Chris Pirillo » fps

Speed Up Your Game with Game Booster

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:39:54 +0000

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Matthew Sabia is back with a screencast showing off a free program from IObit called Game Booster. This little solution can help speed up the response rate of your favorite games with just a few clicks of your mouse.

It works by updating hardware drivers, downloading essential gaming tools, tweaking system settings for gaming, defragmenting game directories, temporarily shutting down background processes, cleaning RAM, and intensifying processor performance.

Even just a few extra frames can make a big difference in your gaming experience. CNET recommends this program, as does Lifehacker. Game Booster really does make a difference, so why not give it a try?

Halo: Reach Beta Preview

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:06:36 +0000

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Dan is a moderator in our live community chat room who goes by the name of Guru_Meditation. As an avid gamer and radio personality in the UK, I knew he was the perfect person to review the beta of Halo: Reach I received from Bungie. Judging by what you see in this video, this newest iteration of the popular game is going to fly off the shelves when it is finally released later this year.

Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter game set in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the alien Covenant. In the game, players control Noble 6, a member of an elite supersoldier squad, during a battle for the human world of Reach.

Back in Halo 3, players weilded single-use equipment powerups that gave temporary offensive (or defensive) advantages. This system has been replaced in Reach with reusable armor abilities. Those armor abilities will stay with a player until replaced by you. Amongst the new abilities, you’ll find a jetpack, active camo, sprint and armor lock. Armor lock is pretty cool: it makes you invincible in exchange for loss of mobility.

If rumors are to be believed, this will be the final version of the Halo series EVER. If this is true, Dan feels it’s a perfect way to end things… on the note of the prequel. Halo: Reach is set in a time period prior to that of the original game.

Dan says that he’s read a lot of negative commentary about this version. Apparently, there are many gamers complaining that Bungie “dumbed-down” the multi-player mode a lot in this game and removed many strategic elements to focus more on action. But if you’re a newcomer to multi-player modes, you’re able to get into the game much more quickly.

The beta was due to end Monday night. Bungie released an announcement just a couple of hours ago, though: the beta has been extended! According to Bungie’s Brian Jarrard, “Our official plans as of now are to turn off the Reach beta on Thursday, 5/20 at 10 AM PDT.”

Dan feels strongly that gaming companies should step up to the plate and offer more beta games in this manner. It not only gives them a larger audience to help them iron out the kinks prior to release… it gets people excited about the game. Dan and I both predict that Halo: Reach is going to be a huge hit. More than one million people signed up for the beta on day 1, and the game broke into the top four most-played games on Xbox Live during the first week.

Thanks, Dan, for an excellent screencast and a fun look inside Halo: Reach. How many of you are now waiting impatiently for the game to be released this fall? Will you be grabbing a copy for yourself?

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Can Social Networking Lead to Murder?

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 01 May 2010 10:39:41 +0000

Phoenix resident Mark Woodland, 54, was found beaten and stabbed to death in his apartment last week. Police believe he may have been murdered by 19-year-old Tommy Reed, whom Woodland met over a social network. Police apprehended Woodland’s date, Tommy Reed, 19, using the digital trail left by the two men’s correspondence. CBS News reports that the men met via an as-yet unnamed social networking site.

“The police used Woodland’s phone to track Reed’s user name, which they say matched the name he used to arrange the date with Woodland. Reed also matched a neighbor’s description of a man he reportedly saw with Woodland around 6pm.” Tommy Reed, 19, was arrested and taken to police headquarters for questioning. Phoenix police Detective James Holmes tells New Times that Reed made certain admissions – combined with other evidence – that gave police probable cause to make an arrest.

It can be very rewarding to meet someone face-to-face that you have only otherwise known online. However, you need to be smart about it. Always meet in a very public location at first. Don’t agree to immediately head off to somewhere more private. Take the time to get to know the person more thoroughly. Not everything is always as it may seem when you’re behind a computer screen.

Everything you’ll find in our software center is completely safe. You don’t even have to take it to a public location for a test-run.

Windows 7 – Better for Gamers?

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:21:51 +0000

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During a live call session the other night, people were on the phone to gab about Windows 7. We talked about everything from security to aesthetics. This particular caller, Sonu, is a member of our live community on a regular basis. He is a gamer, and had something interesting to note in favor of Windows 7 that I hadn’t yet heard. I’m wondering if you are experiencing this, as well.

Sonu has been using Windows Vista for awhile now, and has only recently upgraded to Windows 7. He has the exact same hardware setup, and all of the same software installed now as he did with Vista. However, he’s noticed one very large – and very welcome – change: he is getting 10-15 frames-per-second (FPS) more than he did back when he used Vista.

FPS – or Frames Per Second – describes the rate at which your graphics card produces images on the screen. A real-time frame describes the amount of time it takes for your machine to complete the full round of processing tasks. Each type of application (or game!) requires a different level of FPS in order to work properly. It’s up to the designers and developers to decide what that is, and design the software around this in order to maximize performance for all types of computers. However, your graphics card has a LOT to do with it, as well. A low-quality or lesser “version” will cause your game or software to lag out, while a better one will give you the best experience.

Is this something you other gamers out there are noticing as well? I imagine that this absolutely is a very good upgrade for you if you are. Let’s hear from you gaming Geeks… are you getting more FPS now on Windows 7 than you did on other operating systems?

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Do you get Involved in Online FPS?

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:53:04 +0000

Michael sent in the following tips for how to get into a online FPS… and not ending up annoying everyone else on the server.

Don’t Bunny Hop There is nothing more annoying than coming up against a Bunny Hopper. Imagine if you come up against an opposing player, and you fire off first. Normally in this case, the kill is yours. A Bunny Hopper jumps around like crazy, making it almost impossible to hit them. It is infuriating, and a lot of servers will say somewhere they don’t allow it.

Don’t use the ‘n00b tube’ The n00b tube is a name mainly given to explosive weaponry, such as a rocket launcher or a grenade launcher. It’s cheap, and there’s nothing that can be done to stop it. It annoys people… as out of nowhere something will explode at their feet, ending any run they may have been on. There’s nothing that can be done to stop or forsee it. A more specific example would be random grenade throwing in Call of Duty 4. This can be infuriating.

Accusing people Just because someone is good, don’t accuse them of cheating. This is a sure-fire way to annoy people on a server. Remember, most games these days have anti cheating measures for online play. If someone were cheating, chances are they won’t be on the server for long.

Join a clan This is a great way to find people to play with on a server, and to improve your skills. Most clans will require you to have software such as Teamspeak or Ventrillo for communication purposes. For this, a headset or mic is pretty much essential.

Don’t camp (unless you’re a sniper) This will infuriate people, and more than likely get you killed repeatedly. I ask you… where is the fun in staking out in one location for the duration of a game? If you’re a sniper, this is acceptable in places as it’s what snipers do.

Don’t mic spam This will annoy other people on the server, and more than likely get you kicked. If you continue, you can also get permanently banned from competing on the server.

Don’t worry about your skill level When most people first start out, they will feel very conscious of their skill level. This doesn’t help when you have people who often call others ‘noob’ or something to that effect. Remember everyone starts somewhere, and it’s just a bit of fun.

Don’t go AFK for a long period of time and stay connected Not only does it annoy your team mates, and bring glee to opposing snipers… but it also takes up a slot that could be better used by someone who’s actually wanting to play the game.

Don’t be afraid of joining in on the chat This is a great way to make yourself known on a server and become recognized. This will also ensure that there’s always a server you can go to that will be full of people who will be friendly towards you.

Respect and abide by the servers rules You chose to go on their server, so you can abide by their rules. This often involves things such as no bad language, no bunny hopping, camping or anything else considered cheap or that can detract from other users enjoyment of a game. If you don’t abide by their rules, you deserve to be kicked. It’s just common sense, and a bit of courtesy.