YouTube. Ahhhh YouTube.
#Ohhh give me a home
Where the trollers do roam
And douches and egos run free#
Recently I put a vid on my channel where Wings of Redemption lost in a 1v1 despite having host and stopping power and his camper pants on. It’s been doing the rounds and even itzdeaman put it on his channel. Itzdeaman is some sort of community gaming channel thingy – to be honest I don’t know that much about it but lots of people have been signing up to it and getting “sponsored”. But, allegedly Wings of Redemption put a “community block” on itzdeaman according to the annotations in one vid.
So…. community block? What? Ahhh who gives a flying Fernando what WoR threatens people with anyway?
I do not search out WoR douche references. I don’t care about him, what he does, what his douchenozzles do or anything like that, but if your vids, or the vids you watch are in any way MW2 or BFBC2 related videos related to him always appear and for the most part I avoid them. But then I saw this vid earlier:
You could argue that troller deserved to be blocked for trolling. Fair enough. But Woodysgamertag saying “You got yourself a community block” – a what? What community? What community are Woody, WoR, and I would imagine at least one other are the leaders of?
When it comes down to it, they’re just game commentators, posting vids to YouTube. They have no power, they control nothing other than their own channels. Do they honestly consider themselves to be the figureheads of the gaming community? Well, I for one don’t consider them to be representative of me and I certainly don’t appreciate anyone dictating to me who I should and should not watch.
So as the leader of my own personal community (comprising of ME) I’m invoking my very own Community Block:
Wow, look how much power I have…..
Peas and loaves.
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Thursday Thursday Thursday – it’s Weekly-ish Update Day! This is the Reader’s Digest version of what’s gone on in the past week. This is aimed at new visitors to the blog who may not know what’s going on and as a recap not only for you subscribers, but for me as well. It’s nice to get everything in one place and give any little updates that would be missed on the original post.
Cheating
It’s been an interesting week for the subject of cheating. Premier Call of Duty site codnation.net launched it’s own Boosting/Modded Lobbies section. I initially thought that it was to flag said goings on, but alas it was actually to promote the practice. That made me decide to leave their site and the story is told in the Boosters, Boosting and general disappointment post. I haven’t viewed any of the responses to my Goodbye post on codnation.net, but when I checked the site earlier the Boosting/Modded Lobbies was no longer visible to me. The section is still accessible though so I don’t know what’s going on there.
On the same theme – Wings of Redemption has caused more controversy. This time by allegedly touting the services of a prestige hacker……for a price. The Who is Wings of Redemption post has been updated with that information and given a bit of an overhaul to make it easier to read.
Last on the cheating bus is the announcement from FourZeroTwo on Twitter that they are patching the super fast lobbies. I don’t actually know what these are as it appears they are an Xbox phenomenon, but I do know someone who finds themselves in them all the time…
Links, Link Throughs and The Geoff Effect
As I’ve said before it’s a bit of a surprise to me that people not only read this blog, but come back for more. And it’s great! So thanks everyone who has subscribed and those regular visitors and posters. I would like to make special mention to Geoff (sasbenjr) who has harnessed the power of YouTube and sent an ungodly amount of people this way…..twice
Link throughs from Geoff = many peeps
I was happy getting visitor numbers that barely made double digits so seeing this many visits is mind blowing.
Thanks Geoff, and to everyone else who has linked here – the offer still stands regarding graphics for regular contributors (Geoff, Paul, Donncha etc). I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read and contribute here so please don’t get offended if I haven’t mentioned you by name.
There are a couple of new blogs in the blogroll on the right (and there are also a couple more blogs that I’m subscribed to but haven’t yet added) that you might like to have a look at.
Big post, Little post?
As I have a tendency to post a load of entries within a short amount of time I was concerned that some of you might not appreciate your inbox being flooded with yet another entry from me. So I put it to the polls and so far it’s overwhelmingly (statistically speaking) in favour of the ad hoc posting as opposed to one massive post per day – and only one Spartacus…..
General Gaming
This was the week that wasn’t. I played more Mario Kart on the Wii than Modern Warfare2, plus I was a bit under the weather with the same thing that everyone else seems to have at the moment – basically a cold. Mario Kart Wii still disappoints me, but it’s not as bad as I initially felt. And now that I’ve gone back to a proper FAL loadout MW2 is no longer the mass of donkey balls it was while using the Acog Scope.
I’ve also been watching quite a few BFBC2 videos and so that may on the cards at some point…..
The Hauppage Fund
Minor set back. Normal service will resume shortly…..
YouTube SneakyMode has joined OnlyUseMeBlade and taken a leave of absence from video making. It’s a shame as he was working on a nice interface and then all of a sudden…..gone. Oh, well, good luck to him.
Meanwhile, my channel (MrCheapkills) is bumbling along as usual. Three to Watch is up to Week 5 – and continues to have a positive response. However, I think I’m going to have to diversify a bit and include at the very least BFBC2 vids.
MW2 Stimulus Pack
Xbox beta testers (hehehe)…. only five days to go! PS3 and PC – end of April apparently. I think we’ll see a resurgence of interest in MW2 from this – despite the grumblings that people have about the price. Personally, I’m looking forward to it and will be raiding the penny jar for this DLC. More info here.
Search Terms
Unfortunately I can’t better “phalanges of pterodactyl” in the search terms used to find this blog. For most of the week the search terms have been pretty constant with the top 5 being:
#5 heartbeat sensor noob
#4 modern warfare 2 vs bad company 2
#3 sasbenjr
#2 wings of redemption
#1 mw2 stimulus map pack
That is pretty much it for this week. There are a couple of other posts that have been made on various things. I hope this has found you well, and hasn’t taken up too much time to read. As ever, thanks for taking the time to read my posts and sharing your thoughts with me and the other readers.
No ADHD OCD Magpie tonight, I actually had a couple of things all in my brain at the same time….
The Omnipotent FAL
Since Geoff’s videos on the FAL (here and here) it seems that everyone on YouTube seems to be using them in Modern Warfare 2. You’ve got Wings of Redemption (with his modded controller controversy for added zest), TheEnd004500, and there were at least two others in recent days all running around with FAL – maybe more (I really should pay attention). I don’t know if it is just coincidence or not, but it seems like the secret is out…..
And related to the FAL. Has anyone tried it with the Acog scope? I mentioned it in an earlier post, and I’ve stopped crying now. It could just be me being rubbish, but I was having real trouble getting any kills with the Acog. Either my aim was really off – which is a very real possibility – or the Acog does the opposite of the holographic sight……
Mario SwearKart Wii
Mario Kart Wii is supposed to be kids/family game. Not when I play it! Red shell, blue shell, red shell, red shell, sparkly shrinky star thing….LEAVE ME ALONE! The only thing more frustrating than leading for two and three quarter laps out of three only to get tactically nuked from orbit is Baby Mario. That little cheating git! I don’t get how when the computer runs him he’s the fastest toughest little mofo on the track, but if I run it then he’s the slowest weakest runt out there.
So far I’ve unlocked the other tracks and one extra car. I don’t know how a kid is supposed to be do it though. I’m on the brink of nervous breakdown playing it. Stupid Koopa!
Ebay
So I was fifty squids away from the Hauppage target…I say was, could be still am. Bills before stuff and all that. But anyway, I put three games on Ebay to go towards the total. I’m not expecting them to sell for very much but if they do sell they should make up the better part of thirty quid. For information the titles are World at War, Race Driver Grid and Star Wars The Force Unleashed.
In the meantime, I’ll keep doing the lottery….
Lamb-o-Rama
And when I win the lottery I’m going to open up a lamb burger joint. Yup, that’s fairly random. But I’ve been making these lamb burgers with a load of herbs and feta cheese. They’re awesome. So watch out for a Lamb-o-Rama opening near you 🙂
I was looking to see if it would be worth my while selling a couple of games on there as opposed to trading them in. They’re not brand new titles and realistically if I traded them in I’d get maybe a fiver each. A fiver is better than nothing, but it’s not better than more than a fiver…..
But I digress. I was looking through the PS3 games section and I found a couple of things that ranged from ludicrous to downright pathetic. The downright pathetic items should come with a free kick to the crotch.
I’m not posting the listing numbers as once they end they’ll probably be inaccessible, so I’ll post the pictures and a brief description for them. Here are the top 3:
In at number three is…….
The sticky crosshair for your TV –
Be the best gamer!
You're MLGpro now!
” Be the best gamer you can be with crosshairz screen targets.
NEW FROM CROSSHAIRZ RED TIGER, BLUE TIGER AND URBAN CAMO SIGHT DESIGNS!!!! LIMITED EDITION
These sights attach to your tv screen with no fuss, no glue, no mess
The pack of 3 sights come in 3 different designs
Its up to you which you use but
they all enhance your gaming as you can now fire from the hip
saving you from the split second fuss of aiming manually ”
Yup, because the funny crosshairs you get in game are so annoying and just get in the way….. What’s even more ludicrous is that the example is not even from a hardcore game (no crosshairs or HUD) – the proper in game crosshairs are there!
At number 2 we have –
Rapid Fire Kits –
Be just like your heroes
” RAPID FIRE FOR PS3!!
FREE FITTING!!
HERE I HAVE FOR SALE IS A RAPID FIRE KIT. WITH FREE FITTING SERVICE!
THIS KIT IS BUILT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PS3 CONTROLLER,
IT HAS 4 SEPARATE RATES OF FIRE & FIRES WITH THE ORIGINAL R1 TRIGGER
THIS KIT HAS NO FAULTS WHAT SO EVER.
OTHER EBAYERS KITS MAKE THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ALL RAPID.
Now you can be just like Wings of Redemption for a fraction of the price!
And at number one with the douchiest no life loser listing is –
The Lag Switch –
Got Douche?
” This is a lag switch these worked best and give the most lag possible. i use the best quality cable to assure the best connection quality and lag.
I have tested all my lag switches unlike some people selling lag switches I actually play on my Xbox and Ps3 and know all of these work.
All you need to do is press the button when you want lag this way gives you maximum control of the lag. “
I don’t know what is worse – that people cheat, that someone would actually build a lag switch in order to cheat, that someone would build a lag switch to sell to someone for them to cheat, or that there are people out there who are so pathetic and inept that they have to buy this crap…..
A special mention goes to this listing:
Blue screws.... Do you know where yours are?
” Official PS3 Hard Drive Blue Screw
For Sale Official Sony Playstation 3 Hard Drive Blue Screw.
This screw secures your Hard Drive Caddy in Place.
Have you lost or damaged yours. “
Think carefully now…..have you lost or damaged yours? Are you sure?
It’s Thursday, so it must be time for the Weekly-ish Update of what’s been going on with this blog, gaming and the YouTube channel.
YouTube
First – congratulations to sasbenjr (Geoff) for passing the four thousand subscriber mark. His success is down to his measured analytical approach to describing tactics in his videos for both Modern Warfare 2 and more recently Battle Field: Bad Company 2 and his interaction with his subscribers. Definitely worth a view if you haven’t already (and if you are a regular viewer of this blog then you’re probably already familiar with his work). Well done Geoff and all the best for a successful future.
***UPDATE – Pyrotoz has got his new PS3.*** Pyrotoz’s PS3 is still dead. He’s decided that the best option is to go for a new PS3 Slim instead of risking the same thing happening again to a repaired machine. Personally, I think that in the long run that’s probably the smart choice as the PS3 slim has not had the reported failures that the older fat models have. His most recent video explains his position. ***UPDATE – Pyrotoz has got his new PS3.***
My YouTube channel is now in to double figures for subscribers. That makes me more popular than Cannon and Ball, but not as popular as The Chuckle Brothers (joke). ‘Three to Watch’ is now in its fourth week and it’s always nice to receive the positive messages from those featured. The thing is, I don’t feel like I’m really doing anything – the people I feature are the ones doing all the work. So if you would be so kind, pop along to their channel and show them some love. And when I say “show them some love” I mean comment, rate and subscribe if you like what you see.
My subscriptions list on YouTube now stands at 71. It would be more, but I unsubscribed from a couple of people as I really can’t stand listening to someone complaining constantly about something they choose to do. If you’d like to check out who I’m subscribed to then click on the YouTube logo:
The Hauppage Fund
Is still at the same place as it was last week. I’m fifty squids away from the price Play.com are asking.
Gaming
I’ve not been doing so well this week as my Game Results posts testify. But I’m not the only one. It seems that having a crappy time is catching. I suspect that all the average players are now on BFBC2 leaving all the 1337 kids on MW2 to mow down those of us who are older and slower. Damn you BFBC2…..damn your eyes *shakes fist*!
Another issue for me is perhaps my obsession with stealth in game making me ineffective in combat. Using Cold Blooded means not being able to use Stopping Power and I’ve found that I do a lot better with Stopping Power……
Blog Views and Template
When I started this blog I didn’t know what direction it would take, or even if anyone would read it. Many of the first posts are simple verbosity – just posting whatever rambles came in to my head regarding Modern Warfare 2. I was happy to see the stats showing that more than one person had visited per day, and then gradually it became the norm for at least 30 unique visitors per day coming here (whether they found what they’re looking for….I don’t know). Recently though the views have increased again with two major spikes – once when Geoff (sasbenjr) gave me a shout out on his channel, and then Tuesday when we almost broke the 100 views mark.
I’m not entirely sure what caused the spike on Tuesday, although it could have been related to my interaction with Paul Hearne’s blog as I created a new header for him:
Is this responsible for a spike in views?
This was after I had made a new header for here and was playing about with the wordpress templates. I ended up having to alter the header colouring to match the template it’s on as this is a hosted version of WordPress. Being hosted means that I would have to pay to change the CSS to make it look exactly how I would want it to……and that’s not going to happen. In the future I may switch to my own server, but for now, this will do.
And lastly, my favourite:
Search Terms
I love looking at the search terms that point people to this blog – I’m a geek like that. Some are to be expected – MW2, Tactical Knife, and other MW2-centric terms. The top searches are still for Wings of Redemption and all things related to him – especially his face….. Den Kirson has also been quite popular. But this week, the most amusing term has been…. “Commando Peas”
I kid you not. I even did my own search to find out what commando peas could possibly be, but there were no results other than this blog…. Maybe it’s going to be the new big title from one of the game publishing houses. Commando Peas – you heard it here first!
So here’s a quick update on what’s been happening in my game related existence:
YouTube
I’ve now subscribed to 70 YouTubers. Some popular, some YouTube famous and a lot of overlooked and new uploaders. If you’re interested, check my subscriptions list by clicking on the YouTube icon coming up. There’s a lot really good peeps on there, so have a look and show them some love.
Three to Watch
My little montage videos of YouTubers whose videos I particularly enjoy watching has reached week 3. I’m getting positive responses from those that are featured – in most cases the first they hear from me is when I send them a message letting them know. They’re not going to get masses of traffic from my teeny tiny channel but in most cases just that little bit of recognition is a boost for morale in a place as angry and negative as YouTube.
Hauppage Fund
Slowly slowly catchy monkey – apparently. Except the monkey keeps getting bigger and my foot is nailed to the floor 😀 Damned monkeys!
My now ex-surfboard got to its destination so the Hauppage fund is looking a bit healthier:
The hump has been broken so it shouldn’t be long now…..
Search Terms
As I mentioned in a couple of previous posts, I take note of what searches bring people here and try to accomodate what they’re after as much as possible. Here’s the search terms for the past two days – the majority looking for WoR’s face!
I’ve outlined one search term in red to see if you guys have any thoughts on what it’s referring to. After a quick brain shake of the in games sounds I’m thinking that it might be referring to the Scavenger perk sound? What do you think? And how popular is WoR’s face!?
That’s it in a nutshell. I think that my resolution for the following week is play more and post less. This week I’ve been seriously side tracked by the goings on in the gaming community and its been a bit of a downer. I’ve felt as though some of my posts have been quite negative and I want to avoid that – who wants to be negative, or more importantly – who wants to read a load of negativity? It gets boring and spreads to other things so I’m chucking negativity out the window. Positivity rocks, and rolls – it should be the new rock n roll, or at least the new black.
One good thing about this WordPress blog system is the stats. It shows me the search terms that people use to get here. Mostly it’s the same thing over and over, but occasionally there’s a term that is related to something I’ve posted, but is not explicitly answered.
The search term “is a heartbeat sensor for noons” was there today (and I take it that ‘noons’ is a typo for ‘noobs’). I thought it was a very good question since the Heartbeat Sensor, like every other attachment and perk, attracts the suffix -noob when it is used in game. Ironically the person who is killed is the one yelling “noob!” which doesn’t really make sense as the person who caught the dead is the ‘noobish’ one for getting killed – not the person who racked up the kill or kills…..
So, the HeartBeat Sensor. It’s not an attachment that I use as I find that I get tunnel vision with it. Staring at the Aliens-esque blips moving on the screen I tend to get killed from behind. But that’s not to say that it is useless or noobish. You just have to learn how to use if effectively. So here is my quick list for effective Heartbeat Sensor use:
1 – The HBS is an aid, just like the UAV. But you cannot fully rely on it. As such, it is important not to become fixated by it.
2 – Remember that the HBS refreshes about once a second. This means that moving enemies are potentially at least one second closer than it is showing – even more for Marathon/Lightweight enemies.
3 – The HBS will not show up people using the Ninja Perk – but does show up Cold Blooded users who will be invisible to UAV. This is probably the number one reason why you should not become reliant on it. While you’re scoping out the area and not picking anything up, I (because I tend to use Ninja a lot) could be coming directly towards you. And while you’re looking at the HBS I could already have spotted you….
4 – It’s usefulness is reduced when in buildings with multiple floors as it only shows you the relative distance away and not whether they are on the same level or not.
5 – Avoid camping with it. And by camping I mean proper camping. i.e. sitting in the corner of a room with your gun trained at the door. Not because camping is wrong, but because you’ll get killed very easily through camping. Claim an area and patrol it while maintaining a strategic presence with the aid of the HBS.
It’s important when using the HBS to pre-empt the incoming enemy rather than allowing them to come directly to your position. The HBS gives you their relative position so you should move to a point where you have the best chance of winning the engagement by launching a surprise attack.
Here’s a video from Wings of Redemption where he uses the Heart Beat Sensor in conjunction with the Scrambler perk to lure enemies to his position so he can kill them. For most 1337 players the HBS and Scrambler perks are considered worthless, but here they are used to great effect:
But to answer the original question: Is the Heartbeat Sensor for noobs? No it’s not. It’s not any more noobish than any other attachment. Although you’ll always have the complainers who consider any perk/attachment combo that they are not currently using to be noobish. So you know what? Sod them, use what you like. If someone calls you a noob, load up One Man Army, Danger Close and the Pro-Pipe and noob them to death! You’ve bought the game for your enjoyment, not to adhere to another person’s crazed concept of how the game should be played.
You can find more information on the Heart Beat Sensor at the Call of Duty Wiki
‘Lament for the Living’ is out on May 10th – get a sneak peek at the first chapter for FREE!
Currently it’s .prc (DRM free for Kindle) or .pdf only. Kindle/.prc –Â Download Here PDF –Â Download Here
Download, read, enjoy. Let me know what you think.
While you’re waiting for ‘Lament for the Living’ to be released the following titles are also available: Â Â For more information and purchasing links please visit: www.tbfmedia.com/bibliography
Please note – this has not been updated since 14th April 2010. I’m not interested in WoR or anything he does which is why I put my time in to more positive works
Since April there have been numerous additional events that have happened, but keeping up with all the crap would be a full time job in itself. To summarise – he’s removed the ability to leave comments on his channel and charges people to be added to this friends list, and also for a mention on his channel.
*Updated AGAIN 14-04-2010*
Okay, one of the most popular search phrases that people use that points them here is “who is wings of redemption”, it’s currently second in popularity to “Wings of Redemption Vs….”
So for all those people who need to know, but don’t know and can’t find an answer here is the low down:
Who is Wings of Redemption
Wings of Redemption is the YouTube name of a gamer from Conway, South Carolina who plays under the PSN usernames of Unlimited UAV, (?)VR Joker(?), Starbreaker2000 and a couple of others that I’m sure people will want to add in the comments section. His preferred console is the PS3, but has recently started playing on the Xbox360 as well.
YouTube
You can find him on his YouTube channel which is: http://www.youtube.com/user/wingsofredemption
He initially gained attention by posting Modern Warfare 2 gameplay videos. His later videos concentrated more on the negative aspects of the game and other players. before he switched to exclusively to making He also makes Battle Field Bad Company 2 gameplay videos (in which he includes a lot of negativity aimed at…..Modern Warfare 2 and other players). Despite his apparent hatred of MW2 it looks like he just can’t tear himself away from it…..
Machinima
He is a Machinima Director which means that he gets paid by Machinima depending on the amount of views his videos get on their channel. Currently his subscriber list (at time of writing) is 48,086.
Playstyle
His game play style has also been a source of ire from some sections of the gaming community who claim that he is nothing more than a camper. If that is the case then he is a very successful camper with high K/D. This is essentially an unjustified slight as his playstyle does not involve him sitting in a room with a shotgun aimed at the door. Although it should be noted that the term “Camper” is vague and is generally used by anyone who gets killed by another player who is not doing a 360 noscope jump shot. He is also known for his sniping and commentaries that relate to the development, history and use of the weapons he is uses in game.
Controversy
Recently he has caused controversy in the gaming community by having a poor attitude towards other gamers and “rival” Machinima directors such as Hutch, OpTicNation, Ken Burton and JunkYard129.
Cheating
He has been accused of cheating by using a modded controller that he posted a video about:
The video entitled “Viking 360 Controller Review” is also the first time that Wings of Redemption is seen on camera, following in the footsteps of SeaNanners, Hutch, Ken Burton, JunkYard129 and OnlyUseMeBlade.
The cheating controversy reached new heights in late March 2010 when Wings of Redemption allegedly posted a video offering the services of another user to help people to boost to tenth prestige for profit. I did not see the video but there are plenty of comments in the community from those who did see it. As per Wings’ usual behaviour when the shit hits the fan the video was pulled (either by Wings himself or YouTube for policy violation). However, there are plenty of comments on his channel (and elsewhere) of people showing their disgust at his pro-cheating and mercenary stance:
‘Lament for the Living’ is out on May 10th – get a sneak peek at the first chapter for FREE!
Currently it’s .prc (DRM free for Kindle) or .pdf only. Kindle/.prc –Â Download Here PDF –Â Download Here
Download, read, enjoy. Let me know what you think.
While you’re waiting for ‘Lament for the Living’ to be released the following titles are also available: Â Â For more information and purchasing links please visit: www.tbfmedia.com/bibliography
“Put Your WING tags on” is actually a quote from Wings of Redemption. I had noticed that there were more positive comments regarding WoR on YouTube, mainly how his new videos seem more upbeat and “happier”. He even asks SeaNanners to unblock him and Junkyard129 to add him as a friend….don’t know if he was being ironic there, but it did seem that a new, positive and friendlier WoR had appeared. Until his sign off at the end of this video:
From my Wings of Redemption vs Ken Burton spoof video I have had numerous questions about what was said, well I didn’t see the original “I suck at sniping on xbox” vid but this seems pretty conclusive. I don’t know if it’s tongue in cheek or not. But there we have it.
Wings is a very good player, and despite being called a camper and getting some really uncalled for abuse because he doesn’t run around like he’s forgotten his Ritalin, you can’t take that away from him……Bah! I’m not even going to get into the camping thing. In fact, when I finally magic up the ability to make a decent gameplay recording I’ll make a video showing the real difference between camping and defensive play. Ying and Yang, people.
Recovering from shock here, logged onto YouTube and there was a comment on the Wings vs Ken video that WoR had favourited it……surely that can’t be true…. but it is!:
Wings Favourites my Vid!?
I’m going to pour myself a stiff drink and have a lie down…..
  
evaDlivE Blog 
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