Chesterfield

Very good suggestion. Certinly one that needs exploring further

Can we try and help solve the problem for the guy that started the topic? In response to your earlier question, yes, that is the method tha should work. When you are composing a reply or a new topic, you should hit the browse button, find the picture you want and then click add attachment. Then when you submit your post it should attach the picture, like the post above. What format are your pictures in? i.e whats the filename - picture.bmp, picture.jpg, picture.gif etc..

Whats "normal size" ? You can attach images to your posts, if they are too large the forums shrinks them down to a thumbnail and people can click on them to view the full image, or you can upload them to your gallery on this site and link to them if thats easier. Edited to add: Ive just run a test and managed to add pictures up to 500KB and 1600x1200 on the forum without an error. Are you getting any specific error message when trying to post your pics?

Can people confirm if this is still happening? If so, please can you post a link to the topic/s that are suffering the problem. Many thanks, Chris.

Holiday Inn sounds good to me! I think Ill be along to this one again.

Its getting better, but not back to normal yet, there are still some dropouts of traffic specificaly on the cogentco backbone. Looks like its the route inside the states thats causing the errors at the moment. Hopefully this will be resolved soon, but it looks as though the problem is no longer at the hosts end.

Beat me to the punch Dorian. Ive been doing some tracerts and it looks like the traffic is dropping a few hops before it reaches the server. Can you drop me a tracert via pm so we can compare? Ta, Chris.

No idea Dorian, I'll pass that on to the host and see if they can shed any light on it.

Cant answer that atthe moment Im afraid, the server owner is on the case, but unfortunately until the attack stops, or can be blocked effectively there is no timescale yet. At least its still up during the attack though. There are a few glitches after the server rebuild (recent topics error due to SQL version and the gallery), these also require fixing. FTP access has been suspended/blocked in order to prevent further attacks. However blocking ftp does mean that I have to suspend my work on fixing the remaining issues though. The gallery should be a very quick fix, we had to recreate the database users on the new hardware, I need to alter one of the gallery config files to reflect the SQL users. The recent topics error is slightly more complex as the query was written for a lower version of SQL than is now present on the server, so the recent topics query nees to be rewritten for a newer version of SQL. Hopefully everything will be fixed shortly, once everything is back to normal we can complete some of the extra bits that need to be done, and we can also look forward to bringing you all our little birthday present... I kno its overdue, but it will be worth it. Honest.

I got the missus the chrome ones for Crimbo - just looking forward to a warmer less damp day to fit them!

Signed. and 27 others added in the 30 seconds it took me to verify it! What worries me about this, is how easy some geeks may find it to clone the transmitter, to effectively put your car at the scene of a crime etc - or whether some may simply wire up the tracker in their garage and take the car out untracked, and pottentially uninsured. A big can of worms with pottentially massive overhead costs to be paid for in yet more tax.

You're a brave man questioning stuff Kev. Ive given up asking questions, I just get banned or have other functions like PM's being removed. Mind you, I think my access to PM's was removed not as any kind of punishment, but so that I couldn't publish some of the more insulting ones I received from various "high ranking" individuals. I was quite impressed when my warning level on the OC changed (to over 100%) as a result of a post or two I made here, that was quite an acheivement, even by my standards. The cherry on the cake though was when I was informed of this warning increase via PM, the same PM system that I had just been barred from reading/using. To this day nobody can explain to me how removing/censoring any links to any other site containing information about 350Z's is acting in the best interest of 350z owners, but Ive given up asking the question now. (along with a few other queries that always get brushed under the carpet).

I have test drive and PGR3. I like PGR3 for its circuits and simple track racing, I like TDU because of its free roam type play and diverse missons (car delivery or hitchhiker missions etc). Also the way you can drive around doing the single player missions, and then just decide to go and hunt one of the other players down on the map and challenge them. I like the way that you dont get to see what the other drivers have until you actually see them on the screen. When I first got the game Id go and seek out another player whilst driving my Audi A3, Id spend a few minutes traking them down on the roads, only to find they had a saleen or Enzo. A race then seemed a little pointless. Now I have a stage 3 Enzo and a McLaren F1, the races are a little more even.

The gameplay is a little limited, and very linear. To be honest, in single player its just a pretty shooter, and you have to play it on hardcore or insane to have any kind of challenge. In Multiplayer though it is great fun, also in cooperative on insane you really do have to work as a team or you'll get nowhere. Unfortunately Im out tonight otherwise Id have given COD on multiplayer a whirl.

Think Ill have to get on with this. Ive played a couple of hours or so single player, but not tried multiplayer at all yet. Been having too muh fun on Gears multiplayer and Test Drive Unlimited. Ill brush up on my COD skills and jump in!

There are 10 types of people in the world when it comes to Binary, those that understand it, and those that don't. Sorry for the site outage guys, I was away at the time too, so wasnt aware of a problem until I returned. And yes, Val is right, our hosts only have problems at the weekend or during holiday's

Thats an interesting idea - sounds like some complicated work, but certainly a good idea.

Val, I know what Im about to say will be somewhat controversial, but you can be wrong you know. PC's are not built for gaming, to do so requires an immense investment compared to that of a console. By the time a developer has finished building a game for a PC, its already behind the hardware. Thats why continual hardware improvements are a drawback for PC games development, they have to scale back their work in order to make it compatible with a massive number of different hardware set ups. How exactly will PC gamers be able to "ass whoop" console gamers? If a keyboard wa the best tool for playing games with, why did console developers go to the expense of creating joypads? Why do they sell joypads for PC's? I wouldnt even like to think of how immensely complex a control setup for games such as Ghost Recon or GOW would be on a PC, where as on a console it is very simple and one hell of a lot more ergonomic. Its also easier to get into the games in the first place, I havent got to make sure that my xbox has the latest drivers installed for the graphics card, DirectX 2.9876549 because 2.965207 wont work with my Nvidia 6547b when I have pixel shading turned on. Then just when I think its all set up right a patch comes out because the game wouldnt work some yugoslavian hardware manufacturers gfx cards. Install the update and then find that it now enables pixel shading plus in the game so I now need to change my driver to 2.564bx and mak sure that I turn on anti alias etc. Then I fire up the game and find that my mouse speed is all to **** because it doesnt like my microsoft intellipoint driver. I simply take the game out of the case, open the drive, put it in, and play. I gave up on PC games because they are just far too much hastle, I couldn't be bothered to keep upgrading my PC, and I am inherrently a lazy ar$e. So a console is just fine by me. Gears of War is not the only example of what a console can do when apps are coded specifically for it, but its the first one that came to mind when you stated FPS games on a console are crap. What you actually meant was that you arent very good at them unless you can use a mouse pointer to aim - how much skill does that take? People click on icons all day long, no wonder its easier with a mouse. As you say some games do not play as well on a console as they do on a PC, strategy games like Command and Conquer for example, games that inherently use a mouse. FPS games on a console can be every bit as good as a PC, and in many cases, better. Plus I havent got to sit in my study glued to a monitor mouse and keyboard to play them. Then of course there's the fact that on the xbox, unlike the PC I havent got to put up with some nerd who has hacked his game so he can see/shoot through walls. Sorry Val, but PCs should stick to excel and limit themselves to minesweeper for games. I know its hard, and probably somewhat of a strange concept, but you can be wrong you know, and on this occasion, you are.

OH MY GOD. That is absolutely amazing. I think your PM inbox will be full in a couple of days. As we will all want to know exactly how to get the same thing in ours! That is just ICE Nirvana!

Its no effort - I do it for fun Hopefully the time over Christmas can be used to get this issue sorted an finally finish our little present to you all.

Ive gone for the chrome, not fitted yet, but with the chrome grill Im hoping it matches well.

Val, You are just wrong on this issue. My telly actualy doesnt support 1080p, only 1080i, but the second one will support 1080p. As far as development for consoles go, the games push the hardware further then any PC game pushes the physics or graphics hardware. The simple answer as to why this is a fact, is because the hardware specification remains static. For example, a decent game can take anything up to one year to develop. By the time developers have finished the project, its not even pushing the current hardware anywhere near its limits. In short, the developers are always many steps behind the hardware, and the owners are always behind the hardware too. With static hardware, the developers hav time to compile new ways of using hardware, and push the hardware further. Yes GOW runs on the unreal 3 engine, well the basics of the unreal 3 engine anyway - but I defy you to point to a game on the PC platform that builds on that engine anywhere near as well as GOW. Then there is another major consideration to take into account, which is the operating system. A PC may have specs above and beyond a console on paper, but by the time its finished starting up the OS and all affiliated drivers, its on the backfoot before its asked to run major physics. Developers for PC games have to hold back on development in order to ensure the game works on the vast majority of PC's, any fine detail of coding for processors, will result in the game no working correctly on anything other than that particular processor. Yes, the xbox360 hardware is over 1 year old, but thats just how long it can take to fully develop a game that can take advantage of specific hardware. At this point in time I would pitch the latest 360 games against any PC game. I actually speak from experience, until recently I used to take part in PC lan sessions, where a group would get together and play PC games networked, yes they are impressive, and having played on some major games rigs that the people brought with them (Im talking watercooled graphics cards, never mind CPU's) I can honestly say the xbox is more fun, and the quality is every bit as good if not superior in many circustances. You make a lot of posts on this subject, littered with smilies as if you find it funny that people could think a puny little white box could be as good as a PC, but have you actually played a 360 on a 42inch HD telly? Have you played gears of war? Have you any actual experience of the 360? I'll give you this though, I cant get on this forum through my xbox, so I wont be confining my PC to the loft just yet

Val, GTR2 is by no means anything special. If you want physics in a driving game, try Forza 2 on the 360. Good luck getting a pc to reproduce these at 60+fps without spending a good grand or so.... Oh and then to race a bunch of other people online, they all need £1000 pc's too... http://uk.media.xbox360.ign.com/media/7 ... mgs_2.html

Val - Xbox 360 runs 1080p over HDMI. To get a PC to run that sort of quality at 60+fps, you are looking well over a grand, and then youve got a keyboard and mouse to stick in your front room. As for the complexity of games for a console - have you ever compared the specs of a gaming PC to that of a next gen console like the Xbox 360? The processing power of a 360 is immense compared. Have you actually played an xbox 360 running on a HD telly? Id like to see anyone keep pace with the fast action of Gears of War using PC controls and a mouse. It simply wont happen. Active reload of a sniper rifle whilst sidestepping a boomshot, and having your finger over the "switch to smoke grenade" button at the same time (for those who have played gears of war) - would be quite frankly impossible on a PC. As above the fact that a consoles hardware is fixe is a MAJOR advantage for developers. They can pump out games that they know they havent got to test on a myriad of different platforms and continually release patches for the next 12 months. They can put all that manpower into developing more complex games. Sony Playstation and Xbox (both versions of each so far) are the biggest games market on the face of the earth. If they were so much inferior to PC's, why are they so popular? Sorry Val, but you are wrong.