» Another Game Server Browser: Qtracker by: ReaXion on: 02/16/2010
Just found out about another nifty little app for browsing servers: Qtracker. I remember this being an mirc app awhile back. Apparently the project was carried to a full blown server app that handles tons of games. From the Qtracker site:
If you've ever played a multiplayer game on your PC, the in-game server browser has probably left you wanting more. Qtracker lets you say goodbye to the in-game browser, forever!
From the convenience of one program you can manage all of the games you play, whether they're on the Internet or your LAN, without ever having to load a game. Find your friends, find new servers, watch games in progress, administer servers, and tons more.
Qtracker supports over 100 of the most popular multiplayer games, and is actively supported with regular updates.
» BC2: The fire in the kitchen! by: ReaXion on: 02/08/2010
With the amount of fun and everything that BC2 is, I think this one is going to truly be the one that lights the fire under our asses. The problem is regrouping. I'm on a hunch that we're looking in the ballpark of a 5-8 man roster. With only one seat certain, and a possible two seats filled that leaves alot of room for doubt. If your thinking about picking it up do so! The earlier we can get in there in the beta and blow shit to pieces the better off we will be.
Our own server will be a definite, unfortunately they won't be released to the public until release. More on that later. For now get in on the beta and frag away!
I'm not sure this is worthy of front page news or not. Anyways, if you remember the game server browser once known as "The All Seeing Eye" you'll find the Half Life Server Watch app is awesome. It supports a wide variety of games/protocols. Taken from the about page at hlsw.org:
In November 2000, Timo Stripf began development of a game administration tool called Half-Life Server Watch (HLSW) which was capable of remotely administrating Half-Life, and it's modifications, game servers as well as allowing a user to view who was playing in the game server without actually joining the server as was required previously. The concept proved highly popular, even with the game's developer, Valve
Software, and over time, more games such as Quake, Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament were added making HLSW one of the most popular game administration tools available.
The HLSW game administration tool continues development under Stripf Software, which was founded by Timo Stripf. Today HLSW supports over 100 games and has been downloaded over 7 million times.
Check out more about it and Download at: www.hlsw.org/
[2] comments latest by ReaXion - 02/05/2010 - 07:40
Well we've played it time and time again. Surprisingly there are still leagues and ladders for the game and with Quake Live nearing full release I think it's time to step in on the fun. Not only that but Quake Live has been picking up some speed as well as inner competitions lately. Most of us have grown up inside this game. I threw up a profile option (on our site nubs) to fill in your handle that you used for Quake Live. Fill this out when you guys get the chance. See ya in game.
On a side note they won't allow the greater than & less than signs in our tag. Updated tag for quake live: -V-
» The One To Watch Out For by: ReaXion on: 01/30/2010
With the complete worthless piece of shit otherwise known as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 now out of the way, it's time to take a look at something different. And that different is Bad Company 2. Let's hope this one is the one, Dice swears there not going to let us down. I hope that is the case! May this one be the one that springs >V< back into action!
» A Blast from the past by: ReaXion on: 01/29/2010
I figured a new post would be in order right about now. Finally after two weeks of digging, plugging, patching, editing, and finally smashing shit have I got the old forum backup working! I'm going to ask here and now that before you go messing with shit to not touch anything. Feel free to browse around and walk down memory lane, but again, please don't fuck with anything! Members can check my post in the private forums and check my recent post where I put out the link to the forums. AGAIN, please don't edit, make changes, or post anything until I give the ok!
The reason for this is that the database is standing on toes (If it's standing at all) and isn't very stable. The things I had to do to get this to work were a pain in the ass. Feel free to walk down memory lane, but please don't feed the animals, and keep your hands out of the cages! Cause it's not going to be the animals that bite, it's me!
[EDIT=1/30/10]
I think I got her stable enough. Feel free to post and browse around. Just don't make any serious administration changes at this time. Any changes to users are fine, templates and serious settings are not!
[/EDIT]
The database to our site is currently going under a major upgrade. I'll be working over the next week in my spare time to begin the upgrade process. This will hopefully bring an end to the bots that have been plaguing our sites lately. It's going to take a lot of work because of all the changes that need to occur. However I'm not going to release the new site until I'm positive that there is not a single byte of data loss. Hopefully China understands our frustrations with their bots.... :misc_crash:
[Update]
Wow.... What a find. I was cleaning out the closet and I came across some old Hard Drives. Not knowing what was on them, I hooked them up to see if there was any worthwhile data on them and I stumble upon a treasure chest. A long time ago I had written an php/sql script that once a week would run a database and website backup and would ftp those backups locally on to a spare drive/server I had online at that time. Well this drive consisted of nothing more than that server and those old backups. The data contained was from January 1st, 2005!!! The majority of you here will remember that data. And I'm excited to see if I can still use this data. I know some of you had expressed your oppinion that we should be using vbulletin forums. At one time, we once did. But the amount of work involved/data loss would be too much (We've done it how many times now?) So what I'm going to attempt is this. Bring that data/site back online, and see if its possible to merge that good ole data into newer vbulletin databases. If it's possible I might be contemplating restoring our vbulletin licenses and updating the site fresh with vB. Lets see how this goes, if for nothing more then a walk down memory lane! I'll post my findings if this becomes workable. [/Update]
[Update=1/18/10]
Rooting through all of the data and attempting to reconstruct it in a usable manner is becoming a chore. However I'm determined to get it going again. At the very least I want to be able to get all of the forum data from vBulletin going again. The problem is all of the SQL & PHP updates that have occurred over the years and trying to customize the backups around those changes. It would be too much work to go back and reconstruct the existing backup data and conform it to the new standards. The data seems to be intact however getting it to import correctly is work in itself. There are numerous problems and without testing each and every line, I have literally been uploading the backup and reconstructing the data based on the errors I'm getting back. It's a 75 meg backup and I have worries either using regex or a text editor to make changes. Although tedious this is the only way I see feasible at this point to get the data back. This may take awhile but will hopefully be for the better in the end. :misc_ripped: [/Update]
[Update=1/29/10]
WTF! Is all I can say. I've been working on this for over a week now and finally today I got the first successful import! This can be huge. My only hope is that the database structure remains intact and usable for a vBulletin upgrade! I'll be working on getting this database upgraded for the newest versions of vB 3.x.xx (4 looks like it sucks!). Let's hope this works, if not I'll keep plugging away until it does. More to come [/Update]
» Merry Christmas Everyone! by: ReaXion on: 12/22/2009
It's that time again! It went by so quickly. Unfortunately there wasn't any sort of good news on the Violentricity front. Maybe we will have a better year this time around for PC gaming? Wishful thinking perhaps.... Cross your fingers! Let's hope the fat man in a red suit and his mafia of midgets in little green suits do a better job this time around!
From us here at Violentricity to everyone around the world. Merry Christmas to all! Have a great and happy holiday this year!!!
[1] comments latest by delta3gamma7 - 12/24/2009 - 20:25
» Ars Technica - Hands on MW2 by: ReaXion on: 11/12/2009
The early reviews of this game were conducted at a hotel under Activision's supervision, using the console version of the game. The launch party in New York featured the 360 version of the game. We were sent the Prestige Edition of the game the day of release for coverage. Very few people at the company seem to care that yes, there is a PC port of the game.
Well, we care, dammit. Call of Duty came from the PC gaming scene, and it was there that it was popularized. Yes, consoles are now the dominant form of gaming from a financial standpoint, but it's sad to see a game that has such a rich history on our favorite platform feel so neglected in its newest incarnation. The port of the single-player campaign is strong; the game looks, plays, and feels incredible on a capable gaming PC. The Special Ops missions are perfect if you're in the mood for a teeny-tiny LAN party (although of course you'll both need Steam accounts to play), but the multiplayer offerings feel like Infinity Ward is trying to cram a round peg into a square hole.
It's not what we're used to, it's not what we want, and the changes made to the online matchmaking set-up and lack of dedicated servers negatively change the online experience. It's just that simple.
There is no easy verdict here, but I'm going to say skip the PC version. Why? The single-player is over quickly. The Special Ops missions are great but there are better co-op games out there. The multiplayer is going to be huge on consoles, but on the PC it's just crippled. There is a lot of fun to be had here, but there are way better ways to spend your money, especially with the $60 price.
The Good
* Strong, disturbing single-player game
* Looks, plays great on the PC
* Killstreaks in multiplayer are a great addition
* Online play is still addictive
* Good selection of maps and game modes
* Special Ops missions extend the life of the game, great with a friend online
The Bad
* Single-player is over quickly
* The actual story is a little bit on the paranoid, gun-porn side of things
* Console-style online play on the PC
* $60 for a PC release? No thanks, guys
* Both the company and retailers barely seems to care about the PC version
The Ugly
* Huge design problems with the multiplayer version
* The game is already in the expected places. PC gamers will feel spurned and pirate, and Activision will claim they don't support the PC better because of piracy.
See the full article and writeup here. And then they wonder why their greed edges on the pirates? Funny, I know of at least 25 people who have already pirated this on the x360. I'm glad that the pirates have set up a bay on the consoles as well! Keep 'em coming boys!
Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling (aka fourzerotwo), in an interview with BashandSlash.com on October 17th, announced that one of the mainstays of PC multiplayer gaming, dedicated servers, won't be in IW's upcoming sequel to Call of Duty 4. Instead, players will use the unknown 'IW Net' for matchmaking purposes. No dedicated servers means no player mods, no player maps, no organized competitive play, no clan servers, etc., and strips away what makes PC gaming different from console gaming. Many vocal gamers have canceled their pre-orders, and a petition to reverse this decision is already past 86,000 signatures."
My only question: "WTF ARE THEY THINKING!?!?!?!"
[Update:11/4/09]
Apparently the PC version will follow the console versions altogether. Online play is getting slashed from 16 vs. 16 to 8 vs. 8 in the console versions, the PC will follow suit limiting online matches to 8 vs. 8 play. The side image says it all. I definitely will be staying away from this altogether.
To see what Activision thinks of you check out this article from geeks.co.uk. It's worth the read, don't spend your money on this jackoff!
-Image added
[Update:11/9/09]
Torrents are up of this bitch. You know where to get 'em!
Updated tag for quake live: -V- 
More to come 
