Unterra Blog

AN OPEN LETTER TO MADONNA
by Guy

I categorically deny your accusation that I am "emotionally retarded." As if! Whatever.

Also, try putting on a skirt, you little strumpet.

Introduced here: http://www.byond.com/developer/forum/?query=ID:667118

Make your own: http://ncomproductions.com/byond/index.html

Nicely done, Nadrew!

If you preordered the Fable II Collector's Edition (as I had... until today), prepare to have your expectations lowered.

http://kotaku.com/5058774/fable-ii-ce-cut-even-further

I stopped by the store on the way home and changed my order to the Normal Edition. The bonus content sounds all right, but there's a catch, one that's already disappointed me at least twice on the 360 (The Godfather and Mercenaries 2 are the ones that come to mind, and I think Crackdown may have been a culprit too): the "bonus content" requires you to have your console connected to the Internet. Which, as I have noted on multiple occasions in the past, is unwholesome because:


* it promotes the release of buggy games (We'll patch it with a free download real soon)

* it costs an extra $100-$200 for the hardware to get it connected (router, modem, voltmeter, nail gun, wireless thingy, belt sander)

* it gives developers an incentive to exclude the coolest content from the game you just paid $60 for

* it is a blasphemy against God

* in my day, games came on 4K ROM cartridges and we liked it


If you have your console connected to the Internet, good for you, but if not, be warned: the bonus content is a lie.

By the way, congratulations to EBGames/Gamestop for doing the right thing. When I got home tonight, after changing my preorder, it turned out that during the day they'd left an automated message on my answering machine, letting me know about the change in the Fable II CE.

Radio Dismuke has been around for a while now, but I've apparently never mentioned it on the blog, so here it is! It's the cat's pajamas.

http://www.loudcity.com/stations/radio-dismuke/tune_in

This may or may not be useful -- read at your own risk.

The Xbox 360 is notorious for the RROD (Red Ring of Death) problem. Apparently overheating causes the motherboard to warp out of shape until it finally just doesn't work.

Me, I was dealing with overheating problems while some of you BYONDers were still in diapers. I had a Commodore 64 in the mid-80's and, after a year or two of faithful service, the power supply started overheating regularly. I've been paranoid about overheating ever since then.

So, when I got my Xbox 360, I set it up in the "flat" (horizontal) configuration. I put it on a stand next to the TV rather than stacking it on a confined shelf under the TV. But that's not all I did: I also took two PS2 DVD cases and set them underneath the edges of the 360. So underneath my 360 there's a half-inch of open air that most 360's don't get.

As of this writing, I've had my 360 since May 2006, about 8 months after the 360's release (http://www.byond.com/members/ Gughunter?command=view_post&post=12442). It still works fine and I'm sure I've accumulated at least 1000 hours of gameplay time on it. Is its longevity due to the extra half-inch of airflow? I don't know -- but at the very least, I don't think it hurts.

If you're already suffering the Red Ring of Death, you may want to Google "360 Towel Trick." It's hard to judge whether this is effective or an urban legend, but it could be worth a try. And don't forget Microsoft offers a 3-year warranty against the RROD.

Update: I watched a Towel Trick video on YouTube and the guy had his 360 sitting ON A CARPETED FLOOR. Whatever else you may do to the 360 -- or any device that may be liable to overheat -- setting it on carpet is BAD!! NO COOKIE FOR YOU

Further update: I posted twice in the same night so my wonderful roundup of October's open-world games (http://www.byond.com/members/ Gughunter?command=view_post&post=48725) got bumped off the Members page. If you like open-world games, check it out.