Benie's General Blog

Four days ago I posted a entry here that I was strongly thinking of getting an iPod Touch. Well, no more.
What made me decide not to? Quite simple. I would have to get a router attached to my cable modem to have Wi-Fi — to have a connection for the itouch’s wireless internet.
Angry helped me out by finding me a router, and I found the itouch I wanted. I wanted to know how much both would cost me, so I brought both to checkout, with the very basic standard shipping.
It came to a total of $279.25 ($212.93 for the itouch, and $66.32 for the router).

I thought about the price, and wondered “is it worth it to be ‘one of the cool kids’?” You see, this i-thing started due to the DMT Chat and the thread on Facepunch. With mostly everyone going “Lol, poasting from iPhone! I so cool!” or whatever. My brain thought “Hmm. Maybe if I get an iPod Touch, I’ll be cool like them! I’ll just use it as an mp3 player. Plus it’ll have internet access, so I can go on Facepunch with it and say “Poasting from iPod Touch!””

Of course, when I asked the guys in the chat that I wanna know where I could find one, Fishy was all “Why do you need one? All you do is sit on your ass!” He is right, but I told him that the word “need” has no meaning to me. Only “want”. Yet he doesn’t seem smart enough to tell the main reason. He still helped me out and told me to get this and that.

But what was really the ‘wrench in the gears’ of my want, is two things. Skype AND Pandora do not support the iPod Touch. The iPhone however…
So, that pretty much killed my want. However, not my want of wanting an i-something.

I’m now planning to buy a 16GB iPod Nano. It’s $179 ($222.56 with shipping. And I’m getting an armband for it). Cheaper than an itouch (in base price), and mainly used as an mp3 player. But it can also be used as a camcorder, and can pick up local FM Radio stations. It doesn’t have internet access, but.. ehh. I got my computer. It’s got all the ‘3G’ speed I need.

In the future I may get a laptop with wireless internet as a backup computer, incase I have to take my current one to the shop. Of course I will be questioned again of “why do you need it?” Only trouble with a laptop is they tend to overheat.

I got a $25 Gift Card from my bank, from my aunt. It was for my birthday, which was a week ago.
At first I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but now.. not so much. For many reasons.
The first was, I wanted to buy Dragon Age: Origins with this thing, but found out it’s $29.99 — $4.99 more than the card has.

I decided to ask Steam if it was possible to use my debit card to cover the $4.99. They said NO. You can only use one card. So I thought “Why not PayPal?” I could set up the Gift Card as the primary payment setting, and my Debit Card as the backup payment.

I called Chase to see if I could do it. They didn’t know. So I tried to call PayPal directly. Again, NO. The gift card will not work in their system since in order to buy something through it, the card has to be authenticated.

The same fucking thing happened for Papa John’s too. A third NO. I have had enough and called the number on the back of the card and get the fucking thing canceled. I got a person I could barley understand or hear, who put me on hold alot. And.. oh god the music. It was torture.
But I finally got it taken care of. They charged a $12 cancellation fee to it, which leaves $13. It will be sent in 20 business days from now to me, so I can cash it and put it in my bank.
With that I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the card in a million pieces.

Next year for my birthday, just give me cash. There’s nothing around here that I want and would use the card. If I can’t go online with it like I can with a debit card, I don’t want it.
I still don’t get it. The damn thing had the VISA logo. That means it could’ve been used as a debit card. But nooooo. Fuck it.

I had an itch to come back to Gmod again. Mainly due to SpaceBuild 2 which crapped on me the day I came back.
As soon as I loaded up my ‘Normandy’ ship, I got a shitload of lua errors. Mainly pointing to the Black Hole Cache and the Climate Regulator.

“Did Garry break SpaceBuild now?” I wondered, and wondered even more if I should try again to find the elusive SpaceBuild 3 (meaning I can’t find the addon version).
I happened to look in LS2’s info.txt and noticed the site ‘http://www.snakesvx.net/’ in the Author URL section of it, and decided to check it out.

Clicking the Forum link on the page, I noticed a section for SpaceBuild SVN Links. Quickly clicked on it and was greeted by live, active SVN links. Including the non-dummy version of SpaceBuild 3!
I quickly downloaded them all to folders I made, but wondered “how does it know you’re in a SpaceBuild map without the gamemode?” I got my answer after launching a sb_ map.
It senses if you’re using a SpaceBuild map (and now I know ANY map I load, loads SpaceBuild 3 and all of its folders) and activates everything.

I then noticed the old Life Support props don’t work anymore (obvious since I removed SpaceBuild 2 and all of its folders). The Resource Caches now have a new model.
And also, everything has to be hooked up to a Resource Node now. No more direct linking. It sucks, but I’m learning to deal with it.
Climate Regulators now require a new resource; Nitrogen. And ‘Coolant’ has been replaced by ‘Water’, forcing you to use water pumps instead of coolant compressors.

Now here’s the bad part. Air and Heat Exchangers are apparently useless on lava planets, and/or planets with high gravity or pressure.
I entered a very hot planet once, and died within five seconds in my shuttle. On top of it, the Resource Node, Atmospheric Probe, and Suit Dispenser that I installed are all exploding. I had to let Snake know that his forever Beta version of Life Support needs to be fixed in alot of places.

This problem was forced to deal with a Climate Regulator, JUST to protect the overly-sensitive LS devices from going BOOM.
Another problem is with the new Gravity Regulator. It seems to act just like a Climate Regulator. Instead it uses the coldness of space and still makes a ‘protective bubble’ around itself.

I managed to tweak the radius of both the Climate and Gravity Regulators with a simple Constant Value chip. This is pretty much what I want. To only have a bubble on the shuttle, but when you step out, you die without a suit.

But that has unpleasant side-effects, via the Atmospheric Probe. By turning on the Climate Regulator, the probe will use the data from it, instead of the planet.
The only option that I thought of to counteract this, is attaching a hydraulic on the probe and to the outside of the shuttle. When the shuttle hovers over a planet, the probe will be lowered into the planet’s atmosphere, and data will be recorded. If the temp is over 350k, then it’s too hot without a Climate Regulator. Anywhere below that and you’re fine. And the fact the probe will be brought back to the shuttle, it will remain in the regulator’s protective bubble and NOT explode. It’s a Win-Win.

I had to attach that new Gravity Regulator as I mentioned due to the probe being in 0G. After tweaking the regulator’s radius to only affect the probe and not the air around the shuttle, now I can lower it without it floating everywhere.

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After that I decided to watch a bunch of SpaceBuild 3 tutorial videos. Maybe learn a trick or two. And I have learned two things from this video;
1. Stop using the SmallBridge Part Snapper (or even Easy Weld). Use the Easy Precision tool that comes with the PHX 3 SVN, for seamless, gapless prop snapping.
2. Install and use Smart Weld. It’s more useful than it was before.

I did ‘1’ and rebuilt my ship before I realized I had to also use ‘2’, when the ship was all wobbly and shit. Plus I had a door that refused to move.

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Ok, well the next thing involved checking to see if a gm_ map with planets also worked, and does. So cool. I then loaded up my first ship design and wondered how I could redo it in SBEP, but managed.

On the second time I finally got it. I got the screens on and began writing down on a piece of paper what to put on the screens, then suddenly out of the blue, Gmod closes out with no reason why. Then Skype. Then Steam.
I start to panic thinking I must have accidentally hit the Power button on my keyboard. Then when my system looked like it was about to shut down, I noticed “Windows is configuring your updates”, and dropped my pen on the floor.
My hands turned into fists and my temper level went into the black. Windows just pulled a fucking “LOLOLO UPDATE!!!!!!!!” on me.
I was so mad at the time, but at least it wasn’t a system error. And since it wasn’t that big of a ship, it can be rebuilt. I just wanted to get this done before I do.

I got the game the day after my birthday thanks to angry and his mother.
I completed it today, so I should give my thoughts for it.

Firstly, I heard alot of mixed reviews about the game. Some say it sucks and it’s nothing like the original, and the multiplayer sucks balls. Others like it. Well, I liked it for the most part.
Though the story seemed very hard to understand for me, it was pretty good. It just had alot of plot holes in it. If it’s not this Sofia Lamb person ranting on about you ending what she was trying to do for the good of all humanity, its main characters not really explaining their side of the story. It also felt short. But yet the same play-length as the original.

At the completion of the game, I did feel like the game was, empty. That it does lack in areas the original has. For the most part, the NPC’s seemed too predictable. Some of them wanted you to kill them to save them from insanity.
The new way you get Plasmids seems strange. You need ADAM just to unlock new Plasmids sometimes at the Gatherer’s Garden.
And then there’s your drill. Your drill needs gas to keep powered. It’s pretty good for a Melee weapon, but it doesn’t compared to the bone-breaking Wrench you get in the original that can shatter a frozen foe with one hit, and doesn’t need fuel. Plus I wish the drill did more visual damage to enemies, like drilling holes in splicers.
But the thing I love the most was the underwater areas. And there’s lots. Sharks and schools of fish swim right by you like you’re part of the scenery, and you even see Rapture ‘for the first time’ while underwater. And the best thing, there’s no H2O meter. Or even a Suit Pressure meter. But what’s bad is the underwater parts are linear, like the entire game.

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Unfortunately I won’t be able to save you from reading spoilers from the story. So if you haven’t played this game, skip this part. I’ve already said what I’m going to say without revealing spoilers. But if you don’t care about reading them, then read on.
Let me just say there’s alot of time traveling involved. Also the word “somehow” is used alot.

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You have been warned..

So, the story as I said is very hard to understand. It first starts you as a Big Daddy, who you learn later that your name is ‘Subject Delta’. You’re a very old Big Daddy (and the first Big Daddy created). Anyway you do what a Big Daddy does; escorting your Little Sister out of her hidey hole and to the ADAM.
However something happens and you have a battle with these Splicers, who are smarter than they look and use a Big Daddy Command Plasmid on you.

You’re then instructed by Sofia Lamb to put a gun to your head and commit suicide, right infront of your Little Sister. Very sad. Then ten years later (eight years after the events of the original BioShock) you come back to life.
You later find out it’s Eleanor (your Little Sister now all grown up) who brought you back.
Eleanor is now being held by the bitch boss, Sofia Lamb. Due to her corrupt state because of ADAM, she’s using Eleanor to create a new race of Little Sisters, and even Big Sisters. She’s united to every hostile in the game as ‘The Family’ and Eleanor is to join them but refuses because you’re her protector.
Due to this, you’re now on Sofia Lamb’s shit list and has told every hostile to hunt you down and kill you, calling you a ‘baby stealer’.

How did you get into this mess? It’s a big misunderstanding. You see, you were once human (your human name was mentioned near the mid point of the game, but I forgot it) but due to Ryan, you were forced to become a Big Daddy and protect your Little Sister, who calls you “daddy”, instead of the traditional “Mister Bubbles”. You find out you’re not really her dad (even though Eleanor still thinks you are due to also being brainwashed). But unfortunately there’s a cursed bond with being a Big Daddy. If you stay away from your Little Sister for too long, you will go insane or go into a coma. So you have to rescue her to save yourself.

You find out Ryan is dead and so is Fontaine. So obviously somewhere in that ten year period is when the events of BioShock occurred. So even if you did the good ending and saved all the little sisters, this bitch made new ones so Rapture can live again.
It might be a possibility the player from the original BioShock is now the Big Daddy. But that is unverified (because in the original in the good ending you die peacefully of old age).

So anyway, half through the game, you also find out the truth about Fontaine. The day he became Atlas and fooled the player in the original to kill Ryan, to get the guy off his case. You however get revenge for being fooled (if you do the good ending).

I want to add a little random note, that Big Sisters are not fun to play around with. As it’s been explained on various cheat sites, a Big Sister is like fighting a Big Daddy on steroids. They can take an insane amount of punishment and keep coming after you, throwing fire at you. They can even drain you of your EVE to refill theirs.

At last you finally make it to Eleanor who’s sleeping on a bed with Sofia Lamb watching over her. After having to deal with two Big Sisters, suddenly she picks up her daughter’s pillow and suffocates her right infront of you with it, knowing if she doesn’t live, you won’t (also part of the cursed bondage). Then you are revived and strapped to a bed, just so you can die (again) due to the now severed bond of your Little Sister. But eleanor is still ‘alive’ in a way, and this Little Sister jumps on the bed and stabs you with her ADAM draining thing, where you now see what the Little Sister sees, and can control her. Eleanor explains that she can see what the Little Sisters see, and sees that you are a kind person (and why they all called you ‘daddy’, including the first one you encountered).
Then somehow time reverses ten years in the past, when Rapture was beautiful (but it’s actually a fantasy world that Sofia Lamb created for her little sisters, to get rid of the scary. You also find out why Little Sisters call dead bodies filled with ADAM, “angels”). As a Little Sister, you can climb through those vents and harvest ADAM.
You’re told by Eleanor’s spirit that the only way she can come back to you in a physical form is to become like you — to be a Big Sister. So she’ll need three parts to become one.

Once you get all the parts you bring them back to Elanor who’s.. sleeping on a bed. If she is ‘dead’ then what is she doing in here?
So she becomes a Big Sister, and rescues you, then gives you a Plasmid that can be used to summon her to fight with you for about 1 minute (it’s nice to have a Big Sister fighting for you for a change). Then it’s time to escape Rapture finally. But Sofia Lamb has other plans and attempts to sink the building you’re in. So you get to this escape sub but can’t get in it.
To save you the trouble of what happens next, Eleanor uses the power of the Little Sisters you saved to get the sub working.

As you go up and watch Rapture sink into the very bottom of the ocean, you see Sofia Lamb and her daughter inside the sub. Lamb is drowning. But if you did the ‘Good ending, Sofia Lamb lives’ ending (saving all the Little Sisters and at least one of the Named NPC’s), her daughter puts an oxygen mask on her to help her breath. Otherwise, she would die.

And at the very ending, Eleanor ends your suffering by stabbing you in the heart and finally ending your life (peacefully), but getting your spirit to join her as her voice of guidance. Because she needs guidance in this new world. Now you can truly be her ‘dad’.

And then the credits roll, then you see the main menu and you’re like “…what just happened?”

As I have been playing Wurm, I noticed a few days ago I got an invite in Steam to rejoin the Dragon Megathread Steam Group.
I’ve been thinking this has to be a mistake, but didn’t really care about it until this afternoon after angry went to bed, leaving me to decide what to do next.

I decided to ask ProgramFiles about this invite. Sure enough I was invited, but not the reason I thought it was. DrLuke invited me as a joke, yet none of the others would think I would rejoin. After learning that I told him I would just remove myself then, and to not invite me unless youall come up with a decision to bring me back, and then left for alittle bit.

When I came back I saw he was trying to contact me again, so I quickly responded. He told me almost everyone has made a decision, and are willing to welcome me back.. BUT, I have to agree to two things.
The first thing, which is the reason this even happened, is to leave the drama at the door. Stop feeling jealous of their lives, and no complaining about anything else.
And the second thing, not to re-discuss the thing about Roll_Program and his gayness.
After I agreed to both, he sent me an invite. But I told him to hold up on it so I have time to think, and would tell him when I feel I’m ready to come back.

But is it really worth coming back now? I mean, I don’t really need them anymore. I got The Tavern now. Hell, I’m not even going to Facepunch anymore due to the fact I’m getting into Wurm.

I can understand why they’re putting such… *sigh* strict rules of my return. He said even if I screw up just one time, I’m done.

This is, well.. I actually don’t want to think this, but this could be the exact same thing one of the Tavern members, who’s named Wertel is going through. Except he likes being a dick and a troll in the chat. I’m never a dick. But he is also on his last chance, and I took it upon myself to take care of it if he does screw up again.

I wish I never even discussed with ProgramFiles. I wish I just figured it out on my own and then removed myself. Then they would had never known. Now I feel obligated to come back.

What an “exciting” week I’ve had. For the past three days I had what is called ‘Dirty Power’. The fan over my head has a light that flickers; sometimes acting like it’s about to bust.
I’ve been told time and time again that it’s the heat. Everyone’s using power due to how hot it is, and will be for awhile. And it’s nearing the end of July. August is around the corner, and I feel we could see normal temps in the 100’s.

Anyway, I was thinking this issue is also affecting my computer. Three times that suddenly both of my monitors go out, yet my computer stays on. I found out the real source is my malfunctioning, old UPS(Uninterpretable Power Supply) that I got the same day and year I got my computer after that faithful day.

So I tried to get a new one from the Geek. They didn’t have one like my old one. All they had was this long, heavy black box with four outlets on the back. I didn’t know that it had a lack of two more outlets until I brought it home. I tried to convince my parents that this wasn’t what I’m looking for. It’s not going to fit the big-ass plugs I have.
So we went to Target, then to Best Buy. I finally found what I was looking for there. A APC. Just like the one I got now, except it has two more plugs. And it was newer. So I knew it would protect my computer from this dirty power.

So we got back. I saw it fitting perfectly. And I got my money back from the other one. I’m going to get an outlet tester through the mail next week. I’ll plug that thing into the wall when my light starts blinking crazy. That should give me the best test results.

And then, things went from bad to worse. I have one of those ‘green bulbs’. A CFB(Compact Florescent Bulb). They have Mercury in them. Had one laying on my computer table, that I was going to put back into the socket of my fan after this flickering stopped. I just happened to accidentally knock this bulb off and it hit one of my chair’s legs, and the top busts.
So I pick up the bulb from the base and quickly take it out of the house, and carefully place it in the garbage can in the back of the house.
Then I vacuum the house, and we get a power surge because of it. Fastforward past the yelling and shit and I tell Mother what I did.
She tells me that now we may have to possibly move out of the house and call Hazmat out here, due to the fact these bulbs have Mercury in them.

I tell angry, while panicking of what I did. He gives me the number to Indiana’s Poison Control Center, telling me to calm down and call them.
So I call them. The woman there tells me that I will be OK. We will not have to move out or call Hazmat out here. The CFB’s have a low level of Mercury. She also said that I shouldn’t of had put everything in the main garbage. I’m supposed to put everything in a separate trash bag, and call our trash people and ask them to schedule a pickup for hazardous materials.

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Past that, I found out angry under temptation finally came back to Wurm after months of not playing due to Rolf losing his mind. He also wants me to come back.
How could I possibly come back to the same game Rolf tried to kill? I would be saying “bah.. fuck it” and sucking his dick. I’m sorry, but I’m putting my foot down. Angry is and has always been, a part of Wurm. I haven’t. I still got Minecraft. So far Notch hasn’t fucked us in the ass (with no lube) yet.
Right now, angry’s playing on the noob server. Golden Valley. He claims he’s not supporting him, as in paying for prem. But to me, even playing the game is supporting this lunatic that tried to kill his own game for no reason, by adding to his playerbase.

I’ve finally completed Call of Pripyat! And wow is the main quest short. If it’s not the emissions, it’s the escort missions.
Get this.. Strelok is ALIVE! Apparently what you did in SoC in the end after you meet The Wish Granter doesn’t matter. And as a bonus, you find out what really brought those helicopters down (emissions cause anomalies to move) AND get to protect him through the streets of Pripyat and escape via two awaiting helicopters.

Then a fight breaks out with an ambush of Monolith fighters. As you hold your ground and protect your Military comrades (and Strelok at the same time) you get this popup that asks “Are you ready to leave the Zone?” with a Yes or No option. lolwhat?
If you choose No (which I did), the choppers take off and it’s like they say “Ok, lol bye! Good luck!” and you’re back with Monolith fighters shooting at you in all directions.

What I was expecting is the gunfight to continue. Strelok gets on the helicopter. You’re asked if you want to stay in the Zone and fend off the Monolith fighters by yourself, or go with them. Or something like that.

I feel sort of empty. Basically feeling like “..this is it?” I never got to see Chernobyl sadly. I’ll probably play again though. Get the rest of the side quests done.

I decided to get STALKER: Call of Pripyat on Steam since I wanted to play it badly.
I just wanna say that what I’ve seen in my playthrough so far has not been promising. It starts off as a video of what has happened between 1986 and 2012, and literally throws you in the game and expects you to know what to do.

The location of the map, I heard is north of the Chernobyl NPP. And there’s like one huge map. From what I’ve seen, it is true. But the map shows the location of Pripyat and it seems already you can go there to do a part of this mission of finding out what caused all of these helicopters to go down.
From what I found, there’s three worlds. But they can only be accessed by asking a Guide to take you to the base of these worlds. You however cannot just go from the start to these places without finding or doing something for someone else.

I found out that you’re not enemies with any faction, including Bandits. You can only create enemies if you shoot at them, but it doesn’t seem to affect the entire faction; only the ones that saw you shoot who are part of that faction. Also, there’s weapon-prohibited areas where you are told to put down your weapon or you will be shot at. No more auto-holster. These areas can be revealed on your PDA.

For emissions, they make me want to cry. Sure, they’re damn cool and more awesome than CS and SoC combined. No sooner than 15 minutes after I had started playing this game; “Attention Stalkers! An emission is approaching! Repeat – An emission is approaching! Seek cover immediately!!” is heard on my PDA, yet the sky is partly cloudy just to fool you into thinking everything’s OK.
I saw all the stages of the coolest emission ever;
Stage 1: Sky is beautiful. No sign of danger. (what happened to me anyway. I’ve seen some videos where it’s all stormy and shit)
Stage 2: Sound of a bomb goes off. Sky begins to go overcast. Pieces of the sky begin to turn red.
Stage 3: Shortly happens after Stage 2. Lightning begins to flash in random places.
Stage 4: The sky flashes with a blinding light. Air fills with radiation.
Stage 5(death stage): Screen-shaking earthquake hits as the emission reaches its peak. Blinding light flash slowly turns into a red blinding light flash. Ground begins to turn red. Death is imminent if you stay outside.
Stage 6: Emission passes, flashing stops and radiation goes away, sky either remains red (but changes back overtime) or immediately changes back to a grey overcast. Lightning continues. Fog develops.
Stage 7: Lightning stops. Sky returns back to normal. Fog lifts.

One other thing about missions.. hiding from one is the same fucking thing as in CS. Have to go where the map tells you, and hide EXACTLY where the map tells you. If you so much as step out of the center of the area marked during Phase 5 of the emission, it will one-hit kill you; even with a trainer that has god mode enabled.
This is bullshit! I should be able to go and do anything I want when it comes to emissions! As long as it has a roof over your head it should be good enough!
But nooooooo… they have to do this fucking shit from CS again.
But maybe this is the way an emission/blowout is supposed to be. Radiation can’t go through certain walls. Yet you can’t view the emission from a window or you will die.
Yet what kills me are videos like this one that show the player hiding in a boat which the map marker tells him to, with a perfect view of the emission. The radiation could easily go through the large hole in the ceiling and kill the player, yet it doesn’t because the game picked that area to be a safe place.

But I got to look at it like this; an emission could be like a tornado. A very large EF5, radiation-filled tornado that goes through the whole Zone. Yet it doesn’t suck up anything. It fills the air with deadly radiation.
Safest place in the event of a tornado is the most central area of a building, with four walls of thick iron all around you. The same goes for an emission. Just because there’s no funnel doesn’t mean it’s not as deadly as a tornado.

Looking past the emissions, we talk about gameplay. At the time I’ve been typing this, I’ve spent three game days in the Zone so far. From what I’ve seen it’s like the game wants you to do side quests, rather than completing the main quests of finding a way to get into Pripyat safely.
Some of these quests are actually pretty cool. There’s more co-op quests now. And also you can help the scientists figure out how emissions work and what effect they have on artifacts.
You can also do quests such as finding specific artifacts for buyers outside the Zone.
The quests really make you feel part of the Zone, instead of trying to get to the Chernobyl NPP. It makes you want to study the Zone. Learn to live with how hostile it is; including random emissions that have no explanation why they’re so frequent.

Also, the so called “Sleeping Bag”. There is none that the player carries. You can only sleep in designated areas such as near a bed. Tell me that doesn’t suck.

Now available on DVD for $28.99, if you click on this link!

This is the first time in many years there’s ever been TAB news. I got an email on the 6th from TVShowsOnDVD.com that the first TAB DVD is now released.

Info from their official page;
You’re gonna catch it, if you don’t already have it! It’s beaver fever, and you’ve got it with this 3-disc, Best of Season 1 DVD collection! Take a walk on the mild side with bachelor brothers Dagget and Norbert, as they strike out on their own. These boys like to party hard and play all day, that is, until sleep deprivation drives them mad!

Meet up with friends Stump (an actual tree stump), Barry Bear (he has a fear of clowns), Treeflower (the love of Norbert’s life), Oxnard Montalvo, the boys’ favorite B-movie actor, and more. You’re gonna laugh (definitely), cry (maybe), and have a good ol’ time when you see how these normally good-natured siblings put the antics in angry!

For one thing, Dag’s name has two T’s in it. And Dag would rather bite nature in the ass instead of being good, because it’s never good to him. Which makes the show funny, and was #1 on my Top 5 Favorite Cartoons list for years; …even after its untimely demise.

And here’s the episode list, sorted by DVD;
Disc One
Born to be Beavers / Up All Night
A Dam too Far / Long in the Teeth
Gift Hoarse / Go Beavers!
Beach Beavers a Go-Go / Deranged Ranger

Disc Two
Muscular Beaver / Fish and Dips
Enter the Daggett / Bug-a-Boo
Mission to the Big, Hot, Thingy / I Dare You
Stinky Toe / House Broken

Disc Three
Fancy Prance / H2Whoa!
The Bing That Wouldn’t Leave / You Promised!
Tree’s Company / Guess Who’s Stumping to Dinner
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This is old news though. It was released on the 6th of this month. I personally am not going to spend that much on three DVD’s, when I have twenty CD’s of TAB that include every episode made from the First to the Fifth season; including some that were never aired in the USA. I got this many years ago from a dear friend who knew a webmaster and saw my site, thebeaverdam.com who sent me the CD’s.

If the price was like, I dunno.. $20, then maybe I’ll consider buying this. But to charge nearly $30 for three DVDs of a show that has been canceled since.. 2001. Just doesn’t seem worth the price. I don’t even see anything about they remastered the episodes.

Strange thing though. On the wiki, it shows that iTunes has made available “the Best of” Season 2 and 3. It’s also available on Netflix. Someone’s late here. More than I am.

It’s been months since I played Clear Sky. But I decided to get back into it.
I remember saying the NPC’s are dumbasses, and can’t tell them to move. But I never was specific on the subject.
What I mean is if you have a narrow area and they’re standing there, they’re like walking walls. They will move you around, but you can’t move them around. They even move eachother around. This is particularly funny when there’s a few guys gathered around the campfire, and a patrol NPC walks over and will actually move the other NPC as he’s sitting. How I love the pathfinding in this game.

But anyway, I’ve been wondering if it’s even worth getting to the ending, knowing there’s no freeplay after the main quest is over. And even if I could find a working version for the latest patch, I still have to deal with them emissions.
I’ve already explained what to do in the event of an emission. But there’s something I wanna go over. Something somewhat funny.
I have this Sleeping Bag mod (something that should had been implemented in CS and SoC by the devs) that I can sleep through the long-ass night and be on my merry way.
Now what’s so weird, funny, and downright scary all at the same time is after I managed to help the guys lower the bridge. Instead of heading into the city I turned around and headed back to collect my reward from the random faction bases.

Let me tell you something about this sleeping bag first. It has this Safety Level bar. How red it is shows how likely you are to get raped to death as you sleep.. literally.
I slept for two hours, and when I woke up I saw “GAME OVER” on my screen, with a Pseudodog fucking my corpse..

Anyway, I have reason to believe the Sleeping Bag caused a side-effect. Usually you get an emission on every other map transition if not part of the Main Quest. But when I transitioned away from the MQ heading towards Garbage, I got no emission. Went to the Cordon. Again, no emission.
Yet when I went to the Dark Valley when an emission finally hit. After it passed and I got my reward from the Freedom base, I went back to the Garbage… wtf? ANOTHER EMISSION?! I ran for the collapsed building the Stalkers made it a camp. When I got there, 3/4 of the Stalkers where dead by Boars. Course I didn’t have time to really check as I was hiding from said emission. During this, a lone survivor is yelling at me while sleeping on a cot who is right next to me; “Shit! We need help now!!”, aka one of those “Help: *location here*” side quests.

The idiot NPC didn’t realize we were under attack by an emission. While this is happening, more boars who were also running from the emission decided to pop in and say hi with their jaws. Managed to hold them off.
Again, the guy’s all “They’re killing our guys!! Where are you?!”. So I foolishly go out to get to the waypoint to shut him up, then run in as soon as the emission reaches its peak.
When I run in, I see the NPC outside, shooting more boars with a handgun (mixed with Snorks this time) WHILE the emission is attacking with its “one hit kill” radiation. I’m forced to protect the guy with my scoped AR while saving my own hide from the emission.

Finally the emission passed and I ran out. Surprisingly the guy is still alive, and he wasn’t alone. Another Stalker joined him and we killed more boars.
After that one, they stopped attacking. I swear though they were saying (if they had brains); “Merc! The emission is spawning these guys to kill us all! You GOT to put an end to this before every Stalker is wiped off the face of the Earth!!!”

I still remember a last emission from the first time I played; yet I’m not sure if it was CS or SoC. But I was in that same area. And when I emerged, the ground was covered in crow corpses. The emission/blowout had suffocated the poor crows with its deadly radiation and they fell to the ground.
I’m wondering if the emissions caught up to me or if they truly are more deadly now. But how am I ever going to stop this if I keep helping them out and being told to go to their bases to get paid for helping?

One last thing I wanna discuss before I wrap this up (just popped into my head). No matter how many times you help a faction, you’ll only get one random reward. This really bites.