THE RAjE!
THE RAjE!
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Welcome to the NEW and IMPROVED RAjE!
STILL TO COME:
JAVA Support! � Irritation Nation Irks! � The Contest! � Cool pics to look at! � And much, much more!
Plus info and stuff on things I think are cool, including, but not limited to:
Dragon Ball Z
Computer Programming, Visual BASIC and Visual C++, DirectX 7
Humor
Bruce Campbell
Monty Python
And miscellaneous trivial BS
If these things interest you, rest assured, you're not the only crazy freak who it does! Someone else out there is bound to... surely.
NEWS (As always I'm not saying that it's all new or anything)
BACK ON BOARD
If you are a VB programmer, you must be living under a rock if you haven't heard about Microsoft's release of DirectX 7. What's so special about DirectX 7, you ask? I'll tell you- Visual Basic Type Libraries. That's right, Visual Basic programmers now have first-party support for programming DirectX-based video games and multimedia applications. From the looks of it it's about as fast as it is in C++, but now making DirectX applications is much faster using VB. You can download the SDK, which includes DirectX for C++ and Visual Basic, along with documentation and samples for both C++ and VB DirectX programming. It's a big download, so order the SDK on CD direct from Microsoft for a mere $10, or, better yet, go to Barnes and Noble and order a book with the SDK included to help you get started. DirectX is the API used by nearly all PC games developed in the past few years. Heck, even Unreal used DirectX! What more do you want?
I also wish to announce that I am currently working on development of a computer game. The title has yet to be announced. Currently the project is still on paper. The design docs are being drafted and character sketches are on their way. The game is planned to be developed using DirectX 7 for Visual Basic. Once I get the design docs complete and get deeper into DirectX more information will be given about the game and the "Big Project" I've been planning for several months. I'll keep you posted in the future, in the meantime, wish me luck!
DRAGON BALL Z
DBZ is a Japanese cartoon based on a comic book series, and is one of the most popular anime around. There are people well into their 20s who enjoy watching episodes of DBZ. What makes it so popular?
Dragon Ball Z can now be seen every weekday at 5 PM Eastern, 4 Central on Cartoon Network, and again at 12:30 AM EST, 11:30 PM CST for those late to rest. Call your local cable company or satellite provider NOW!
This technically isn't related to DBZ, but anyway, those of who begging for SquareSoft to bring Tobal 2, featuring the characters of Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, Tobal 2 will NOT be brought to the states at this time, �Square instead opting to bring us Ehrgeiz, which is supposedly a step up from Tobal series, with several mini-games and a more involved Quest Mode. Fans of Tobal might be interested in this game. Ehrgeiz is to be released in May 1999 by SquareSoft. Square is known for games such as the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger (which also features characters by Akira Toriyama), the Bushido Blade series and many other top-quality titles.
UPDATE: Ehrgeiz has been out a while, and I've had a chance to play through the game until I drained every last drop of enjoyment I could. So how was it? Bluntly: not what I expected. This game was to build upon the fighter/RPG Tobal series. Did it? Hardly. The graphics were superb, crisp and clear, the best of any fighting game on the PlayStation. But when it came to the meat of the game, the battle system seemed a bit dummied-down, but what I was really interested in was the RPG mode. The RPG mode is in full high resolution, with clean graphics, in fact, you might be surprised this is a PlayStation game. The RPG modes in Tobal were a 3D chase-cam dungeon romp, where you chose any character in the game and took along with you all the skills your character used in the arena-based mode. However, Ehrgeiz totally dummied-down RPG mode, making it a 3D overhead hack-n-slash type game. There are a variety of armor and weapons that would affect your stats in various ways, and what you ate affected your stats as well, which was a very interesting and original feature. Different weapon types, like gloves, swords, axes, etc., were handled differently by the character, so each weapon type had its own specific moves. These moves, however, boiled down to simple button-tapping combos. For example, if you had the gloves, you could use a punch and kick combo. The same combo, no real variation. Axe, just chop stuff up. Typical stuff for a fighting game, like a 3D version of Final Fight, for lack of a better comparison. Almost as disappointing was the inability to use any fighter in the game; there are only two selectable fighters in RPG mode. While the RPG mode in the game is still a very good one, it stripped away some of the features that made Tobal so popular. Oh well, maybe PlayStation 2's upcoming The Bouncer will make up for it. Until then, check out videogames.com for info on The Bouncer, it looks very interesting.
PROGRAMMING:
I have big news for those of you college students who, like me, want to find
Visual Studio as cheap as possible. Well, How does Visual Studio Enterprise
Edition sound... at the incredibly cheap price of $291! How about Pro for
$221!!! This is SUPER cheap for what people pay over $1000 bucks for, but
you have to be a member of the academic community to get in on this unbelievable
bargain! So, if you're a programming student who wants to have the edge over
the rest of the class with their little dinky learning versions, go to
Soft4U right this instant! And as always,
tell 'em the RAjE! sent you!
HUMOR:
For the silliest view on the news, watch the Daily Show on
Comedy Central Monday through
Thursday nights at 11 PM EST, 10 PM CST.
For any Bruce Campbell fan, the place to be is here. He can be seen as a semi-regular on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as Autolycus, the grappling hook-toting, tarzan-swinging, kleptomaniacal yodeler thief. BC is also known for his roles in movies and TV including the Evil Dead movies and the Brisco County Jr. TV series.
To find out news about the silly sods of Monty Python, visit PythOnline and find info about the crew and the weird things they like to write. Join the Spam club today!
MISCELLANEOUS:
Well, the final Ultima game has been release- Ultima IX: Ascension. I've played
through the game and have some good and bad news for those fans who grew up
loving the series and cutting their teeth on the role-playing genre. We have
waited 5 years for this game (In fact, I have a PC Gamer magazine dated Oct.
1995, with Richard Garriott (aka Lord British, founder of Origin and mastermind
behind the Ultima Series) on the cover. In the magazine, there was an interview
with Garriott talking about the development of the game, as well as a few samples
of the design docs and sketches, so it's been in development for a long time.
Think of it this way: Ultima 9 has been in development longer than the PlayStation
has been on the market! Check out GameSpot
for the skinny on this farewell to a most beloved series. I have purchased the
Dragon Edition of the game. As any hardcore Ultima fan can tell you, there is
always an Ultima game package for a new game that comes filled with all kinds
of goodies and Ultima memorobilia. This time around, along with the traditional
cloth map synonymous with about all Ultima games, the Dragon Edition contained
the cloth map, an small ankh pendant, 8 virtue cards (the ones the gypsy uses
to determine you path), The Ultima Collection (Ultimas 1-8 and Akalabeth, the
predecessor to Ultima), a soundtrack CD, a small poster of the avatar ascending
just out of the grasp of the Guardian, and a certificate from Lord British himself.
In addition, an imitation leather journal and a spellbook are included, and are
nicely illustrated and virtually identical to the content in the game. While the
game was a disappointment, the stuff in this package will make any die-hard Ultima
fan remember all the old times they had, from the time they were first cast into
ancient Sosaria up to the time the Guardian is destroyed once and for all. The
Trilogy of Trilogies has been cast down, and so ends the epic saga of the Avatar.
And so ends an era in video gaming, leaving a mark that will always remain in the
hearts of role-players all over the world. We salute you, Richard Garriott, aka Lord
British, for giving us some of the most cherished gaming experiences we'll ever hope
to see...Ok...good night everybody. You may now leave the building.
For those of you computer users who want the lowdown on what's really going on in the underground world of computers you must visit the Hacker News Network, the voice of reason. Also visit their Cracked Pages archive for those more memorable security short-comings.
The RAjE! Official Links!
These sites have been thoroughly tested by yours truly to make sure they withstand the everyday abuse of washing machines, sporks, paper towels and the occasional gooey nougat.
The DBZ Specialty Store, you're #1 source for all that is Dragon Ball!!!!
The best video game/anime/cool stuff store on the Net today. Import and domestic N64, PSX, SAT, and DreamCast games, accessories and systems, as well as anime on VHS/DVD, wallscrolls, action figures, video game and anime soundtracks, and loads more. I highly recommend this site for all your gaming needs!
Outfitters of Pop Culture since 1980. Now this place is cool. Find novelties that will make your glow-in-the-dark blacklight lava lamps wet their panties with jealousy when they see the crazy stuff in McPhee's catalog. I mean hey, where else can you get stuff like the Punching Rabbi Puppet (oy!), the SumoFan, and everybody's favorite, Nunzilla? Not just anywhere! If you like weird, wild and just plain hilarious novelties, come here and request a catalog!
The archives of video game history. Home of Kai-Oh-Shin's Planet, your best source for information about Dragon Ball, including storylines, almost EVERY Dragon Ball game (and there are many!) and a whole lot more. KaiOhShin's Planet has received national attention for it's unmistakable coolness.
MSNBC calls it "The Voice of Reason". Find out what's going on in the world of the hackers and crackers, and view the Cracked Pages archive, which displays some past hacked pages. Also gives the latest cracked pages daily. Definitely worth a look whether you're a hacker, a cracker, or a novice at computers altogether.
The best Search Engine chuggin' on the Net. Speedy, vast, and they give away free E-mail addresses!
This ring links to the Ultima Dragon Internet Chapter. I have been a member since mid 1997, about the time this site was born, and the RAjE! DBZ Legends Official Strategy Guide was created. For fans of the CRPG Ultima series, you must come here!
Thank you for visiting my site. This site was created originally in fall '97 and has still managed to keep it's place on the Net. Thanks for your support.
Rajun' Dragon (c) May 8, 1999; February 22, 2000 All Rights Reserved
"That's Cajun with an R !"
Remember, Do not send E-mail with file attachments! I will NOT open them!
Dragon Ball Z is the property of Bird Studio/Toei/Shueisha/Funimation. DBZ Legends is owned and produced by BANDAI Japan. Visual Studio is property of Microsoft Corp. Any others belong to their own respective companies, and any images on this site should be used with permission from the site to which they are linked, and should be linked ONLY to their site. Do not ask me for permission regarding any image files, I do NOT own any rights to them other than to link them from my site to their site. Any questions regarding them should be directed to their creators.