Category: gaming

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gadget gaming geek programming software tips

uninstall the HP Omen Gaming HUB

You don’t really need this piece of bloatware that comes with your HP Omen machine. It’s fast enough on its own to be able to run the latest games, and I doubt the HUB software makes an actual difference.

In fact, it might even hinder performance. I noticed something odd with it, and it turned out that every minute it was launching a PowerShell process to check if some other software was installed. Every. Minute.

This PowerShell session isn’t started with the -noprofile switch either, so that means your PS profile is loaded every time. This slows things down, certainly if you have a profile with lots of handy PS modules in it, like I have.

So I ended up uninstalling the HP Omen Gaming HUB and never looked back. That also fixed the annoying bug where the HUB disabled my Windows key, and didn’t switch it back on after quitting the game…

So, how do you install the HUB?
Pretty simple, you can use the built-in Windows settings tool to uninstall software, and search for “HP” to find it.
If you’d want it back afterward anyway, you can find it on the HP site to reinstall it.

If you do want some extra performance out of your machine while gaming, here’s a tip: close all your browsers and Electron apps. That’ll free up a ton of memory.

Use the Task Manager to see what is gobbling up memory and CPU on your PC, and close the apps. That’ll free up more resources than the Gaming HUB will ever be able to do.

Categories
art gaming geek internet tips

zombie mini-comic

Meta-gaming is what happens when people take an online game outside of the game. Typical examples are clans setting up forums to discuss their devious tactics and strategy outside of the game. Wiki’s containing player’s tips and tricks and a deeper insight into the game, or even inventing  a zombie language dictionary for example. A second facet which is quite interesting is when players start role playing in the meta gaming universe and start publishing detailed character bio’s of their game characters or writing fan-fiction based on the game.

Urban Dead is a free zombie apocalypse game which I’ve been playing for a while now, and this browser-based game has a huge amount of this additional meta-gaming information outside of the game. In fact, the wiki is probably the main resource for any beginning and advanced player of the game. Some of the players got into some of that fan-fiction writing I mention in the form of a webcomic, but this one I recently ran into really tops it.

It’s a mini-graphic novel based on the UD game but you don’ t have to play to game to be able enjoy it. The graphics are simply pro-level and the story unfolds nicely. I’m sad to see there are only 2 chapters so far and I can’t wait to read the rest. If you’ve played the game you’ll definitely dig this comic. If you haven’t, but like zombies and some graphic violence, this could be right up your alley.

It’s called Necrophobic by Craig J Spearing, and it’s too damn short. Grrrrr.
Check out the wicked art in the Gallery on the main site as well. This guy sure has some talent.

Categories
gaming geek internet tips

free online racing mania

A pink racing car ready to roarI like free games. If you hate them however, you might want to stop reading right here. If you hate racing games, or online games, this might also be where you should stop reading. Cause this is all about a free online racing game called TrackMania Nations. Well, you can play it off-line as well, and it’s still fun to play on your own really, but it’s more fun online.

So how does that work? Well it’s pretty simple really. At first, I thought it was a bit lame. You see, it’s not about toasting your opponents with rocket launchers or shredding them up with a chainsaw. It’s about reaching the finish line in that formula 1 car or yours the first. That’s it. Pure racing. Racing on tracks that make you jump through hoops. Literally. Huge jumps btw. Over fifty feet gaps and water and stuff. And there are loopings and big walls to crash into. No ramming each other, no crashes. All about racing skillz.

The game modes are simple, but once you get into them they can be quite addictive. For instance in one mode the goal is to drive a single lap, and whoever does it the fastest wins. Really addictive stuff. This one is a lot of fun to play off-line as well with multiple players. Geek party anyone?

The graphics are pretty damn good too, and it runs smoothly on my now older machine, which is sweet. Oh yeah, and it’s completely free, so it you hate it after trying it out, you only wasted some bandwidth on it.

So go ahead and see how high you  get in the local or international rankings with your pink car with big dots and stars on it. Well, you can paint your car if you want. I painted one like that, seriously. Doesn’t even look half bad too.

Categories
art belgium fun gaming geek science society

about lemmings, drugs, portraits and stuff

Stuff we came across recently, not worthy of a full post but fun, interesting or sweet enough to get stuffed together in an orgy of hyperlink goodness.

  • Lemmings the oldskool computer game rewritten for the web. If this gets you excited you are probably old. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s probably something you won’t really get thrilled over. Move along youngsters, nothing to see here. (via Angelo)
  • The story of stuff is a 20 minute online video about how our consumer society is eating up the planet, and the people with it. You will have heard most of these facts before separately, but when the puzzle is put together it sheds a new light on the situation. Well worth the 20 minutes of your time IMO. Makes you think, or at least, it should (via Ine).
  • Another one, on a much lighter subject is The Nerd Handbook. If you have a nerd around, or are a nerd and feel like people might benefit from reading the manual, then this is something for you. The funny thing is that it’s actually quite accurate when it comes to nerdish interaction and logic. Hell, I can tell. (via Lifehacker)
  • Face On, a photo exhibition occurring in cyberspace and meatspace at the same time. Browse through the virtual exhibition room and check out the portraits or add your own to the mix. (via Pietel)
  • Rat Trap, an interesting article about drug addiction, and how the drugs are not the problem, but our enviroment. (via Jungletrain.net)
Categories
fun gaming geek internet media mp3 music

a bunch o' links

Links. Not really, but a nice picture anyway!Yes. It’s that time again.
We have been too busy screwing around with all sorts of everything and nothing much that we didn’t have time to spend on a proper blog post. So we end up posting a bunch of links to nifty sites that we’ve come across in the past few days. Or weeks. Or time…

There’s a bit of everything, so let’s get down to it shall we?

  • www.mp3-spider.com : I came across this one while looking for mp3 dj sets using Gooogle. I have no idea who runs this, but apparently it contains a huge, and I mean HUGE database of music previews. Search by artist or genre and you’ll probably find that CD you’re looking for in 64k preview mp3 format. Nice if there are no samples online for that CD you’re willing to buy. Yes, you should buy CDs from artist you dig. So they don’t starve to death, the poor sods.
  • DNAStream : This is the web-rip off of the Joost internet TV app. I have to say that I haven’t really been using Joost too much since I tried it out in the beginning. For some reason I tend to watch TV on the TV and not while I’m sitting in front of my PC. You mileage may vary however, so if you dig it, you can now do it without having to install the client software. It even works through firewalls. Yes. Watching TV at work is now an option. Getting fired as well.
  • This Bioshock game review is probably the funniest game review I’ve ever heard. That’s not too hard really because I’ve never heard a game review before. I usually read them, and then still, I hardly read game reviews anyway so there isn’t much competition. But this one is really funny. Check it if you have a few minutes to spare.