Are street crimes random?

Question

In L.A. Noire, do the street crime dispatch calls occur at pre-defined events in each crime case? If I miss one, is it lost forever unless I replay the case (or the entire game) or are they basically randomized and without a set time and place that triggers them?

Answer

They are basically randomized, though I think some are tied to particular times of day. Once you complete all the cases for a particular "desk", you can go back and play it in free play, which allows you to complete any street crimes that you might have missed.

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Does it matter whether you use lethal or non-lethal tactics in Deus Ex: Human Revolution?

Question

Does it matter to the story?

Does it make a difference in the gameplay? E.g. with XP or whatnot.

Answer

1. According to the stealth tutorial video, a lethal takedown makes more noise than a non-lethal one.
2. Neutralizing an enemy without killing will award you a +20 XP bonus ("Merciful Soul").
3. Knocked-out guards can be woken by other guards who happen to find them. Obviously, this can't happen if they're dead.

I'm not aware of any impact on the story.

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What are the vintage items?

Question

In playing Team Fortress 2 after the most recent update I've noticed a lot of "Vintage" items. What's different about these items? How can I acquire more?

Answer

The main difference between normal and Vintage items is that Vintage items are all the items people obtained before the Mann-conomy update. They can no longer be acquired in any way except trade. This makes them very rare. You can recognise them by their blue name only, since people could also just rename their items Vintage. Also, as pointed out in the comments, the "Vintage Tyrolean" and the "Vintage Merryweather" are renamed to "Vintage Vintage Tyrolean" and "Vintage Vintage Merryweather" respectively.

See the Mann-conomy FAQ:

Q: Why have all my items switched to "Vintage" items?

A: Some items that used to be rare will become more common when they are available for purchase. We wanted to give players this option, but still recognize people who obtained those items “the old-fashioned way” in the past. So we decided to perform a one-time conversion of all the old items into "Vintage" versions, which will never be attainable in the future. This way, those older rare items remain rare (in fact, they're even rarer, because they're limited editions now).

Basically, Valve decided that making items available for money devalued the items, since it is less impressive to buy an item then it is to craft/find it. Therefore they converted every existing item in people's inventories to Vintage items.

Since you can no longer create them (only the items converted at the update become them) Vintage items are very rare, which gives them a higher value in trade. Otherwise they are identical.

Additionally, a couple items are excluded, such as badges, promotional items (eg. Bill's Hat) and holiday items (eg. Ghastly Gibus).

Funnily enough, the Vintage item's rarity will increase over time, as people use them up in crafting.

See also: The Quality article on the Team Fortress wiki.

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Do 'speed hacks' exist on Xbox Live Call of Duty?

Question

I've played with people that were moving way too fast to be legit. Am I crazy, or is it possible to hack the xbox version of the game?

Answer

Cheating unfortunately does exist even in console versions of games. There are a couple possibilities I can think of:

1. Artificial lag or "lag switching". A player can manipulate their connection to the servers to exploit the timing window needed to detect a disconnect. While their connection is disrupted but before the server detects it, the player can move to a different location or fire weapons. When they reconnect, the server will simply respond to their new position. Players in the same game will not be able to react to those actions.

2. A modded console may allow a player to sign in with a hacked version of a game. These are caught and banned by Microsoft when such tampering is detected, but the ban is per-console, not per-gamertag, so the offender can simply mod another console and get back to cheating.

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Which augmentation unlocks the arm blades?

Question

They feature prominently in trailers, and the arm blades slide out in the cutscene when Adam encounters the hacker at Sarif Industries.

How can I unlock the blades? Are they even implemented?

Answer

You get them from the moment you are augmented (so immediately after the introduction sequences) and do not need to select an upgrade to use them.

Then you can use them when taking down an opponent in hand-to-hand by holding the takedown button instead of pressing it (which just knocks the target out).

As far as I know they have no other use.

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What happens if I do not turn off the signal jammer?

Question

I am naturally paranoid in the world of Deus Ex, so when someone is asking me to turn off a signal jammer on the Singapore mission so they can 'track me better' my natural instinct is to leave it on. What are the consequences of leaving it on?

Answer

I don't know for sure what happens if you leave it on. My guess is that nothing bad happens.

If you turn it off, you get waypoints for the other objectives you need to finish for this mission, which makes it much easier IMO. Otherwise you're most likely left to wander around the entire map looking for them, which makes the mission much harder than it needs to be.

That said, once you find one of the objectives you can get some slightly vague pointers to the other objectives. So if you want to leave it on, you're not completely on your own, but the mission is much easier with the jammer off.

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How can I permanently enable cheating?

Question

I'm giving Deus Ex and Invisible War a quick playthrough as a refresher before jumping into Human Revolution. In the interest of expediency, I've decided to cheat. ^.^

Normally, cheats must be re-enabled for each level when playing the original DX. I've encountered instructions on several sites (word-for-word identical instructions, so clearly copy/pasted) for permanently enabling cheats, but they aren't working for me:

Because you will need to redo this for every level, you can open up 'user.ini' and add 'bCheatsEnabled True' in the [DeusEx.DeusExGameInfo] section of the file to allow cheats to be activated forever.

Not only is that not working for me, it doesn't even look right compared to the rest of the file (space instead of =). With increasing desperation, I've tried adding that line (both verbatim and switching to an equal sign) to every section of both User.ini and DeusEx.ini which looks even remotely plausible — even creating a [DeusEx.JCDentonMale] section, just in case.

Does anyone know how to get this working? I'm running DX:GOTY version 1.112fm from Steam on Windows 7.

Answer

While I wasn't able to get the .ini-based solution to work, there is another approach. Although billed as being for "earlier versions", the -hax0r switch works quite well with 1.112fm.

To add this switch to a Steam copy of the game, right-click it in your Library and select Properties from the menu. Click "Set launch options…" and type -hax0r into the text box. Click OK, then Close. From now on, when you launch the game via Steam, cheats will always be enabled.

If you're not using Steam, instead right-click on the shortcut you use to launch the game and select Properties. At the end of the Target box, add a space, then -hax0r. Click OK and you're done. Cheats will be enabled any time you launch the game via that shortcut.

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I got pets I didn't ask for

Question

Landing on Tatooine, I ended up with a bunch of Gizka on my ship. I already saw Gizka poison at a trader, so I could get rid of them. But then again, I'm a light side jedi (at least for now), so what's the most "good" procedure to deal with them? Do they pose a threat at some point or can I just let them hop around?

Answer

You do not gain any Dark side points for dealing with the Gizka infestation with poison.

However there is an alternate way to handle it, on Manaan there is a person who can take them off of your hands. But if you don't take either of those actions near the end of the game they will just leave.

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Why does RollerCoaster Tycoon (original) on a Windows 7 64-bit VM display a black screen on launch?

Question

I'm currently trying to avoid Windows XP mode since the Windows 7 installation itself is a VM (running on a Mac Mini). Regardless, here's my description of the problem.

The game successfully launches, but displays a black screen. You can hear the music play on the title world. I end up using ALT-TAB to switch out of full screen mode so I can quit. I know that once I get the game into windowed mode it'll work fine, however I've tried numerous command line switches to no avail.

I have the following compatibility options currently set:

• Compatibility mode: Windows XP SP2 (also have tried Windows 98/ME and Windows 95)
• Disable visual themes (at least required for the save dialog to appear)
• Disable desktop composition
• Run this program as Administrator (otherwise I know the game cannot save)

I have also tried (no success):

• Run in 256 colors. I've also switched to the Windows 7 Basic theme and 800x600 resolution.
• Run in 640x480 resolution.
• Disable display scaling on high DPI settings.

I've tried the original game, with and without Corkscrew Follies installed, and with and without all known available patches.

So I'm looking to get the display working, regardless of method. If there's a command-line switch I can use to force a windowed mode (I've tried -w, -win, -window, -windowed) that would be just as fine.

Answer

I've been able to run the game under Wine, so you may have better luck with that then in your Windows VM.

Instructions for installing Wine on your Mac are here.

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Why do my desktop gadgets move from their previous positions when I exit NFS: Most Wanted?

Question

Here is a problem I'm having ... I'm using Windows XP, and every time I play NFS: Most Wanted, when I close the game, my gadgets have moved from where I had them positioned. I'm using Vista_Rainbar for using gadgets on Windows XP.

This also happens after playing some other games, but I can't remember which ones at the moment.

So how can I fix this problem?

Answer

This is caused by a long-running bug in the Windows code. The gadgets do not auto-adjust their position after a resolution is changed to a bigger one.

Basically, when you are running a game with smaller resolution than your desktop, the desktop will automatically change the resolution to match the game's resolution, adjusting the gadgets to fit that resolution. When the resolution changes back, it is incapable of adjusting them back to the positions they were in.

There is currently no official fix for this, but there are a few workarounds you could try to use.

1. You could try exiting Vista_Rainbar before starting the game, and then start it after the game has shut down.
2. Running the game in window mode should also fix this problem.

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How to install Xbox 360 "Optional Media Update"?

Question

It has been almost a year since I last played on my Xbox, and I want to start viewing some WMV files on it through Windows Home Server. When I tried to play a WMV file it says I need a media update. According to a few websites, I need to get an Xbox live silver or gold account and download the optional media update. I did just that and did a general system update. However, after that I was still unable to play my WMV files. How can I get my Xbox 360 to download this Optional Media Update? I'm trying to play some files from http://microsoftpdc.com/Videos which looks to me in HD content.

Answer

I had to go to Game Marketplace -> Explore COntent -> All Games -> Browse All Games -> O -> Optional Media Update. From here I was able to download Optional Media Update as an addon and run my files.

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How do you keep slower units moving behind faster units while keeping them from getting separated?

Question

This especially comes into play for me with roach/hydra and to a lesser extent with ling/roach. I want my roaches in front of the hydras to absorb damage, but since roaches (with speed) are faster than hydras they just get separated unless I spending some time microing their movement.

With zlot/stalkers the stalkers are faster and I want them in back so I just have the stalkers on follow on the zlots and just move the zlots and they'll stick together in the right formation. I do the same thing with ling/roach even though it's not completely optimal but the speedlings will get into the fray fast enough that it's not a huge deal.

Answer

Have your units meet up and wait for each other at various points along the way during your push, especially right before the attack so you can get in position. You just have to keep them together and tell them exactly where you want them to go. Xel'naga towers are good spots to rendezvous on your way over to the enemy as during that time period you get some extra vision which has saved me countless times when the enemy was also pushing as I was able to see them first and run my faster units back to my slower ones to intercept the enemy as a group. Even with all units of the same speed sending them straight into the enemy base in a line is going to cause trouble, you want to keep them all together.

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Stealing items in Morrowind

Question

I heard there is a way to steal any item (even while you are being watched) without being attacked in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. How is that possible?

Answer

The easiest way would be to stack Chameleon spells and effects (via Alchemy, enchanted items, or a custom spell), until you have a total chameleon value of 100% or more. With 100% Chameleon, you can basically do whatever you want with impunity, as nobody can see you, and unlike invisibility, Chameleon does not break when you interact with the world around you.

See also: UESP Wiki on Chameleon in Morrowind

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Spiral Knights will not start

Question

I've recently gotten a new laptop, and am attempting to play Spiral Knights on it, however the game simply will not load. Every time I attempt to start it, I get a "This game is currently unavailable, please try again at another time" error. I've tried verifying the integrity of the game cache, deleting the local content and reinstalling, rebooting my computer... nothing works. Since this has persisted for a few days, I doubt it's on steam's end, is there any fix for this?

Answer

The OS X version of the game has some issues with permission handling. The solution is to add the permission via the terminal:

1. Open "Terminal.app"
2. Type: cd /Users/<username>/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/spiral knights
3. Hit Enter
4. Type: chmod +x run.sh
5. Hit Enter

Then the game should run normally from steam.

Source

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Why my desktop gadget move from there position when I exit the NFS Most Wanted?

Question

Here is a problem with me I'm using Windows XP and played NFS Most Wanted and when I closed the game my gadget was not at their position. I'm using VIsta_Rainbar for using gadget on Windows XP. And this happen with some others game too but not in mind at the moment.

So how can I fix this problem?

Answer

This is caused by a long running bug in the Windows code. The gadgets do not auto adjust the position after a resolution is changed to a bigger one.

Basically, when you are running a game, with smaller resolution than your desktop, the desktop will automatically change the resolution the games resolution, and adjusting the gadgets to fit that resolution. When the resolution changes back, it is incapable of adjusting it back to the position it was in.

There is currently no official fixes for this, but there are a few workarounds you could try to use.

1. You could try exiting Vista_Rainbar before starting the game, and then start it after the game has shut down.
2. Running the game in window mode should also fix this problem.

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What are the criteria to gain the stealth bonus experience at the end of missions?

Question

What are the rewards you can receive at the end of missions for a stealth approach and how does it compare versus killing every enemy you come across in terms of experience and rewards.

Can I do take downs on enemies I come across and still receive the Ghost bonus? Since technically no one has seen me.

Also, do turrets count as being detected by a hostile?

Answer

This post is a wiki post. Please feel free to edit it, but with first-hand information only.

First-hand testing has established that the Ghost rating is still achievable with:

• A camera becoming "suspicious".
• A guard getting "alarmed" by seeing an indirect effect, like a door opening.
• Killing or knocking-out enemies with a takedown from behind.
• Killing someone with a headshot, as long as they didn't have a chance to see you.
• Knocking out an enemy with a tranquilizer dart to the head. (You'll see the Marksman reward.)

However, you will not get the rating if:

• Anything causes your minimap to turn red. This includes enemies finding bodies, and enemies/turrets opening fire.

---

Note that the Smooth Operator reward is an easier version of Ghost. (If you get "Ghost" you will always get "Smooth Operator" as well.) Smooth Operator is used for the Foxiest of the Hounds achievement. It deals almost only with alarm panels and security-system alarms, rather than "alarmed" guards.

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Is it possible to play fine high graphic card recommended game on low graphic?

Question

In the past, I have wanted to play some games with high-end graphics requirements.

Why is it that I'm able to play videos of these games fine, but when I try to actually play the game on my laptop (which doesn't have a high-end graphics card), the game shows its power, and barely runs, if at all?

Can I do anything to run these games (which I can play videos of fine) on my low-power laptop? Why does this happen?

Answer

Videos and games are completely different. All the data for a video is pre-computed and stored, it just needs to be decoded and shown on-screen. On the other hand games produce images through the juxtaposition of stored images, freshly rendered images, and effects like lighting. This can be an extremely processor-intensive task.

There are also other considerations, like memory; a video doesn't need to store the position, orientation, pose, speed, etc. of characters, or buffer in upcoming areas, or anything like that.

For a real life analogy, imagine the difference between flipping through a photo book of a family gathering compared to actually gathering the family, doing all the same things, and re-creating the photos. The latter is like what the game has to do; the video is like the photo book.

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How do I change the default "Save File Location" in VVVVVV on Mac OS X?

Question

Usually, VVVVVV saves the games in my Documents folder. How can I change this? I don't want my saved games appearing in my documents folder – I just don't know how to change the location without corrupting my progress.

Answer

I ended up just moving the saved file to a different folder when I don't want to play VVVVVV, and when I do want to play, I just move it back. There's no error that comes up, and no corruption of the file. It's just a simple drag and click. Not exactly a technical solution, but it works!

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How does Zen Ball work?

Question

I've been playing Peggle for a very long time, but I still don't know everything there is to know about Zen ball (master hu).

Here's what I know (or at least think I know). Feel free to correct any of my assumptions or offer any other interesting facts. I'll give the answer to whoever provides the most useful or interesting insight into the algorithms behind Zen ball.

• Zen ball will simulate a few (maybe all?) possible shots within a certain arc of your beginning shot and improve the shot based on the ending score of the shot.
• After calculating, a percentage will usually appear (i.e. "240% more zen achieved") - This is the amount the score improved with the shot that Zen ball has given you.
• The calculation factors in style points when choosing which shot to choose.

Some things I would like to know:

• Sometimes it won't list the percentage increase in zen, but simply "Zen Achieved" or "Maximum Zen Achieved." What do these mean and what's the difference?
• Based on my own experience, I feel like Zen Ball may have gotten a nerf between Peggle and Peggle Nights. Is there any truth to this, or am I imagining things?

Answer

Firstly Peggle is awesome and addictive.

Ok to answer your Questions. What the Zen Ball does:

1. The Zen Ball considers a range of possible paths for the ball based on where you aim your shot, and go toward the highest-scoring path, with additional weight on dropping the ball in the Free Ball Bucket and lighting up orange pegs.
2. Calculation Values
   • "No improvement" = No Improvement
   • "Zen achieved" = Your shot has been improved(i.e. free ball bucket), but no extra points
   • "X% More Zen" = Your shot has been improved by X%
   • "Maximum Zen" = Your shot has been improved by more than 500% over the original shot.
3. I can find no evidence that support that style points are also calculated, however speaking from my own experience when Zen Ball achieves its max potential that usually gets you some.

Also from my own experience, i do suspect that the Zen Ball was less effective in Peggle Nights, i however cannot confirm this.

Some additional tips to consider when using the Zen Ball:

The Zen Ball works best when there are lots of angles to consider. Aiming directly at a peg or the corner of a brick offers more possible angles and brings maximum Zen magic. Shoot the Zen Ball at pegs high up on the screen to get as many other pegs on the way down as possible.

Most Effective: Zen Ball is useful on just about any board, but it's best to use it early on. The more orange pegs on the board, the more options it has.

Reference: Peggle Strategy Guide

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Why won't the Guide leave?

Question

I'm making personalised houses for my NPCs, but they have decided to move into the wrong rooms. I've destroyed all the furniture, back walls and regular walls, and they still insist that the single floating blocks are their houses! How do I stop them from staying there?

Answer

When I want to move an NPC to a new house, I do this:

1. Create the new house and make sure it is the ONLY place that has the comfort items required for a house (Bed, Light source, etc.)
2. Remove the bed, lights, chairs, etc. from the NPCs current house.
3. Get the NPC stuck in a hole so that a) the NPC cannot leave and b) lava cannot flow out (you can see where this is going :P )
4. Get a bucket of lava and dump it in the hole
5. The NPC will die and when they come back they should be in their new house

To get rid of the lava after that, you can turn it into obsidian.

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How to win the pike proving ground?

Question

Even though I upgraded my Brusher's Pike to level 5, I still can't seem to get the 1st prize in Camp Dauncy, the Pike's proving ground. My best is 10 seconds later than the threshold.

I know that I don't have to kill all the enemies and that I can throw the pike to clear multiple enemies in a row, but I still can't make it. Are there any other tips on how to win it, or perhaps even a precise guide?

Answer

First, this is the set-up you should use:

Tonics:

• Werewhiskey
• Hearty Punch

Spear Upgrades: - Hunting Grip - Ura Bindings

The reasoning for the Ura Bindings is the increased reload speed will help cut a few seconds off the clock, and the Hunting Grip will result in +50% critical hit damage since you'll have Werewhiskey activate.

Do not pick up the spear yet. Go to the area to your left, and position yourself around the center and kill yourself. The hearty punch will result in most of the the enemies in this area being destroyed, which will save you a fair amount of time. Now you want to jump off the side until were whiskey activates, giving you 100% critical hit chance.

Pick up the spear. Go to the area to the left and activate the switch there. From here, you have a little more choice. I follow the path taken in the video, in which he first goes for the center switch, right most switch, left most switch, the switch near the exit, and then the top switch. However I've seen others go for the top switch first, and save the switch near the exit for last.

Finally, here is a video walk through of it, in case you prefer visual guides. As you will see in the video, it is possible to beat this without using the hearty punch, but it does it make easier:

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What do people mean when they say "Craftable Hat"

Question

When someone says "Trading x for a craftable hat" (generally comes in the form of "Trading one refined per craftable hat), what exactly is it that they mean?

Answer

Exactly what it says: a craftable hat. A hat that can be obtained through crafting, either with a recipe or randomly (with 3 refined metals (!) or 2 other hats).

You can see a list of hats that cannot be crafted here. (Expand the "Hats and misc items that cannot be used in or recieved from the Rebuild, Fabricate, or Fabricate Class Headgear recipes." table.)

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Can I exchange my character for another one of a similar level?

Question

I'm re-playing Borderlands and have tried playing as Mordecai, the sniper. However, I'm not really enjoying it that much (still around level 15 though, so early). I'd like to change my level 15 Mordecai to a level 15 Brick, or Lilith, as I've already played with Roland. I know it's still early in the game but I don't want to have to re-play these last few hours again.

Is there a way to do this, or something like it? Hacking config files is fine with me, if it works and is safe (can be undone).

Answer

This save editor will let you change your class. As usual with software of this sort, you should always make a backup before hand just in case any mishaps occur.

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How do I take screenshots and video in Halo?

Question

I see all these beautiful halo videos on the internet, how do I take in-game videos and pictures?

Answer

Video:

This lists all sorts of various methods for recording 360 game footage. It would take a while to list them all; go through and figure out which one suits your situation best based on the equipment you have and the definition of your TV.

As for PC, you might want to look into buying FRAPS.

Screenshot:

On the PC, you can take a screenshot by pressing the print screen button on your keyboard.

On the Xbox, you might want to use a digital camera or look into using video capture hardware as detailed here.

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How can I record demos of my gameplay?

Question

I remember seeing a lot of cool Counter Strike videos back in the day. How do you go about recording your gameplay (any game) into an easy to edit format? Do you need special software? How much does it cost?

Bounty

Bounty for who can give me a free open source software solution for recording video games in Windows.

Answer

Fraps is the most popular tool for recording in game videos.

Fraps is a universal Windows application that can be used with games using DirectX or OpenGL graphic technology. In its current form Fraps performs many tasks and can best be described as:

Benchmarking Software - Show how many Frames Per Second (FPS) you are getting in a corner of your screen. Perform custom benchmarks and measure the frame rate between any two points. Save the statistics out to disk and use them for your own reviews and applications.

Screen Capture Software - Take a screenshot with the press of a key! There's no need to paste into a paint program every time you want a new shot. Your screen captures are automatically named and timestamped.

Realtime Video Capture Software - Have you ever wanted to record video while playing your favourite game? Come join the Machinima revolution! Throw away the VCR, forget about using a DV cam, game recording has never been this easy! Fraps can capture audio and video up to 2560x1600 with custom frame rates from 10 to 120 frames per second!

All movies are recorded in outstanding quality. If you have Windows Media Player please sample some of the movies captured with Fraps below:

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Is there a way to take Screenshots from a DS?

Question

The title pretty much explains it all - I want to be able to take screenshots from my DS, but haven't been able to find out whether it is possible and affordable.

Answer

http://www.pressthebuttons.com/2010/07/isnitrocapture-yes-it-is.html

Hate to break it to you, but it's in the $3,000 range.

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What are the 4 bears in the Forest Kingdom of World of Keflings for?

Question

In the Forest Kingdom of World of Keflings you can find 4 bears on an island to the Southeast. I've been through the entire story and didn't run across a quest that calls for their use. They aren't considered a 'decoration' for a house. I've tried combining them into different patterns with no luck as well.

Does anyone know what they are used for?

Answer

Arrange the bears into a square to automatically make something bear-related

Here is the combination:

Top row:

Secret Bear, Covert Bear

Bottom row:

Enigmatic Bear, Discreet Bear

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Where is it safe to store items in each hub?

Question

My storage is full and there's so many nice things to pick up. Is there a safe place I can drop things off at where they will be accessable later on? What I'm looking for is something like Diablo 2's "stash"...

Answer

There is no shared stash that's accessible from every city. However, if you drop items in places such as in your apartment, or in one of the hotel rooms in the Hung Hua hotel, such as the room with Mei, they will remain there should you revisit that area in a later part of the game.

Most of the time, I've found that its worth it just to sell whatever you don't need and keep it as spare cash to buy stuff later. There's plenty of goodies to be found everywhere if you explore enough and you can find most weapons multiple times.

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What determines the minimum profit a trader demands?

Question

A caravan arrived at my fort and I selected goods from both sides (theirs and mine) so that it showed the caravan merchant making a small profit, something like 15 on 500-worth of total traded goods. He refused my offer, so I tried upping it a couple times, by small amounts. He refused each time, then decided to stop trading with me.

Is there a way to figure out what minimum profit a merchant will tolerate without running this risk of losing the chance to trade?

Answer

What usually works for me is starting from a 100% profit ratio (e.g. you buy for 500 and sell for 1000) and gradually lower that during a trading session to somewhere around 50% (buy for 500, sell for 750). The happier the traders are, the more stuff they bring next time.

I tend to overshoot the required profit quite far, since I need to get rid of all those mugs taking up precious barrels :-)

Honestly: after the first year, you can empty most caravans if you've got a Stonecrafter working full time!

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Where is Ning located during the quest "Rotten Business?"

Question

In the quest "Rotten Business," you are able to bribe Chaunli into giving you the location of Ning.

As you can see, I don't take well to people asking for my money. Now the quest has no marker and simply tells me that I have to find her the hard way and that she's somewhere in the Daigong district. Where in this district is she? Pictures/maps are most appreciated.

EDIT For anyone having trouble with this, the exact location is down the stairwell immediately to the right of the player marker. Thanks to fredley's answer and a little persistence, I was able to find it.

Answer

Ning can be found around the Alice Pods apartments.

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Does anything transfer from Fable 2 to Fable 3?

Question

I know a lot of games have been doing this recently (Mass Effect), but does Fable 3 have any such features? Just wondering if I should boot Fable 2 up and finish some things before playing Fable 3.

Answer

Peter Molyneux has said that the only change you'll notice is the things other people say to you. Nothing major.

A complete description of the relationship can be found on the lionhead forums.

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Does your killstreak end when you get killed by friendly fire in hardcore?

Question

In Modern Warfare 2, does your kill streak end when you get killed by a team mate in hard-core, or only when you get killed by an enemy?

Answer

Regardless of the type of death, your killstreak will end (suicide, enemy kill, teamkill). However, this will not count as a death in the standings, nor will it affect team standings. It will just give the offending player -100 points (or whatever -1 kill is worth in points in that game). Hardcore is best suited if you all have headsets, since you won't know where everyone is, and so communication will cut down on "freakout kills" when two teammates turn the corner and react before they see it is a friendly.

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Hidden areas in Portal 2 single player campaign?

Question

Are there any hidden areas in the Portal 2 single-player campaign?

I have finished the game a few times, and have had a casual look around for any fun hidden areas, but I must have missed them.

Answer

Most of the hidden areas I can think of off the top of my head are achievement related. (So this might count as spoilers to some folks)

Specificially, the areas associated with Final Transmission, Ship Overboard, and Portrait of a Lady.

Final Transmission:

Ship Overboard:

Portrait of a Lady

Beyond that, I know of two easter-egg rooms, the first holds the Turret Quartet, and the second is the secret developer commentary room (with the beeping screeches that, when translated, talks about the Devs involvement in the ARGs).

Dev Commentary Node:

Turret Quartet:

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Does it make a difference whether I make a panel active or inactive?

Question

When hacking a wall panel successfully (the sort where you are met with a handprint after interacting), you are greeted with two options: active and inactive.

There appears to be no visual difference to the panel between clicking either of these options, and I can't interact with the panel again to change my choice, so what effect, if any, does clicking on either of the two buttons do?

Answer

The panels with a handprint on them are alarm panels. My understanding is that if an enemy panics and hits one, it will alarm the facility and send them running.

By disabling it you will keep them from alerting the whole facility, should an enemy make it to one.

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Is it possible that the AI in Starcraft 2 learns?

Question

Is it possible that the AI in Starcraft 2 is learning from previous games? If it's true, is there any way to 'reset' AI's algorithm?

I have a strange feeling that the AI in 'Left 2 Die' (official mod) on brutal difficulty somehow 'adapts' to my gameplay and is getting even more difficult after each game. Could that be true?

Answer

The SC2 AI will scout and it will respond to what you do during the specific game in question, but the knowledge doesn't carry over into different play sessions.

The closest thing the AI does to "learning" on normal maps is what happens when you play on Insane difficulty. In this mode, the AI is known to cheat in two ways:

• It gets more minerals per worker trip than normal
• It always knows where your units are and can create counters to your units as you are building them

Regarding Left 2 Die, the more difficult settings do not learn between play-throughs. If you employ the same strategy in one session on Brutal, it will get you just as far in another play session as well.

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How do you beat the dragon in Heroes of the Lance?

Question

Heroes of the Lance was a game based on DragonLance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, utilizing the main characters from the book and letting you play their journey into Xak Tsaroth and confronting the black dragon.

In the book Goldmoon confronts the dragon with the Blue Crystal Staff. Assuming you were lucky enough to have her still alive in your party and the staff still had energy, as soon as you approached the dragon your entire party would immediately be killed.

A quick search didn't reveal any walkthroughs for the game that might tell me how to beat it.

Answer

I never had played that game all the way through on the C64 but in the Nintendo version of it, you can defeat the dragon at the end by throwing the blue crystal staff at it.

The staff could be used by Goldmoon, Riverwind, Sturm or Caramon and the guys could only get it after Goldmoon croaked. In the NES version I killed the dragon using Caramon equipped the Blue Crystal Staff. (I only used Caramon because most of my other guys were dead by that point...)

[UPDATE:] I found a walkthrough for the NES version (If I recall correctly they were basically the same game):

http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587335-advanced-dungeons-and-dragons-heroes-of-the-lance/faqs/13758

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How do I collect Spell Cards?

Question

I'm currently attempting to play Touhou: the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. I've figured out that my own Spell Cards are what I use for my bombs, but when I go to Score in the menu, I see that there is an entry for Spell Cards. Clicking on that, there are 64 entries, some of which I've acquired, so I'm assuming this is a collection of some sort.

The problem is I don't really know how I collected them and what exactly the numbers next to them mean. For example, next to No. 02 Night Sign "Night Bird", I have 1/2 while for No. 03 Darkness Sign "Demarcation" I have 2/2.

I assume this means that for No. 02, I have 1 out of the 2 "cards" available to collect and for No. 03, I've collected all the cards available to collect. How do I know which I have and which I don't? How do I collect these things in the first place? I've noticed them pop up during the boss fights, but what are the specific criteria I need to meet in order to successfully collect them?

Edit: And now I've just noticed after doing some more (failed) playthroughs that these numbers are... increasing? The numbers for the cards I listed are now 3/4 and 4/4, respectively. I thought the last number was increasing with my playthrough attempts, but I've got some at 3 and some at 5 when I've currently tried 4 times, so I'm not sure if this is correct.

Answer

You collect a spell card by defeat it without using a bomb, being killed, or running out of time.

The number (e.g. 3/4) is the number of times you've captured the spell card, followed by the number of times you've attempted the spell card in total.

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What do the sub-weapon categories like "Spirit" and "Dream" mean?

Question

In Touhou: the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, for each of the Spell Cards, there is a property next to each of the sub-weapons. For example, Reimu's "Homing Amulet" and "Persuasion Needle" list "Spirit" and "Dream" next to them respectively. Marisa's "Magic Missile" is "Magic" while her "Illusion Laser" is... "Love"?

Are these properties by which the sub-weapon is stronger against certain enemy types? Or are they simply for flavor?

Answer

These are flavor elements. In the Touhou universe, most spellcards are preceeded by a "Suit", much like we have card suits.

Patchouli is an easy example: she is a wizard that uses the five elements (plus Sun and Moon). Her main elemental spells are just [Fire Sign], [Water Sign], [Wood Sign], etc. for their suits. Then, her spells which are combinations of elements are [Fire Earth], [Water Metal], etc. They don't have any gameplay effect beyond explaining what those colourful bullets assailing you are.

In the case of the sub-weapons, the descriptor is matching the suit for the accompanying spellcard. Reimu's "Fantasy Seal" Spellcard is [Spirit Sign], Marisa's "Master Spark" Spellcard is [Love Sign], etc.

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Cutoff Text in Trade screen

Question

I'd like to sell all my unclaimed clothing, particularly all the Giant Cave Spider Silk... but I don't want to sell ropes. Unfortunately I can only see "Giant Cave Spider S" in the trade menu.

When I've had this cutoff text problem in other menus, hitting tab a few times allowed me to see it. That doesn't work in the trade menu.

I have zoomed out, making the text small and maximized the window, but no help since it seems that menu is only a fixed width. Only way I can identify an item is to V each item one at a time.

Any suggestions on how to workaround/resolve this problem?

Answer

When the cursor is over the good, hit v to view the specific good.

Alternately, designate a nice large stockpile near your trade depot that accepts only the kinds of stuff you want to offer for trade to make your life - and your trading times - easier.

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Will using Slow negatively affect my score?

Question

While playing Touhou: the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, I noticed in the summary statistics of a play that the game keeps track of your overall Slow percentage. I've found that using Slow definitely helps me with fine tuning my movement when fighting bosses, so I'm trying to force myself to use it more often to help me get through tough battles (my tendency to forget to use my bombs is another matter entirely).

However, is this detrimental to how the game calculates my score? Is using Slow a bad habit to form?

Answer

Holding shift for focused movement does not affect your score.

The "Slowdown rate" percentage on the score page shows how often the game slowed down (e.g. due to a slow computer), rather than the amount of time spent holding shift. It's mentioned for comparison to other players' high scores, because a high slowdown would give the player an advantage.

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A good program to get the game data from Diablo 2

Question

Looking for a tool to get current character data (hp,mana,exp,gold, etc.) from the current version (1.13) of Diablo 2. Its fine if it just works for single player, and even an out of date tool is better than nothing.

Answer

With Hero Editor you can customize anything.

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Which gems are most useful in traps in Gemcraft (Chapter 0)?

Question

In Gemcraft Chapter 0, which of the 8 gem colors are the most useful in traps? Are there some colors that are only worth it to put in towers?

Answer

Well, this depends on your playing style, but generally, any gem that has a long-lasting effect (i.e. Slowing and Poison) are better, because their Effect is enhanced.

Damage-causing gems become less effective, so Splash and Shock are not good choices for normal play. They could be a good choice on a swarm level, however.

And finally, if you are using Stealing gems primarily as a source of income, you would, of course, benefit in placing them in traps, rather than towers.

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Is there a chronological order to the Earth Defence Force series?

Question

I'm a little confused about the EDF games storywise. Is Global Defence Force, Earth Defence Force 2017, Earth Defence Force - Insect Armageddon, etc. stand alone or are they connected storywise?

Answer

The EDF games barely have a story at all. People shoot alien bugs is about it.

EDF 2017 starts with human's first contact with aliens (including a great "We're calling them Ravagers. We hope they're friendly" bit), followed by them invading in 2017. Seeing as how you fight aliens in the previous games, it's obviously not a direct sequel.

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How do I clear all 45 waves in Big Time Gangster?

Question

Has anyone cleared all 45 waves in Big Time Gangster? I'm playing the game without buying any credits (I think that model is silly) so I can only purchase items that do not require credits.

I have come up with some fighting strategies that help my to clear the first 10 waves without too much effot or loss of health but I think beyond that I'll have to stock up on equipment like health kits.

What does it take to clear all 45 waves?

Answer

You need smove no matter what. I got lucky with credit lottos and my threesome is 500 hp, 450 hp, and 250 hp, to beat all 45 waves you have to be completely focused with at least 20 minutes of time on your hand. To beat all 45 waves I equipped the three characters I used with 100 medium health and 70 medium damage. I used one credit weapon because honestly, without at least one credit item or thing, you're screwed. On to the battle: mow down the first three at the start of the wave then as more and more start coming take them down one at a time alternating quickly between shooters firing at one target. This will kill him a lot faster. If your health starts getting low use a health pack and use damage increases whenever you can. Around wave 40 the enemies get lower health but increased damage. That isn't too hard if you can dispatch them quickly enough. Wave 45, no matter how good you are, unless you have 100% credit weapons and the three best characters in the game you will have at least one of your thugs gunned down. After this target the weakest enemies and hope for the best. I lost 8/11 times at the arena using this method, so don't expect it to work at first.

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How do I recover lost achievements?

Question

A few weeks ago my cousin recover his GamerTag in my Xbox-360 since we were playing Xplosion Man in at my place, and he wanted to get the achievements. Some time after, he started playing Red Dead Redemption at his place (and in his Xbox), getting almost all the achievements. Since his Gold membership had expired he didn't bother to recover his GamerTag in his console, but when he finally did, all the achievements he had gotten on Red Dead Redemption were lost.

Is there any way to get them back? His game files are ok, so now it looks like he has 100% of some stuff but no achievements to go with them.

Answer

Ok, if you are not connected to xbox live when you earn an achievement that achievement is stored on your local box.

If you then go and recover your gamer tag to a new box, the new box (and live.xbox.com) won't show those achievements. To have your achievements unified across all media you need to sign the box that earned them back into xbox live on that account.

Recovering your gamertag is a special processes where your gamertag is transfered to a new box and retroactively removed from all other boxes. Because you removed it from his old xbox before updating that achievements, you necessarily lost your ability to update those achievement.

I'm sorry, but you should always connect to xbox live whenever possible if you want to maintain your achievements. God forbid your box red rings and you lose all your work.

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Does Desura accept Paypal payments?

Question

I'm reading through the EULA of Desura to better understand the system and the deal it offers, and there's an entire section dedicated to credit card information and chargebacks; now I'm pretty sure this is also repeated in the Steam EULA, but it did make me wonder - does Desura accept PayPal payments?

Otherwise, it's pretty much a deal breaker for me.

Answer

Yes; they currently accept PayPal, Visa and Mastercard. These options are displayed to you at the checkout screen.

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History of Half-Life Science

Question

Are there any stories that go deeper into these the histories and purposes of locations like Black Mesa and Aperture?

Answer

The Combine Overwiki has full articles on Aperture Science and Black Mesa. These articles cover all that is canonically known about these organizations. A quick summary:

Aperture Science

• Location: Upper Michigan
• Purpose: Originally created as a shower curtain manufacturer by a successful shower curtain salesman, the company eventually evolved "into an experimental physics research institution and a bitter rival of Black Mesa" after the owner became deathly ill and brain-damaged.

Black Mesa

• Location: A city called "Black Mesa" in New Mexico
• Purpose: Helmed by the U.S. Government, Black Mesa conducts research in various theoretical and applied science fields.

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What hats in TF2 are, or were, available for free?

Question

What hats and miscellaneous wearables (like sunglasses and badges) in TF2 are available for free, without crafting, buying, un-crating, random drops, trading, or buying a game on Steam?

Aside from these, what hats and wearables were available for free at one point, but are no longer?

Answer

Currently free hats

The following wearables are currently available without having to buy anything on Steam or in the Mann Co. Store:

• The Ghastly Gibus (obtained with the "Ghastly Gibus Grab" Halloween Pack achievement by dominating a player wearing a Ghastly Gibus)
• The Frontline Field Recorder (obtained with the "Local Cinema Star" Replay Pack achievement by uploading a replay to YouTube that gets 1000 views)
• The Alien Swarm Parasite (obtained with the "Hat Trick" achievement in the freely-downloadable Steam game Alien Swarm)
• The Spiral Sallet (obtained with the "Mission Accomplished" achievement in the free-to-play Steam game Spiral Knights)
• The Wiki Cap (awarded to good contributors on the Team Fortress 2 Wiki)
• The Lo-Fi Longwave (given out by the KritzKast podcast whenever they feel like it)
• The Dueling Badge (found after winning at least one duel)
• The Mercenary badge is still dropping for new players (may take up to a week). This is subject to change.

Also, anybody who contributes a model for an item that gets added to TF2 gets a special "Self-Made" version of that item with the "Community Sparkle" effect.

There are also some Halloween hats that can technically be gotten year-round on servers that are forced by convars into Halloween Mode. See the "Halloween" section below.

Previously free hats

These hats required no purchases on Steam or the Mann Co. Store, but are no longer available:

• The Cheater's Lament (awarded to people who didn't use third-party idling programs before Valve's crackdown)
• The Earbuds (awarded to Mac players in the months following the Mac Update)
• The Proof of Purchase (awarded to players who owned TF2 before it was free, or new players who purchase a physical retail copy of TF2 and activate it on Steam)
• The Party Hat (awarded to all players on TF2's 15th birthday on August 23, 2011 - future birthdays may yield similar hats)
• The older 119th Update medals (Primeval Warrior, Grizzled Veteran, and Soldier of Fortune) are only avaiable to players whose first launch of TF2 was a certain amount of time ago, so if you're a new player these medals are out of reach (and unobtainable through trading).

Halloween

There are also some items that can only be obtained during Halloween Events (of which there have been 2 so far, 2009's Haunted Hallowe'en Special and 2010's Scream Fortress):

• the Class Masks available in package drops (which only occur with recognition by the item server during Halloween events) on Mann Manor (Holiday restricted to only be wearable during Halloween events)
• the Saxton Hale Mask you can craft with 1 of each Class Mask

There are two other hats that involve Halloween event behaviors that can be forced by a server operator by setting the convar tf_forced_holiday 2:

• The Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask obtained with the "Candy Coroner" Halloween Pack achievement by collecting 20 Halloween pumpkins from dead players - these pumpkins only drop on koth_harvest_event and cp_manor_event during Halloween events (Holiday restricted to only be wearable during Halloween events)
• The Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head, obtained with the "Sleepy Holl0WND" Halloween Pack achievement for participating in killing the Horseless Headless Horsemann (who only spawns on cp_manor_event during Halloween events). (Holiday restricted to only be wearable during Halloween events)
  • This is also the only cosmetic item in TF2 with a gameplay effect: wearing it makes you immune to the "BOO!" taunt paralysis the Horsemann casts periodically.

Steam events

There's also the Bounty Hat / Treasure Hat / Hat of Undeniable Wealth And Respect, from the Great Steam Treasure Hunt in Winter 2010, and the Summer Shades from the Steam Summer Camp Sale in 2011. These technically didn't require purchases, but they required owning games on Steam and obtaining certain achievements: any three were required for the Summer Shades, including some from free-to-play games, but the Treasure Hunt hats required 5, 15, and all 28 achievements (respectively) in games that ranged from "cheap on sale" to "somewhere around a hundred dollars" (hence the "Hat of Undeniable Wealth And Respect").

In the same vein was the Resurrection Associate Pin, awarded for playing all 13 indie games involved in the Potato Fools' Day ARG leading up to the launch of Portal 2 (the Potato Sack pack). Again, didn't technically require a purchase, but effectively did.

Accolades

One criterion you didn't exclude that Valve has given special wearables for is recognition of special community members. Some of these are still available (the Wiki Cap and Lo-Fi Longwave listed above). The ones that aren't:

• Polycount Pin (to entrants in the Polycount Contest)
• The ETF2L Highlander, GWJ, and UGC Highlander Tournament Medals (given to participants in those tournaments)
• The DOTA 2 hats (Storm Spirit's Jolly Hat, Sniper's Snipin' Glass, and Clockwork's Helm), given to players in the GAMESCOM 2011 DOTA 2 International Tournament.
• There are technically the 3 prize hats awarded to the Propaganda Contest winners (Uncle Sam, Amber's Rad As All Hell Hat, and J.Axer's Dapper Topper), that were only available to 3 people (each getting exactly one, from third place to first, respectively).

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Automated tree-farm in Minecraft?

Question

I've seen a few videoes where people create near (or completely) automated tree farms in Minecraft, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm playing 1.7.3 beta SMP though, no mods (at least none that alter game behavior.)

One of the things I saw one guy had made was something that automated planting a tree, and then automated applying a bonemeal, before finally he automated flooding the area with water to destroy the tree and gather the trunk items.

One thing at a time.

My question is thus this:

• Is it possible to automate the "plant a sapling" part?

I tried the following:

1. I set out a dispenser, pointed towards a block of dirt, but at the same level as the dirt-block. In other words, the "hole" in the dispenser was not visible, and led directly into the dirt-block
2. I set out the dispenser, pointing towards the dirt-block, but one level above the dirt-block

In both cases, when powered, a sapling item was dropped on top of the dirt-block. I assume that when the dispenser "submerged" at the same level as the dirt-block dispensed a sapling, it floated to the top due to the same rules that makes item float to the top of newly placed blocks.

So, is this part even possible without a mod?

Answer

As far as I know it is impossible without using a mod, but maybe in some future release... I hope so.

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What character builds and item combinations work well in Terraria?

Question

I've been playing Terraria, and I have reached the state where I have more weapons, potions, armor types, spells and magical items than I can conveniently carry. So I've been wondering: Which items work best with each other? And amongst those different combinations, which is considered stronger?

For example, I know that the Space Gun is supposed to work well with the Meteor Armor. But what other items work well with them? And, on the other hand, what combination is good for high melee DPS? Or for a ranged weapon?

Or is trying to create an item combination that works well together not that beneficial? Should I only take my best armor, my 3 best weapons and my 3 favorite potions?

Answer

I'm not the best person to answer this, but here is what I know:

• Jungle and Meteor Armors work better with Spells as they provide Mana Regen and Magic Damage.
• Necro Armor works better with Bows and Guns as it increases Ranged Damage and reduces Ammo Consumption.
• Shadow and Molten Armors work better with melee weapons as they increase Attack Speed and Damage, respectively.

So loosely, I'd say:

• Ranged: Necro
• Magic: Jungle/Meteor
• Melee: Shadow/Molten

Some example builds

Tank

• Molten Armor
• Cobalt Shield
• Obsidian Skull
• Ironskin Potion
• Feral Claws
• Anklet of the Wind

I've tried running this build without the Anklet, but inevitably, I need the move speed to be effective in PvP. You can swap the Anklet for Hermes Boots if you're quick with the Grappling Hook (which can accelerate you to full speed).

DPS

• Shadow Armor
• Muramasa
• Feral Claws
• Rocket Boots
• Hermes Boots
• Band of Regeneration

I find myself relying more on speed with this build than anything else. You're very susceptible to a fast attacking ranged build, but most melee builds don't hit the speed of Shadow+Feral+Muramasa, so I usually find I can trade 1-3 on hits.

You can read about other people's suggestions here.

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How much play time to complete Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Question

Simple question: about how many hours of gameplay are required to complete Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? I know that it depends upon skill and how thoroughly one explores the game, but can I please have a ballpark estimate of how long I should expect to take to finish the game?

Answer

This thread contains the completion times for various people, in response to someone asking the same question you did. The hours for completion ranged from 40-65. The total completion varies - some are for 100%, some for much less.

Another thread asking the same question had an average completion of around 50 hours, although some people took as little as 25 hours (for second playthrough), and one person took 120 hours for their first play through and 242 for their second (I think there numbers might be off though... for obvious reasons). A few other threads have people clocking in around 40-50 hours as well, with a few people going as low as 20 hours for the first playthrough. The last thread also has a poll, with the majority taking 40+ hours.

A few other Q&A sites have times ranging from 40-60 hours as well. This Sorean person took about 20 hours, although not sure if I trust that Stack Exchange site... some pretty shifty folk on there.

IGN's review states:

It'll keep you busy for at least 50 hours and you could spend double that in Nintendo's new Hyrule. So much to do and see that you'll be busy for weeks, if not months.

In response to a question posed by Kotaku, Nintendo reps stated the game has 70 hours of gameplay.

As you can see, on average it takes people anywhere from 40-60 hours for their first play through - although some people completed it in half that time, and others over double. In other words, it depends on a combination of your skill level and how much exploration you do.

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What's the earliest third-person action game with a major escort component?

Question

ICO set a major precedent for the escort archetype, as both Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and later Resident Evil 4 made excellent use of support characters who needed to be protected and escorted, but who had mission-critical abilities of their own. Was ICO the first, though? What's the earliest game in which the player's character escorts a vulnerable NPC through an obstacle-littered landscape which contains objectives that can only be achieved by employing the NPC's abilities?

Answer

Oldest example I can think of is Whistler's Brother. Which isn't polygonal, but is 3rd person. And at '1984' has an auspicious birth year.

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How to get old 16-bit Windows games to work on 64-bit Windows?

Question

Trying to play some old Windows 95 games on Windows 7 64-bit, I'm getting the following error:

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

Trying to run the application in compatibility mode has no effect. I'm guessing these games somehow rely on 32-bit dlls which are missing from my system, and I would like to know if anyone else has encountered a similar problem and is able to give insight as to possible solutions or work-arounds.

Notes:

• I've checked this question but it discusses system requirements and not actual application invocation.
• The games in questions are Metal Marines and Fire Fight, but I'm sure many more might be affected.
• The error message above is not game-specific, it comes directly from Windows itself.

Answer

It's actually quite likely that these games are relying on old 16-bit DLLs. A lot of early 32-bit software relied on old 16-bit DLLs for some functions, as they did the job, they weren't used in a performance critical part of the software and there was no need to look for 32-bit versions. (for example until fairly recently the install software was often 16-bit, so much so that Win7 actually detects that and silently replaces with it's own 64-bit version of the old DLL).

Have you looked at Windows 7's XP Mode? This runs an entire copy of 32-bit Windows XP within your Windows 7, letting old programs run within XP without the program knowing it's on a 64-bit Win7 machine at all, and as it's all integrated you will hardly notice that it's running in XP.

Windows 7's XP Mode: what it is, how it works, who it's for

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Do I have to buy upgrade materials from the store to reach level 5?

Question

The store ("lost and found") holds one upgrade of each type. So far all of my upgrades were found in the game world. Do I have to buy an upgrade from the store in order to get the 5th upgrade, or can I skip those purchases and just find them later in the game world?

Answer

To fully upgrade them on your first play through, yes. However, after you beat the game a New Game+ unlocks which carries over all your upgrades and weapons from the previous game. This makes buying from the shop unnecessary if you plan on doing a second play through.

However, you'll have so much money by the end of your first play through you won't know what to do with it, so I wouldn't concern yourself with this too much.

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In Fallout New Vegas, how do I use Mojave Express Drop Boxes?

Question

I've been playing Fallout New Vegas and I spotted the Mojave Express drop box in Goodsprings, but I haven't seen any others. Supposedly you can use these drop boxes to move items from place to place in the Wasteland, but I haven't been able to figure out how.

How do you use Mojave Express Drop Boxes?

Answer

Once you've found another dropbox, you can send items from any of them to any other and then pick them up at the destination.

For locations (spoilers), see the Fallout Wiki.

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Any block logging beside Big Brother that don't use database?

Question

Is there any pluging used for anti-griefing beside Big Brother that don't use MySQL and any other database?

I don't have MySQL or Postgre and I would like to log any block misplaced or lava / TNT.

Answer

The Log plugin claims to be a lightweight alternative to BigBrother, and seems to work fairly well. It uses flatfiles, which over time may not scale well on a large server. It doesn't offer rollbacks, which could kill it for some people though.

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How is conflict resolution calculated in Castle Vox?

Question

The help file for Castle Vox is vague:

Conflicts are resolved by the game according to the attack/defend values of the units involved.

And here's all it says about the attack/defend values:

The pawn has a strong defensive value, but a weak attacking value.

knight has a weak defensive value, but a strong attacking value.

Castles provides an extra defensive bonus.

It doesn't give specific numbers , if there are any other factors (such as a random die roll), or what formula it uses to crunch the numbers.

Answer

Castle Vox conflict resolution details are described here: http://sillysoft.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19387

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How do I gain altitude with the Wing Cap?

Question

In Super Mario 64, I'm able to fly with the Wing Cap. I'm having trouble gaining altitude though. (I'm trying to get the star in the Wing Cap course, and it's hard to get the coins that are higher than my initial altitude, since I can't fly up.)

How can I make Mario go higher while he's flying?

Answer

Gaining altitude with the Wing Cap can be accomplished several ways.

Your initial height is achieved by launching yourself with a triple-jump or by firing yourself from a cannon; the cannon can naturally get you much higher than a triple-jump can. You may also be able to use whirlwinds in certain stages, but it's been long enough that I can't recall.

Once you're airborne, you can gain addition height by swooping. Push forward on the stick in order to dive, then pull back again once you've built up a little speed. It takes some practice, but once you've gotten used to diving and then smoothly ascending again, you'll find you can gradually increase your altitude. The real trick is gaining enough altitude before the Wing Cap runs out of time.

Practice makes perfect! Good luck!

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Is it possible to both save Josie Thorpe and capture Zeke Sanders?

Question

In my second, more violent playthrough of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I'm trying to both save Josie Thorpe (in order to get the weapons dealer discount from her husband) and capture Zeke Sanders (because I'm a dog of the Serif corporation). Unfortunately, when I choose to fight Zeke, I'm frozen to the ground while he shoots a bullet through Josie Thorpe's head, so my signature Jenson Mercy FacePunch lands just too late.

Is there any way to resolve this confrontation in a way such that I save Josie Thorpe and capture Zeke Sanders?

Answer

Try shooting him in the leg then going for a takedown.

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How can I only allow a player to spawn once on a Minecraft server?

Question

I'd like to have a Minecraft server where a user can only spawn once and when they die they get booted from the server. I know I can use white-list.txt to only allow a specific user on at a time, but I'm unsure how to detect that a user has died and drop their connection. How would you go about doing this?

Answer

With this plugin for bukkit -> Exile v2.0 - Banish from the server or world on death!

You can set a timer on how long they can be banned before they can come back to the server or set it to eternity.

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Where is the config file for Portal 2 located on OSX?

Question

I am having trouble finding the config.cfg config file for the Source engine on OSX. It isn't in an obvious place in the package.

Does anyone know where I can find it?

Thanks,

Matt

Answer

It should be in SteamApps/common/portal 2/portal2/cfg/config.cfg.

Source (The Portal 2 folder should be under common like all recent Valve games, if it's not, try SteamApps/yourusername/portal 2)

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What effects do the Sun Goggles have on a Merc?

Question

Does anyone know for sure what effect the Sun Goggles have on a merc in the original Jagged Alliance?

Answer

Sun Goggles improve sight range by up to 2 squares when you're in a brighter than normal condition, such as "Deserts" or other bright areas. There's also no penalty for wearing them at night so if you've got them... give them to a Merc.

Unfortunately they also decrease your effective range by 10% so don't put them on your sniper.

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What nintendo wii games require you to use a nunchuk controller? i.e. Is it worth getting one?

Question

Not looking for a definitive list or anything but of the most popular Wii titles, which ones require you to use a nunchuk controller?

Also, are there games that optionally allow use of the nunchuk controller?

Edit: Or to phrase this question a different way - my 3 kids will be getting a Wii for Christmas and I'd like to know if it's worthwhile getting 3 nunchuk controllers? Games they'll be interested in: Super Mario (Bros,Galaxy 1 & 2, Kart), Lego Star Wars, Zelda, ...

Answer

Very many games use the nunchuk.

The Super Mario Galaxy games require the nunchuk; both are very popular.

Mario Kart Wii can be played with a whole host of control schemes, though I feel that nunchuk + Wiimote is one of the more accurate ways to play. One of the schemes is the standalone Wiimote (with optional steering wheel, but it's the same scheme).

New Super Mario Bros. does not require the nunchuk, and I believe there isn't even an option to use one.

Regarding your amended question, yes, I would strongly recommend picking up at least one nunchuk. Ideally you'll want as many nunchuks as Wiimotes, however one should be enough given the games they're interested in.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2: 1 nunchuk max.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4 nunchuks max (thanks to Josh).

Mario Kart: 4 nunchuks max, 0 nunchuks min. Depends entirely on the way they like to play it, not worth getting more than one nunchuk for this straight off the bat. Not worth bothering with extra steering wheels either, in my opinion.

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How do get old 16-bit Windows games to work on 64-bit Windows?

Question

Trying to play some old Windows 95 games on Windows 7 64-bit, I'm getting the following error:

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

Trying to run the application in compatibility mode has no effect. I'm guessing these games somehow rely on 32-bit dlls which are missing from my system, and I would like to know if anyone else has encountered a similar problem and is able to give insight as to possible solutions or work-arounds.

Notes:

• I've checked this question but it discusses system requirements and not actual application invocation.
• The games in questions are Metal Marines and Fire Fight, but I'm sure many more might be affected.
• The error message above is not game-specific, it comes directly from Windows itself.

Answer

It's actually quite likely that these games are relying on old 16-bit DLLs. A lot of early 32-bit software relied on old 16-bit DLLs for some functions, as they did the job, they weren't used in a performance critical part of the software and there was no need to look for 32-bit versions. (for example until fairly recently the install software was often 16-bit, so much so that Win7 actually detects that and silently replaces with it's own 64-bit version of the old DLL).

Have you looked at Windows 7's XP Mode? This runs an entire copy of 32-bit Windows XP within your Windows 7, letting old programs run within XP without the program knowing it's on a 64-bit Win7 machine at all, and as it's all integrated you will hardly notice that it's running in XP.

Windows 7's XP Mode: what it is, how it works, who it's for

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