Windoze XP

So, recently I got a legal copy of Windoze XP (not a typo). Yayyyy! Nooooo!

Well, the only reason I even wanted a copy of Windoze is because I want to be able to play my games and make levels for Half-Life. I use everything else in Linux including Mail, Web Browsing, and using Windoze apps that aren't games.

RANTING:

I expected Windoze XP to work the way it was supposed to. But, noooooo. I ended up doing all the hard work of looking for drivers for my integrated sound card! I had to go through different new sound cards before I could even find a driver. After I installed my new sound card, I took the liberty of looking for a decent driver. And that took about an hour. Joy. And to find the drivers, I had to use IE. IE!!! EFFIN' IE!!!

I finally got everything (mostly) working. So, before I re-installed Ubuntu to dual boot with Windoze, I decided to install some games. I had Halo, FarCry, Half-Life 2, Half-Life (I found my copy just recently.), F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon), and A Flight Simulator by Micro$loth. I wasn't going to install the flight simulator.

So, I was going to go ahead and install the most quickest at the time, and so I first installed Halo. The install was quick and easy, and I was playing in a matter of moments. Very impressive. The graphics are amazing on my machine!

So, then, for the hack of it, I installed FarCry. I had never played the game myself at the time, but I was sure that it'd be good because there were five CD's to install. That took for-freakin'-ever.

When I finally finished installing FarCry, I ran the game itself and it took forever to load a level. That game is impressive, I play as a dude in a red Hawaiian shirt named Jack Carver. Basicaly his vacatiuon with this hot chick named Valarie was sabotaged and was found stranded on this island with mercenaries hired to kill him, or something.

Then, I tried to install my dad's copy of Half-Life 2. You need the internet to play it, which I am p'd off about. It, like FarCry, had five CD's. When if finished, it had to install Steam. Yay. And, since my dad already had to validate his copy, I cannot use it on my account. I have to login to his account to play when he's not using it. Then, I had to defragment my hard drive...which took about 2 hours. THEN...get this...before you play, you are required to install all updates. That was a pain in the butt.

Overall, Half-Life 2 runs...okay...You see, I have 50 hrz less than required, so it's a bit choppy in some areas. But, again, the graphics are great!!! Then again, It does take a while to load levels.

The next day, I decided to install F.E.A.R. which also had 5 CD's. But, after it installed, I decided to run it. It actually had many option to make performance seem to run better, which I really appreciate. Thanks, Monolith! The levels don't take forever to load, either. That was just the beginning of this great game. But using the world's most satisfying shotgun in slo-mo to kill a ghost that can go intangible is great!

I didn't even touch the simulator. I might burn it.

Then, I found my old copy of Half-Life and installed it in under 30 seconds. In OpenGL under 1200x1600, it's just great! I installed High Definition Models, Half-Life Decay, new patches, and Opposing Force. I can't say that I'm not impressed with that!

Again, I will only use Windoze for games.

That's it! Any questions, email me at sploopidy@gmail.com