Skyrim!

I've seen enough games hyped over the years, only to fall far short of their hype once they launch, that I consciously do my best to disregard the over-the-topness of such hype, and see if what's left is likely to be worthy of my time. Skyrim (or, more properly, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) certainly fell into that category, but, as the fifth entry in a decades-long series of games, which have (mostly) improved with each new version, I'll admit to having higher-than-usual hopes... and, now that I've got a solid day's worth of play under my belt, all I can say is... believe the hype.

If you like role-playing games, I think it's safe to say that you will like this game. It looks wonderful, even on XBox360, it plays smoothly, and, unusually for a Bethesda Softworks game, I was able to play it on day one without any major glitches or program lockups. It simulates a portion of its world down to a level of detail that's most games never approach, and lets you play the way you want to play. That's because, unlike most other RPGs, this game doesn't revolve around a concept of player "classes"... rather, the skills you use (or get trained in) determine how your character grows. Oh, and, unlike prior entries in the Elder Scrolls saga, it includes some truly massive opponents along with the run-of-the-mill people and animals... everything from bears, HUGE spiders, and mammoths, all the way up to dragons. You know, bigger than an elephant, flies, breathes fire, dragons... and hopefully, you've got a bunch of people with bows or other ranged attacks to help you out in taking one down.

For those of you that played Oblivion, here's what's changed, systems-wise. Like I said above, classes (or build-your own classes using "favored skills") are out. All skill advancement counts towards level advancement, and the magicka/health/stamina raises therefrom. Also, the "perks" are handled differently... instead of automatically picking up skill-related improvements every 25 skill points, you get a "perk point" to spend each level, to choose from a perk tree for each skill, limited by your actual skill level. Beyond that, the "automatic difficulty adjustment" from Oblivion is either gone or greatly reduced (got my ass handed to me by a bear I unintentionally provoked, for instance), armor/weapons repair is gone, and there are some subtle changes to skills, crafting skills in particular (smithing covers creation and enhancement of armor, weapons, and jewelry, while alchemy has some minor changes in how you work out what reagents deliver what effects). In fact, crafting is only done at fixed crafting stations now... sorry alchemists, even if you want to, you can't load yourself down with alchemical lab bits to craft potions and poisons on the road.

Long story short, Skyrim looks to be a wonderful RPG, that fixes the biggest issues from Oblivion without introducing new major issues, and what I've seen of the "main" storyline so far is quite good. I already paid full price for this game, and, if you like RPGs, I don't think you'll be sorry if you do likewise.

VIM turns twenty

It's fun, the things you run across on the 'net. As detailed by this Ars Technica article, today's the 20th anniversary of the release of VIM to the public. All I can say is hooray, and I hope it keeps going and getting better for another 20... I use this editor pretty much every day, whether for programming or systems administration, and it's a pleasure to have something that doesn't assume that you have a mouse handy, yet is still efficient to use. Didn't know that it started out on the Amiga (my first computers), and the article also points out to me that I've barely scratched the surface on this program... might just have to remedy that.

Death notices from computerland

Anybody who takes in almost any form of mass media these days knows that Steve Jobs died recently, and there have been enough "what a great CEO/computer pioneer he was" stories that I just don't see the need to link to them. Not that what he did was easy, or that it didn't have some impact on the world... but still, he did what he did pretty much for self-enrichment, and most of what he did was recognize the value of design and quality in consumer gear.

Contrast that with the recent death of another computer luminary that you won't hear much about in the mass media: Dennis Ritchie. He helped create an operating system still in use in various forms today, and created a little thing called C, a programming language still in use today, whose influence is felt in pretty much every programming language developed since. He is greatly responsible for much of the infrastructure the modern Internet uses to run, among other things (including the current foundation of Apple's software for their Macintosh computers). All that, and not a profit motive in sight, just pure intellectual curiosity.

All in all, well... I'm not one to put my heart on my sleeve and publicly mourn people I don't personally know... but I have to say, Ritchie is the greater loss in my book.

Qwikster - true to its name

So, right, forget about that "separating Netflix DVD rentals into a separate company" thing, says Netflix. They'll still do the separation/increase of billing, but at least you won't have to track what you've watched on two separate websites.

I can't imagine how loud the howls of indignation must have been to get them to reverse course... I mean, it's one thing for a company to screw up and hold course until the noise dies down (e.g. Sony and the PS3 silliness), but it's quite another to admit that you screwed up badly enough to say "You know what? Maybe we don't need another company after all". Still, now that I've used Sony as an example of the alternative, good on Netflix for recognizing and acting on their error... I just hope they're not too hobbled by shooting themselves in the foot like that.

Netflix and... Qwikster?

Boy, am I glad that I made the decision to drop DVDs when Netflix changed their pricing. If you somehow missed the news, Netflix is spinning off their DVD operation into a separate company and website. Netflix's CEO is saying that this was planned all along, but he never got around to telling the customers about it until now... personally, I think it's more like they planned to fully split things out eventually, but the rapid divide/drop of their customer base since their pricing announcement pushed them to take this step sooner than anticipated. I mean, really... Qwikster was the best name they could come up with? Sounds like something that Nestle might have come up with to promote their powdered milk-flavoring stuff... and, better still, they can't exactly do much "social network" marketing with that name either, since that Twitter account is already owned by a guy with a weed-smoking Elmo avatar.

So, Netflix is basically putting DVDs out to pasture, and maybe they think they can sell that side of the business (and its user data) to somebody else to make a quick buck in support of their streaming business. It will be interesting to see how this pans out... but I'm glad I chose one side, and the side that Netflix thinks is worthy to keep the company name, for now.

The new crack: Disgaea 4

Well, it's been almost a year and a half since I made a rule for myself about buying nothing Sony, but every rule has its exceptions... Disgaea 4 just came out, and I snagged a brand new copy on launch day. What can I say... an upgraded game in the same vein as one I managed to spend well over 300 hours playing is just irresistible, when I still own the hardware to run it.

This version has the same quirky humor and detailed, turn-based strategy engine... but now, it has improved graphics and animations (so it no longer looks like a transplanted PlayStation 2 game), plus additional combat options (like fusing some of your monsters into mega-monsters, temporarily of course) and Internet features, like the ability to have some of your crew cause grief in other players' games (not while you're controlling them, sad to say). All in all, I expect I'll get more than my money's worth of entertainment out of this game.

X-Men: First Class and the Garland Theater

Now that it's hit the bargain circuit, and looking hard for a reason to go someplace air-conditioned for a couple of hours, I went to see X-Men: First Class. It's a good little superhero flick, and doesn't try to do too much with too many characters... but it's not my favorite superhero movie of the summer (that would probably be Captain America). Still, I'd say it's generally worth bargain theater price, or DVD/streaming rental, when the time comes.

Of course, that depends on the bargain theater you have in mind. I've been a long-time fan of the Garland Theater in Spokane... sure, it's always been a little run-down, but, generally, it's been an enjoyable experience. This time, not so much... never mind the bits that they don't have much control over, like the genius parents who brought a fussy baby to an action film. The price has gone up since last I went, to $3.50, while the general quality of the theater has gone down even more than in years past. The seat I got, at least, was so swaybacked that I couldn't sit in one position through the whole movie, or else I would have damaged my back. The projector sync was off, so "still" scenes were all but unwatchable. Heck, even the popcorn (at full movie theater popcorn pricing, of course) was considerably south of fresh. All in all, in its current state, I couldn't recommend the Garland to anyone these days.

So, another nail set in the "going to the movie theater" coffin... I'm still in the market there for some good first-run movies (for all those are fewer and farther between than in recent memory), but, especially at the price, it just makes more sense to wait for something to hit a streaming service than bother with the bargain theater, in my book.