FreeOrion v0.4.7

The folks over at freeorion.org released a new stable a few days ago. I gave it a quick try tonight in order to see if it’s more stable and optimized than v0.4.6 and it definitely is. v0.4.6 felt sluggish during some games and turn processing was slow most of the time, even in a small galaxy. This one feels all right and seems to be properly optimized. 

Brood War Patch 1.18

If you’re a StarCraft fan, this is probably old news. Patch 1.18 makes Starcraft free to play and compatible with modern operating systems. You read it well! You don’t need your old scratched CDs or your old computer running Windows 98. That’s the biggest update since 1.08. (1.08 was released in May 2001 and thoroughly reworked the game balance)

1.18 also integrates a revamped Battle.net that works. It’s still being developed, so new features (like profiles) similar to what we can find on Battle.net for other Blizzard games are to be expected. We should be able to discover them between now and the time Remastered is released. 

Starcraft Remastered

Can't believe they finally decided to go ahead and give Starcraft the HD treatment it deserves. 20 years later, we'll be able to enjoy this masterpiece once more on modern systems without having to fiddle with weird plugins and hacks to make it work right. Also, they're assuring us that game mechanics won't change. Cool! :)

Starcraft has been one of the first PC game I've ever played and I still consider one of my favorites, 2 decades and thousands of hours later.

They didn't announce yet how much it'll cost but who cares, this is Starcraft Remastered... TAKE ALL MY MONEY!!!

They updated Starcraft.com, so check it out and visit often to make sure you don't miss any update: https://starcraft.com

Can't wait!

Why I Switched Back From WordPress to Blogger

Switching between blog platforms is now a yearly thing for me. It seems I can’t satisfy myself with one single platform on the long run. I’ve been enjoying WordPress for a while, until I figured it contained a ton of cool features I didn’t need after all. I gladly traded these bells and whistles for increased simplicity and ease of use. 

I’m going to share what made me ditch WordPress and move back to Google’s Blogger. 

2001: A Space Odyssey

I was recently able, almost by accident, to get a hold of a copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey and decided to give it a go. Being a fan of all things sci-fi, I was eager to re-read the classic and unique tale Mr. Clarke gave us so many years ago. 

Boy, I wasn't disappointed! The story still felt super compelling and interesting from cover to cover. The way every detail is brought up, developed then put together with the rest to form an amazing story is incredible. Contrary to the first time I read it, I didn’t feel the first part of the novel (the apes) was too slow. Like the rest of the story, it was fine and every single little element of the story fits perfectly in the right spot. 

2001: A Space Odyssey is a massive classic that's very hard to comment or review, other than admitting it's quite possibly the best sci-fi novel one can read. I highly recommend it. 

Dropbox Paper: When Less Is More

I’ve been a regular Evernote user for a few years now, using it numerous times a week to compose blog posts, articles and announcements for several of my websites. Evernote allowed me to write in a somewhat distraction-less environment that made me focus totally on my content, not on its form.  

While I love Evernote, I sometimes find myself forced to fool around with fonts families, font sizes and the likes… stuff that sometimes takes my attention away from my content. 

I’m surprised that I discovered Dropbox Paper just a few days ago, because it’s been in beta for half a year! It caught my attention immediately as a potential upgrade from Evernote, so I went ahead and tested it. 

Project Space Sector

Project Space Sector is a spiritual successor to Master of Orion 2, the turn-based space 4X strategy game from the 90’s that we love so much. This will be a faithful successor, that is true in spirit to the series. With all the complexity and depth of a big and complex 4X game.

You can follow the team’s progress here:
Space Sector | Everything about Space and Sci-Fi Strategy Games.

I’ve been following this blog for years. The folks behind both the blog and the game know what they’re doing, so the result should be very interesting. I hope they’ll be able to give an estimated release date in the next few months.

To be continued…

Riven: More Cryptic Than I Expected

Last year, I enjoyed a great timeless classic: Myst. This time, I decided to go ahead and play Riven, The Sequel to Myst. I knew, among other things, that Riven is considered the hardest episode in the Myst series, but I had no idea how that would translate in the game.

As I expected, Riven is an amazing game. Cryptic, but amazing.

Petition for Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis Special Edition

Went2Play, a studio founded by Patrik Spacek has been working on a special edition of the classic 90s PC game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. It features remastered graphics and everything it needs to feel like a brand new game. Problem is, they don’t have the rights. Disney does.

There’s currently an online petition asking Disney Studios to give them the rights to release the game. Their objective is to collect 5 000 signatures in order to present the petition to Disney.

You can sign the petition here:
Give Went2Play rights to develop a IJ: Fate of Atlantis Special Edition!

They need less than 600 signatures as of now.

Master of Orion: Revenge of Antares DLC

The battle to conquer Orion is set to become even more challenging. On December 1, Master of Orion’s anticipated “Revenge of Antares” DLC will become available, giving access to independent civilizations, a new victory condition and more. The expansion also introduces three new playable races to the massive galaxy. Arriving in the DLC expansions are the Trilarians, Gnolam, and Elerians — formidable aliens that will open up new paths to victory as commanders strive for dominance of the galaxy.

Read more:
Master of Orion: Revenge of Antares DLC Announcement | Steam