RLacey

I agree. I will ALWAYS pick a hard copy over an electronic one - there's something more reliable, and also rather comforting, about being able to leaf through the manual while the game installs, and proudly waving the box in a friend's face all the time .

I try .

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not one for planning projects for an as yet unreleased engine or tool. Sure, it's not like Half-Life 2 is going to go the way of SCRAMM, but surely there are problems that you won't even know whether or not you can solve prior to actually getting the tools?

Why would anyone buy it through Steam when you can buy a fully boxed copy for the same price or cheaper?

Incorrect, my friend - it is ALWAYS 'id Software'. As for the death of shareware, I put it down to increasing file sizes. Modern demos are so huge that releasing a third of the game would be impracticle. Of course, with the limit to the demo length, calling it shareware is probable seen as a betrayal of principles, leading to the use of 'demo' instead. Also, when you ordered shareware games you got them through the post, rather than buying them in a shop. As the way we buy games has changed, so too has the way in which trial versions are distributed and named.

I know a lot of people who hate Mr Smart, and I count myself as one of them. Yes, so he's obviously talented and dedicated, but have you seen the way he talks down to gamers on his forums? You know, in a Why-haven't-you-read-the-bloody-manual-now-I'm-going-to-ban-you kind of way. It's just not acceptable to do that, IMO. And yes, the games are getting better. But not by enough to justify a new purchase or even the time taken. Which is perhaps not surprising, as he seems to passionately believe that those who slate his products are simply wrong. All of us???

Something like this?

Why do they always announce interesting things while I'm away on holiday? PC version . That means I will actually be able to play this game .

Classic!

Is this story for real? If so, that is one violent kid...

Or, even worse, the designers sometimes make the logo videos UNSKIPPABLE. Why??? I personally think that Half-Life's intro was incredibly lame, and certainly put me off even considering restarting the game - I like my intros skippable should I choose. I liked the intro from Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon and also from Beneath a Steel Sky. And from most adventure games, to be honest. I also liked the drama of the Deus Ex: Invisible War opening (even if it bore little resemblance to the rest of the game), and I'm a sucker for the intros of Star Wars games.

Pretty much, yes.

Nox had quite a good one as well...

It's never too late! As you live in England, you can pick up NOLF1 GOTY for £4.99 from Xplosiv! And you can get NOLF2 for £9.99 on the Best Sellers collection! And you can probably find Contract J.A.C.K. knocking around somewhere cheaply!

I'm not expecting this to go anywhere, but just in case there is someone out there who is interested... It's traditional that, every year or so, I needlessly redesign the LaceyWare website. However, while I now have a nice site design coming on, the one thing that is beyond my reach is a decent looking logo. So here is the challenge, for anyone with [a burning artistic desire/no life/desperation to be credited] - design a new LaceyWare logo to fit this web design... http://www.laceyware.com/lw2.jpg I can't pay you (at the moment), but I can promise to credit you. As far as the logo itself is concerned, it must look alright once sized to fit in the spaces marked. I don't mind if the Lacey and Ware sections of the logo look different or the same, or anything like that. Funky shapes are good. It can be coloured, but must also look alright if done in a purely white-on-black/black-on-white style. Good luck (if anyone actually has an idea)...

Nice pictures, but that would be 'Lacy'. 'Lacey' is just a surname...

I don't think so. Are you, by any chance, thinking of System Shock 2?

I'm speaking from very little experience of 3D Lemmings and Lemmings Paintball, but from what I can gather 3D Lemmings is just like Lemmings, but with a slightly clumsy interface (not that bad, I promise!), while Lemmings Paintball has little or nothing to do with Lemmings. Worth getting as a pack, though...

I actually went out and bought that a couple of days ago, along with 3D Lemmings and Lemmings Paintball. Excellent stuff...

Agreed. Games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein employed clever coding to all but eliminate quick-loading times (or so I remember). It really shouldn't be that difficult to retain constant data (such as the level layout itself) in memory, rather than reloading it on a regular basis.

Can we have that again in English?

Yeah, I know, but YOU try having oppressive parents whilst living on the South Coast! There is absolutely no way whatsoever that they would say yes to me asking them if I could pop up to London to play Space Invaders ...

The controls should be simple enough, and it will support keyboard, joystick and mouse. Plenty to choose from ...

I'd be into it if you or Jake could house me... And pay for my flights...

Yes, yes, yes. Which is why my summer game (coming soon from LaceyWare.com ) will feature single-PC co-operative play.