The TEoS 'hey let's try it out' Alien Arena 2009 Event!

We will be running a 'hey let's try it out' event tonight in Alien Arena 2009 tonight.  Drop by the forums and check out the event thread for more info.  I'll post IP's to the servers we'll populate tonight as well as post them in our IRC channel.  Be sure to use the web-site IRC client for quick info!

Forum Thread:  http://www.teosanity.com/ph0rums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=100

I also added an Alien Arena avatar to the forums gallery for you to use.

Alien Arena Download:  Click Here

IP's of servers we'll be hitting:  Cthulhu's Call of the West Deathmatch - 172.34.140.68:27910

Remember to visit us in IRC too!

See you tonight!

LoAdEd

Sprinkle a little Sanity Bits in your underwear to stay fresh all day!
OMG 2 updates in one week. CRAZYFACE

Community Update

• IRC Web client released! - Ok, so I'm making it even easier to visit us in our IRC channel!  I have added an IRC web client to the site.  Click on either IRC link from the menus, enter your gaming handle and click Connect.  If you want to graduate to mIRC usage, check out the mIRC guide in the forums for step-by-step instructions.
• Alien Arena 2009 Event - We are planning an Alien Arena 2009 event on Friday.  For now it's a 'let's try this game out' event so check out the event thread in the forums for more information on what AA09 is and how to get the game.  It's free!
• Descent 1/2/3 - I just recently discovered a community revival of the classic game Descent.  A project called DXX-Rebirth aims to enhance the gameplay of Descent 1 & 2 while a network client is available for Descent 3 to allow for play over the internet again.  Check out the forum thread and post if you are interested in getting some Descent action going.

Around The Web

• Windows 7 Pre-orders tomorrow! - Microsoft will be starting up pre-orders for Windows 7 beginning tomorrow.  There are two versions available tomorrow, home premium ($49.99) and professional ($99.99).  They will be available for a limited time so be sure to buy yourself a copy quick like a bunny!
  More info: Click Here
• Bethesda buys iD - Mr. Carmack is getting some new digs as ZeniMax, a parent company of Bethesda Softworks, completed the acquisition of iD Software.  All of iD's projects will remain under Carmack's control....yeah for now.
  More info: Click Here
• Serious Sam for XBLA - Serious Sam is coming to XBLA in HD this summer.  It will be another stab at the First Encounter but the visuals are greatly enhanced.  Co-Op for four friends will be available.
  More info: Click Here
• Man hooks home into Twitter... - As if people didn't have any other pressing matters to address in their lives, a computer engineer has actually wired his household items in his home to send twitter messages when they are turned on.  His goal is to reduce the amount of electricity his family uses.  I wonder how much electricity the sensors and/or the computer translating the sensor data are using.  Maybe turn those off too??
  More info: Click Here
• Left-handers 'think' more quickly - Something I've always known.  A study in Neuropsychology shows that connections between the left and right hand hemispheres of the brain are faster in left-handed people.  This is exactly the reason why I destroy Avaf at everything! Damn, I'm good!
  More info: Click Here

Another exciting bowl of Sanity Bits for you.  PART OF THIS F'N NUTRITIOUS BREAKFAST!

Community updates:

• As you know, we are always actively recruiting TEoS minions to the fold.  We aren't a competitive team.  We are a gaming community that loves to play games!  If you want to sport the teos tag and be a part of a great community, drop by the forums or msg me on IRC to join!
• Calling all CS players!  If you are looking for a better server home, drop by our server and fire it up!  8.6.8.223
• The forum upgrade went nicely and has done an awesome job so far.  As you may have noticed, I have changed the graphics and layout of the forums.  Drop by the forums and let me know what you think.  I am continuing to update the icon graphics so you will see more changes over the coming weeks.

Around the Web:

• Alien Arena 2009 - If you haven't checked Alien Arena 2009 (AA09) out, I'd recommend it.  AA09 is an open-source fps shooter 'ala Quake style. It sports the GLSL per-pixel lighting which allows you to really crank up on the graphics without taxing the system much.  It works on both Windows and Linux which is a plus for our Linux community.  Best of all, it's open source and free!!  The current version is at 7.30 and comes with many maps, game types and is supported by a large community.  Check it out!  I will be looking at an event here soon and post it in the forums.  Reply to the thread if you are interested in jumping online with us.
  http://alienenforcer.com/alienarena/rpa/
• Spore - Galactic Adventures available - The new installment for Spore is now on store shelves in North America.  The rest of the world will see a release on Thursday.  Bonus content was added to the game including new adventures written by the creators of Robot Chicken.
  http://www.spore.com
• New Steam Client Update - A new Steam client update is now available which includes a number of bug fixes.
• Origins of video game names - Want a serious breakdown of video game names and their origins?  Blogger, Drew Mackie, put together this light bit of reading complete with photos.  Great bit of info about the games we grew up with.
  http://kidicarus222.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-secret-to-everybody.html

That's all for today.  Again, we're always recruiting cool people that love to play the games! Join TEoS today!  (oh god, was I just drumming for war bonds?  wait, maybe that means I will get some money! Yay! b^^d)

- LoAdEd

Another edition of Sanity Bits COMIN 'ATCHA!  Just a quick rundown of pc game sales for May. Take a look!

Top selling PC games for May 2009
Calculated from NPD Group survey of retailers

1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Blizzard
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts
3. World of Warcraft Battle Chest - Blizzard
4. World of Warcraft - Blizzard
5. Empire: Total War - Creative Assembly/Sega
6. Spore - Electronic Arts
7. Left 4 Dead - Valve
8. The Sims 2 Apartment Life - Electronic Arts
9. Fallout Trilogy - Interplay
10. StarCraft: Battle Chest - Blizzard
11. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade - Blizzard
12. Demigod - Gas Powered Games/Stardock
13. Real Deal Slots Adventure - Phantom EFX
14. The SimCity Box - Electronic Arts
15. Fallout 3 - Bethesda Softworks
16. Diablo Battle Chest - Blizzard
17. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition - Bethesda Softworks
18. Warcraft III Battle Chest - Blizzard
19. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II - Relic/THQ
20. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor - Relic/THQ

Notes:

All I can say is wow!  Blizzard has 7 of the top 20 games in sales for the month of May.  Even more amazing is that Starcraft and Diablo are still in the top 20 after all these years.  Just goes to show you that there isn't much out there in the way of good computer games that have the staying power that those two have.  WoW is a given since it has 328743298748392748932 subscribers.  I would expect to see Sims 3 take the #1 spot in June and I wouldn't be surprised to see Prototype slip in.  Interesting mix of games to say the least.