>This is a message I sent to SiN today,

Well I paid my 35 quid today for your game.

When can I have the finished version ?

One that does not flip between screen modes when starting up, One that does not take an EON to load between the intro and level 1 (That's as far as I got before it crashes). I would also like the version that does work with my SB live card, you know like all the games I already have that work with SB live.

I know that Ritual were desperate to get this out before half-Life so you could make some money, but, really is this fair to release a half-finished buggy program ?

I do feel for the people who do not have Internet access, How would they receive the infamous PATCH ?

>What Gives with this company?

I can't believe this. SIN was released with the same shitty AI as it had in the demo. What are they doing about it? Patch, of course. You know, it's one thing to patch errors and incompatibilities, even performance, but to patch major components of gameplay? What's next? "We know you're upset that the weapons don't work in the release version. We'll have a patch in your hands soon." This "When it's done" phraseology that companies have adopted is even more misleading than the release dates they used to publish, because they release their games long before they're through developing them. What they should say is "When it's half-baked enough that we can kick it out the door and start patching the hell out of it."

OK you see, I think that campers are the symptoms of a disease and not the cause, the disease being improperly designed maps. IMHO, quake2 map design is not as good as quake1 or even Unreal's with respect to maintaining playability in crowded, resource starved, camper inducing situation, like that found on crowded servers. Aside from really addressing these game design issues at its root (which means actually spending a lot of time playtesting deathmatch maps) the fair way to deal with maintaining playability in camper inducing situations IMHO, would be to make item respawn times shorter as the number of players increase (so that people actually have a chance going against a particularly irksome camper) as well as maybe a respawn protection of some kind, 3 seconds of invulnerability immediately after a respawn sounds about right. Enough time to get the hell out of someone's crosshair I think. What do you think?

Hey Blue, Thin mints? Thin mints! THIN MINTS!?! Are you MAD? :P The best GS cookies are the (damn forgot the name of 'em)...the...you know the ones with the coconut, chocolate and caramel. I mean...freeze those little suckers and they're awesome. Thin mints; paugh, phooey. Thin mints are for sissy's. I here-bye challenge you to a one on one QII DM to determine the best Girl Scout cookie. You pick the day, and server; I'll pick the time. Are you man enough, thin mint boy?

BTW As usual; great site, Blue. I'll try to think up sumpin' to go into the mailbag and get that going again. :) ...thin mints....sheesh.

Got your attention? Phew!

I gotta know... how do you do it, man? I mean, fly all over the country playing the latest games from the greatest game companies, run the best web site in the net (can u tell I'm a fan?), get all the babes, etc, etc.? How's it done man?

If you're looking for an alternative to a sugary pop that retains a little flavor. :) Try Fresca. Here in Boulder, CO almost everyone drinks it, if not Natural Spring Mountain Water...(creek water)... :) But Fresca doesn't have any Calories, it doesn't have any sugar, it's like tangy Sprite. It might lower the number of trips you take to the dentist. :) Keep up the good work. :)

Editor's Note: It just goes to show you; Never trust anyone who smiles too much  = ]

--MrCoffee

Here's something weird.. to me anyway, I was looking up the lyrics to this rob zombie CD I got awhile back, I noticed he said banshee in it somewhere.. later he said voodoo, of course the first thing that I thought of was the 3dfx cards but I thought it was weird that they were both in the same album. I realized I didn't know what banshee actually meant.. looked it up and it's some kinda Irish/Scottish spirit lady who wails to warn of impeding death.. and 3dfx named their chip that? I don't get it. then I realized that I never did understand why they chose the name voodoo.. well sorry for ranting, I'll let you get back to real news now.

But if you don't play, you'll never get de-sensitized!
From: Mitch Withrow

I have been playing computer games since 1970 and as each year has gone by computer games have become more realistic. This is fine, but I am beginning to think that they are becoming TOO realistic.

In most games the settings are unrealistic or the enemy is some sort of fantasy character. This makes the game unreal enough that the blood and violence does not register and it is like a live action comic book. Now the enemy is beginning to look, react, and move like real human beings.

When I first played Quake II it was fun until I got into the detention center and heard the moans and groans of captive Marines. The moaning and please for help were so disturbing that I had to quit the game and take a break. As I replayed the game I got used to it and started killing the Marines to shut them up.

I purchased SIN today and played a few levels. It is very realistic and extremely violent. I found myself laughing and enjoying blowing away the bad guys. Unlike Quake II I was not disturbed by my feelings during the game but only after I had a chance to think about it.

I am not opposed to blood and violence in computer games, but I believe it can desensitize us if it is too realistic. I think we need to draw a line somewhere about realism in computer games, or I fear that our hearts and minds will turn to a darker view of reality.