Articles, Reviews & How To's
The following list of items on this page are articles on issues, topics and features on games and gaming. General commentary, opinions and other material about games, gaming, game and content development can also be found at http://blog.katsbits.com.
Articles list
- Secrets to Make Money with Blender
Learn the truth, the hidden secrets about making money using Blender no-one else will tell openly discuss.
- DMCA what is it
DMCA is a framework protecting Copyright interests through 'take-down' and 'Counter' Notices. Here's how.
- Game Design School, is it worth is?
Going to school, any school, to improve prospects is a significant and serious undertaking. But is it worth it?
- How to find freelance 3D work
Finding a freelance job or work is relatively straightforward. Getting it on the other hand, depends on other factors.
- How much to charge freelance work?
Article on the implications and practicalities of working as a freelance 3D artist and how much should charged for work.
- Artists block & solutions to get over it
Artist block has to be the most perplexing aspect of being creative. How best to manage and overcome.. Read on.
- Wolfenstein review
A second opinion of id softwares latest in the 'Wolfenstein' IP as developed by Raven and published by Activision.
- Dungeon Runners dungeons list
Finding it hard to keep track of where the dungeons are? This list of dungeons, their offshoots & important NPC's will help.
- Making of Age of Conan
Interview with lead "Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures" world designer discussing the games general development.
- Conan's Radiant adventures
Discussion with MrLyCon, level designer on "Conan : Hyborian Adventures", and their using GtkRadiant during development.
- Oblivion quests and item locations
Discover solutions to troublesome quests - the Mage's Guild suspension, redwort & dragons tongue, Unicorn and others.
- Oblivion Easter egg & hidden item
The unusual items and features of Oblivion uncovered, including the infamous suicide troll and Dorian money cheat.
- Oblivion game play hints and tips
List of some of the things to watch out for when playing Oblivion - 'stat grow', things to look out for, plus other hints and tips.
- Oblivion performance & FPS tweaks
A number of hints and tips to get better performance from Oblivion when running the game on low end computers.
- Review Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
A review of another genre defining game from Bethesda Softworks as a continuation of the Elder Scrolls saga.
- Location of Skills trainers in Oblivion
A list of some of the more common locations for skill trainers in Oblivion.
- Review Doom 3 a mini review
The follow is an assessment of Doom 3 and how the new game engine plays on low end PC systems.
- Review Medal of Honor
A review of the latest "Medal of Honor game; Pacific Assault". It's pretty brutal brutal.
- A Question of Character
Why do some players take exception to being beaten by a female character? Or is it all in the mind?
- Vampires Masquerade Bloodlines
Could have been a good game, based on Valves Source engine, and could have made an excellent interactive experience.
- ATI
A. T. I. One word, three letters.... I have seen the future and it shaped like that little red and white logo thingy they use..! A friend recently bought the kick ass, pint in glass, 64MB DDR Radeon; I never saw it, he'd put it into his machine as soon as he got it (duuhhh.!).
- Quake 3 Aimbot
I 'happened' upon a game the other day where someone was using an 'AimBot'. Now, I've heard the 'folklore' and 'tales' and read articles about them but I'd never actually come across one.
- Setting up basic server & map rotation
Learn the basics of setting up a Quake 3 Arena server for online or lan play - options, properties and optimisations.
- Optimise low speed connections
Still using 28/33/56k (analogue) modem access to the web?. Optimise the limited connection for better performance.
- Optimising network settings
Learn to optimise network settings to increase performance and get better connectivity to the 'Net.
- Spyware
Yes I know this isn't quite a Quake 3 Arena matter but I just know you're gonna be interested in this one non the less.
- Review Team Arena
The Team Arena mission pack is future-proofed - at least for the next 6 months - as it needs one heck of a system spec!.
- Removing DirectX pt 1
On older machines DirectX does not always play ball. In such instances it often has to be completely uninstalled to fix the issue.
- Removing DirectX pt 2
Myst III Exile might run better if DirectX 8 were installed. And that where the problems started.
- Adding and removing bots
This applies to adding bots from the game server only. If you are running a non dedicated game (a normal game) it's best to use the 'in game' menu ('Esc' key if you're already playing a game) to add/remove bots.
- Name Change & alt nicks
'..what's in a name? Is not a rose a rose by any other name...' to miss-quote good ol' Shakin'Spear!.
- OpenGL setup
An important thing to do that's often overlooked when trying to get the best performance for Q3A out of your on the installation disc.