Asus Customer Service

I had a positive experience with Asus Customer Service last week, and I wanted to mention it here.  I seem to have an obsession with always having things up-to-date on my pc.  If a new version comes out for anything that I have, even if the current version is working fine, I cannot resist the temptation to get the update.  Usually, I have no problems with this.  Until last week.

Every once in a while, I check out the Asus Support site to check if there are any updates for Asus N53SN notebook.  Last week I did this and found a bios update.  Update 208 to be exact, which would replace my 207 quite nicely.  It mentioned in the changelog that it optimizes the lan card.  I liked the sound of that, and I have flashed the bios on this machine and my Asus K50IJ (which my wife now uses) countless times and never had any problems.

Excellent.  I download the bios, place that sucker in the C:\ root directory, reboot and go into the bios setup screen.  From there, I select the bios flasher.  WAIT!  It gives me a warning saying the bios model number is missing or something like that, I can't quite remember.  I think, no big deal, this bios update has been on the website since September and they haven't taken it down...can't be anything wrong with it, right?  Wrong.

When I got that warning, I just said proceed anyway, and the pc did the rest.  It flashed and froze.  No problem, the flash is done, I'll just reboot.  Wrong.

Dead.  Bricked.  Game over.  Good thing I have a warranty...

So I find out that the Asus Service Center for my country is actually only 5 minutes from where I live.  God smiles upon me.  I head on over drop it off, pick it up two days and all my problems are solved.  They had to replace the motherboard, and format the drive, but no big deal.  No charge.  No hassle.  No problem.

Thanks Asus.  Just because of that, I plan to buy the Asus X101H netbook.  After which I will promptly delete Windows and install a fresh copy of Crunchbang Linux :)

Roguelikes on Google+

In addition to Rogue Code here, you should also check out the Roguelikes on Google+ page. You can find frequent updates on new releases and updates to all the best roguelikes and other roguelike-related news.

Dungeon of Dredmor 1.09

Will I survive?

Dungeons of Dredmor released a new patch to fix some of the bugs from 1.08.  We are now at Dredmor 1.09,  which has a healthy number of bugfixes.  Unfortunately, some of the other bugs such as the problems with Blackjack and a few others have not been fixed yet.  These will be fixed in the upcoming patches in 2012.

Check out the changelog over at the Gaslamp Games blog.

PyScripter 2.4.5 x64 for 64-bit Python out today!

Something I have been tracking for a better part of this year was the release of a version of PyScripter that recognized a 64-bit installation of Python.  That version was released today. PyScripter is a lightweight IDE with some great features.  I highly recommend it.  It comes in a standard 32-bit flavor as well.  Check it out here.  And in case you didn't you know, it's open source.

Open source PyScripter

Update:  There was an bug that caused PyScripter to crash fatally in the 2.4.4 version.  I reported it to the dev, he took 2.4.4 down, fixed it, and uploaded version 2.4.5.  That's the version to get now :)

Right now: Complete Dredmor for $1.87!

Right now on Steam, you can pick up Dungeons of Dredmor and the Realm of the Diggle Gods for $1.87.  Total.  The whole thing.  I doubt it's gonna get any better than this.  Don't miss out!

Wing IDE 4.1.2 released

I'm a bit late on this, but Wing IDE 4.1.2 was released a couple weeks ago, and let me tell you.  It really makes  coding in Python even more of a pleasure than it already is.  I am loving all the new auto-editing and auto-completion features.  If you don't use Wing IDE yet, you should.

Changes in Version 4.1.2

• Added Create New Package to the Project context menu

• Added Open Files tool for navigating to and closing open files

• Added new code selection commands in the Edit > Select menu to select current/next/previous statement or scope

• Fixed evaluation in shells of files with a coding comment

• Many auto-editing, auto-indentation, and auto-completion improvements

• Several VI mode fixes

• About 20 other bug fixes and minor improvements

See the full changelog here.

Huge Steam Winter Sale!

If you haven't checked it out by now, you should go straight to your Steam client and see all the crazy deals going on for the Steam Winter Sale.  Dungeons of Dredmor for $2.49!  That's half price!  The expansion pack/DLC for Dungeons of Dredmor, The Realm of the Diggle Gods, is also on sale for only $1.49!  This just came out last week!  Terraria is also on sale for only $4.99.

These, plus a ton of other awesome games, are on sale with big discounts, so don't miss out.  If you have any great deals you want to highlight, leave a note in the comments section.

Roguelike of the Year 2011

It's time to vote for the Roguelike of the Year 2011 at Andrew Doull's Ascii Dreams blog!  There are about 185 entrants this year, but you can choose more than one.  The main purpose of this vote is to see what everyone's favorites are, and to encourage others to try out new roguelikes that other people are enjoying.  It's a great way to discover new games.  I already put my votes in.  Now it's your turn.  Vote here.

Dungeons of Dredmor 1.08 released!

A girdle for my lady?

Gaslamp Games has finally released the 1.08 patch for Dungeons of Dredmor on Steam.  Unfortunately, Valve is holding the expansion pack, Realm of the Diggle Gods, to look for a suitable release window to drop it on us.  This new patch, however, has plenty to keep you busy until then.

A new quick mode (which I will probably never play) that allows for smaller floors, and more xp has been added, as well as a new colorblind mode for those that need it.

Pile of Diggle death.

We also see the addition of a female hero with the same attractive eyebrows that our male hero is famous for.  Extra equipment slots, new items, mod support, and much more make this one of the biggest updates that Dredmor has seen, yet.

Convenience is key.

New vending machines, and many UI tweaks, including a new crafting UI (similar to Terraria) have also been added.

Uhhhh, I was just leaving.

Dungeons of Dredmor is well on it's way to being one of the best roguelikes ever, in my opinion.

Thank you!  It was my pleasure! :)

Here's the changelog.  There are a few bugs that popped up with this release, so keep your Steam open to catch those hotfixes as they come in.

Dungeons of Dredmor: Realm of the Diggle Gods

Oh dear!  It's true, and it's nearly upon us.  Like really, nearly upon us.  Dungeons of Dredmor 1.08 patch (which is for all Heroes), and the expansion pack, Realm of the Diggle Gods, is about to be released.

I will be posting info about all of this after it's released, but for now we are getting a female hero, 5 more dungeon levels, scripted rooms, mod support, new items, new crafting, new equipment slots, new this, new that, newtastic!

Check out the trailer for Realm of the Diggle Gods!!!



Now check out the blog post from Gaslamp Games.