For those racing enthusiasts, there is a racing
simulation available that might interest you.
Racer is (from the
site): "...a
free cross-platform car simulation project (for non-commercial use),
using professional car physics papers to achieve a realistic feeling.
Cars, tracks and such can be created relatively easy."
This application is open source and, as a result, there
are a ton of user-created vehicles and tracks. I have downloaded
several different vehicles and courses already and am enjoying it.
It can be mapped to the trackball and two mouse buttons (which is how
I'm playing it) but appears to be geared optimally towards wheels and
pedals. It is free and well worth investigating if you like
driving simulations. For the best experience download the newest
BETA version. Trust me. Find it here.
11/23/05
MAME Support files
I have added a new 'project' to the
Projects page. I have added a new
page to show locations of where to obtain the major MAME support files, such
as the control panels and samples.
I know this can be tough at times, what with sites coming and going all the
time. Check it out
here.
11/18/05
Adsense
As some of you may have noticed, I am testing Google's
Adsense on a number of pages. I'm giving it a trial to determine
whether it benefits me to include it on the site or not. I have tried
not to disrupt the content on the existing pages.
DreamHost Update
I've had this host for about six weeks and have
been very happy with them. No downtime and the communication has been
excellent. If you are shopping for a host, at least give them a look.
X-arcade Holiday Pricing
X-gaming has reduced the price of the
brand-new, two player X-arcade units to $129.95, with free shipping, for the
holidays. If you've wanted one now is the time to pick it up.
They also still have a limited quantity of the
refurbished
two-player
X-Arcade
controllers available for just $119.95 shipped.
11/13/05
New Mamewah layout
It was time to change my Mamewah layout before the holidays. Although
I liked the Dragon's Lair-inspired image, it just seemed too cluttered as of
late. With the holidays approaching, the promise of new gamers being
introduced to the cabinet gave me motivation to design my own "wrapper."
I took a picture of my cabinet, removed the background from it via my friend
Photoshop and added a pleasant blue gradient to the background. I show
the game marquee (if available) over my own. Same with the in-game
image. If one or both are missing, my stock cabinet is displayed.
I also added the three key buttons used to navigate Mamewah to the lower
left of the screen. I believe it is easier to understand than my
previous, "show everything", work. It's now on my
Projects page.
11/11/05
NBA Jam
I have been playing quite a bit of NBA Jam recently, which is actually a bit
of a surprise. I am not a basketball fan in the least but had seen
this title on several "Best of All Time" game lists. So I figured it
was worth a try. I must say, after I got the controls figured out, it
is very addicting. I've only played (and almost always lost) against
the CPU team du jour but it is fun to fight it out to the very end. I
can't wait until the next gaming night to see how everyone fares with it.
It is well worth a look if you haven't already.
11/2/05
XM Radio over the whole house audio
As visitors of this
site might remember, I have set up a
Winamp/WAWI interface that utilizes the
RCA Lyra Wireless System
to send MP3s to all the home stereos. I've recently added XM radio
online (we have a receiver in the wife's vehicle) to this setup so we can
listen to XM on any of the stereos as well. I have yet to configure
the XM into the WAWI browser yet so I must change channels at the server
itself. Not that big a deal as we listen to the Real Jazz station the
majority of the time but it sure is nice to do. Sure beats paying the
outrageous bucks for the home receivers that XM markets. Free is
always better in my book and the wife loves it, too.
