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Polski Fiat / Fiat 126p / FSM-Niki 650
2008-03-29 22:57:00
You know, until recently I wouldn't have looked twice at a Fiat 126p (or FSM-Niki 650 as they were know in Australia), thinking that the were a wholly-unremarkable, sluggish small car.  That changed when I read an article in Top Gear magazine (also published on the web) about the Polski Fiat 126 Group 2.  Who would have thought that a company called 126 Group 2 is currently producing a Fiat 126-based rally car in their Poland workshop?  A quick search on the web reveals that the Fiat 126 has a large following, with enthusiasts all over the globe, including Australia.  Witness the Martin Racing 126/Niki-rebuild video (and Australian Top Gear competition submission) below.  Don't miss the blast around Mt Panorama featured at the end!And 4performance's 'Building a Fiat 126p Rally Edition' youtube video is quite interesting, showing each step of their rebuild in detail.What makes cars like the Fiat 126p so interesting is that they are affordable and look to be very simpl...

Golf GTI's in Canberra: Easter get together
2008-03-23 10:30:00
Sunday 23rd of March, midday.  Telstra Tower car park, Black Mountain, Canberra.  This was the meeting place for an Easter get-together and drive for Canberra members of Golf MkV.com's Australian Forum. It was also the first chance for many new forum members to meet in person, rather than online using their pseudonyms.  Eight guys made it to the get together- one in a superbly-modified MkIV Golf GTI, with the rest in MkV Golf GTIs of various configurations and colours.  We expected a ninth-member to show up, but an unfortunate screw-in-tyre incident prevented him from attending.  Members who made the get together included: CiaranGTI / minigolf / GTI-racer / Kirium / thefullarchie (all the way from Brisbane :) / Bunty (couldn't come on the drive) and the MkIV GTI guy who's name escapes me for the moment!  Oh, and of course me, Ferris :)Note: larger versions of some photos are available here.Telstra Tower car park, chatting as we wait for forum members to arriveOn our way! ...

Model Cars: The Ferris Collection
2008-03-21 03:10:00
I love classic cars. The shape and styling, the history, and the uniqueness of certain models really appeals to me. Of course the dream is to one day have a garage full of classics, each car in mint condition and perfectly maintained. The reality, however, is that I don't have the money to create such a collection. Come to think of it, even a large garage would break my budget! Not to mention the full-time mechanic required to restore and look after the vehicles. So, it looks like my dream is destined to be unrealised for some time. That's where model cars come to the rescue. Over the past year or two I have started my own model car collection. It's early days, but I am slowly purchasing new cars... particularly when I pass through Braidwood, where the excellent Car Model s of Braidwood shop is located. I've included some photos of my model cars below. Apologies in advance for the average quality of the images- photographing small objects is hard! : )Chrysler Charger E4...
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I was a failed teenage game developer (part 3)
2008-03-07 10:47:00
(..continued from part one and part two)It had always been a distant dream of mine to be a game programmer. At the time, of course, it was possible for young coders to whip up popular games in their own garage and flog them off as shareware. This shut-in, computer-chained lifestyle seemed like the sort of one I wanted to lead.My bedroom had cut-out magazine pictures of my gaming heroes.. a PC Game r interview with iD Software back in the Doom days, a Commodore 64 magazine piece on Jeff Minter, a shoddily self-drawn System 3 logo.. I'd gaze up at them almost daily, pinned on my little bulletin board.I tried somewhat half-heartedly to achieve that dream. After saving months worth of allowance money, I finally managed to gather enough dough to purchase Andre LaMothe's enormous book Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus. It was littered with code snippets showing how to do simple graphical tricks, play sound, and so on. It also weighed in at a rather imposing 600 or so pages, giving i...
More About: Developer , Part , Part 3 , Teenage

I was a failed teenage game developer (part 2)
2008-03-05 09:19:00
(..continued from part one)At around the same time that I was churning out crud like Quik-Ad Micro, I was beginning to take a healthy interest in the PC demo scene.  Mind you, the only exposure I'd had to the demo scene was a collection of MOD files contained on a PC magazine CD-ROM. So the only thing I actually understood about the demoscene was that you needed to have a truly awesome name for your 'group'. Therefore, if I wanted Bargosoft to be a QBASIC-powered force to be reckoned with in the elite world of "the 'scene", I would need to give it a suitably awesome 'scene name.I pulled out a dictionary and started scouring the pages, looking for the perfect word. Something to rival Fairlight.. Future Crew.. Triton..  and so eventually I settled upon the rather dubious title of "HEATWAVE". It didn't take me long to realize that 'HEATWAVE' is actually a pretty terrible name for a demoscene group, so the search resumed for something cooler. For a brief period I decide...
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Call of Duty 4: Fight the Lag
2008-03-03 08:42:00
If, while playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live, you see me join a game only to leave 5 seconds later, please don't think I'm some kind of game-hopping n00b.  I have a good reason for visiting game after game like some kind of nomadic... er, nomad.  That reason is lag, which all Aussie online-gamers will be intimately familiar with.  Unfortunately Call of Duty 4 is not immune from this problem.  When I get a good connection (as represented by green bars) the game is fantastic, with the best players inevitably placing well on the leaderboard.  Once the connection drops to yellow- or even worse- red bars, all bets are off.  Skill has little to do with anything, and blind firing with a submachine gun on full-auto is the order of the day.  It's really very disappointing when you empty a full magazine into the enemy, only to see them stop, prop, and drill you through the forehead with a carefully-aimed shot.  All this could have been avoided if COD4 players were provided with...
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I was a failed teenage game developer (part 1)
2008-03-02 05:35:00
Hi.  My name's MrPigeon, and I suck.  No really, I do.  At first, I wasn't sure why Ferris would let me post in his blog, because I'll probably suck at this too.  I figure I may as well write about what I'm good at, so my first three entries will be dedicated to how my inherent suckfullness got me to this sorry point in my life.My passion for programming started at a young age, probably around ten or eleven years old. I remember that one of the first things I wrote was a text adventure game in BASIC (using the free GWBASIC that came with MS-DOS 3). It was loosely based around a freeware Commodore 64 game called Grod The Demented Pixie.The game itself was quite terrible and only barely qualifies as being called a text adventure because:It contained text.I'm sure at the imaginative age of 10 it seemed like quite an 'adventure'.It also contained my very first easter egg, in that if you typed in a secret phrase at the end (probably something like "ATARI LYNX RULEZ...
More About: Developer , Game , Part , Teenage , Game Developer

Interview with Amiga game music legend: Olof Gustafsson
2008-02-29 07:43:00
Long-time gamers like me will fondly remember the Commodore Amiga computer, and the amazing games that were produced for it.  The Amiga kicked off the careers of many gaming industry legends, with many having roots in the Amiga demoscene.  One such legend is composer/musician Olof Gustafsson, pictured above. Olof, using the handle Blaizer, originally composed tracker music for a demogroup called The Silents.  The original members went on to form Digital Illusions, and release the awe-inspiring Pinball Dreams, followed by Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions.  These games were lauded for not only their brilliant graphics and gameplay, but also their amazing soundtracks, which were composed by Olof.  Needless to say, Olof went on to compose many more great tunes for other Digital Illusions games. The reason I thought to post an article about Olof?  Well, I recently stumbled across an embarrassingly-inane interview with him on YouTube.  Take a look and you'll see what I me...
More About: Music , Interview , Game , Legend

Rise of the Gaming Bug?
2008-02-27 07:50:00
Hi, I'm AmstradHero. After plugging my NWN2 module in his last post, Ferris has now been generous enough to allow me to guest post on his blog - which I'm going to take advantage of by writing about bugs in computer games. I'll start with a little warning that this is a little bit lengthier than previous posts...Every gamer knows what it feels like to get frustrated with a game. Whether it's losing to opponents in an online match, struggling to defeat a particular hard segment of a game, or simply figuring out the correct path through a puzzle, games are designed to be both fun and challenging. However, the one frustration that is the bane of every gamer are bugs or gameplay elements that simply don't work. If you've been a gamer for any length of time, you're almost certain to have your own horror story about a bug or glitch that caused you countless hours of grief. It is also true that sometimes these can work in your favour - and certainly, I remember clocking up the...
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Fate Of A City: upcoming Neverwinter Nights 2 module
2008-02-25 09:46:00
I'll admit right away that I'm not an RPG fan.  It could be because I don't have the free time required to play through an RPG.  Then again, I'll happily devote time to completing a Grand Theft Auto game (as I'm sure to do once again when Grand Theft Auto IV is released).  So that can't be the reason.  Perhaps it's just the whole fantasy environment that doesn't excite me - I'm not sure.  In any case, RPGs like Neverwinter Nights 2 are massively popular with gamers and modders alike.  Which leads me to Fate Of A City , a Neverwinter Nights 2 module being developed by fellow Canberran AmstradHero. AmstradHero is a particularly talented guy who has taken a break from writing short fiction to develop what promises to be the the most impressive Neverwinter Nights 2 mod to-date (if the excited chatter on NWN2 forums is anything to go by). It's almost enough to get me interested in playing an RPG again! Almost...(image from fateofacity.blogspot.com)
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COD4: Xbox 360 Controller > PC's Mouse and Keyboard
2008-02-24 03:47:00
I never thought I'd say this, but I have found an FPS that I prefer to play on console rather than on PC. The game is of course Call of Duty 4.  I have previously written about how much better COD4's controls are compared with other Xbox 360 FPSs, but it was only recently that I had the chance to experience COD4 on PC.  The venue was a LAN cafe in Canberra, where I joined around 30 of my workmates for an extended COD4-session. After the usual reconfiguring of controls, I began playing - confident that my previous experience with the game would hold me in good stead. But something was wrong, I just couldn't get comfortable with the controls - a first for me on a PC shooter.  Perhaps it was the lack of additional buttons on the mouse to assign various controls to, but I found that I didn't have enough fingers on my left hand to comfortably access all the functions I needed. Try as I might I couldn't reconfigure the keys any better, leaving me with the shocking revelation: Ca...
More About: Xbox 360 , Mouse , Keyboard , Controller

C64 retro-game music: Reyn Ouwehand & Jeroen Tel
2008-02-23 07:59:00
I love old computer games- especially the retro 8-bit music.  One of the legendary C64 (Commodore 64) musicians is Martin Galway, composer of many superb C64 game soundtracks.  Green Beret is one of Martin Galway's most famous tunes, and you can find a wide range of remixes all over the web (eg Remix.Kwed.Org).  This YouTube video is not just a remix, but something quite different.  It is essentially a live performance by Reyn Ouwehand (a famous C64 composer in his own right), who uses some fancy looping technology to enable him to play multiple parts and instruments by himself.   Anyway, it's very cool... give it a few minutes as it gets more and more impressive over time. I particularly like the cool Rhodes part at around the 8-minute mark.  :)Another famous and prolific C64 composer/musician is Jeroen Tel.  Jeroen is responsible for some classic game tunes, including my favourites Eliminator, Cybernoid and Robocop 3.  Judging by this YouTube video, it looks like J...
More About: Music , Retro , Game

Car club get-together at Deep Space Centre, Canberra
2008-02-16 07:01:00
You've got to love chatting with like-minded car-enthusiasts. I went for a short drive today to meet with members of my work's car club. The meet-location was the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, about half-an-hour's drive from Canberra. The drive itself is very enjoyable, with plenty of sweeping bends and little traffic. A good opportunity to blow away the cobwebs from the GTI's 2.0L TFSI engine. Unless you happen to get stuck behind a learner-driver, as I did towards the end of the drive. But nevertheless, the drive was still lots of fun, and highlighted the excellent mid-range response of my Golf GTI, particularly when left in S (Sport) mode.View Larger MapWhile it wasn't a particularly large turn-out, there were some very desirable cars present at the get-together. As you can see from the photos, members turned up in German and Japanese autos, including: a Honda Civic Type R, Mitsubishi Evo VII, Mazda RX-8, Datsun Fairlady 1500, Golf Mk IV 2.0 Sport, and my...
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FreeNAS and Mac OS X - brilliant!
2008-02-13 08:48:00
Ok... I admit that this article doesn't bear any relation to cars or games, but I thought some of you might find it interesting anyway. I was recently looking for a solution to (1) automatically backup my main computer (an Apple iMac running OS X), and (2) make use of an old PC I had lying around. I am paranoid about making backups, especially with regard to my 5000-odd digital photos. I regularly back-up to a portable USB hard drive that I keep off-site, but I was also looking for a solution that would enable me to schedule back-ups to run overnight, without any intervention required on my part.Having a spare PC lying around I figured I'd install Linux, chuck in a few hard drives, and run a simple script from the Mac to back-up my files. I initially chose DSL, a cutdown Linux that would not overly tax my old PC hardware. After messing around with DSL for a weekend - while following the helpful tips of a colleague - I still managed to completely fail to get Samba server runn...
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Nintendo Wii - uh, I mean 'Vii' - review
2008-02-09 10:07:00
I first saw this video on Kotaku.com.au, and just had to post it here to spread the word.  A Brit by the name of Dr Ashens has gone to the trouble of ordering a KenSingTon Vii from China to review.  And an entertaining review it is!  I particularly liked the Chinese Puzzle Bobble knock-off: Squirrel Bobble!  I actually owned a Nintendo Wii for a year... a mostly enjoyable experience, except for the lack of decent games.  By the time this problem was rectified (Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy etc) I had sold the Wii and moved on to the Xbox 360 - with no regrets at all.While on Dr Ashens site, make sure you check out his Human Killing Machine (for Atari ST) retro-game review.  Ashen's reviewing style brings to mind Zero Punctuation, but with enough differences to be unique.  His HKM review is a reminder to all of us just how terrible some games from our past could be...
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Frontlines: Fuel of War on Xbox 360... played it!
2008-02-07 07:40:00
Created by the team behind the fantastic Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942, I've been waiting with baited breath for Frontlines : Fuel of War on Xbox 360.  Aside from Call of Duty 4, I haven't found a console FPS that comes close to rivaling the PC gameplay and fun of Desert Combat or Battlefield 2.  My hopes were initially lifted by Battlefield: 2 Modern Combat when it was released on PS2, but I quickly discovered that the game didn't bear much relation to its PC relation-  I thought it was pretty dire actually. So it was with great anticipation that I downloaded the Xbox 360 demo of Frontlines.  My initial response after playing it for 20 minutes was a longing to play Call of Duty 4 instead.  Frontlines: Fuel of War looks the business, with nice crisp graphics that remind me of Desert Combat.  The only letdown is the character animation, which sometimes looks rather stilted. The drones are interesting- driving a C4-laden RC car under a tank is fun (even though th...

Golf GTI: DSG FTW!
2008-02-02 23:38:00
Just for a change, the reality actually lives up to the hype. The Golf GTI's DSG (Direct-Shift Gearbox) is good, very good. After six months of driving I am completely sold on the GTI's DSG transmission.If you are wondering what the fuss is all about, then check out this (strangely-silent) Volkswagen Group DSG video.Or alternatively, check out this insane Meccano model recreation of a DSG gearbox. I reckon the DSG gives me the best of all-worlds. For example, I usually leave the transmission in D for my daily commute. In this mode everything is automatic, although unlike a regular automatic you need to be careful when performing hill starts (the GTI will roll backwards!). D mode delivers the best fuel economy. During my 30km daily round-trip commute I usually average somewhere between 7.5-8.5 L/100km (around 27-31 MPG), which is outstanding. While in D mode you can manually change gear at any time by using the steering-wheel mounted paddles or the regular shifter. Since the...

The legendary Hemi 265 Charger. Hear it scream.
2008-01-31 11:04:00
I'm not sure that this post needs words as such.   Simply watching the video- especially around the 30-second mark- is enough to send tingles down the spine of all true Mopar fans. Even if you don't have pentastar-blood running though your veins, you just can't beat the sound of an Australia Charger with a Hemi 265 (4.3L) straight-six...
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Call of Duty 4: top tips for Claymore fun
2008-01-29 08:24:00
As you may have read in my previous article claymores are my friends, I just can't get enough of the little fellas in Call of Duty 4. I have experimented by placing claymores in all kinds of locations, and have employed many different tactics along the way. Here are some of my favourite top tips for claymore fun!Unexpected location strategy. I like to place the claymores in seemingly-random spots, usually where they can be partially obscured by grass. This provides a nice surprise for enemies who carelessly dash between supposed empty/safe sections of the map. By the time they see the claymore it's usually too late.Fall-back ambush strategy. When approaching a firefight, I often prepare for a possible retreat by placing a few claymores along the way. Point them in the direction you are traveling. Just around corners and along narrow laneways are obvious choices. Enter the firefight as usual, but if you feel the tide turning against you start backing away in a fighting retr...
More About: Tips , Claymore , Call of Duty , Call of Duty 4

Tracking delivery of my VW Golf GTI
2008-01-27 23:59:00
Thanks to Wallenius Wilhelmsen's excellent tracking website, I was able to see exactly how (and when) my Golf MkV GTI travelled across the world from Germany to Australia.  To perform the query all I needed was my GTI's VIN number.  I've included a picture of the results below (VIN number and some other details have been removed! :) I thought it would be interesting to go on a virtual-tour by visualising the trip using Google Maps.  My 2007 3-door GTI was manufactured at Volkswagen's sprawling Wolfsburg factory in Jan 07.View Larger MapIt was then transported across Germany from Wolfsburg to BremerhavenView Larger MapIn mid-Feb at Bremerhaven it was loaded aboard Wallenius Wilhelmsen's ship MIGNONView Larger MapAnd was then transported to Sydney Australia, arriving at the end of March View Larger MapFinally, the GTI was transported 300km from Sydney to Canberra. View Larger Map...where it remains today.  All pretty fascinating, don't you think?
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Guitar Hero: aging disgracefully, or better than ever?
2008-01-27 11:17:00
The Guitar Hero series would have to rank as some of the greatest games ever made. Simple to learn, but fiendishly hard to complete (on expert difficulty), the games have something for everyone. I was hooked after playing Guitar Hero II on Playstation 2, and thought that I would never make it beyond medium difficulty. Well, it wasn't long before I was working my way up through hard and expert, and seeking more songs I purchased a copy of the original Guitar Hero. Another great game with an excellent selection of classic songs, although the controls did seem a little unforgiving compared to Guitar Hero 2 (they must have finessed them for the sequel). I loved every minute of GH1. Actually, perhaps not every minute... trying to beat Cowboys from Hell on expert still makes me want to throw my guitar through the TV.Anyway, my (elusive) main point is that since Guitar Hero 2, I think the series may have lost its way. Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s was a disappointment... at first...
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Ferrari F430 Scuderia: who cares?
2008-01-25 08:20:00
Ok, I admit that my title is probably a little harsh. The Ferrari F430 Scuderia is no doubt a brilliant car, as I'm sure auto journalists and the mega-rich will attest. But to be completely honest, I have always been far more excited by cars that are within reach of the ordinary person. And I am increasingly fond of cars that punch above their weight, so to speak, such as the recently-superceded Renault Sport Clio 182. There is something very appealing about a car that delivers maximum thrills for a budget price. Which leads me to the Toyota Yaris, or Echo as it was previously known in Australia. A well built car no-doubt (as all Toyotas are), but lacking in excitement. That didn't deter Kimi, who drove from the UK to Germany to have Toyota Motorsport fit a supercharger to her Yaris. Now that is truly inspirational! I for one would be proud to drive a supercharged-Yaris, and I wonder why Toyota doesn't make the kit available as an option in Australia? Surely a bargain-pri...

Top Gear Stupidly Hard Quiz - says it all really
2008-01-23 10:23:00
Have you given Top Gear 's Stupidly Hard Quiz a try yet?  As a longtime fan of Top Gear I figured I would do reasonably well, however my best result is a pitiful 15 questions right (125 laps left to go). Obviously I haven't been paying enough attention to the words of Messrs. Clarkson, Hammond and May. It's a tough quiz, no doubt about it.  Stupidly Hard in fact...(image grabbed from Top Gear episode)

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time: priceless
2008-01-22 11:38:00
I just couldn't resist this. Time has revealed its 50 Worst Cars of All Time, and it's a fun read. To save you clicking through endless pages, go directly to the complete list of cars. While some of Time's choices may be a little controversial (I like the 1958 Lotus Elite!), most of them emphatically are not. After all, who would argue that the 1998 Fiat Multipla, shown here in all its repugnant glory, does not deserve its rightful place in the top 50? And of course there are old favourites, such as the exploding lemon that was the 1971 Ford Pinto. I guess the best that can be said for these cars is that they have character, although it's the kind of character none of us ever want to experience first-hand...(image from www.budapestsite.com)
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Golf GTI on your Xbox 360
2008-01-21 10:20:00
It's probably old news by now (given that SEGA Rally for Xbox 360 was released back in Sept 2007) but I was overjoyed to find that the game features a Golf GTI. It is beautifully modeled, and perfect in every detail. It looks like the GTI has gained an aftermarket stubby antenna, similar to the one I ordered from parts4euro.com. The game itself is fun, being a good blend of arcade racer and driving simulation. Actually, there really isn't much simulation in the game, that is unless you count the simulated mud and dirt. The mud realistically splatters your car during a race, until you decide to drive through a puddle (a kind of DIY car wash). And the dirt road cleverly deforms over time, leaving tyre tracks and indentations in the surface. A cool idea, although I couldn't really tell the difference as I blasted around the track chasing down the opposition. My only real disappointment with SEGA Rally is that the Golf GTI is too slow when compared with the WRX and Evo. It...
More About: Xbox 360