FF ramblings

[ria_oaks]

I happened to check Rpgamer.com a few minutes ago and noticed that FFIII:DS comes out today (I haven't really been keeping track...). I'm probably just being too over-emotional, but this day feels rather historic in the RPG world - the last Final Fantasy that wasn't released in the US is finally here. I checked, and it's been approximately 16.5 years since FFIII was released in Japan - well, better late than never, I guess. XD I mean sure, I played it years ago on a translated ROM and I won't be buying this version anytime soon (lack of a DS... and lack of time to play. woe.), but it's still cool to think that it's here. It's sort of a pity that the original version of the game will never make it here, most likely (how hard would it have been to include the orignal version in the new game, really...?), but the new version looks pretty spiffy. Hopefully I'll get to play it someday.

3 FF games in the past 2 weeks, 2 of which are new to the US (FFXII and FFIII:DS) and one of which only ever made it here in a mangled fashion (FFV Advance) - makes me miss the days when I could play all the time... I haven't really been into gaming as much the last few years, largely because of a. lack of time during school, b. other interests take up my free time, and c. i'm lazy., but I still get excited hearing about games and still want to play when I get the chance. I'm way behind on all the games I'm playing, but I still plan to ask for either FFXII or Disgaea 2 for Christmas (leaning towards the latter - FFXII will be easy enough to find for years to come, and it'll get cheap fairly quickly, whereas Disgaea 2 will start disappearing soon...). I am sorely tempted by FFXII, though - it's been getting fantastic reviews, and hell, it's FFXII! We've been waiting for this game for years, and it's finally here... and I really can't justify the time or money to get it. Part of me, too, is still a bit uncertain about it - but most of the reviews have said that the game is nothing like (and much better than) anything we've seen of it to this point, including the demo. I plan to give it a chance eventually, but can't do it yet.

And... I'm procrastinating. Back to my Farscape paper... it's due tomorrow at 9, so I need to get moving. Up to 5 pages, need about 12 - and I'm still blathering on about the context, haven't even gotten to analysing the series itself! Ehehehe. baaack to work.

Comments

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Nifty. No idea what it is, but it looks cool. :) You do it in Photoshop or something? I've never been any good with that kinda thing... wish I could be, though. ^^

[bk635.livejournal.com]

It's supposed to be an icon WIP for MAME, which is an arcade machine emulator.

Yeah, I made it from scratch using Photoshop. I don't think I can use Photoshop anymore because it crashes my video card--I think it's dying. :\

By the way, what did you do with your old laptop?

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Ahh. Neat. Too bad bout your video card, though. :(

It's sitting on a chair (a footstool, actually) in my living room. I move it between that, a chair, and my table, depending on which surface I need at any given time. -_- It doesn't turn on. Well, maybe it does sometimes, I haven't tried in awhile. But if I ever get around to it, I may try to turn it on again and then reformat it and see if that fixes it. Why, you want it? If so, if I can get it working again properly, then we can work something out... ^^ I want to get rid of it, but I don't want to just toss it. :(

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm interested. It's a possibility, at least. I'm looking to multi-task, but my computer isn't quite beefy enough for the job.

If you reformat it though, how are you going to reinstall Windows?

I wouldn't pay much though; partly because I'm incredibly cheap, and partly because it's kinda half-dead already. ;p

I'm also thinking about taking my Dad's old computer (he bought himself a new one recently), but it would take up too much space and produce heat, which is something I don't need any more of.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

I got a copy of Windows and all the installation disks for the computer sent to me by Dell, just in case.

Yeah, fair enough. ^^ Wasn't planning on charging much. I'll wait and see if I can get it to work... it's nice to have a laptop, if you want portability (I couldn't live without it now. Course, I split my time between 3 different houses...).

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Ah, didn't see this post. I'll have a better idea once school starts; I'll let you know.

I'm thinking of building a new computer; I regret not getting a job this summer and working for it. I could always dip into my savings, but I hate seeing the numbers go down on my statement.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Mmkay, let me know...

How much does it cost to build a new computer? I know you can buy them (desktops, that is) pretty cheap now. Even laptops aren't that much. Guess it depends on how much you need it... your's is pretty old from what I gather, so it might be worth upgrading... call it a "going to UBC" present to yourself. ;)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

It depends on what you want and what you can salvage. If you don't need to buy an OS and a monitor(s), then you can make a top-of-the line system for anywhere between $1500-2k.

I can't salvage anything except for my mouse and keyboard, so I'm looking at having to buy an OS (~$400) and two monitors (~$800), on top of the hardware. :\

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Yeah, if you're looking for top-of-the-line then I can see it adding up... What about just buying an average desktop computer for say $1000? Cheapest are $400-500, so I assume $1000 would be okay. My laptop was about $1000 and is decent enough, and desktops are cheaper on the whole. But yeah, if you want something really good and want to personally customize it... gotta dole out the money. ^^ What do you need it for that it has to be top-of-the-line? Gaming? Usually it's that or graphics. And of course, for the latter and anything related a Mac is the best way to go, but I've never wanted one... don't want to learn a new OS, user-friendly though it evidently is.

For the OS, can you use your current one? I assume you have XP; do you still have the installation disk?

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to feel that my computer is struggling to keep up with the technology, and my patience is slowly dwindling. I want a top-of-the-line system so that it will last me a long time; I don't want to spend $1k on something that will only last me another three years before I find myself feeling this way again.

Actually Windows isn't so bad for graphics these days. ;p

I can't use this OS, because if I bought a new computer, I'd still use this one. Besides, it's XP Home, which is kind of lame. >.>

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

The same thing crossed my mind when I went to buy a computer, but... otoh, with the rate technology is moving, I think ANY computer is going to be obsolete within a few years. Or at least it will start to slow down and whatnot. I suppose the better the computer the longer it will last, but I'm not sure it will ultimately make that much of a difference... depressing, eh? Otoh, I suppose if you get a really good computer then it will be able to better handle upgrades to keep it up-to-date, so fair enough...

What OS will you get? If you buy Vista Business or the most expensive full version (can't recall the name) then you can downgrade ot XP Pro, which is a plus. :) That's what I did... I'm guessing you don't want Vista anytime soon? And plus side about that is that you have Vista if you want to install it in the future, ie. when a new service pack comes out that makes it better.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

The hardware advances very quickly, but the technology that utilizes it doesn't. I could build a moderate computer and it would put me above the threshold, but I'd be back below it faster than I would be if I made a top-of-the-line computer.

I'd be buying the hardware individually and putting it together myself, so if I wanted XP Pro, I'd have to find an actual copy of it in a store somewhere (or online). If I had to go with Vista, I'd just go with Ultimate. I need to see if any deals are offered at UBC.

My Dad's new computer has Vista and it doesn't seem that bad. It would probably grow on me. I'm more worried about software compatibility, since some of the stuff I use is pretty archaic. But then again, I'd still have this computer running. I dunno; lots to think about.