Mephisto

The topic description is a joke that will only be understood by my fellow players of this little gem. Link to the game is here. This game has sucked up countless months of my time over the past three years. A quick description of the game in my own words: Have you ever wanted to cut someone's arm off and beat them to death with it? Have you ever wanted to shoot someone with an arrow and puncture every major organ in their chest cavity at the same time? Do you have a computer that can run Crysis on max settings at 5000 FPS, but you still feel the need to slowly force your PC to grind to a halt? I've got a game for you, then! The thread on Something Awful can explain this much better than I can. Despite all of the tales of intense violence, that isn't the focus of the game. It could best be described as Sim City meets The Sims meets Dungeon Keeper meets NetHack. The game is in ASCII, so there are no gory graphics as one would probably expect. The violence is just a result of a very detailed injury/combat system.

Awesome! Kind of weird, though. I recently thought about getting some hosting through 1&1...

No problem. Just glad I could be of use.

Remember, your PC can and probably will be vastly different from mine. The basic procedure is the same, though.

Guess I really should have found my handout before telling you about it. Here is the section entitled "Upgrade memory" in full: Steps: 1. Find out which kind of memory you have. 2. Insert memory stick in empty slot. (largest one goes closer to CPU) Guess that means I should try and explain. The pics were taken with a cheap GE webcam. This is the highest quality that you're going to get unless you want me to break out my modded CVS ex-disposable video camera (which I may put up a little tutorial on, with Wolfie's consent, of course). Required items: Screwdrivers - Most of the screws on my system are Phillips, but yours may be different Flashlight - Parts of your computer's innards are very dark and can easily be darkened more when your head is between them and the light Grounded wrist strap - Not really required, but recommended for someone who is very new. Just don't ground it to the power supply... New RAM - Explained later Can of compressed air - Also explained later Steps: 1. Disconnect all wires and open your case http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_12.jpg This is the rear of my computer, with the larger screws on top. My computer has small screws on one side and large screws on the other. The large ones are the ones I have to take off to get to the goodies inside. Mine are large enough that I can just grab the screws themselves and turn them by hand. http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_13.jpg This is a picture of the inside of my case. Yours may differ. On the left, you will see my power supply and the case fan housing just above it. On the right is a frame that houses all of my drives. It contains three CD drives, a floppy drive, and the ever-so-helpful hard drive. 2. Clear some space! http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_14.jpg http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_15.jpg http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_16.jpg My case just happens to have a handy flap that the power supply and fan are mounted to. I unscrew the two screws in the top picture and it folds down, like the middle picture shows. My drive bay frame has a screw holding it in. After that is unscrewed, a lever can be pulled and the whole thing, drives and all, slides out (after the wires are disconnected, of course (BE SURE TO REMEMBER WHAT WIRE GOES WHERE!!)), as the bottom picture shows. It also shows the RAM. All of the disassembly steps I've taken may not be necessary. HP designed their computers badly, so some stuff has to be removed before maintenance can be performed. http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_17.jpg Just a closeup. Red is CPU heatsink. Yellow is RAM. 3. Remove the old RAM or insert new. This is the step where you find out what kind of RAM you have in your system. http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r193/tdp88/Changing%20RAM%20in%20a%20computer/Jul28_18.jpg As this shot explains, my computer contains SDR RAM, which has two slots in it. This computer was bought back in 2000. Most, if not all, new computers contain DDR, which only has one slot. To actually remove the ram, look at it. There should be two levers, one on either side. Push those out, away from the sides. The RAM stick should lift up as the levers are pushed. Once they're fully out, lift the RAM out. Look at the pins to find out what kind you have (one slot or two). Note that it's not recommended to mix RAM speeds. That just means that you wasted some money. Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone who reads this, but I believe RAM can only work as fast as its slowest stick. Place the largest stick (not physically, but by capacity) in the slot closest to the CPU, making sure to line up the holes in the stick with the slot in your computer. Push down firmly and the levers you pushed down earlier should come back up. When the RAM is fully inserted, ensure that the two levers "click" back into their slots. If you desire to insert the old stick, open the levers on the next slot back and put it in using the same procedure. Congratulations! You've just upgraded your computer! Now, if the insides are very dirty, you may want to use that can of compressed air we talked about. You can probably figure this one out. After that's done, reassemble your computer.

Hi! Not sure if I should intrude or not... To change your paging file, right-click on "My Computer" and click "Properties." Go to the Advanced tab and click on the button under Performance that says Settings. Click on the Advanced tab yet again. Your current setting and a button leading to more options is under Virtual Memory. I don't recommend turning your paging file off. I've done that before and the results are not pretty. Not even usable, for me. Upgrading RAM is one of the easiest things to do in a PC, but if you don't know much (or anything, for that matter) about computers, I suggest that you go to a trusted friend who is knowledgeable, or go to a local computer shop. Actually, a friend and I upgraded his computer for an English assignment (don't ask). I've still got the handout around here somewhere. He can explain things better than me. If you think you can do it by yourself, the handout is informative. I could type it up on here.

Two? Unless one didn't load, I only see one.

Thanks. I was recently thinking about this and couldn't remember a link. Now I have one.

The Indianapolis Colts have already beaten the Chicago Bears into submission with an end-game score of 50-31! http://vgstrategies.about.com/b/a/257837.htm >_>

[Another stupid rant removed.]

Hindsight is 20:20. My two-year-old stupid, testosterone-filled rant thing has been removed.

Hah, I'd say it's a bit late. We've been going out for over a year. >_> That didn't sound right. I meant me and the person I mentioned in my first post.

Recently, I noticed that some of my buds have been posting stupid stuff on bulletins. I first thought it was strange when an eleven-year-old put up a bulletin about free condoms. Today confirmed my suspicion that something strange is going on when someone who can barely get out a coherent thought "typed" two paragraphs about his free iPod and how he's getting a free laptop from a web site. What's going on? Has everyone been struck by a streak of stupidity? Is there a virus? Are there new bots out there set to take over your account?

Explanation: My school's newspaper is accepting short stories. I decided to write one. I finished it in around an hour. I'm submitting it anonymously. Go ahead. Laugh. I don't particularly care. I know what's going to happen once it's printed. I'll be laughed at. It's not exactly their fault that they're all too stupid to understand anything other than "hack, slash, kill, blow up" stories. Only a select few will understand this. A few of them work on the paper. There's actually a slim chance that this might be printed. Here I am, driving down this lonely stretch of highway. I'm dead tired. I've been driving nonstop for the past two days. I look at the dash of my car. The speedometer's needle is quivering between sixty and sixty-five. I'm running on fumes, my car is dangerously hot, and I'm down to my last twenty bucks. I can't stop now. I'm less than a hundred miles from my destination. That’s when the slip of paper captures my attention. Her. I can barely drive through the blur of my tears. I have to pull off the road. I turn my car off and wait for the feeling to pass. The only way to make it pass is to relive the events from the beginning. “Look! The mailman is here!” I yell into the other room to my parents. I hope it’s my college acceptance letter. I have a small stack of acceptance letters, but none are from that one perfect school. I race out of the house before my parents can reply. I yank open the mailbox and pull out a thick stack of letters. Right there on top: the letter I’m waiting for! Something’s wrong. The envelope isn’t as thick as my other acceptance letters. I don’t care, it’s here! I rip the letter open right there next to the street and pull out the slip of paper that was inside. I unfold the paper and begin reading. “Dear Sir, We regret to inform you, but…” I stop reading and walk away, leaving the letter and envelope in a crumpled ball behind me. I walk through our door and throw the stack of letters onto the counter. My parents saw me coming and knew I needed some time to myself. Later on, after I cool off, I hear my mom crying. I leave my room and see her holding a crumpled envelope. “Come on, Mom, it’s just one college. I’ll just go to my second choice.” She turns at the sound of my voice, clearly startled. “It’s not about college. You need to read this for yourself.” She hands me the plain white, crumpled envelope she was holding. Neatly typed in the upper left corner, “The Draft Board.” The next day is a blur of activity. I drain my bank account, fill my car with gas, and pack it full of as many of my possessions as I can. I plan to take off for the border that afternoon. First, there is something I have to take care of. I pull into the driveway. The lights are on in the house and all of the vehicles are there. That’s a good sign. I get out of my car and try to knock on the door. It opens before I get to it. There she is, as beautiful as ever. She can tell something’s wrong. I know the questions that she wants to ask, so I answer some of them. “I’m fine, but I have to go somewhere for a while. I don’t know if I will be able to come back.” I can tell that she’s about to cry. “Why do you have to leave? Why can’t you stay here? I show her the letter. I see her eyes widen. This time, she does start to cry. “You can’t go! What if something happens to you?” I had already thought ahead, so I had an answer for her. “I’m not going over there. I’m going north. To Canada. I’ll call you once I get there. I’m already packed. I came to say goodbye. I’ll miss you.” I get into my car and back out of her driveway, aware that she is still watching me. I want to stay and comfort her, but I know that if I do I will never gain the strength to leave. After I turn my car around, I am determined to keep from looking back. I’m afraid of what I may do. Finally, the pressure is too great. I have to turn, to see for one last time. She is almost out of sight, but I can see her standing there, watching. I turn and keep driving. I… The bleating of a horn and the angry shouts of a trucker yank me from my reverie. I glance around, disoriented, then I remember where I am. I start my car and continue on my journey, wondering if I will reach that fabled telephone at the End