Commander Shepard

Yet someone still got "you're" wrong... Can't win 'em all, I suppose. I'm just glad we can win any of em.

When I was a kid (the 90s), we had an old computer that the school got rid of. It was made in 1985 and ran Windows 95. We had no internet and lived in a rural place, so access to games was pretty much limited to a CD (I think it was called FunPack or FunPack HD) that had seven ripoffs of classic games. However, we didn't know they were ripoffs, so I grew up thinking Tetris was called 'Emlith,' Asteroids was called 'Hyperoid', and Breakout games were 'Block Breaker.' I haven't played any of those games since, so this episode finally gave me the true name for the genre of paddle-influencing-ball games. Excellent archaeology work, Ross.

I dont think there are anthromorphic frog people living in the sewers Shephard you're just being paranoid (NAME THE REFERENCE YO!) Forget citations; we just witnessed three consecutive people on the internet spell 'anthropomorphic' correctly. That's remarkable on its own. I'm assuming you reference the Shephard from Opposing Force, rather than my own moniker.

Ross! I was worried that the anthropomorphic frog people living in the sewers had kidnapped you. I'm glad to see this is not so.

HOOOOGAN! No one plays all the way through Wolfenstein.

WHAT?!?! Ross, you don't look like this?

So, you're saying Ross is going to be terribly disappointed when the camera arrives? That's a bummer. Erm... I just wrote something above. Please refrain from inventing theories I was kidding. Clearly, I need to make it more evident when I do such things. Also, you can't stop the theory-making process. Ross is a robot from Connecticut who is actively working to topple all civilized government. Mike from Civil Protection was involved in Pointe Defiance's time-traveling murder-spree. Sean Puckett didn't get abducted by aliens; he abducted the aliens and is holding them in his basement for use in experiments. These are theories! (maniacal laughter) In all seriousness, I look forward to the announcements and will happily check the site a few times a day until they arrive.

So, you're saying Ross is going to be terribly disappointed when the camera arrives? That's a bummer.

While I can understand your skepticism on that point, keep in mind that Ross uses the premise that Freeman forms conclusions based on two things; his personality and what he observes in the game. Evidence to suggest the G-Man could be CIA (from Freeman's perspective): 1. He's seen ample evidence of a giant government coverup at Black Mesa. Marines have killed every scientist they can. They've failed to kill Freeman over a substantial period of time. A guy shows up, tells him he has limitless potential, and offers him employment. I know Freeman doesn't say it, but maybe he figures they've decided he's too hard to kill and it's better to work with him. That's consistent with his ego. 2. G-Man dresses like a government official. This is why he is known as 'G-Man' after all. He also speaks English. 3. G-Man talks about Xen being "under our control." Throughout the game, there are two extremely hostile forces; aliens and the US military. Freeman doesn't have any information to suggest that G-Man represents some mysterious third party. After all, Black Mesa has sent hundreds of researchers into Xen, heavily armed, along with soldiers and tanks. Freeman probably thinks he's capped off the takeover of the other world by killing its most powerful entities. Sure, there are plenty of things that aren't explained (how Freeman winds up with G-Man [possibly explained by going through one of the teleporter-like orbs given off by Nihilanth], G-Man's apparently supernatural powers [which Freeman acknowledges]). Also, while we, the audience, know the series is at its end (for the moment, at least), Freeman does not know that. He just wants to get out, as ever. Add in the fact that G-Man doesn't really give Freeman much room to respond...makes it tough to squeeze in a different theory.

Ross, you've mentioned several times in interviews that the format of Freeman's Mind is a limiting factor. Well, you made the series extremely interesting and varied. You did a fine job with the tools you had. I hope you get plenty of rest.

Well the irony is you "save" it in HL1 then in HL2 the Earth is still screwed. It's really not until Episode 2 that there's any hint that you're not involved in a futile battle. Actually, I believe killing Nihilanth is what draws the Combine to Earth all the more quickly. So, not only do you not save Earth, but you bring about that dystopia even faster.

I don't think Freeman grasps the fact that the Earth is screwed unless he saves it. 1. He could believe that the portals through which they come are located only in Black Mesa. All the military has to do is contain the aliens in there. In this case, all he has to do is leave (he thinks this, anyways). This is backed up by the fact that, throughout the series, Freeman has seen the use of superior firepower to be the solution to pretty much every problem. 2. Freeman is pretty egocentric; I don't think he's too worried about everyone else, even though the condition of the planet does affect him. 3. Even though the scientist and the guard say he's the only one who can fix the situation, I very much doubt he believes them.

As I said, Steam won't launch it anymore. I could hear sound effects (crane moving, door opening, and so on), but no voices.

Are you sure the audio isn't turned off? I'm pretty sure the audio was on. I could hear the crane moving, door sounds, walking around, etc. It's a bit moot now, though, since Steam won't launch the game for some unknown reason.

I fired it up and there is no sound during the intro, nor can I hear Ross' character's voice. Environmental sounds (picking stuff up, walking, etc.) work.

That seemed to work. Thanks very much.

It's free (Winrar for Windows, Mac, Linux FreeBSD and Android: http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm). I haven't got the game setup, but I have downloaded it. I assume you extract it to a folder of the same name. When I downloaded it, all I got was a folder (entitled 'rar') containing some scripts. Is the picture I attached how the inside of that folder is supposed to look?

OK, I've found the folder, but placing the .rar file in and starting up Steam does reveal the game. How do I 'extract' it?

OK, I have no experience with mods. I have the Half-Life Complete pack and I'm using a 2011 MacBook Pro using 10.6.8. Can someone walk me through setting this up and playing it?

Don't you mean "D0g, the attack r0b0t?" Ah, yes. Did Valve ever give an explanation for that spelling?

Robot Attack Dogs, you say? That is not a robot attack dog. That is Dog, the attack robot.

Huh? What happened that I get a praise all the sudden? "The right HLPrincess in the wrong place can destroy all the robot attack dogs in the world." -G-Man

You know that for me, as Ross's girlfriend, these kind of jokes are totally NOT funny and in bad taste. It's easy to joke like that when you're far away. Would you joke like that about your girlfriend/boyfriend? I hope not. I bet Ross is actually on a top secret mission, which began when he constructed his own space ship and journeyed across the galaxy, looking for clues. The evidence led him to Germany, where a strange Russian contact with an overcoat and glasses pointed him in the direction of a racetrack in the middle of nowhere. Ross then drove out there, evaded the police who tried to ticket him, but instead of finding a racetrack, he arrived at a carnival filled with undead enemies. After defeating the Baron running the place, he went through a portal to another dimension, where he took part in the French Revolution and visited a tavern. By questioning Star Trek Gorbachev, he learned that his girlfriend had been kidnapped by aliens, which were also pursuing him. He went to ground on a mini-golf course (no one would look for him there!) and plotted his next move. After fighting his way through an army of robots and taking down an extraterrestrial fiend, he managed to get back to our dimension. In order to learn more about the aliens, Ross traveled to Florida to question Sean Puckett, hoping for information. Along the way, he had to contend with birds that insisted on pooping on his car (these may or may not have been alien drones monitoring and hindering his progress). When he arrived at Puckett's house, he found it deserted, but thanks to some alien computer code, he managed to learn enough about the aliens to make his next move. Figuring he needed a team of super-heroes to defeat the aliens and reclaim his girlfriend, Ross then flies to California, having heard of a group of monsters he might recruit. Unfortunately, the monsters get scattered across the country and he must accompany his old pal Joey to round them up. That's as much as I can piece together from the cryptic messages he's sent us since October of last year. Not sure what his next move might be, but don't worry, Magda; he'll save you!

Well, it depends on what one considers interesting. Some people love big point totals and yardage figures; others prefer defensive battles. I definitely fall into the latter group. High-scoring games might be exciting, but in a game in which both defenses are playing very well, a twenty-yard run or a forty-yard pass is much more meaningful than it is in a barn burner. In a tight game at the end, it's much more suspenseful when the offenses have been held in check. If they've been running up and down the field all day, then there's a pretty good chance the team that's behind will score again. That's not as interesting to me. People have different tastes when it comes to styles of football (sports in general, for that matter). Thankfully, there's something for just about everyone who's interested. If you have some time, you might watch Super Bowl 25. It was a tremendous game, one of the best at the professional level I've seen. You'll have to watch it in pieces. If you want to skip pregame, just go to part 4. College football definitely has a better atmosphere than professional football. The fans are usually more committed, there are tons of great, historical stadiums, rivalries can be more than a century old. There's a lot to be said for it. I don't watch a whole lot of football on TV anymore, largely due to school and other time commitments. I watch a lot of film from high school coaches when I can.

You should make me your O. Coordinator. I used to have a passion for just sitting in my room and drawing up plays. Eagles are my favorite team and I'm really looking forward to this season haha Coaching is a long ways off for me, at least at the high school level. I currently coach youth football at the 5th and 6th grade level. Those little twerps have the shortest memory in the world, but it's great to see the ones with no skills improve. Most of them aren't good enough to play at the junior high level, so when they go out and make a good play and the fifty folks in the stands cheers their names, it's a special moment for them. I've actually collected hundreds (maybe more than a thousand; I'd have to check my external hard drives) of high school games from across my state. I don't really have a favorite offense, though I've seen tons of them (single wing, double wing, wing-T, T, various I, flexbone, wishbone, plus a few spread teams and others). The reason is that none of those offenses can be run by every group of players. A coach needs to have a system which fits his personnel. I can say this; my teams will run the ball well and run the ball the vast majority of the time. I would send you links to various games I've uploaded to google accounts for safekeeping, but most of the film I got from coaches to whom I promised never to share the film with anyone else. There are a few I bought, though. Would you like to watch some? As for the Eagles, it should be interesting. Will Nick Foles continue to be ridiculously efficient, or was he a one-year wonder? The Eagles play in a weak division, but the Redskins and Giants appear to be bounce-back candidates. We'll see. I'm a Seahawks fan (ever since the last couple of Holmgren years). While I wish some of our guys would present a more humble image, I love the physical, aggressive nature of our team. Seahawks and Eagles play on the Day Which Will Live in Infamy (December 7). We should keep track of that as it approaches. It's in Philly.