NFS Most Wanted Revisited: M3 GTR galore Part 3!

NFS Most Wanted Revisited: M3 GTR galore Part 2!

LG L1952T LCD Monitor : Finally!

After a long wait (more than a year), I finally grab myself an LCD monitor that I really like. Well, there are many choices out there, but with a limited budget that I have ( although LCD monitor prices are dropping like nuts right now!), I reckon that the LCD that I'm getting is worth what I'll be spending.

Scratch those technical parts of an LCD monitor away dude, because I'm not familiar with the criticality of any part of its specifications, except for contrast ratio, brightness and response time.

For RM770, LG L1952T has gotten my attention to finally purchase it (after considering a few more choices from Samsung, Viewsonic and Benq). This 19" monitor really captivates me for its simplicity and slim look, satisfying 8 ms response time while having a whopping 1600:1 contrast ratio (a bit doubtful though, for a monitor in this price range).

I figure that an upgrade from my old 17" CRT, plus a migration to DVI connectivity, L1952T is definitely worth a wait.

The result is more sharper image and better clarity, and there isn't any ghosting while playing my favourite games.

Okay, for some reference purposes, this is the specs, taken from LG website:

• Narrow Bezel Design
Ideal for commercial use (Narrow Bezel design enables monitors to be tiled making them ideal for trading floors, banks, airports, design center and etc.)


• FLATRON f Engine_World's First Picture Enhancing Chip for LCD Monitors
It uses DAFI technology which includes RCM (Real Color Management) function which allows monitor to display the most vivid and natural colors available on an LCD. Also it comes complete with ACE (Adaptive Color and Contrast Enhancement) function that enhances brightness and contrast. The technology is ideal for watching videos or displaying high quality photos.


• Crystal Clear Image
The ultra high contrast ratio, fast response time and DVI allow users to enjoy a crystal clear image.


• Certified TC-03
With more strict regulations than that of TCO-99, TCO-03 certification guarantees the customer an excellent ergonomic and visual environment.

TFT Panel Spec

Size (") : 19

Brightness : 300 cd/meter square

Contrast Ratio : 1600:1

Viewing Angle : H : 160˚, V : 160˚

Response Time (ms) : 8ms

Resolution : 1280 x 1024

Pixel Pitch (mm) : 0.294 x 0.294

Display Colors : 16.2M

Display

Horizontal Frequency : 30 ~ 83 kHz

Vertical Frequency : 56 ~ 75 Hz

Display Input Resolution : 1280 x 1024 @ 75Hz (Analog) 1280 x 1024 @ 60Hz (Digital)

Physical Features

Video Signal Type : RGB Analog, Digital (Separate, Composite, SOG, Digital)

Connector : 15 Pin D-sub, DVI

Power Supply : AC 96 ~ 264 Vac (47 ~ 63Hz), LIPS (Integrated)

Sync Type : Separate, Composite, SOG

Dimension (W x D x H)

Net : 402 x 180 x 108mm

Special Features

Stand : Tilt, Detachable

Others : Rack : VESA 75 x 75

Weight

Net (kg) : 3.9kg

Gross (kg) : 4.5kg

Power Consumption

Stand-by/Suspend : Less than 1 watts

Normal Operation : Less than 39 watts

Power Off Mode : Less than 1 watts

Plug & Play

DDC : DDC 2B

OSD Control : Yes

Regulation Compliance : TC0-03, ISO 13406-2 UL, CUL, TUV-GS, SEMCO, CE-FCC-B, EPA Energy Star

User Control

Button : Menu(1), Source(1), f-Engine(1), Auto/Set(1), Power(1)

Functions : F-Engine, sRGB, Auto Resolution

Regulations

Safety : UL,UL-cUL,TUV-GS,SEMCO

EMC : FCC-B,CE

Low radiation : TCO-03

Power saving : EPA Energy Star

NFS Most Wanted Revisited: M3 GTR galore!

I just can't resist the attraction of BMW M3 GTR from the NFS series anymore. It makes me reinstall NFS Most Wanted again, playing it for fun by hacking the game, enabling two version of the car: the second M3 GTR and M3 GTR Street (go find some forums regarding how to enable this!). These cars are more customisable than the one featured in the Career Mode (blue, silver vinyl version).

Check out some shots taken on these babies below:

We render the jungle...beautifully!

Being in a tropical country, I am feeling lucky for having an opportunity to play paintball in the true jungle environment. Check out the photo below, taken before I was ambushed by the opposing team:

Dude, I was just kidding! That photo is a snapshot of Crysis, the most anticipated game in 2007! The next installment from Crytek, the developer of one of the most successful FPS game ever, FarCry is touted to bring the graphical realism of PC gaming into the next level, probably even bigger step up than what Doom 3 engine has brought us before.

Just when I thought Unreal3 engine is the one that will take the crown, Crysis will make it even harder for us to judge.

Crysis is among the first game to utilise the power of DirectX10 under Vista, although it also supports DirectX 9.0c under XP. Therefore, I can't imagine how beautiful the game would become since the photo above shows Crysis being rendered under DirectX 9.0c and it is already truly amazing!

Crysis might make me thinking about upgrading the hardware....again.

Call of Juarez: Completed.

Finally, I have completed playing Call of Juarez. What a great game it is! After many years, the wait is over: a Western theme game that is worth playing.

I didn't actually count how many hours I've spent to complete the game as it is seldom a practice of mine anyway (however, I might recall how much I've spent if the game completed quite prematurely, e.g. NFS Carbon). Most of the time, I was captivated by the storyline and graphics of the game. Oh, the graphics really left me stared at the screen for so long! In fact, in some part of the games, sometimes I just stay and point the view to the game's environment: it is rich, looks natural and almost believable. Lots of screenshots have been taken using FRAPS. In CoJ, Depth of Field (DoF) and most importantly High Dynamic Range (HDR) play their role to enhance the the graphics realism, and the developer successfully make the most out of them in this game.

DoF in effect

Playing CoJ makes me realise how much I miss Anti-aliasing, as enabling HDR in the game turn this off (using 7800 GT). I am in a serious need to get at least an X1900 series graphics card if another game which uses HDR heavily comes out next.

HDR in effect

The game is fun to play and sort of balanced I might say. As mentioned before, we are required to play two characters, Billy Candle and Reverend Ray throughout 15 episodes in total. The game is a mixture of strategy, and also pure 'shoot 'em up' style at the same time and these are implemented through the 2-character system. When I played Billy Candle episodes, they mostly consists of strategy, puzzle and stealthy missions. While Reverend Ray, although religious, his missions are mostly shoot-to-kill type stuff, pure adrenaline bloodbath. Therefore, I can say that this is a smart strategy to tackle a typical problem where certain FPS genre games are lacking; a balance between a good storyline and varieties of game tempo. With alternating episodes between Candle's and Ray's, I found myself to be able to relax a bit, enjoying a slower progression after some chaotic gunfights which really drained me out (not biologically!).


I won't cover a complete review of the game as they're done by most game reviewers out there, but enough for me to share the experience. With the hardwares at my disposal, I can say that I can still enjoy game the way the developer want it to be. Here's what I use to play:

AMD 64 3000+
Abit KN8 NF4
1 GB DDR400 RAM Dual-Channel
200GB SATA
AOpen 7800GT at 470/1.13 GB (overclock)

Windows XP SP2
NVIDIA Forceware 91.47
DirectX9.0c October 2006

Graphics driver settings:
Image quality: Quality
Vertical sync: Off
Anti-aliasing: App. controlled
Anisotropic Filtering: App. controlled

In-game setting:
SM3.0: On
Antialiasing: Off (when HDR is ON)
Shadow: Medium
Resolution: 1024x768
Filtering: Anisotropic
The rest is maxed.

One thing I'm not sure is the level of anisotropic filtering used by CoJ when AF is enabled. There is no selection for 2X, 4X or even 8X.

Average fps: 30-35 fps (reported by FRAPS)

Although the game suffer from occasional stuttering, I can still enjoy playing at that framerates. When the game enters a bigger environment e.g. canyon, fields area, the framerates improved a bit.

In the previous entry, I've reported some graphical glitches that occured during gameplay. Well, it turned out that was due to my overclocked frequency. When the GPU and memory clock are lowered down (from 490/1.18 to 470/1.13), I no longer experience those glitches.

However, I notice a graphical bug/improper graphical implementation as shown below:


The water lake seems to make the edge of the tree branch, viewed from the player to have a 'ripple effect' although in the name of realism, this shouldn't be happening. Unless it's due to heat haze effect, I think I am right on this.

This game is definitely gonna have a high replay value. To the developer Techland, I'm waiting for your next Chromed-powered game!