I Like Xash3D

I like Xash3D. Here's why.

Start the review.

Firstly, we open to the menu. I had the Steam version that I got from registering Half Life, which gave me Ricochet and Day of Defeat, the only two HL-based games I don't have, so it was a nice surprise that I opened it to get this:

It certainly looks like Sierra's Half Life, although it doesn't have the moving logo. I liked it, but it's a minor thing.
We open the game, from my save since I have one, and we see this:

It looks no different from normal Half Life. That's because it isn't.
I guess this thing was less pointed than I thought. It's Half Life, what else can I say?

Well, how about this?
(Update 1st June 2016: When I took this screenshot, I thought the game was bugged. It wasn't, sort of. When I installed the game, it defaulted to rendering the models as left handed models, and to fix it I had to go into the MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS MENU. The most hidden place it could be, rather than putting it in graphics options, where it really belonged.

Hell yes. Do you see that? That is not a rotated image or map. That is strafe bobbing with only a Steam copy of Half Life. I have a copy on CD, but I've lost it along with all the expansions and mods.
This one thing is what made this port stand out above all others.
The mods.
Here's a picture of the actual Alpha at 640x480:

Here's the mod at 960x720:

It has a bunch of fantastic mods and games made with it:
Shaft & In Deep (what you see there), you can use any Half Life game with it, and IONIZATION, which I think is one of the best looking Xash games.
There is one downside to the engine, though:

Yeah. Sorry, guys.
Overall, it's a solid engine that adds to the experience.
8.5/10, I would totally get it if you want to liven up your experience with the game via mods.

It's been a long time.

I've been busy is all I can say. Six brown things, eight yellow things, one whitish thing. You know what I mean if you're reading this. We've successfully evacuated a couple cities, salvaging what we can of course, and we're hoping to build up a base out in the forest somewhere, away from the place they show up. As far as we know, they only show up in cities. They're tactical.

I told you all.

-T.S.

Recent acquisitions

Hey guys. I wanted to explain why I haven't posted in a while. You see, I was busy getting some stuff. Nothing big, just setting up a railroad for the survivors to use.

If you haven't noticed, what I said came true. People are dropping like flies now, the population's already been cut by 20%, mostly in China and here in the US. Never would I have thought I could sympathize the most with China.

I just wanted to get this out there.

The line runs from St Ogden to Charleston, but I'm just running from Kansas City to St. Louis. My advice is to get to your local train stations because they won't keep open forever. If you live in Missouri, I'm probably your best bet. 500 miles of track, maybe more if a city gets overrun.

-T.S.

For humanity

Hey, I figured out the power situation.

It turns out that some browns ended up in the machines and killed some workers, so they had to evacuate the facility.

Since I have guns, I went in there and shot the snotrags down. They were tough ones, too, taking two bullets each. I think they're getting stronger. I can't wait for the future, or at least once the military gets here.

In other news, the scientists are working on a new gun. Joy be me. They're calling it the biggest gun I've seen.

Let's hope it shoots plasma, eh?

-T.S.

9 tips to make death a learning experience

Hi, it's me again.

I got about a hundred eighty of the things while you were gone. A couple kids. I don't get why people feel remorse about this, but whatever. This is survival. I know that if I don't kill them, the planet is doomed. So I kill them.

It's been a couple hours since I've had power, I hope it's not permanent.

The power station is just down the road, I think I should go and take a look.

If you're planning on going my route, make sure that you have packed up supplies, the road is tough and there's a couple thousand in the city alone. I suggest JHPs for the little guys, and APs for anything bigger than a human.

.44 magnums work pretty well, but you can stop them with anything bigger than .45 ACP. I've killed monsters with HK33s, M16s, and even crossbows.

-T.S.

One they hid

I've been busy.

I wanted to write earlier, but I was shooting down wild creatures. Three-legged hamdogs are the worst, because they can generate a shockwave with their voice. That sucks. I'm tired and alone, so naturally I'm at my best with my guns.

Whatever. At least I have help with me. I've given a scientist one of my guns and found a former security guard and gave him a revolver.

I thought I killed all of them, but then I heard a higher voice than the ones I'm used to. It was a little one. Probably the runt.

Won't be a problem now, under my boot and full of lead pellets.

Gotta go.

-T.S.

In Hell's way

All I know is that these... things will kill us. I don't know when, I don't know how, but they will. And when that day comes, I'll lay back in the solace that I held out as long as possible.

Some people know that I don't take too much respect to the law. But that's not true—I pay my bills, I don't murder, and I certainly don't rape. It's just that when I see things, I take them. That's just the way it works now. I seem to be alone, however, in that sentiment.
But you'll see. You'll see mighty clear.
I know what I'm talking about. A madman doesn't steal. He can't, he'd not know what he's taking in the first place.
They'll find out one day. They'll find out they're second class citizens, and they'll want their revenge. Not even to mention the ones never integrated at all, the wildlife's already got the taste of blood on the tongue, they just don't have the numbers. "As dangerous as any other animal" my ass.
Prepare, men. Prepare to die.

Now you might be confused. Saying "Now hold on one minute, what are you talking about?".

Well, I'll tell you.

A year ago or so, the things started popping up like flies. Said Hell was full. People took pity on them, but the smart ones left. Yes, they thought what I thought—the demons will pop eventually. Just have to wait.

Mark my words, they will.

I'm just a normal guy—hat, revolver, submachine gun, the drill around these parts. Considering the alternative, it's better this way. All in all, you're not going to get much better than an MP5 for blowing out the brains of the dead. But these aren't zombies - no, they're demons. Zombies don't have minds to blow out. That's why they eat them.

I don't consider myself a scientist, I save them. But I know some things. The terminal velocity of a bullet, for instance.  Or how about how many times you need to shoot before something goes down, the best way to grill human flesh, and why they all have to wear those ridiculous ties.

-T.S.

Preserved Railway Engines 4 - Snow Job

Snow Job

7 February, 1985

 North Western Railway, Sodor, United Kingdom 

 The Ffarquhar branch was important, providing coal, slate, and transportation to many towns, and a link to the main line. When it snows, engines put on a sort of skirt on their front and rear bufferbeams called a snowplough. This pushes the snow away from the engine and clears the tracks so that it and other engines can pass. It was a freakishly cold day, and so the rainstorm turned into a snowstorm, coating the railway in a 4 foot block of snow. Thomas, having learned the importance of helping the railway as a whole, didn't object to the snowplow being fitted.

 As he left with Annie, Clarabel, and three coaches left unnamed, he felt happy pushing away the snow, as it meant others didn't have to do it anyway. In fact, it was so uncharacteristic, that his driver himself was surprised at how helpful he was being. "Well, Thomas, looks like you've got some good in you after all!" he chuckled out.
 He pushed the snow away whenever he could.

-----

 The snow blew harder than ever. Thomas couldn't keep up with it, his wheels simply weren't big enough. "Now now, Thomas, if you keep like that you'll burn up all your coal!" his driver reminded him. Wheels spinning, Thomas grunted and stopped, the icy rails making them slip for another hour, but the snow showed no signs of stopping.  Thomas complained, and so did his crew.  It's not fair, they said in unison, that we get to be stuck out here while the other engines got to stay indoors. Percy stayed in because goods couldn't be delivered in this snow, Toby stayed because he couldn't push the snow away if he tried, and Daisy knew a thing or two about her own anatomy and where not to stick snow. Of course, she would soon forget, but that's not today's story.

  Percy was coming the other way with the slate train, and Thomas whistled for help. Percy didn't stop, though. He continued on without so much as a flinch. All Thomas could do was deflate.
 Thomas's boiler went cold. His driver and fireman shivered, the cold overwhelming them. The coaches themselves fell cold too, no longer getting the pleasure of the steam heating.
 All the passengers complained, Annie and Clarabel among them. The passengers complained about many things, like the cold, the railway, and Thomas himself. Annie and Clarabel complained about the poor quality of the snowplough and the snow itself.
 Thomas complained about Percy.

----

  Percy heard Thomas whistle, not paying it too much mind. He must get help once he wants to. He passed a frozen river, the ice glistening in the morning sunlight. It was beautiful, and the six-wheeled coach he was pulling in his train was full of people amazed about the lake's wonder. They were tourists from the Mainland that were going home, and hadn't seen something like that for a while.

 When they got to the station, he, while being uncoupled from his train, told the stationmaster about Thomas.

 "Why, that's why he isn't here!" the stationmaster exclaimed. The stationmaster called the Fat Controller, and Terence was sent out.

---- 

  Thomas had ran out of coal. Terence had simply pushed Thomas into a siding, and once his crew was in a coach, pulled them to the station. They grumbled, got out, and left. Terence uncoupled from the train, went to the siding that the green tank engine sat in, and pulled him to the sheds.

  It's best to have friends to help you out of any situation, don't you agree?