Dalby 5 minutes away

MtbCol how do you get into the games testing stuff?

I started off by signing up to a few gaming company newsletters alongside being a Fileplanet member. Fileplanet often do closed beta invites for certain games.
Once you get involved, if you’re prepared to test properly, and that’s actually trying to break the game code/ report errors/ replaying the same stuff over and over again, rather than just playtesting the game to see if its good enough to buy, then you can build up a better relationship with certain developers and usually get first option on similar games coming out from them.
Another way in is to be in some form of gaming community, every so often these “clans”, if they’re well respected and of high enough profile, usually get asked to do testing too.

Here’s a few I’ve had the opportunity to test:
Lineage2
Planetside
RF Online
Age Of Conan
Joint Operations – Typhoon Rising and the expansion Escalation
Counterstrike Source
Warhammer Online
Tabula Rasa
X3 Terran Conflict

and I’m in a couple of games that are still under the radar so to speak, both of them are covered by an NDA so I’m unable to discuss them.

NDA? Well that’s a non disclosure agreement which blocks you from posting anything about gameplay/screenshote/level design etc about a game during testing.

A good place to start isBeta Watcher

Anything by Scooter.
Foir some unfathomable reason my 59 year old mum has to play this rubbish while she cleans her house. 😡

Ooh where to start….

Champ Manager
Half Life and Half Life 2
Counterstrike in all its guises (used to be clanned that played in a couple of leagues)
Civ
Sim City
Lineage2
Age Of Conan
Dawn Of War series (and now wasting loads of time on DoW2)
X3 Reunion and then X3 Terran Conflict
RF Online
Planetside (my favourite MMO of all time, shame it got let down by a lack of support from SOE)
Everquest2

I’m also a games tester in my spare time, I get the opportunity through contacts to take part in a lot of alpha/closed beta testing every so often.

Prodigy – Fat Of The Land
KLF – The White Room

Single – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven On Earth
Album – INXS – Kick

a) Yes – prescription jobbies otherwise I can’t see the trail ahead of me
b) n/a
c) Yes – the odd branches on trees as well as the odd stone thrown up now and again
d) 0%

Cheers fellas, I’ve managed to pick up a bargain deal on a deity clamp and stem for £30 from the local shop.

My pic of a C-17 over my house last Tuesday 🙂
Shame it wasn’t a little lower.

Sootyandjim that chinook photo reminded me of that Tomb Raider movie sequence…

Well they are trying some interestingly new things out…

Sukhoi SU-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle). NATO codename “Firkin”.

Late to the party again! NASA did this ages ago.

X-29

get a narrower post and shim it out to 30.8 – that’s the only way I can think of doing it after looking at various sites.

One of these and one of these in 30.8

I can’t wait to see the list of csualties from SSUK09 that overcook my lovely quarried corner up at Crosscliffe! 😈

They’ve started building now. And your little bird is miles out.
The new section at Crosscliffe is part of the red that will be officially opened and used for SSUK09 going on what has been discussed.
The World Cup course is being built around the Adderstone area, the contractors are currently working over the road from the big field to the left of the skills park. They’re trying to build a self contained course that doesn’t interfere withthe existing waymarked trails from what I can gather. 🙂

Just resurrecting the low level theme for a bit. 😀

This does tend to annoy me in parts. For example parts of the Dalby red route have been dumbed down (certain 1foot drops have been filled in to create a flat descent. These were in no way hard or dangerous to anyone capable of riding a red route, but due to the increasing problem of daddy and 5 year old Johnny complaining that they can’t ride it without falling off, someone then decidess its easier to fill them in rather than tell them they’re not skilled enough to ride them.

“Oh look theres a black optional route – oooh an 8foot rollable drop – I can’t ride that I’ll complain to FE and get them to put handrails and safety harnesses in”

I’m getting sick of helping build a trail to a specific grade that is perfectly rideable, only to find certain trail features getting filled in or removed – it just turns into a waste of time for the designer and trailbuilders.

On the other hand, jump parks and the like do need to be carefully monitored, there is a much higher risk of injury from these, and should there be an issue with said jumps causing more than their fair share of injuries, then these should be reworked into a safer set.

Whinge over.

This just screams fugly – P38 Lightning

Lol Space Cadet! I haven’t heard that insult in a very long time! 😆

I’ve just found I can make a nice brew while I try to load a page 😕
How much tea can you drink before passing out?

If the Japanese are to be believed, all future wars will be fought by people in giant mecha!

Those dumb Americans should’ve chosen this over the boring to look at F-22

And for low level ejections this one is a classic

I don’t believe we’ve had either of these ladies yet…

WW2 era jets!
Both had first flights in 1943

Where I live has a 1940’s War Weekend every year and it grinds the town to a halt. All thanks to a poxy steam railway. 👿

Another nice little aircraft, definitely with a Cold War twist – F5e Tiger 2

Not sure if its been posted earlier, but the F105 Thunderchief was a favourite of mine.

And another….

The new winter kit for the armoured division 😆

C17 Globemaster III

Saw one at high altitude today and it looked so meaty compared to the airliners flying at that height.

Oh and I just love this pic…

Memories by Within Temptation.

In places like Dalby, I wouldn’t expect to see anyone riding the red route backwards. Saying that, the sections are waymarked, and the exit points are clearly marked No Entry. Having said that, having a cheeky downhill play on black climbs is something I do, but it is usually outside of the busy times when we know that there’s no riders on the trails.

GT Aggressor frame for £57 at http://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.php?category_id=19
I’ve used these in the past and had a good level of service from them.

beats shaving them I suppose.

Ok, we’ve had the svelte skinny lightweight stuff, now for something a bit, okay, a lot heavier!

Didn’t STW post up about this recall in the UK in November 2008?

I clearly remember emailing SRAM in regards to my forks around then over a steerer issue that was similar to this…

EDIT – Yep, just gone through my printed emails and came across the one I sent;

From Colin Bell <>
to returns@chainreactioncycles.com
date 25 November 2008 15:57
subject SRAM Recall – Rockshox Domain Forks
mailed-by googlemail.com

hide details 25/11/2008

Reply

Hi, a while ago I purchased some Domain forks. SRAM have issued a recall on certain forks with the following production numbers:
Domain Production Codes 09T8XXXXXXX to 42T8XXXXXXX.

My pair of forks has the production code 35T6XXXXXXX.
Are these forks within the recall and do I need to return them?

Many thanks in advance,

Col Bell

Got a Faith, great fun to ride ( as long as it’s pointing down a gert big hill)

Yep I’ve got one. Good for point and shoot and learning the basics of manual settings. There’s plenty of settings to mess around with and it can take some good shots.

The following set was taken using it, in atrocious weather and sport setting with continuous focus;
Urban downhill shots[/url]

And this was an impulse shot using panoramic mode;
Beach shot

And this was taken using maximum zoom;
Antonov An-22

I’m finding it a nice fun camera to use, especially if you’re on a budget, and its a great camera for unplanned photography.

I have a Hope Semi Integrated on my hardtail and its suffered loads of abuse and hasn’t failed me yet. Would definitely buy another one.

Am I getting old? I’ve just happened across a Sarah Brightman track and thoroughly enjoyed it! Not my usual taste in music…
Loce Spotify, love playing random peoples playlists 😀