Something wicked is causing me FEAR.

[Ella]

I tried downloading the single-player demo of F.E.A.R. from Vivendi (http://www.vugames.com/downloadfile.do?mediaid=15208) - twice. Both times ended in failure, and now I can't delete these things (fear_spdemo_en) from my system. I'm contacting support at the same time as posting this message, here.

I just thought it may be a good idea to make contact with pcmech's knowledge base.

(I really thought I might like this game. Too bad. I won't buy it, now.)

[Ella]

Now I'm having trouble making contact with Vivendi through support/contact. This kinda' stinks.

[Dark Nova]

well it worked well for me

[rspassey]

Do you have a firewall running while DLing it? Sometimes my firewall will not allow something I download open and run b/c it needs to connect to the internet or something.

[Ella]

The big complaint is not being able to delete & otherwise destroy this crap on the hard drive.

So, it worked fine for you, Dark Nova? I'm so happy for you.

I would investigate the question of firewalls & such, and additionally, try to download the demo again, but I want to remove the crud that's already here and currently serves no purpose.

[Panama Red]

This may work to remove the unwanted stuff.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/moveonboot.html

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And a moderator note. Go easy on the sarcasm. Dark Nova is just letting you know that the problem is most likely with your machine.

[Ella]

I'm sorry about my sarcasm.
It's just pretty frustrating to encounter a program that won't make itself scarce when I politely ask it to vamos. I took offense to the "I got mine, what's the matter with you" tone in your post, Dark Nova. I am sorry I misinterpreted your meaning. At the time I read it, I was very angry with my situation, and it seemed a slap in the face. My apologies.

For the record, I don't think it is the machine, but it could well be the *@!!!&%**! yahoo/sbc update that hijacked itself onto my machine. There is now constant clicking in the background, as if windows are trying to open & shut every 50 seconds or so...

I tried shutting down all applications & then deleting the files. No luck. I'm still angry, modified to: miffed. This is due to a certain resignation.

I'll try out that link, Panama Red. Thank you.

[Ella]

Well, that seemed to clear up the situation. Thanks a bunch, Panama Red.

Again, I'm sorry about the snotty sarcasm, Dark Nova. I'm curious, did you enjoy the FEAR demo? Will you buy it for yourself? I really liked System Shock 2. I just hope my specs can carry new games like F.E.A.R. & S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Whatever happened to STALKER, anyway?

[Dark Nova]

well, i did'nt take it as a sarcasm, i dosent matter, but thx for the respectful message.

i did'nt like fear that much, but it was scary at some parts

[Ella]

DOOM & Half-Life 2?

[Hi Ho]

I really like the F.E.A.R. demo and I will probably buy it when it is available. It is a very immersive and spooky game. I would compare it more to Doom III than HL2.

Have you tried downloading from a different source?

[David M]

To me it feels closer to HL2 than Doom3 although it has many elements of both. You will probably need 2 gigs of RAM to play the game smoothly. I experienced some memory related lag because I only have 1 gig of RAM right now. But that could be because I had all the features cranked up. I think its probably the RAM though because I have never had this kind RAM lag with my rig.

I loved the demo. It had the hair standing up on my arms at the end. I have never had a game scare me this much. It was more scarry than anything in Doom3.

From a technical standpoint, the lighting and shading is better than anything I have ever experienced. I kept seeing my shadow in strong lighting and looking back thinking something was right behind me. That may just be the shading for a 7800GTX card doing that. The artistry is second to Half-Life 2. Half-Life 2 though had an incredible amount of detail and artistry. The sound is pretty good..

Try shooting the fire extinguisher....see what happens

It took me a little while to adjust to the keyboard controls. Other than W,A,S,D, C and Space...the keys are different from the usual. I did like the key that allows you to sharpen your aim although the downside is that you move like a snail.

In the office, sneak up, bust out the glass with a bullet and immediatly toss in two grenades, they are left with no time to take cover...that takes out everyone in there. Thats much easier than getting into a firefight with them and saves ammo because your going to need it for the courtyard.

How did you guys get through the courtyard? I sniped from the windows at the top of the stairwell, took out a few badguys and then ended up making a run for it. The bad guys won't follow you indoors (poor Artificial Intelligence). Once the chopper lands with bad guys and reinforces with more bad guys, you can forget it. I got pinned down too many times with no ammo anywhere.

I am definately buying FEAR in Novemeber. It seems to be at the same quality as DOOM3 and HL2. Hopefully it's not yet another $50 disappointment.

*********

This months issue of MaximumPC has included the FEAR demo CD. I had problems with the online download as well.

[David M]

Double post..my apologies.

[Stuey]

Originally Posted by David M Try shooting the fire extinguisher....see what happens In the office, sneak up, bust out the glass with a bullet and immediatly toss in two grenades, they are left with no time to take cover...that takes out everyone in there. Thats much easier than getting into a firefight with them and saves ammo because your going to need it for the courtyard. How did you guys get through the courtyard? I sniped from the windows at the top of the stairwell, took out a few badguys and then ended up making a run for it. The bad guys won't follow you indoors (poor Artificial Intelligence). Once the chopper lands with bad guys and reinforces with more bad guys, you can forget it. I got pinned down too many times with no ammo anywhere.

In the beginning, there are two explosive barrels that also look cool when you shoot them in slo-mo mode.

With the office... proximity mine and then it's not too difficult to just use a grenade here and there with a lot of blind shooting. As for the courtyard, I used the particle beam weapon to snipe the two guys patrolling. When the helicopter comes by, I just snipe them with the particle beam weapon. The others don't burst through the door until you move to a certain point in the courtyard so I take out the helicopter dudes and then move up slowly. Once they burst through the door, I wait until I see one of the troopers and then I shoot the explosive barrel. If any are left, they're easy prey.

The game is released on Tuesday!!