Blog Pantsu

Back to the PS2

Yes. I have a PS3, which I must say is a very good console, but I’m back to playing the PS2 all the time. This also explains why I haven’t been playing Mabinogi a lot.

You see, the problem with the PS3 is simply the prices. A single game costs up to $60, at the minimum. While the games are definitely worth that $60, I don’t have that kind of budget (I’m not even old enough to drive, so go figure). So far, the only games that I have are (in chronological order): Call of Duty 4, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (Home Edition… or year, I forget), Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Rainbow Six Vegas. All very good games.

What would I be playing now, then, on my PS2 (well, it’s not mine exactly… it’s my brother’s, but he’s an Xbox360 person)? Well, it’s Warship Gunner 2. Yes, a game by the infamous Koei. Those guys that created and developed the Dynasty Warriors series, along with Dynasty Warrior Gundam, which the latter looked like utter, complete crap. Yes, but Warship Gunner 2 is an exception to their list of poor games. While the combat isn’t the real reason why I play this game a lot (I’ve got 42 hours, pumped 12 or so in the past few or so days), the massive button-mashing is enjoyable when you get to completely customize one’s ship. While you can’t make your own parts (you’re limited to the hulls that can be researched, for example) or command a fleet (go to Naval Ops: Commander for fleet command, which is another game by Koei), you can decide and plan everything. You can either choose a pre-planned (pre-built) ships or you can make from scratch.

My favorites hulls would be the German SS 2, U.S. Carrier 6 (the design is super bad-ass - gotta love American carriers) and the most powerful Battleship (doesn’t matter what the nationality is, they all look the same). The best gun is the 50.8cm, 750 caliber, 4 barrel cannon. Nothing can beat that (except for big lasers or the ridiculous 100cm cannon).

As for the PS3, the only thing I really use it for anymore is demos (that latest Naruto demo is actually fun and playable) and watching movies. You see, I’d rather watch a movie with my LCD 21″ television than with my LCD 19″ screen (The television is Element while the screen is ViewSonic; I recommend both manufacturers). The latest movies I’ve been watching a lot are Master and Commander: The Far side of the World, The Hunt for the Red October, Gladiator, and various anime.

「求聞持の能力」でＭａｂｉｎｏｇｉついている弾く

One of my favorite IOSYS songs played by the Lute instrument in Mabinogi. Excellent! Here’s the original song:

Some Japanese:

で de - something along the functions of the word “with” in English.

ついている tsuite iru - be on

弾く hiku - play (instrument)

One thing you should NOT do with PHP

I know how dangerous it is, but it’s out of habit. What am I talking about? Well, it’s probably one of the most common mistakes a PHP developer/programmer/user will find: an array in a loop. It happens to me all the time, no matter what I’m working with, let it PHP, Python or JavaScript. This is just a reminder to me and anyone who faces this problem: never build an array in a loop! The array will just overwrite itself, and it can be a very well hidden problem. This includes loops and nested loops (loops in loops)… unless you want the array to overwritten. There are instances where the array needs to be overwritten (the mysql_fetch_assoc function is a good example).

This whole post may sound silly, but I suggest you be careful with array building in loops! it won’t cause any major problems (with exceptions), but you will never get the result you want (unless you want to the array to be overwritten, like I said before).

Drieick