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Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 Beta

Posted on by Dave

As announced previously, the Garden Warfare 2 beta will offer players access to a scaled-down version of the Backyard Battleground, which is a hub world that acts as a menu and connects players to every map and mode. For the beta players, the following content will be available in Backyard Battleground, with descriptions courtesy of EA:

•The King of the Hill-inspired mode, Flag of Power – Raise the Flag of Power and do everything you can to prevent the enemy from lowering it; igniting an all-out war where you’ll have to fight off wave after wave of enemies in a frantic, escalating battle.
•Stats Room – Display all of your characters’ stats and achievements. There’s also a sticker book where you can get an overview of all the characters and accessories you’ve unlocked.
•Quest Board – Visit the Quest Board for a list of dynamically updated challenges that will reward you for every completed event, and increase your XP multiplier.

Also included in the beta are two 24-player game modes (Herbal Assault and Gardens & Graveyards) playable on two maps: Moon Base Z and Seeds of Time.

Alongside those, new modes and maps will be rotated in as the beta progresses. These include:
•Modes:◦Team Vanquish
•Vanquish Confirmed
•Gnome Bomb
•Suburbination

•Maps:
•Z-Tech Factory
•Frosty Creek

Finally, the following characters will be playable in the Garden Warfare 2 beta (descriptions written by EA):
•Kernel Corn – Leading the plant offensive as the primary assault class with dual cob busters and a high rate of fire.
•Rose – An extremely powerful sorceress that can turn zombie foes into fully playable goats.
•Citron – A time-travelling bounty hunter from the future – and also an orange.
 •Imp & Z-Mech – The smallest and most agile of the zombies that turns into a Z-Mech robo of mass destruction with missiles.
•Super Brainz – The flashy, punchy-powerhouse superhero with exceptional hair and charismatic smile.
•Captain Deadbeard – A crusty peg-legged captain with a trick weapon up his sleeve.

The Garden Warfare 2 beta has not been announced for PC.

The full version of Garden Warfare 2 launches on February 23 across PS4, Xbox One, and PC. However, Xbox One and PC players can jump in five days early if they have an EA/Origin Access membership.

Videos of my beta gameplay

Steelers in the playoffs

Posted on by Dave

Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t throw. Antonio Brown couldn’t stand without help.

And in the end, it didn’t matter. The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading to Denver after the Cincinnati Bengals did what they always seem to do this time of year: they imploded.

Spectacularly.

Chris Boswell kicked a 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining as Pittsburgh somehow pulled out an 18-16 victory in an — really, just pick whatever synonym for “ugly” that works — AFC wild-card game Saturday night.

Pittsburgh (11-6) moved into field goal position thanks to consecutive 15-yard penalties on the Bengals, one on linebacker Vontaze Burfict and another on cornerback Adam Jones. Burfict dropped his shoulder and hit a defenseless Brown in the helmet as the All-Pro receiver came across the middle, and Jones lost his cool after getting into it with Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter when Porter came onto the field as Brown was being tended to by trainers.

Boswell drilled his fourth field goal of the game on the next snap to give the Steelers their first playoff victory since the 2010 AFC championship.

“We won the game. That’s all that matters,” Roethlisberger said.

Pittsburgh bolted off the field without so much as shaking hands while the Bengals vented their frustration after easily the most painful of their eighth straight postseason losses. Jones took to Instagram calling out Porter, a post Jones later deleted.

Cincinnati might want to do the same after somehow losing despite rallying from a 15-point deficit to have the lead and the ball in Pittsburgh territory and the lead with 1:30 to go.

Then the Bengals turned into … the Bengals.

Hill was stripped of the ball by Ryan Shazier while trying to run out the clock. The Steelers recovered at the Pittsburgh 9, and Roethlisberger and his aching right shoulder returned for a last-gasp drive. Unable to pass with any real authority, he still managed to get the Steelers near midfield with 22 seconds to go when he threw high to Brown in Cincinnati territory.

“It’s hard to put into words,” said Hill. “Words don’t do anything at this point. It’s on me. I take full blame for it.”

He had plenty of help from two of his volatile teammates, both with a history of questionable decision-making.

Burfict, whose sack of Roethlisberger sent the quarterback to the locker room, lowered his shoulder as Brown landed. The volatile linebacker earned a personal foul. Jones compounded the problem when he lost his cool while jawing with Porter, easily putting Boswell within field goal range after Cincinnati’s eighth — and final — flag of a ghastly night that ended with an unthinkable collapse.

“We destructed on ourselves,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.

Pretty much.

Roethlisberger finished 18-of-31 passing for 229 yards and a touchdown in rainy conditions. Jordan Todman and Fitzgerald Toussaint combined for 123 yards rushing filling in for injured DeAngelo Williams. Brown caught seven passes for 119 yards but was also diagnosed with a concussion.

source

Steelers in the playoffs.

Lionel Train Video

Posted on by Dave

Lionel Train Video #1

 

I had just oiled the wheel joints and greased the gears of the Switcher and it is running nicely. The new train platform table and fastrack were a snap to put together. Plasticville is not set up yet. I built the models but we still have to figure out the basic town layout.

Next I will be getting ready the 2345 – Diesel Engine and of course, the rest of the cargo cars.
Lionel Train Video

Xbox One

Posted on by Dave

The Dell Xbox One deal lasted for less than 3 seconds. I was refreshing the page from 5:55 p.m. until the deal was activated. I clicked on the link which send me to the disappointing page about being out of stock (if it ever was in stock).

So, I got a very similar deal from the Microsoft store. I got the Xbox One Gears of War 500gb version with a free game and $60 Microsoft store credit (which I can use to purchase a controller).

So, the final purchase price was $317.99 – $15.90 (discover) – $6.36 (fatwallet) = $295.73.

As with Black Friday, the Microsoft store itself offers the easiest and most versatile way of picking up a new console. It’s offering $50 off on all Xbox One bundles, as well as a $60 gift code and a free game (Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Sunset Overdrive or Rare Replay). That’s a lot of options for mixing and matching to your taste, and the $60 gift card means you could snag yourself a new release along with whatever in-stock bundle you want. If you just want to show up and buy an Xbox One, this is a good place to do it.

Source – The Best Cyber Monday Deals For Xbox One, 2015

In Search of an Xbox One

Posted on by Dave

This coming Friday, is black Friday and I am in search of an Xbox One.

The best deal so far is from DELL.

LINK TO DEAL

I’m going to attempt to use the following rebate sites.

10% Discover Deals

8% FatWallet.com

5% Dell Advantage

If I get all three the total would be $299.99 – $31.79 – $25.44 – $15.90 = $226.86

Xbox One history

Xbox One is the successor to Xbox 360, Microsoft’s previous video game console, which was introduced in 2005 as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. As of June 2015, it remains in production by Microsoft, having received a number of small hardware revisions to reduce the unit’s size and improve its reliability. In 2010, Microsoft’s Chris Lewis stated that the 360 was about “halfway” through its lifecycle; this was aided by the introduction of the Kinect device that year which Lewis stated would extend the lifecycle by five years.

Initial hardware for the 360’s successor, commonly referred to by the industry as the “Xbox 720”, was reportedly in hands of developers as early as May 2011. The official developer kit was codenamed Durango, and appeared to be available to developers by mid-2012. Leaked documents suggested that the new console would include an improved Kinect device, cloud access to games and media, integration with phone and tablet devices, and technology to provide players heads-up displays on glasses worn by the player, codenamed “Fortaleza”; Microsoft did not comment on these reported features. Similar, leaked design documents also suggested that Microsoft was seeking to eliminate the ability to play used games, though Microsoft later clarified they were still reviewing the design and were “thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect”, but did not comment on the validity of the information.

The console was publicly unveiled under the name Xbox One on May 21, 2013 in a press conference designed to cover the unit’s broad multimedia and social capabilities. A second press event for the console was held during E3 on June 10, 2013, focusing on its video game-oriented functionality. At that time, Microsoft announced that the console would be released in 21 different markets on November 22, 2013, but this was later amended down to 13.The change, which pushed the release date for the other eight markets to 2014, was attributed to unforeseen complexity in localizing the device’s voice recognition capabilities.Later, in September 2014, the Xbox One was released in 26 markets, including remaining markets in Europe, the Japanese market, and Middle Eastern markets.

PVZ GW 10,000 Player Vanquishes

Posted on by Dave

A new milestone for me, PVZ Garden Warfare 10,000 Player Vanquishes.

PVZ GW 10,000 Player Vanquishes
PVZ GW 10,000 Player Vanquishes

Of course it only took 10 days of playing 24 hours non-stop. Now, that is a lot!!! of time played.

 

General Gameplay for Garden & Graveyards

Gardens & Graveyards is an objective Multiplayer game mode in Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Up to 12 Plants face up to 12 Zombies on a large, multi-section map. The objective of this game mode is for the Zombies team to attack five to six gardens and complete a final objective on the final base to win. The Plants team must defend the gardens and wait for the time to expire to win.

This game mode starts the clock with seven minutes (7:00). After every garden is captured, the clock resets to five minutes (5:00). If the clock runs out while a garden is being captured, the game will continue in overtime until the garden is captured or until all Zombies are removed.

Each garden takes at least 40 seconds to capture. The garden will only capture if more Zombies than plants are within the designated area. If there are three zombies and two plants, the garden will capture. If there are three zombies and three plants, the garden will not capture. The numbers of Plants and Zombies in the garden will be displayed on the capture meter at the top center of the screen.

Tips for playing Gardens & Graveyards

Team Plants

Spawnable Plants can be planted within glowing pots around the map. Use these as reinforcements to help your team. Remember, these can only be obtained in packs from the Sticker Shop, so use them wisely and remember to buy more in-between games if needed. Plant these in pots near the garden as a final line of defense.

Use the Cactus to set Potato Mines and the Chomper to set Spiked Grass near the Garden. This will either Vanquish or slow down enemy zombies. The Cactus can also set up Tallnut Battlements to slow down Spawnable Zombies.

Enemy Zombies may try to use Teleporters to get to the garden much faster. A purple door will appear if the Teleporter is active. Search for the Teleporter on foot, or use the Cactus’ Garlic Drone to find it from the air and destroy it with its primary weapon or corn strikes.
Team Zombies

Spawnable Zombies can be summoned from glowing dirt mounds around the map. Use these as reinforcements to help your team. Remember, these can only be obtained in packs from the Sticker Shop, so use them wisely and remember to buy more in-between games. A good strategy when playing as the Zombies is to overwhelm the target garden with a large number of Spawnable Zombies. Using the most common Zombie, the Browncoat, will overwhelm the Plants with many targets and won’t cost you any rare types.

In addition to Spawnable Zombies, the Engineer Zombie can build Zombot Turrets from glowing scrap piles. Their firepower can be upgraded twice by interacting with them, but the build time is much slower while upgrading.

Not only can Engineer Zombies build Zombot Turrets, but they can also build Teleporters. Broken down Teleporters can be found in one of two locations before every garden. They are marked by a purple wrench on the Engineer’s HUD. Interact with these broken down contraptions to fix them.

While the Teleporter is active a purple door will appear near the zombie base that instantly transports zombies to the Teleporter, which is much closer to the garden. Every zombie that uses the Teleporter will reward the Engineer that built it with 10 PvZ Coins. Be warned, Teleporters can be destroyed by Plant weapons. Make sure to build Zombot Turrets near the Teleporters to guard them.

Xbox One Backward Compatible Games

Posted on by Dave
Xbox One Backward Compatible Games
Xbox One Backward Compatible Games

Our launch of 104 titles on Nov. 12 is just the beginning. You can expect new Xbox One Backward Compatible games to be announced on a regular basis, starting in December. More titles are on the way, including fan favorites like Halo Reach, Halo Wars, Call of Duty®: Black Ops 1, Bioshock, Bioshock 2, Bioshock Infinite, and Skate 3. Stay tuned because this is just the beginning of a long list of Xbox 360 games that will run on Xbox One.

Here’s the list:

A Kingdom for Keflings
A World of Keflings
Alien Hominid HD
Assassin’s Creed II
Asteroids & Deluxe
Banjo Kazooie®: Nuts & Bolts
Banjo-Kazooie®
Banjo-Tooie®
BattleBlock Theater
Bejeweled 2
Bellator: MMA Onslaught
Beyond Good & Evil HD
Blood of the Werewolf
BloodRayne: Betrayal
Borderlands
Call of Juarez® Gunslinger
Castle Crashers
CastleStorm
Centipede & Millipede
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Crazy Taxi™
Deadliest Warrior: Legends
Defense Grid: The Awakening
DiRT 3
DiRT Showdown
Discs of Tron
Doom
Doom II
Dungeon Siege III
Earthworm Jim HD
Fable II
Fallout 3
Feeding Frenzy
Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War: Judgment
Golden Axe™
Halo: Spartan Assault
Hardwood Backgammon®
Hardwood Hearts®
Hardwood Spades®
Heavy Weapon
Hexic HD
Ikaruga
Jetpac Refuelled
Joy Ride Turbo
Just Cause 2
Kameo™: Elements of Power
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Lode Runner™
LUMINES LIVE!
Mass Effect™
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug XX
Might & Magic Clash of Heroes™
Mirror’s Edge™
Missile Command
Monday Night Combat
Monkey Island: Special Edition
Monkey Island 2: Special Edition
Ms. Splosion Man™
Mutant Blobs Attack!!!
N+
NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
NiGHTS into dreams…
Operation Flashpoint™: Dragon Rising
Pac-Man: Championship Edition™
Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX+
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark Zero
Phantom Breaker:Battle Grounds
Pinball FX™
Plants vs. Zombies
Prince of Persia
Putty Squad
Rayman 3 HD
R-Type Dimensions™
Sacred Citadel
Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe
Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
Shadow Complex
Sonic CD
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Super Meat Boy
Supreme Commander 2
Tom Clancy’s RainbowSix Vegas
Tom Clancy’s RainbowSix Vegas 2
South Park: The Stick of Truth™
Torchlight
Toy Soldiers
Toy Soldiers: Cold War
Tron: Evolution
Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise
Wolfenstein 3D
Zuma

Source: Xbox News

Reattaching the cord

Posted on by Dave

Well, it has been almost a year and a half since I cut the cord and joined the antennae/Netflix generation. Netflix is amazing. I watched 100’s of episodes of all different types of shows. All without commercials. It is quite a deal for $7.95/month. Also, local TV stations with the antennae were sharp, clear, and not to mention completely free.

However, my DSL through Windstream was becoming antiquated and well…slow. $70/month (with tax) for 6Mb/sec was a horrible value. It was time to reattach the cord.

I would love to have Verizon FIOS, but tragically it is not offered in my area. My only choice is the evil and outrageously priced…cable.

Luckily, Comcast has a nice deal for the holidays. $89.99 for a internet/voice/TV bundle. It has a two year contract period, but the price lasts for two years. The bill will jump $60 on month 25, however, we can cancel at that point.

So far so good. my speed has gone from 6Mb/sec down | 384Kb/sec up to:

Reattaching the cord

It will take a few days for our number to get transfer, but really a phone is a phone. It’s not all that exciting.

There seems to be lots of features with TV setup. I will report on them after I get a chance to try them out.

Pirates 2015 Season

Posted on by Dave
Pirates 2015 Season
Pirates 2015 Season

The Pirates 2015 season was amazing with the Pirates ending up with the second best record in baseball with 98 Wins.

Here is a very short list of other teams that have had 98 wins or more and NOT made the playoffs.

1942 Dodgers 104
1993 Giants 103
1954 Yankees 103
1962 Dodgers 102
1961 Tigers 101
1980 Orioles 100
1978 Red Sox 99
1928 A’s 98
1962 Reds 98
1964 White Sox 98
1974 Reds 98
1985 Mets 98

The Pirates were on a high all season, reaching the playoffs for the third straight year after going 20 seasons without a winning season. They notched 98 victories in 2015, the second highest total in MLB and their highest win total since 1991. They did so by being remarkably consistent. The Pirates did not have a losing month this season, and had three winning streaks of at least seven games.

Unfortunately, 98 wins was only good enough for second place in the NL Central, which meant Pittsburgh was back in the wild-card game for the third straight season. Like 2014 when they ran into Madison Bumgarner, Pittsburgh squared off against the game’s hottest pitcher in Chicago’s Jake Arrieta. The results were unfortunately the same, as they were shutout and sent home early. We can’t imagine a lower low after such a great season.