Category: Stuff I want

Flight Simulator X demo

flightsimxlogo.gifIn case you haven’t already heard, the demo for Microsoft’s newest incarnation of Flight Simulator, called Flight Simulator X, is now available for download.

Flight Simulator X Trial Version

The Flight Simulator X trial version includes two airports, three missions, and three different aircraft. All of the missions take place at St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

Missions:

Getting Started (Novice)
flightsimx-img13.jpgPlane: de Havilland Beaver DHC2
Details: Geared towards first time flyers, this step-by-step tutorial mission shows you how to get off the ground and up in the air so you can explore the ocean and island of St. Maarten. Of special note is the fact that the Beaver is a float plane so you won’t have any runways to worry about. You’ll be taking off and landing in the ocean.

Flour Power
Plane: AirCreation Trike Ultralight
Details: This mission has you behind the controls of an ultralight, a very easy to fly glider. The object of the mission is to drop sacks of flour attached to your ultralight onto various objects and targets scattered throughout the area surrounding St. Maarten. You’ll be scored on both speed and accuracy. Try not to drop any flour on spectators or dolphins, as you’ll be assessed a time penalty.

Caribbean Landing
Plane: Bombardier CRJ700
Details: The most challenging of the three included in the trial version, this mission will essentially be a take-off and landing of a Bombardier CRJ700 in a technically challenging airport. You’ll need to manage air traffic chatter and surrounding AI planes efficiently to succeed.

My flight abilities are nil.  Yet I still love flight simulators.  I have the past 3 versions, and will likely pick this one up, too.  I also have the last 3 versions of XPlane.  If you want to try your hand at flying, I can easily recommend either of these simulators, but be prepared to spend time really learning your stuff if you want to do anything that feels even remotely not “OMFG I suck at this” when using either sim.

[tags]Flight Simulator X, Flight Sim news[/tags]

Cool retro Nintendo clock

(via Destructoid)

nintendo_clock.jpgWhen I first saw this on Destructoid, I thought about picking it up. Then I noticed the same problem the Destructoid poster noticed – no power plug. This clock only runs off batteries. While I suppose that would make it good for travellers who want a cool clock to wake them in the morning, I’d like to have something like this that I could just leave on my nightstand and have it wake me every morning. But I’m just cool like that, you know. 🙂

If you are interested, you can pick one up at ThinkGeek for ~$25.  It even includes what is being called a mini-game, but I find it hard to give it full credit as a game, even mini:

Playing the Mini-Game:
Push “select” until you see a series of zeros (this is your previous high-score in the game). Push the “start” button and the game will begin with a sound from Super Mario Bros. The object is to push the “A” and “B” buttons as rapidly as possible within 10 seconds. The two small numbers on the right represent the number of seconds remaining, while the large numbers on the left indicate the number of button pushes (your score). If you score above 160 then a secret alarm sound will be unlocked. After you play the game once, the clock will remember your previous high-score.

I don’t think the quarter comes with the clock, either (nor do batteries, for that matter).

[tags]Retro Nintendo clock, Travel clock for retro-heads[/tags]

OnRPG.com’s massive Massive list

Here’s a substantial listing of completely free, free to try, and free to play with pay to upgrade extras games.  The list is presented as a Massively Multiplayer Online games list, but I would classify it more as a MMO focused with some just online not-Massive games list.  Regardless of what you call it, there are scads of games, most with a small thumbnail view of at least something in game.  I haven’t checked how many games are listed, but it may well be 200+.  If you ahve any thoughts of online gaming and don’t want to pay to play, you must check out the list and find something you like.  There are so many games, I find it hard to imagine not finding something that appeals to you.

[tags]MMO list, Massive Massive list[/tags]

SimCity DS coming

(via Joystiq)
Word from IGN is that SimCity will soon be available for the Nintendo DS.  At least, it will be available soon in Japan.  This news comes from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu.

sc3k1b.jpgElectronic Arts may not be known for making major game announcements over in Japan, but here’s one for you: Sim City DS! That’s right! The original Sim is set for DS release through Electronic Arts, and the latest issue of Famitsu is home to first details.

There is no word on yet on a release date for Europe or the US.

I must admit, seeing this game and thinking about SimCity controlled via Stylus made me think about another game of yesteryear that I think might be good on the DS – Tempest 2000.  Maybe someday we’ll get that.  Also, the above screenshot is from the original PC version, and is not necessarily representative of what will be in SimCity DS.
[tags]Famitsu, SimCity DS, Nintendo DS, NDS[/tags]

Yahoo music 2 years for the price of 1 offer

I’ve already mentioned this recently in another posting, but this is a big enough deal to get its own article.  If you are thinking at all about getting in on one of the online music subscription sites, consider Yahoo Music.  If you use your Mastercard to pay right now, and if you are a new subscriber, you get 2 years of service for the price of 1.  And given Yahoo Music’s low price, that works out to about $2.50 per month for unlimited downloading of music.  The big drawback to this for a lot of folks is that Yahoo Music is only portable to Plays4Sure compatible players, of which the iPod is not one.  And unfortunately for me, my Samsung YH-920 is not on the list either.

[tags]Yahoo music deal[/tags]

Eye candy – freaky chick looking freaky hot

Again, some of these are for my enjoyment.  Feel free to skip by any you don’t like.  For those that didn’t skip, can anyone tell me what this picture is from?  She moved up a couple of notches on my women I most want for things I shouldn’t talk about, at least not as a married man, list after seeing this image.
ricci-freaky.jpg

[tags]Christina Ricci, Eye Candy[/tags]

Ninja loves Pirate

With a name like that, you have to want it. The only thing better than a pirate ninja game is an undead pirate ninja game. I’ve just downloaded the demo for Ninja Loves Pirate, so I can’t say whether or not there are undead pirates or undead ninjas in the game, but since you’ve got the pirates and ninjas, that’s enough of a start to make the download worth it. More news when I get a chance to play.

Imagine a place filmed through a blurry lens, in a time when pirates roamed the seas and ninjas sneakup up, attacked and vanished into the night. Heroic quests and shameful ambushes being a part of everyday life. Adventure and fighting. Treasures and poison darts. Manly men being rocked to sleep by the endless rolling of ocean waves. Cunning knights of the night dressed accordingly in snug black pyjamas. A deep blue sae filled with small islands covered with dense jungles and coral beaches. This is the world of Ninja Loves Pirate. You better believe it.

[tags]Ninja loves pirate, Undead pirate ninjas flipping out a killing everything (not really)[/tags]

Super compact 9V USB charger

(via MAKEzine blog)

I’ve seen a lot of 9V battery based USB chargers.  Most seem built around an Altoids mint container.  This one is far smaller, and doesn’t have room to actually hold the 9V battery.  Basically, you plug the battery in on one side and the USB device which needs charged in the other.  I’ve skipped all the other 9V USB guides, but I may try to put one of these together just for those occasions when I have something which charges or runs off a USB connection.  It even has a cool little LED so you can tell when it’s working.

One of the really cool things about this is the charger itself is built from the shell of a 9V battery.  Instructions and images are given for disassembling one battery to build the charger.  Obviously, then, you need a non-disassembled battery to hook up and provide power for the USB port.

[tags]9V USB charger, YAN9VUSBC (Yet another 9 volt USB charger)[/tags]

Radical gaming ideas

This list started with mention of a game from a co-worker. His idea for the game differed from mine, but I decided to try coming up with a few games that matched my idea of some new games that I haven’t seen done before.

  • Fag hunter

    • You are a British man, looking for your next cigarette fix

  • Put that bitch in her place

    • You are a young test lab intern, and there has been a breach. You have to capture all the female pups used in lab tests and put each back in the right cage.

  • Work that ass hard

    • You are a farmer working hard to save the family farm. Your tractor is broken, so you have to use your old mule to try to maintain the fields and bring in the harvest.

I’m working on more, but these are the starting ideas I have. I could see a series of mini-games coming from this. Maybe a bunch of online Java games. Hmmmm, I think I just came up with a reason to learn Java.

Feel free to add any similarly themed games in the comments.

UPDATE (2006-08-24 22:36): Some more game ideas from one of my brothers.

  • Beat your meat

    • You are out for dinner at a restaurant that lets you cook your own steak. Before throwing it on the grill, you want to pound it a bit with a tenderizing mallet

  • Trim the Queen’s bush and pound it in

    • You are head gardenkeeper for the Queen of England. One of your biggest responsibilities is keeping the Queen’s favorite rose bush properly trimmed and staked properly

  • Clean up the seaman spill

    • You are a helicopter emergency rescue pilot. You have to get your team to naval disaster sites to rescue the men and women of the navy who are in the water. Some rescues take place in icy waters, giving a time limit. Other missions take place in shark infested waters where you get a mission bonus for saving a certain percentage of the seaman.

[tags]Radical game ideas, Games that sound dirty but aren’t[/tags]