Lets see...

[Binnatics]

Memory still working. But back then the problem was solved, and mass upload got back up quick. Now I'm having this issue for over half a year, without any solution. The Aeva Media idea comes in welcome now. But still I'd rather have the mass upload function back.

Nevermind, I will get used to this new way.  ^-^

[PZ]

The guy who created Aeva is unfortunately not supporting it any longer as he had a beef with the producers of SMF.  This means that we cannot expect any updates  :D

[Art Blade]

Binnatics, you'll see, it is easy to compose posts like that. Type some, click that button, upload, and just keep on typing as the pic will have been inserted nicely just there and then. Even if you do "manual" mass uploads like I did a couple of posts ago, it is just very simple and not slow at all (at least with our fast internet connection we don't have to wait for the pics to upload) :)

PZ, well -- it works as is, no updates needed. :-D

[Art Blade]

[smg id=8299 type=preview align=center caption="boat trip 03"]
[smg id=8300 type=preview align=center caption="sunset in the city"]
[smg id=8301 type=preview align=center caption="1st person dashboard 01"]
[smg id=8302 type=preview align=center caption="1st person dashboard 02"]
[smg id=8303 type=preview align=center caption="weed car"]
[smg id=8304 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 01"]
[smg id=8305 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 02"]
[smg id=8306 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 03"]
[smg id=8307 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 04"]
[smg id=8308 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 05"]
[smg id=8309 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 06"]
[smg id=8310 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 07"]
[smg id=8311 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 08"]
the following pic IS blurry.
[smg id=8312 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 09"]

[Art Blade]

[smg id=8313 type=preview align=center caption="random impressions 10"]

Phew. I had just finished my previous post when I smelled something like a burnt electrical device but couldn't make out where it came from when I realised that my network icon had a red cross in it as in, no network. My router was dark, no LEDs lit.. checked the power sockets and one adapter was bloody hot. Turned out to be indeed the power supply for my router, it had just croaked. NICE.. lucky me, I had a spare one in the attic..

[PZ]

 :-X

[Binnatics]

I especially like random impression 5 :) :-X

[fragger]

Lovely collection of caps +1 :) :-X

R.I.P. your power supply :-\\ Just as well you had a backup!

I'm like you Art - if I replace something and the something I'm replacing is still serviceable, I'll hang on to it, just in case... and occasionally it has paid off.

[Art Blade]

Thanks guys.  :)

fragger, that 2nd power supply was only there because my provider leased that router to me so I'll have to return it eventually. The annoying part is the background story. When I moved house, I had to wait for quite some time (days) until they found out their router was broken right from the start and replaced it with another one that didn't w@&k, either. While waiting for the third (I never picked it up) I got so fed up with that stuff that I went to one of their shops and bought a router of the same type which of course has been working. When I return their crap, they'll have to cope with a broken router and power supply.  :-D

[PZ]

That's the problem today - lackluster quality, equally lackluster desire to perform and what comes out of the equation?  ... a consumer that is truly on their own to get the job done right

[fragger]

@ Art, I see. And how flaming typical

I've lost count of how many things I've bought over the last couple of decades that were faulty, didn't w@&k, had parts missing, etc. Most recently was when I bought a new TV which was bundled with a sound bar, and the remote for the sound bar didn't w@&k. Back to the shop... They tested it, found it really didn't w@&k, and replaced the whole unit, not just the remote. The people in the shop were understanding and helpful to deal with, but I really shouldn't have had to go back to the shop in the first place.

And it wasn't a cheap and nasty brand I bought either, the TV and sound bar were both Panasonic.

Quality control is a thing of the past, it seems ::)

[Art Blade]

Stuff that I bought has been OK so far but my internet provider kept screwing up regarding "service." When I mentioned "that" router which they leased to me, from which I took my second power supply, that router is broken and up in the attic. I'll return the broken power supply and the broken router. I can already virtually see their faces. I'm going to tell them, "broken? really? But I got it like that from you. I had to buy one myself because you were both extremely slow and gave me broken equipment in the first place and apparently even the replacement was, as you say, broken, too."

[Binnatics]

[smg id=8314 type=preview align=center caption="2015 11 25 00002"]

This picture resembles your relation with your internet provider;  "Can I have my ride back?" "Sure, we deliver it right next to you, sir!" :-()

[Art Blade]

so the mechanic delivered your car just across the river mouth.. and you're far from getting up that bridge.. excellent job :D

yep, my provider..  

Actually, you're not far from the truth. When I moved into my new apartment, I still had my old one. Those idiots disabled the land line one day early (ahead of the schedule we had agreed on, one day before I needed the router) so I had no phone except the mobile they didn't know about as I'm using a different provider for it, and then they delivered the "new" router (the first one which was broken, the one I mentioned in my last posts) for the new land line to the address of my OLD apartment where I wasn't living anymore and where there was no line anymore. I said address because, as I didn't live there I wasn't around when they delivered it, they gave it to a neighbour to keep it for me. GAH!  ??? I wouldn't have been able to complain, even, because they had cut the phone..  :D >:(( Took some time to find out what I told you. You know, "it's not here" -- "we delivered it there" -- "I don't live there, and there was no package" -- "we just did some research, it was given to a neighbour"  :o :'( :D Goodness gracious... how stupid can one be.  >:((

[fragger]

Bloody hell ??? :D ::)

[Art Blade]

 

When I was really fed up because it had gone on like that, I contacted the CEO's office. The receptionist asked whether I had filed a written complaint as they'd only process written complaints, I told her, "listen, if you really want me to file a complaint in written, your name will be on top of that list. Or we try again and you put me through," which all of a sudden caused her to change her mind and she did put me through, indeed. The CEO's secretary was a nice and understanding lady who promised help. I told her the story and that the installation guy didn't show the first time, not leaving any note, the second appointment was exactly the same (no one showed up) and the third should have been "in about three weeks, earliest we can do"  :o >:(( So the secretary sent one of their own the next day and he did a good job (laying a cable for free as opposed to "that will cost extra") and all that, except the modem was broken. As was the second.. When that guy tested the land line it turned out to be dead. Hell, I don't remember any more in which order all those f@#k-ups occurred but it turned out that the grey box out in the street had two cables reversed which was why I didn't get a signal. They fixed it and then it worked. Has been working since, except my power unit croaked..

Jolly good show, eh?  :-D

That's what I was like, kind of, when I was solving that clusterfuck:
[smg id=8316 type=preview align=center caption="don't even breathe or else"]

[Binnatics]

A few moments later:

[smg id=8317 type=preview align=center caption="2015 11 25 00003"]

[Art Blade]

can't see the telecom logo but I reckon it was one of their vehicles.. :-D

[Binnatics]

[smg id=8318 type=preview align=center caption="OWG"]

[Art Blade]

 :-X :)

I quoted you over there

[fragger]

I have a few question for the GTA V gurus.

I've been toying with the idea of picking this up. I have to say that the main reason I haven't is because I'm not altogether comfortable with the idea of playing the part of a criminal. Sounds silly, maybe, considering all the other virtual havoc I've wreaked in other games, but there it is. In reality I despise criminals with a passion and I'm really not keen on being one, or associating with any, even in a game.

However, the free-roam aspects of GTA V really do appeal to me and I like the idea of just goofing all around the play area, exploring, etc.

So, questions:

How did you guys acquire the game: download or physical? I'm balking at download because of the sheer DL size - about 65GB in total, as I understand it. I'm on a 50GB per month allowance. My ISP plan does entitle me to three free top-ups per year should I exceed my monthly allowance and thus avoid dropping back to dial-up speed for the remainder of the exceeded month. I have all three top-ups still available for this year so I guess I could afford to use one up if need be. I rarely use up all of my allowances anyway. The time factor puts me off a bit too, despite having a reasonably fast access rate. I read somewhere that the DL game size is quite a bit larger than the game installed from a physical disk because the DL includes all the MP stuff, which I don't know if I'm interested in. I could possibly get that later if I change my mind about it, so I'd be leaning towards the disk option. You chaps might know of other or better reasons for me to do the DL.

How mission-intensive is GTA V? I realise that a player does need to do some missions to at least get going in the game, but is there much to get through before free-roaming becomes available? Or does it actually w@&k some other way?

Do you think I might be better off, or more comfortable, playing some other game with non-criminal, free-roam capability like Just Cause 3? From what I've seen here of you guys' screenies, the environment of GTA V appeals to me more than JC3's.

I'd greatly appreciate and value any advice you good fellows might care to offer.

Cheers :)



EDIT: Rephrased a question slightly

[PZ]

I purchased the physical media - came with a bunch of discs and was an easy install.

I don't recall having to do very much to get into free roam.  It is quite a bit of fun roaming the world - better than what I've experienced in JC3.

[OWGKID]

So, questions:

How did you guys acquire the game: download or physical?

Download. No internet caps here  :-D

How mission-intensive is GTA V? I realise that a player does need to do some missions to at least get going in the game, but is there much to get through before free-roaming becomes available? Or does it actually w@&k some other way?

Not that mission intensive, you can go to free-roam after the first mission. You're unable to switch to the other characters (exception is your GTA MP avatar). You need to do some missions to unlock the rest of them.

Do you think I might be better off, or more comfortable, playing some other game with non-criminal, free-roam capability like Just Cause 3? From what I've seen here of you guys' screenies, the environment of GTA V appeals to me more than JC3's.

The online component is fun to mess with (especially with friends in a closed session, public servers are infested with hackers  )

[OWGKID]

Some hackers decided to have some fun in a lobby

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Time to get high >:D

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A living christmas tree

[Binnatics]

  That weed plant is a good one ^-^
Would've been funnier if these fools did that in a SP invironment though, instead of fooling around with other ppl's experiences in MP

Anyway, to come to your questions, I think PZ and GKID already gave you the most important info.

I will try to give you some info about free roam though that might be important to concider:

You being uncomfortable with being an ignorant criminal is kind of a problem tbh. Because this game is not ike any FC game. When you are in free mode, you will find yourself in a 'normal' western society. It's not that thugs, gangs, mercs or crazy warriors popup everywhere to keep you entertained. In fact, the biggest threat to your well being are the cops. Whenever you do anything they don't like (from killing ppl to staying close to them for too long) the game will grant you a wanted lvl and the cops will start chasing you. They are your worst enemy.
From what I know American cops are just like mercs, gangsters or crazy warriors so you might not feel the difference that much, but they are still cops right? Representing what is good and needs protection in our lovely society :-()
There are gangsters and thugs in the game, but only in certain areas. You have gangsters in the neighbourhoods of LS and agressive hillbillies in the small villages in the north. Plus the biker gangs in various locations. If you go search for them, you won't have much difficulty starting a fight with them. But if you leave them alone, they won't bother you at all.

I think that the main story, based on the life of 3 criminals of different backgrounds, will grab you sooner or later in a way that you will forget you are playing as criminal. Michael is, besides a retired bankrobber, a failed family man trying to do things right for his kids. All the social interaction during the storyline will make you identify with him even when you don't simphatize with his cruell history. (And no, I don't think you are a failed family man, I'm not either and I can relate )
Franklin is a youngster trying to do good for himself and the people he cares for (although the latter don't play a big role in his story) being raised in a neighbourhood where fighting the cops is like doing saturday shoppings.
And Trevor, well, Trevor is a psycho. He's cruell, brutal and crazy. And he loves his mother. I love him >:D

The way they get involved in corrupt government business makes you feel like you're actually doing right robbing these banks and everything else you do.

More about free roam; There's tons of stuff to do. And tons of land to explore. And there's treasure hunters around the globe thinking that there's a huge conspiracy with an alien invasion being at hand. There's so many secrets and clues and easter eggs to be found in the game that either the developers or the ppl playing the game have gone nuts thinking that one day Mount Chiliad will open up revealing a secret alien society inside, or that you, being one or all three protagonists at the time, will be able to open up a secret basement in Fort Zancudo where you might find the highly desired jetpack ;)
Besides the secrets there's lots of stuff to find and explore that aren't that special, but just enormously cool to have and do. Basically, you'll have to have some sort of love for exotic or classic cars.

[smg id=8184]

And if you like flight simulators I can tell you that flying a helicopter or fighter jet in LS is quite something. You might even want to try some trucking, to end up like a blood thirsty maniac yourself before you know >:D

[smg id=8317]

Anyway; if you stay chilled you will be able to move around without any trouble and you can have a good time observing what is, as far as I know, the best AI environment ever created. NPC's do the weirdest things and are quite entertaining. I think there's more lines to discover in conversations in LS than in FC2, although in LS you will only hear English and Spanish. And the NPC's respond to eachother. Art even managed to start gang wars between two groups of gangsters during a specific multiplayer mission. And you can do that all on your own, without having to connect to cheater-infested MP lobbies. That specific mission, as well as some others, have a complete absense of cops.  ;)