words "PC Gaming" on Google or Yahoo, a good number of the results arrive with the title "PC Gaming is dying" or some variable of the phrase. Likewise, if you've stopped at any electronics retailer and perused the PC Game section, you've most likely found yourself in what could accurately be called the Unisex Bathroom, staring at a small bookcase with 20 copies of The Burning Crusade and maybe a dusty beat up box with Doom3 on it. I exaggerate somewhat but for those that have been to Circuit City or Best Buy (bastards), you'll notice I'm not exaggerating all that much. Consoles have somehow, stole the show.
So, as I sat staring at the bottom drawer of my dresser that holds stacks and rows of jewel cases, I dare say, I got a bit nostalgic for the good old days. Mostly, because looking through my dusty library of cd's, it became apparent that there was a trend. 90% of the games I own I've owned for more than four years at least. Meaning, a handful of games that I've purchased were newer titles and most of those, I had already retired permanently. It got me thinking if I had just lost my interest in gaming itself, something that arguably happens the farther away from your college years you get. Or, perhaps I had just refined my tastes, become more picky with what I spent my time on and therefore, only purchased games I was willing to invest in.
Or, perhaps the PC Gaming market is dying a painful death. Looking back, I had two interests in PC Gaming from the start. First Person Shooters and ...first person shooters. Cut my teeth on Doom2, learned how to lay traps with Duke Nukem, perfected my dodge with Quake1, slept with the flag in Threewave CTF, laid even deadlier traps in Half-life, stabbed people in the back in Team Fortress, fondled the RailGun in Quake2, ran from Joh's grenades in Rainbow Six, backed into a corner in AVP, got sniped and pistol whipped in CounterStrike, got a headshot with Unreal, strafed your mom in Battlefield 1942 and bunny-hopped my way through Quake 3, the last of the legendary Online First Person Shooters in my eyes.
Not that I find it defeating that I've become a slave to the MMOG since forgoing my FPS addiction but there is a subtle, if not twisting annoyance I find knowing the last great frontier before the PC Gamer is paying a monthly fee to get loot. Somewhat ironic actually that the PC Gaming market is right back where it started, clamoring to try and recreate Dungeons and Dragons on a monitor. The current market seems stagnate, void of innovation and drowning in behemoth publishers only interested on playing the margins while the truly innovative small developers either die from starvation or cross the border to the Console.
Consoles have online play now, they have sturdy graphics, an increasing tidal wave of titles and a goal to hybrid into a cross between console and PC, meaning that soon, I'll have to play FPS's with a control pad which is like driving a car with your feet. Soon, the PC market will be that place you go to see the old dinosaurs that still cling on to their joysticks and mice as if some ghost was trying to steal them in the night.
Some may argue that it's good to see the two sides merging and I agree to an extent, but still, there's that nostalgic feeling maybe at play for those of us that didn't have our first taste of online play on a Xbox. Just hate to think that in 5 years PC Gaming will be MMOG only.
In other news, I ramble far too much.
GrimFalcon
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| Fri Feb 2nd 2007 12:13 PM | Dear Hasslehoff, how much snow does Colorado need? I mean really? We've got mountains full of it for all the damn skiers/boarders. Seven straight weeks of weekend snowstorms are making me want to put up with the heat and move to Arizona. Then again, it's been a while since I had to worry about Black Widow's and Scorpions...decisions.
Other than Colorado becoming a winter blunderland, full of yuppies that shouldn't own the complete Hummer collection yet can't seem to figure how to drive through an inch of snow, I've been somewhat busy doing who the hell knows what. Looking back at my last few months, minus the damn blizzards, I have no idea what has kept me so damn busy to the point that I've accomplished nothing at all.
This sudden fear of accomplishment I'd like to blame on the fact that in 8 short months, I'll be 30 years old and I'm suddenly feeling very much paranoid of how much I've accomplished. For you folk not 6'8", 30 years old might not hold that much weight for you but for us tall folk, we're not known for being in the "lived to 100 years old" club. 30 for me is basically the half-way mark and that right there's making me need a list of "shit I want to do before I'm middle aged". Quick, try and picture a 90year old NBA star. Now, picture a 90 year old horse-jockey. See, I'm screwed.
I think I might try that whole getting my pilot's liscence thing, maybe finally buy a ticket to go to Scotland and see my relatives out there, run a marathon or hike Longs Peak without being struck by lightning. Who knows. What I do know though is I've gotta do something big before 10/07/07 or I'm going to be a crabby middle-aged bastard pretty soon.
I've been hard at work at my next IL2 "short", as well as working on learning CSS/XML/ASP, my drawing skills, writing down some short stories based on some book ideas I've had through the years, and in the background, trying to figure out what, if any, chance there is I want to spend money on the newest expansion for World of Warcraft. While it sounds "interesting", the title makes me think it's a heartfelt tale of a band of Herpes in search of the promised land. Might just be me though, I get a bit overdramatic.
In other news, I hear there's some sort of football game this weekend. A large bowl, gigantic in size.
GrimFalcon
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| Thu Jan 25th 2007 12:25 PM | To get a news update! Ya... well im tired of sleeping... so now im huddled in blankets on my PC typing up this. Plenty of new things happening in life... but most of it is baby related so just think cute cuddly thoughts and there ya go.
Belated happy New Year to everyone. Happy BC launch to everyone as well. Had a few queries about the LAN party this year, and yes we will be having the annual LAN again this summer. The time and place may change though and as i confirm the plans on that i will let everyone know.
In an effort to get more news here... im looking for someone else who is willing to rant on here and there about things. So, if your interested in the job, send me an email. No there is no pay... but you do get some webspace and an MHOC.net email address.
Well... back to hacking up a lung!
Milkman
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| Mon Dec 25th 2006 12:09 PM | I hope everyone were good boys and girls so santa didn't just leave ya a lump of coal. We had a fun first christmas with our little one. She has no idea whats going on, but so far seems to be enjoying it. I know there are several weather issues in multiple parts of the country, so you people out and about stay safe!
Well thats it for this post, have to get ready to go to grandma and grandpa's house. While that sounds like a bit of travel, "over the mountains the through the woods" sort of thing... its more like up a hill and over a few blocks.
Talk to ya all later!
Milkman
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| Mon Dec 11th 2006 10:46 AM | MHOC is getting its hosting plan upgraded to better support the needs of our members. Not much will be noticed in the way of changes at first, however we have been bumped to a bigger sever, we got more space, support for multiple domain names, and unlimited bandwidth (well, im sure thats not true.. but more than we will likely use). Because of these changes, you may notice the site acting strange, this process started yesterday, and those of you with mhoc email accounts and FTP accounts will need to get the new IP and webmail location. Also of note: NEW mail is already going to the new mail server. Old email will not be transfered so will be gone by the end of today, so make sure you check your mail and get what ya want off ASAP.
Now because of our upgrades, im offering a small small subdomain (xyz.mhoc.net) to MHOC members who would like a place to call home. So, if you need a place to upload screenshots or the like let me know and we can get you hooked up. MHOC will also be providing web services for several Just-Gamers refugees. Welcome aboard the MHOC servers, and we hope you enjoy your stay.
Well... alot has been happening, but im too lazy to write about it all. I will make another new post before the end of the year about life, babys, and other happy thoughts.
Milkman
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| Fri Nov 17th 2006 12:55 PM | In your endo.
Beyond that, I'm somewhat numb to the console wars anymore. I made my decision a long time ago, back when Sony was flooding the market with spyware and the like and talking Blueray, that I had no interest in shelling out close to 700 dollars just for a game system that had neither the library to interest me nor an HDTV to ever even think Bluray was more than a unnecessary media platform sibling to LaserDisc and Beta. To be honest, if it wasn't for Guitar Hero and Burnout Revenge, I'd dare say the only reason I had a PS2 was because my DVD player burned out a long time ago leaving me no choice.
Yet, all you hear on the news is about how there's lines of idiots camping outside of Best Buys and the like, waiting to unload close to 700 bucks for a system that isn't made of rare diamonds or let alone, has any worthwhile library of games that would constitute laying pride in owning it so close to its launch. It saddens me to think the power of the marketers, sitting atop their Sony Skyscraper, petting lovingly their pie charts and marker boards detailing Supply and Demand and watching the lemmings being tended too by Paramedics because they camped out in a parking lot during a Denver Winter all so they can narrow their breeding options even further by having their patheticness televised. There's no rush, no grand hardware here, it's merely a ploy of demand being rolled out like a red carpet for the Sony fanbois and Ebay sharks. Smoke and Mirrors and even the media seems to be drawn to the show like moths to the flame.
It'll work on those that buy into the hype. They'll see the lines, the name-repetition that Sony's using as a viral marketing for their console and go out to fit in with the trend. Yet, that'll only last so long. The fact that there's less than a handful of games for it, and even less that take advantage of it's next-gen capabilities and that whats on the horizon can barely be sold as a solid investment compared to what the 360 already has built around it and the nostalgia and fun the Wii will provide will hopefully make a Dreamcast of the PS3.
In other news, a new 007 movie hits this weekend. Interesting...
GrimFalcon
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| Mon Oct 9th 2006 01:06 PM | As of the 6th of October, 2006, at 6:02am Central Time, our esteemed Milkman has become a certified dad. Further proof that making an account on mhoc.net's forums increases the chances of pregnancy by at least 121%. Isabella was quoted as stating displeasure at not being born a day later, on the birthday of our savior Grimfalcon but did state that she was happy with at least being blessed with an October birthday.
With so many babies being born, there's discussion of turning Mhoc.net into a digital parenting guide. Maybe reviews on the correct temperature for breast milk to be best served, what diapers look best with what rattlers and the proper procedure for assembling a nursery that includes game-culture references like Sturmovik mobiles, lightning gun rattlers, stuffed Tauren and Baby's First Alienware Dual-Core Liquid-cooled gaming-rig in light blue and pink color combinations.
I too have felt the need to exert my parenting skills by sending letters to my forsaken offspring that work with Ringling Bros and secret gold-farming labs in China. Little Xin Hess I hear has cornered the auction-house market on at least 4 servers already driving the average cost for a stack of Runecloth to around 500 gold.
I couldn't be prouder.
Congrats Milkman and wifey.
GrimFalcon
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| Sun Oct 1st 2006 09:10 PM | This weekend the long awaited return of Charlie Battery finally arived. The city held a parade and a huge decomissioning ceremony/celebration for our brave troops. Unfortunetly, not all our soldiers who left were able to return home again and others are still recovering from their wounds. There are no words that do justice to those who have sacrificed so much. I know i cannot begin to understand all that which you have endured in the service our our country. Therfore i will always have the utmost respect and heartfelt thanks for your service. I also know that while our local troops are home there are many still in many different areas of the world doing many tasks. Know that you are not forgotten, and there are people at home praying for your safe return everyday.
May GOD bless you and your families.
Milkman
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| Mon Sep 18th 2006 01:20 PM | Short and sweet. I'll never do business with Best Buy or HSBC again. After purchasing a laptop on a 1 year, same as cash plan, I thought I had it all figured out. I'd pay 12 months of $110 payments and have it paid off by the end of the year no problem.
That was, until i got my first bill. Oddly enough, my first bill, upon opening it, had arrived 3 days past the due-date for my first payment. Phone call after phone call since then and its still happening. 1 day before, 3 days before, once and a while, a week before. Yet, despite this, every month I get tacked a $35-45 late fee.
So, I had enough this morning and gave them a call to argue the $210 in late fees I had accrued through no fault of my own. I told the lady who's infamiliarity with English very much helped my situation, my problem. Here's her reply.
"HSBC does not have any control on the postal service. We sent your bills out on time. It's not out fault when you recieve it as you can pay online for your bill."
So, I reply "I didn't ever agree that I would pay online. Yet, as well, you aren't at fault for sending my my bill late but I get charged a late-fee when my bill is recieved by mail on your end late? Is that correct?"
"Yes. You're respon..."
"I get that, I'm just pointing out that it seems unfair that you can send my bill out 3 months after it's due with no responsibility and yet I get penalized if my bill arrived at 5:01 pm the day it's due. That's ridiculous"
"Is there any thing else I can help you with?"
So, here's my warning. If you buy from Best Buy using their credit card, lube up. Best Buy corporate has zero ties with HSBC and upon calling them, they pointed me straight back after 30 minutes of me asking if they had a compliance department, a services department, etc. Oddly enough, I've had zero trouble finding at least a dozen or more blogs and sites dedicated to troubles with HSBC lending. It makes me feel somewhat better I suppose. Somewhat.
For more information, check out this article on MSNBC.com regarding HSBC.
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/02/sameascash_read.html
GrimFalcon
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| Thu Sep 7th 2006 03:03 PM | One would think that someday we would finally become better at posting regular news updates. However, i think our skill at procrastination is far better than anything else. Because of the lack of updates for so long, im not sure what "news" i should even post. So... here goes nothing.
Things have been fairly hectic for many of us at MHOC. Many members have had babies or have babies on the way, and personally my wife and i are just finishing up our "nesting" stage. Besides for a few finishing touches around the house, we are ready for the little ones arrival. Well... at least as ready as first time parents can be.
On the gaming front, there is a free multiplayer only version of F.E.A.R available online for download. Its almost 2 gig, so not a quick little file to grab. If its good or not, seems to be a fun discussion on the forums. WoW is still Wow. TaLA and the DA made their first independent trip into MC. The run went very well, and i think that TaLA and the DA will be very successful in that instance. Also last month members of S i D joined up with TaLA and have been a great addition, welcome aboard. I have yet to get my personal invitation to the LoTR:Online beta. There has been a lurker here looking to buy accounts off of people. Hopefully i don't have to remind you how bad of an idea that is. The NDA is still in full force, so information has not been forth coming from anyone other then offhand comments of "good game". The IL-2 group is going strong, and hopefully some cool video's of us will be posted "soon". Soon as in when GrimFalcon breaks through the procrastination of editing those videos. Numerous patches for all sorts of games have been released... i was going to make a list, but at this point im too lazy and dont want this post to get put off for even longer. If youre playing a game, there likely is a patch since the last time i posted patches.
LAN party info has been a bit slow as of late. The DSU computer club LAN schedule has been posted on their site, and Netwar 12 is upcoming. Sounds like there may even be a group of MHOCers headed to Netwar this time. Checkout our LAN page for links and more information on these and other LANs.
MHOC.NET version... "soon" is still in development. Testing of a newer forums software, phpbb3, is ongoing as the software is still in beta, but looks very promising to reduce our spambots and give us many more options and fun forum things. Our backend revamp has been stalled for a while, but the new content management system i think we are going to use will allow members to post content easier and hopefully make the whole site more used (and useable) so the forums aren't the only focus of the site. We hope to bringing in more RSS feeds as well as having our own content available in RSS format as well.
Lastly, im sure most have noticed that the right side of MHOC now has our Vent server status. A huge thanks to our favorite Netherlands member Astonor (aka frangra in WoW) for putting up the cash to get it running. It supports 50 players and has been of great help to us in not only WoW but also for the IL2 and CoH people. The server is for any of MHOC's gaming groups to use, so please feel free to use it!
Milkman
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| Wed Aug 9th 2006 03:49 PM | Yup.. the guy who posted to tell everyone to signup didn't get in. One of you people who DID get in must have taken my spot! Last time i share beta info....
In seriousness though, we did get several members who got into beta. Unfortunately, for those of us who didn't, there seems to be a nice non-disclosure agreement so no screenshots for the masses yet. Rumor has it that the There and Lost Again guild name has been reserved for us already though. Which im very happy about since its LoTR that inspired the name to begin with. The only other name that would have been appropriate would have been "Ruler of the Bracelet"... and of course when i did get into the game i would demand that someone says "Hey, the kings back". For those of you not in WoW sorry for the bad themed joke... for those in WoW... sorry for the bad themed joke.
On the topic of WoW, there is a new menu item, and subsequent page for TaLA now. Its long overdo for us to have an "entry" page for our guild instead of just the forums. I think this is something we will do with all gaming groups who are MHOCers and have guild info they need to share or point too. So, look for more pages to popup on the menu as our groups diversify.
The MHOC IL2 group seems to be growing and having a blast. Look for some fun video clips to be posted in the future... which may lead us to making video clips for all sorts of stuff.
A big congrats out to our soon to be as well as new parents! Apparently someone snuck fertility drugs in the conjured crystal water or something.
Lastly, remember that Nvidia sponsorship package that didn't show up? Well, it did! It was a nice bunch of swag too.. too bad it was like a month late. But, next years party will have more stuff i guess. We got lego keychains, tshirts, demo disks, and various posters and stickers. Only 10 more months til the next MHOC!
Milkman
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| Tue Jul 25th 2006 05:35 PM | I don't usually get excited about games in development to where I get all interested in reading thier development forums. I can maybe count that times that's happened twice. Neverwinter Nights and Battlefield 1942. Most other games I hear about through well-informed friends or the like. Yet, Lord of the Rings:Online (LoTR:O) is another such game I've for some reason become addicted in reading about.
Now, I'm not that fanboi that read LoTR at age 6. The first time in fact I heard of the book was in 11th grade when one of my friends, who incidentally introduced me to D&D, started talking about some king returning or some junk. I didn't really have any interest in reading another "trilogy" at the time because I was very much invested in my own R.A.Salvatore fandom at the time, reading hungrily about the unique idea (back then) of a renegade drow that became good I took a shot at the books but never really finished them because at the time, ADD prevented me from reading books with such lengthy descriptions of everything. I liked my books fast and my plots shallow, much like my tastes in baths at the time.
It wasn't until college I started actually skimming the books. I say skim because I was an English Major and I read every night, at least 2 different books while writing papers I was procrastinating on. So, recreational reading for me in college was more of a skimming process. I hated math, sucked in programming and lacked any skill in algebra but I scored near perfect on reader comprehension on my SAT. So, for me, I could read a book quickly in a matter of days without really reading it word for word. LoTR was like my nemesis. My habit of skimming was dastardly met at every corner with objection due to how Mr. JT writes. Needless to say, I took less than usual from my reading but generally found myself enthralled by the fact he was responsible for every mainstream form of fantasy in the 20th century. For me, that was like reading Homer or Shakespeare, two things I had a large and unhealthy respect for.
So, keeping in mind I'm not the give myself pop-quizzes to stay sharp LoTR fan as so many are these days, I have a very large interest in the current development of the LoTR:O by Turbine. I've as of late, pretty much signed off MMO's altogether because they bore me as of late. While my better halves still find gems to keep their interest, mine has dwindled considerably since about the first of the year.
LoTR:O marks the first one that generally gives me hope of an interesting take on the MMO genre. It's by no means revolutionary. It's similar to WoW in that it is built off of current MMO's, plucking what's best from them, refining them further to form their style. Plus, the world is heavy in lore, if not drowning in it. Lore that is both stable and canon for the developers, making most of their choices reflect their absolute dedication to stay true instead of making a hybrid of the tale to better fit what is easy.
Turbine, with DDO, showed that it was willing to risk unpopularity by sticking by their guns with making a non-solo-friendly MMO. The game was a fine example of a great game launched before it's time. Their graphics and playstyle was very refreshing with DDO and it seems much of that is carrying over to LOTR:O. I don't play DDO now, mainly due to party reasons but I do respect the game.
At any rate, they're taking beta applications. Take a look at their site and see what you think as well. Have some interesting topics there to glance.
In other news, I am known to rip noses off of planes with but a flick of my joystick. Flicks that result shortly in my untimely demise.
GrimFalcon
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| Sun Jul 23rd 2006 04:08 PM | Well, figured it was time to make another post here, as I've taken somewhat of a sebatical from it as of late.
Some of you might notice a few changes to the right sidebar on MHOC, detailing who's currently logged into our Ventrilo server. More newsworthy than that, is that our kind Saint Astonor provided MHOC with this new 50-slot Ventrilo server out of his own pocket. A very big thank you goes out to Astonor for our new Vent server and to Bichos for kindly providing our previous Vent server out of his own pocket for almost a year. The both of you, despite what I've heard, are wonderful bastards.
As such, I've removed for now the sponsors on the right-rail and added the Ventrilo browser showing who's currently "online". Hopefully as word spreads to our members of the new vent server, the numbers increase and the browser will start taking up the entire rail so that it doesn't look so naked as it currently does.
In other news, our 30-day trial of EQ2 is rounding up to its end, with a few good reviews of what our members think of the game. Our thanks to Sony for allowing us a 30-day trial to EQ2 and for allowing us to try out a game a lot of us had curiousity in for a while now.
As well, make sure to sign-up for the Lord of the Rings Online Beta, not forgetting to include your guild affiliation when you do as Turbine is picking entire guilds to be in their Open Beta when it starts as well as individuals.
As usual, There and Lost Again is openly recruiting still for it's World of Warcraft Guild. Register on our forums and shoot TaLA a post saying your intersted and a recruiter for TaLA will contact your post-haste.
In other news, comedians that are both funny and effecient at Hypnosis can at times, make your $10 dollar Jack & Coke seem worth every inflated penny.
GrimFalcon
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| Thu Jun 29th 2006 05:44 PM | Well, party is over and im mostly recovered. Im getting too old to stay up so late anymore! My thanks to all who attended as well as our sponsors. Sadly our Nvidia swag shipment got lost in the great expanses of South Dakota and just arrived today. Good news is we will have swag for the next event! A extra thanks to those who came early to setup, and those who stayed and help tear down. The best news is, after our expenses, MHOC donated $140 dollars to the Yankton Library! So, thanks again to all who attended!
Now with the LAN done, the EQ2 keys were handed out on monday. So far we have had a good response from our members to both try it, as well as give feedback on it. If you haven't gotten a key yet and would like one make sure to post that ya need a key and i will get some more. Also those playing make sure to post your feedback on the game!
Of course the WoW guild continues on, and even some interest in CoH has been sparked again because of the free weekend a while back. With the holiday weekend in the US we might see a surge of playing time... or we might all go try and blow ourselves up instead. Either way, happy 4th to those in the US, and do try and be careful with the fireworks!
Update: The package i thought was from nvidia turned out to be from bawlz. They send us a new MHOC banner. So, our "sponsor" Nvidia never sent us anything... at least nothing we recieved. So... thanks bawlz for the banner! And thanks Nvidia for... nothing...
Milkman
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| Sun Jun 25th 2006 01:42 AM | Well.. just taking a gaming break to make a post. We have a good turnout here, 26 people, and plenty of gaming! So far the most popular games have been Fear, AvP2, Flatout, and WC3. Of course some people are just playing WoW online....
Well... back to gaming!
Milkman
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| Fri Jun 23rd 2006 09:45 AM | If you still haven't pre-registered make sure you do today to guarantee your spot at the LAN. Looks like we may have a full room! Wouldn't want you to travel all this way and then not have room for ya! Those who pre-registered before today will get a free bottle of bawlz with their pizza. That should give ya some energy for the rest of the night! Those who didn't can still get their bawlz as there are 2 cases we are giving away as door prizes as well as some on sale at the LAN.
Of course we have a number of goodies (Flashdrive, bawlz, movie tickets, shirts, bags, mugs, stickers, etc) to distribute at the LAN for door prizes.
Now the most important part of the LAN, the games! Dedicated servers we will have running at the LAN will be: BF1942, BF2, Tac-Ops, SW:BF2, Ut2k4, AvP2. Servers that can be put up (if we shut one down) are Q3, Q4, Mech4, CS:S, TO:C, C&C:R, BFV, RTcW:ET and likley a few more if requested before tomorrow. Now, just because a game isn't listed there doesn't mean we won't play it. Other games i know people are wanting to play include but don't have dedicated servers: Flatout, NFS, IL2, WC3, C&C:G. Should be a great 24+ hours of gaming!!!!
So.... See you there!
Milkman
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| Tue Jun 20th 2006 10:05 PM | Its an exciting Tuesday! The LAN party is just a few days away and MHOC got another sponsor and an unlikely offer from Sony. But more on the Sony thing in a bit. We have over 20 pre-registered for the LAN and walkins are still likely so our turnout looks to be a good one! Remember, register before friday and get a free bottle of bawlz with your pizza! Our newest sponsor to contact us is Nvidia! I had just figured they dropped us... but nope they already sent some swag so we should have a few more things to give away!
World of warcraft patched today,and if your like me, im still waiting for the patch to download!!! Lots of changes, check here for a list of things! New quests and instances to keep us busy a bit longer until the addon comes out. Of course our WoW guild continues to grow, and has even earned us an offer from Sony Online Entertainment(SOE)
Yup, SOE contacted us about giving our little family a free 30 day trial to Everquest II. Yup, all of us. So, if your reading this and have played with MHOC/TaLA in any MMOGs give me an email/PM or post on the forums and we will get you a key. Because of the upcoming LAN party we are waiting to distribute keys until after the LAN so we stay focused and all get the most of our 30 days. This likely will make our WoW playing slow a bit for a month... but hey they asked us to play, and its free!!!
Oh and Signup for the LAN!
Update!!!!!
Registrations continue to come in.. and rumors of others coming who have not registered... We look likley to fill up! Those who have registered will have a seat saved for them. IF you do not pre-register there may not be room for you. So PLEASE pre-register!!!
Milkman
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| Fri Jun 16th 2006 09:20 AM | Thats right! Things are getting exciting! If you still haven't registered... why not? Sign up now!!! As a last minute incentive, all people who pre-register before June 23rd will recieve a free bottle of Bawlz with their pizza on Sat night! Also Yankton Computer and Network Services has agreed to sponsor our LAN this year again. If you have questions for me or others attending the LAN, visit our forums and see what others have to say.
Our WoW guild has been doing well and our growth continues to be steady and of high quality. If your playing WoW and not playing with There and Lost Again(TaLA), why not?
Lastly, im building a new PC for the LAN... but have had a few heat issues. If you have some ideas, jump in the thread and help me out!
Milkman
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| Fri Jun 9th 2006 11:49 AM | I've not had cable television for almost a year now, maybe more actually. Now that I have it, I've realized two things. One, I pay far too much for the amount of channels that I'll never watch. It's amazing to me to consider that there's over 100 channels at my disposal and that in a given time-frame, I will maybe watch 5-10 of them ever. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the FX Channel is cable only, I'd be more inclined to find a way to just get a nice antenna since the only shows I really care about exist on the major Networks.
Two, is that Lost is a revolutionary show in so many aspects. Aside from it's very well written script, its quality in casting, its ability to keep just outside of our abilities to figure out and the fact that it's the first show on Television that's I've become addicted too, its done something else that's somewhat brilliant. It's taken several parts of existing media and fused it together with the show. Stooge commercials/websites for things like the Hanso Foundation, Oceanic Airlines and many other sites/commercials based off the series, it's done something even more clever.
If you've watched TV, you might have seen the most recent campaign for Sprite, called SubLYMONal. At first glance, they look much like a new marketing campaign by Sprite with edgy graphics and an edgier theme. In actuallity, the campaign is two fold. One, it's of course a Sprite Branding campaign. But, the second part, the part that's unknown to a lot of people, is that it's a joint-venture with ABC and LOST. Inside the websites and the tv commercials are subtle clues to those following the show. The sites have depth to them that I've never seen that have to be discovered. Things like clicking on the TV screens on the Sprite site per the "numbers" that are the theme on LOST gives you subtle clues that only make the story deeper.
Sites and commercials like this are running elsewhere but haven't been figured out yet are the rumors. Everything from Daimler Chrysler to Verizon Wireless are set to be doing these very things already.
It's just something I am very impressed with in it's scope and imagination. Making TV something that is interactive is where TV needs to be and the fact that I can spend an entire night perusing sites and such like this to further the experience of the LOST show is almost as enjoyable as watching the show itself.
In other news, parking tickets that go unpaid actually increase in amount. Astounding.
GrimFalcon
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| Thu Jun 1st 2006 05:06 PM | Wow.. what an interesting trip! Spain was nice, neat seeing and learning so much about early european history. The food though... well... you would think that over all this time they would have invented better food. Of course we recorded hours of video and hundreds of pictures. It got a little warm a few days... at least 43C... which is about 110F for us yanks. So we drank a lot of water, and tried to stay in shade when we could. The group i went with to help chaparone was great, and really didn't need much watching over. Which was a great relief and likely helped us adults enjoy the trip more. The other groups we met up with for our tours though were another matter. Lucky nothing bad happened other then some teenage drama.
So... im back, and no one signed up for the LAN while i was gone? Maybe you were just waiting for me to get back? Its 23 days away!!!! Go register!
Milkman
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