NMS

“Embark on an epic voyage to the center of a boundless universe, and be the first to discover entire galaxies teeming with life. Survive hazardous environments, where alien civilizations seek their fortune and outlaws take it by force...

...Your universe awaits.”

That's what it says on the back of my newest game... No Man's Sky. Following lots of media hype, and a terrible post-launch crisis, No Man's Sky is still standing, and though it lacks many features promised by the developers, it's not a bad game. Also, now that No Man's Sky is going to begin releasing updates, players are calming down. I have been waiting since August to get to play this, and it pretty much lived up to my expectations.

But what do you actually DO in No Man's Sky?

Most of all one shoots rocks. Yup. It is a game mostly based in resource extraction and mining. And now that you can build colonies (recent update) it is a lot easier to 'Avatar'* the hell out of planets. So, now that I think about it, the player isn't exactly a good guy. You can also scan and upload planets, solar systems, animals, minerals, plants, and pretty much everything you discover, and for that you receive credits.

What is the game LIKE?

Visually, it is quite alarming. Many planets have bright neon grass, or glowing rocks. But there is an interesting mixture of complex and simple graphics. Ships and space stations have pretty basic textures, but planets have strange detail and beauty. Other planets look just ugly.

Would I recommend it?

Honestly, maybe not. I really like it. But it is a game that can be hated or loved by really similar people. It is a slow paced and calm game that requires a lot of patience. It is not a war game. So if you are expecting that, don't bother. However, if you enjoy naming things, running away from weird animals, and accumulating rocks, this is the game for you.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The ending sucks. You have been searching for the center of the galaxy for a REALLY LONG TIME, and then when you finally get there... you are mysteriously pushed away from the center with increasing speed, and have to start all over again in a crashed space ship. I can't say much about the story line, because I haven't actually finished. For that just look it up on the wiki.

Rating time!

Overall, even though it is simple, No Man's Sky, WAS made by fewer than 16 people, which is TINY compared to Halo, or Destiny, each of which was made by a team of more than 300 people. Plus, No Man's Sky is being updated regularly. So it will change, hopefully for the better. Overall, I give this game 4 stars.

Hey, remember that review I did of the Early Access version of Subnautica? Well the game is almost officially out. If you want me to do an updated review, or even an update of the early access one, please say so.

//INITIATE PROGRAM//

/LOADING AREA... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING TEXTURES... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING OBJECTS... 97% UNABLE TO LOAD OBJECT 8

CONTINUE? - Y

/LOADING PROGRAM... 99% FORCE LAUNCH

//LAUNCHING PROGRAM 97//

Somewhere deep in the core files a few ones and zeroes are missing. They should have been part of a space invader named Ocho, but now instead, he is a glitch. Someone forgot to program him correctly. Ocho is unhappy. But one day, the 97^th time someone runs his game, he thinks:

I'm tired of being a glitch.

I have to reach the core file, I'm going to fix myself.

Digital life forms have a very small thought vocabulary. He starts off toward the core files.

Ocho lives in the delete bin. He is safe though. No one ever empties the trash anyway. Of course this ends up being a pot full of other glitches. Walls that aren't solid. A tank that doesn't shoot. Other such stuff. Ocho's world is 2 dimensional, thus he can only go in 4 directions. He leaves the delete bin. He has to avoid detection, otherwise the people playing might think the game is faulty. And that would be very bad. They would be put out of service, or worse, deleted. He can see the others from the side of the screen. They look like white lines on black. Happy white lines on black. He continues. The program board is running full time, which means someone is playing. He wouldn't want to mess up the game. He goes into the files folder but before he can get to the core files (check line 6), the game on the screen ends.

player lives: 0

winner: space invader

GAME OVER

//RESTART PROGRAM//

/LOADING AREA... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING TEXTURES... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING OBJECTS... 97% UNABLE TO LOAD OBJECT 8

CONTINUE? - Y

/LOADING PROGRAM... 99% FORCE LAUNCH

//LAUNCHING PROGRAM 98//

Ocho has returned to the delete bin. A faulty laser slowly inches toward him. He isn't afraid, it's overall damage is exactly: .13018230981 points of damage. But he is used to the dull sting. Right before he gets touched, he glitches. He is teleported to the other side of the bin. The laser phases into the wall before appearing somewhere else in the bin. Ocho leaves the bin again, feeling quite frustrated with the players being so bad a the game that he can barely make it to the files folder. He doesn't bother with even looking at the game this time. The program board is calm, he might have enough time to get to the core files. He enters the files folder.

So many folders!

The core files must be at the center. Probably protected by some antiglitch/antivirus. It is in fact in the center. A bright red line lies between Ocho and the core files. Ocho begins to phase through the antiglitch. He is so close.

Player lives: 0

Winner: space invader

GAME OVER

//RESTART PROGRAM//

/LOADING AREA... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING TEXTURES... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING OBJECTS... 97% UNABLE TO LOAD OBJECT 8

CONTINUE? - Y

/LOADING PROGRAM... 99% FORCE LAUNCH

//LAUNCHING PROGRAM 99//

Ocho leaves the delete bin, quite angry. When he gets to the files he notices something. The files are now protected by an antivirus. He enters anyway. The pain he receives upon entering the folder takes his breath away, if he had any to begin with. He is able to push through to the core files. The core files appear as three folders: Area, Textures, Objects. Ocho enters the Objects folder. He then notices something. Right next to all the interconnected folders, there is a disconnected folder. A folder with the simple title, 8. He begins to move it. The closer he gets the folder to the others, the less glitchy he becomes. Finally with one last burst of strength he connects the folder. Everything goes white.

//CRITICAL PROGRAM FAILURE//

/UPTADE UNAUTHORIZED/

/UPDATING... 100% COMPLETE

//LAUNCH PROGRAM//

/LOADING AREA... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING TEXTURES... 100% COMPLETE

/LOADING OBJECTS... 100%

/LOADING... 100% COMPLETE

//LAUNCHING PROGRAM//

This is a story about 8. 8 is no longer a glitch. But he can no longer think. He no longer feels. Is this what he wanted?

//CLOSE PROGRAM//

A Book Report Named Disaster

A BOOK REPORT NAMED DISASTER

I just finished A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer. Honestly, it was not what I expected. The main story is that Nhamo, and eleven year old girl living in a traditional village in Mozambique, that is being forced to marry a man called Zororo (I can't pronounce that name, Zozorozo, Zorozo...). Her grandmother, in one final intent to get Nhamo away from the town to save her from that fate, gives her a bag of gold and tells her to go to Zimbabwe. Nhamo journeys down a river in search of Zimbabwe and her father, who is her only parent. She eventually ends up in a huge lake known as Lake Caborra Bassa. In the lake she encounters many spirits, mainly Njuzu (water spirits) and her Mother’s spirit on an Island known as the garden island. The garden island has an amazing food source, and she finds a Portugese spirit who gives her a Panga (hunting knife). Later, in search of land she end up on ANOTHER island, breaks her boat, and lives for months on the island. Eventually she sails to the coast, where she finds a town at the border. She gets smuggled into Zimbabwe and ends up Working/Living in a research hospital. She eventually finds her relatives in Zimbabwe, only to find that her father is long dead…

     A Girl Named Disaster is a widely spiritual book, dipping in and out of Shona religion. Nhamo’s fears and hopes are well directed as to make the audience feel part of the book. The book is well written, it uses not too complicated language mixed with Mozambican. Unfortunately the book becomes difficult to understand at certain points, and the beginning is too dull to really get me hooked. Other than that, I have to say it is a very good book.

This book is set in mostly Lake Caborra Bassa, Closely followed by Nhamo’s home town, and also The Research hospital. It seems to be present tense, but it is hard to tell. I largely expected it to be Sci-Fi due to the other books I have read by Nancy Farmer. 

A Girl Named Disaster’s characters are weird. Being mostly spirits, this book’s choice of characters is something I have never really seen. Nhamo is definitely the main character, with her mother’s spirit, and a spirit boatman called Crocodile Guts being secondary. The Njuzu are strange characters to describe, they are not evil nor good. They have strange roles, they both help Nhamo and put obstacles in her way. I think they are side characters.

There are also a lot of other characters like:

Nhamo’s Aunt

Nhamo’s Sister Matsiva

Nhamo’s Grandmother

Rumpy the baboon

Fat Cheeks the baboon

All the other baboons

Nhamo’s dead father

Long Teats The Witch

and a large selection of spirits.

My final verdict on this book is as follows:

It is difficult to get hooked into, but is difficult to put down near the end.  The characters and story are interesting. The ending is unexpected, and it left me wanting a sequel (A Girl Previously Named Disaster?) All and all, I would give this:

6/10

My New Computer 1

WARNING this is just a log, nothing structured or pre-thought...    

YEAH! So, yesterday I finally got enough money for a laptop, which in this case was an incredible 550$. I love it so far, problems with it are that it speaks to me in Spanish (which isn't too bad) and really, I don't have much to judge upon, It doesn't bring any programs with it (except Edge) so not much to say in that area. The sound is great, it runs smoothly, It is light, and most of all, It lives up to my expectations. Unfortunately, to use Word and other such programs I have to buy it. So we'll see how that goes. I have been informed of OpenOffice, that'll do. I have to update my computer, register it, get all the apps I need and so on. Today I will go to La Colmena (a place where a lot of my friends live... and where there is wifi). If anyone has a suggestion for stuff I need please suggest.

End Log

Camping

   Four days ago I went camping with my best friend (Fintan) and my Grandfather (Jim). We went to a place called Green River Reservoir, we canoed to our campsite, set up my camps and ate. The next day Fintan and I went exploring and found that there was a little island called Picnic Isle and that we had camped right next to THE BEST CAMPING SPOT EVER! Of course it was taken. So we went kayaking/canoeing to the isle and hung out there for a while. We ate ALOT of sugar, I had 5 S'mores and 13 Oreos, we ate Ramen, Soup, pancakes and lots of other camping foods. We played games alot but when we asked Jim if he wanted to play camouflage in the woods he said....

No.

   So 2 days went by, carving sticks, making S'mores, eating Oreos, drawing, etc.. And then eventually on the 3rd day a group of kids (11-12) came by and one yelled: "Everyone who hears this give up your dreams!". Fintan promptly yelled: "My dream was to put on my sunglasses!" and put them on. I then yelled "My dream was to grab a cup with a stick!" (Earlier that day I dropped a cup in the water and got it out with a stick). The exchange went on for some time.

   On the last day we packed up and swam at the good campsite (which was empty) then we canoed back, and I almost got lost In my kayak but Jim showed me the way. We left, ate sandwiches, and went home...

  /\_/\

( 0_0 )

 | |__| |

(,)   (,)

   'From the point on to the bay, up the hill to greet the day,
Hosmer Point is where i want to be ...
Gather 'round our value tree, building strong comm-unity,
Hosmer Point is where i love to be ...
Hosmer Poooint, Where we are freee! Free to be who we want to baa.
Hosmer Poooint, just come and seeee! We're all a fun community,
one two three, HP! '

    That's what we sang every evening after dinner at the sleepover Hosmer Point. I left H P a week ago and now I feel like I Should write something about it. For starters Hosmer was very fun, I met a lot of really great kids, some Became good friends of mine, but sooo much Happened at Hosmer That I would be unable to write all of it in one blog post, or maybe I Could, if it was HUUUUGE  It would be About 100 paragraphs long and ...
   Oh well I guess I can not, so I'll just write the highlights. For starters the cabins were fairly small and private with only mine having seven kids. Beds were comfy, sleeping was easy, until, 7:30 When a group of kids (not Including me) went down to the water, swam, and yelled as loud as possible to wake up the camp. Yes, This was done every morning except Saturday, Where we got to sleep 'til 9:00.
   The first few days were kinda confusing, I was confused about how the day went. Then I got used to it and things started going smoothly. On Friday one of my friends ate 42 pieces of bacon and got sick. The next day I missed polar bears and got EXTREMELY ticked off. Then on Sunday I got a care package with: Beef jerky, chocolate, and raisins. Counselors took the food. I got so angry I frowned (and totally destroyed my bed later but whatever). I kinda forgot about the food, I was more fascinated With the sticky hand and the ball I got from the package. The next days were fun, meeting people, learning how to do CPR in the woods, swimming, shelter building, more CPR  One day, I was allowed to exit swimming class since i had met requirements: D. I Learned alot and burnt my hand on hot glue, then a I won at javelin throwing against 3 others who were older than me. Also I won 1st place at the tournament Jiant Jenga (Jenga The Jiant was made my my friends and I in a class)  I made a raven out of cork in Arts and Crafts and on Thursday I and four friends, Addison, Axel & Andrew & Sam ,presented a skit called:
THAT GAME SHOW!

(The next part of the post is a recollection of the story, if you find it boring carry on)

   The lights turn on, the curtains open and ...
"Welcome to: THAT GAME SHOW (that you did not pay attention to on TV)!" Said the host.
   The 3 Contestants Walked on stage, one dressed in casual clothes, the other in fancy, and the third in gray uniform pants and jacket.
"I'm your host Galel, and today's contestants are: CRIS!"
   "Criiiiiiiisss" droned The One with casual clothes.
"Jack Important!" Continued the host.
   "My name is Jack, but you can call me Jack for short," Said the fancily dressed one.
"And finally contestant 3114" The host finished.
   "How did I get here?" 3114 Looked around confused.
"For our first game we have: WHATS THIS COLOR ?!.."
A man in black Walked out and gave the host a green card.
The first contestant answered "Criiiiiisssss" and was rewarded $ 1000.
The second awnsered: "Umm thats hard one ... Ummm, unggggg ... Red?"
The same man in black Walked out and switched the green with red.
"Correct!" Said the host.
   "YES! What do I win?" Said jack.
"A sad feeling" Replied the host.
Then the third's turn arrived.
"WHATS. THIS. COLOR ?!" Asked the host energeticly.
   "How did- Wait, I was in a crate! The crate was in a boat! I, I was ki-" 3114 started
"No! Wrong! Wrong!" Said the host desperately.
The second game was The Wheel o 'Fortune. Cris got anothe $ 1000. Jack got the purple surprise,
disappointment. 3114 and got the $ 5000 tile, but then a man in the black came out and switched it to the red surprise. Then 3114 was Dragged off, then a quick succesion of a red liquid (you guessed it!) Splattered on the ground.
   The end game was: THE ANSWER IS YES!
Asked Cris was: "What is the Color of a platypus?" Which I Responded To "Bob ..." and got $ 5000.
Asked Jack was: "Will you be alive in the next ten seconds?" Jack said no, and was Dragged away to meet is doom. The winner, Cris, was Awarded first place in sailing and was Past Dragged off.

THE END!

(But that's not it!)

So, That was the skit, kinda long I know, but, you did not have to read it. Anyway, much of the fun two weeks Were I Learned a lot and Eventually, sadly, i had to leave ...Hope I can go back again.

THE END FOR REAL!


















































Why are you still going down? It's Already the end.




















































Still here ??? How? Why?

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Raven’s

            TOP THREE

                                   Restaurants

                             (In Tegucigalpa)

  

Of the many restaurants in Tegus, I have created a list of the top three (which are chosen by my tastes, so if you don’t really like them then sorry). Let’s get into the list.

Number 1

Usami:

Near the ‘Sky Tower’ (a rich people’s apartment building) is this small sushi restaurant called Usami. It is definitely my favorite restaurant in Tegus, and best of all, they have 2x1 Monday through Thursday! I LOVE the sushi there, but I have to say that, at least for me, their soups (not counting miso) aren’t very good. They have these cool cone sushi things that are really big and they even have a family sushi-boat (thats a huge combo in a plate that looks like a boat)! The family sushi-boat is for 8 people so, just be aware. Usami has a nice little sushi bar and even a VIP room. I myself have never been inside it, but I have seen it from outside and it looks like a Japanese dining room (alongside a normal table) My favorite meal of Usami, which includes two plates, is Sake (salmon sushi) and Miso Soup!

Number 2

Sen Rose:

The follow up to Usami is ALSO an asian restaurant, but this time it’s Chinese. The reason I picked Sen Rose is because Sen Rose is IMMENSE. It is literally four stories tall and they just keep BUILDING! Also, they have a secret menu (dim sum) which has real Chinese food and not just MSG and rice… They have dumplings, rice soup, chicken and mushrooms, and more! The fact that they have REAL Chinese food makes me nominate it as at LEAST one of the best Chinese restaurants i’ve been to. My favorite meal is… Chicken dumpling bowl.

Number 3

Mami Luz y sus Calderas:

The next restaurant is a soup-erb soup place called Mami Luz y sus Calderas, which in english means Mother Light and her Cauldrons. They have ONLY soup, and their soup is GREAT. They have chicken, beef, beans, all sorts of stuff. I personally have only eaten there once, but the one food, chicken soup, was excellent. Which means I can only recommend one plate, chicken soup.