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Welcome to the Star Wars Battlefront Video Diary. As of 27NOV15, there will be a daily video posted here to document my travels, battles etc through Star Wars Battlefront. Not only will you be able to witness all the encounters, Come along with me on my journey through the game but also learn more about SW:Battlefront and maybe see rumor and myth dispelled or proved. Think of Myth busters in a way but for Star Wars battlefront. Most of us have preconceived notions about the game, including myself, and it has allot to prove to us all, and it's only because I was gifted this game that I'm going to do this, to see if the game can redeem it's self and prove wrong all the things I have said about it, So I'm going to put my views aside and be as inpartial as possible and you guys get see the result, So check back daily for your dose of Star Wars Battlefront, See the game in full, all the unlocks, All the battles, All the customization and yes ...plenty of deaths and stupid mistakes. So bookmark the thread or follow along on Ordo Imperialis' Youtube Channel

With news of YouTube Gaming getting more prevalent I thought it about time to review the other contenders in the Streaming Arena. Now this wont focus on YouTube Gaming although expect a review when it does launch properly. This will be more about Twitch & Hitbox, their differences, Good Points, Bad Points, Ease of use Etc, So lets get into it.. Twitch Twitch.tv has become the go to place for Streaming content, Be it games or content creation. And has Millions of viewers per month. Recently Twitch was bought out by the sales giant Amazon and has seen steady success. With news of them moving from flash to html of late it feels like a good move. And because for a long time Twitch was the only real reliable streaming platform it saw major success and has become the big dog in the yard, but ..... Is it still the best ? HitBox Hitbox is the new home for gamers. Or so it claims. Hitbox.tv started making it's break into the scene in 2014 and has stayed relitively quite over the last year however, It's name is getting bigger and bigger. It owes it's popularity to being much like twitch, As though not as large it's just as easy to use and navigate, but does hitbox have something that Twitch doesn't that draws more and more users into its site and more importantly away from Twitch, Well Yes it does. And all is going to be revealed, explained and compared. The Differences Twitch and Hitbox are very similar in allot of ways, from how you find users and games. To the basic interface with the streaming video on top, user information below and chat to the side. They both have a follow system, Both have a partnership program, but maybe that's where things start to diverge. Twitch has the biggest library of games to stream and that's only expected as it's been the big dog for years and has a steady foundation of millions of users So it's to be expected. Type in a game title and you're sure to find it within seconds. That's not always the case with Hitbox but again this is to be expected as Hitbox is still a relatively new kid on the block although it's supported games is still impressive. The Partnership program that both services off at it's core is the same thing. Once you reach a certain amount of followers and daily users watching you can apply for a partnership with allows you to set subscriptions, get featured, and offers other various benefits for being in a partnership program. And yes there's some differences here too. The Twitch partnerships require a steady stream of around 500+ viewers then you can apply for partnership and when you do you can transcode streams, get subscriptions and off you go. Hitbox though do things a little different. Upon making the account, if you then verify with Paypal you can start taking subscriptions to your channel at around 100 viewers, Transcode streams at 75 viewers and run ad's in your stream to start earning some revenue Immediately through your dashboard, Set custom eoticons and subscriber badges, and like twitch it's a 50/50 split in revenu and when you take that into consideration Hitboax has already landed a HUGE sucker punch on Twitch and makes it more appealing to people (and Yes this includes me) Who are looking to turn streaming into a full time entertainment career. But what else separates these two ? Well quite a bit actually. Ever notice there's clans and groups of people who stream on Twitch to a single group page ? Of course you have what you may not realize is though you need to be invited to it and who ever makes the group has to be a Twitch Partner, Thats not the case with Hitbox. Have an Account ? Have people you stream with ? You can make a group from the start and works the same as Twitch. One page for the group with links to all the streamers in that group with previews of those that are live and a focus on the one that's live with the most concurrent viewers at the time ...... Hitbox lands punch Number 2, Could hitbox be gearing up for a knock out ?! The answer is yes with the most attractive feature to date. Twitch users like myself not long ago got the news that Twitch was enabling an option that could reduce the stream lag to bring you closer to your community of views, Many did this and only saw a reduction in stream lag of around 3 -8 seconds, for me it was only 4 second reduction, but even that was a big help. And yes you guessed it, there's a difference here too. testing Hitbox and Twitch I kept exactly the same settings, played the exact same game, did the exact same thing and had 5 viewers in each. Twitch I had a 30 second delay in what I was doing to what was being seen. Hitbox ? well you will be stunned to hear that delay, was 5 seconds ...... let that sink in a little. Twitch, established platform, Delay of 30 Seconds. Hitbox, the new kid, the underdog .... FIVE SECONDS..... and Hitbox just got the knock out. The other big difference is in how you interact with either service. Both have a dashboard system but these only have a few common similarities. Both have a stream preview, Both have chat. Similarities over! lets take a look, click the little preview below to open the full Image in a new window. So here are thye dashboards for Hitbox (on the left) Twitch (On the right). Cosmetically the differences seem small. Twitch does indeed look and feel cleaner but for hard and fast information it's not very useful. Yes you can see your screen, Chat and game name along with a title but that's really about it and very few people even use the dashboard because of limited info and it's slow to update and doesn't offer many options that deal with the stream it's self forcing users to use third party chat tools, third party websites to overlay polls, giveaways, chat etc etc etc and it makes it a convoluted mess. Now lets look at Hitbox's Dashboard. At first glance it's pretty much the same. A chat box, Game name, Stream title, but even here there's a little difference. With twitch you have to click through a menu to see current users which also hides the chat, Hitbox has it side by side and updates around every 0.5 seconds where as twitch can lag dependent on how many people are viewing twitch and typing in chat which can bog down the server. Once you got live the entire section showing the stream title, game played etc turns red and you get the option to see a stream preview. And for those that are verified and want to start earning revenue you can run ad's and choose how many you want to run. You have options to post your stream info directly to Facebook and Twitter. Set a MOTD with the sticky message system, Set polls and giveaways with auto timers, random winner pickers etc and also a host mode. So instead of using 2 - 5 different programs and plugins, it's all right there in front of you and also comes with a complete activity log at a click of a button that's also downloadable in a .csv file format. So for an underdog Hitbox is punching hard to claw some space in this multi billion Dollar a year industry of game streaming. Conclusion At the core Hitbox and Twitch are exactly the same. They feel very similar, Look closely related and function about the same, but it's the differences in how they conduct themselves that are the real difference and to be honest. Hitbox comes out on top. Easier navigation, Everything you need in one place, Easy to get started on a road to becoming a full time streamer and using HTML5 technology that brings you closer to the community you stream too then twitch could only dream of right now. Twitch will always be the big daddy simply because it came about at the right time with no other competition what so ever and had free reign of the yard and it will be that way for a long time to come, and I'm not knocking twitch at all, it's something I will still use to both view and stream, but right now Hitbox is the go to program for streamers because for the moment it outshines twitch in every way.

On December 16th 2013, Nearly a year and eight months ago DayZ (DayZ Standalone by it's official name) hit the Steam platform. And sold 172 thousand copies within the first twenty four hours, 400,000 by the end of it's first week and a full year and one month later it had sold over 3,000,000 copies. Numbers alone make this look like one of the best selling trip A titles ever, However this is just not the case. DayZ could arguably the blight that is Early Access game selling / Development, And it's reputation for such a thing isn't a good one as many communities hit back hard against this Early Access pay and play framework, however I'm not going to get too hung up on that for now. THE START At launch DayZ was extremely limited, all they had pretty much done was port of the Chernarus map from Arma II, And transplanted some basic A.I and mechanics from Dean Halls original DayZ Mod for Arma II. And quickly got referred to as the running simulator with some pvp. And thats pretty much it, A large open world where you would spawn on the coast, head to the North West airfield, Die, Rinse and repeat. There was zero optimisations, rubber banding issues that would make even the heartiest of astronauts and seamen vomit from getting dizzy and suddenly seeing "You're Dead" five minutes after a gun fight because the servers too that long to realise you had been killed. This Wasn't a good start .... However over time patches started to be released adding new weapons, wearable items, beans, beans, beans, tomato, beans beans, beans, rotten tomato etc etc etc etc. DayZ started to win awards but something was still seriously lacking and that was overall development. yes it was fun to be running around like a mad man with an SKS around the NWAF (North West AirField), Cherno, Elektro etc but the maddening bugs like just dropping down dead, loosing ytour backpack cuse you walked through water, Zombies phase walking through walls got to a point where people had just had enough and started to walk away and it looked like DayZ would be stuck in it's Early Access Alpha Phase forever. Especially when SOE smashed the open world survival scene wide open with their premier title H1Z1. The question is though .... Where does it stand now ? THE MIDDLE ? So a full year and nearly eight months later DayZ (At time of this review) Sits at just over the half way marker to Beta release. Early this year the DayZ devteam released a new roadmap. With Beta release sitting quite happily in Q4 2015, also along with a expected price of $43.99 .. but that's another story. and I have to admit, it looks like they have finally put their heads together and came up with a reasonable timeline, which is drastically different to back when they said "We expect DayZ to go into beta inside eight months", Shame they didn't really think about it back then. Here is the current Roadmap Q1 Basic Vehicles Advanced Loot Distribution New Renderer New Zombie A.I Basic stealth system (Zombies & Animals) Diseases Improved Cooking and Horticulture Advanced Anti-Hack System Q2 Advanced Vehicles (repair and modifications) Advanced Animals (Life cycle, Group Behaviour) Player Statistics New U.I Player Stamina Dynamic Events World Containers New Physics System Q3 Traps Barricading Character Life Span + Soft Skills Animal Predators + Birds Aerial Transport Console Prototype Advanced Communications Q4 Animal Companions Steam Community Integrations (Achievements, Workshop etc) Construction (Base Building) beta Version, and that horrid expected price of $43.99 So, Having Seen the roadmap I decided to go back to DayZ after almost a year to see if it really had improved and to see if it was on it's way to making the mark. And I was a little impressed but also a little unimpressed. Yeas allot has changed and allot has improved. Rendering is cleaner, Crisper, Plenty of polish, A.I seems to be working well, Zombies are harder, they don't walk through walls, Can walk up stairs, new weapons, new crafting, Basic barricading (I.E being able to lock and unlock doors with lock picks), Updated physics, Herd mentality for animals etc etc etc. However allot of the bad is still there, There is still plenty of optimisations to do, Rubber banding is still an issue, Things still vanish when placed on the ground and the list goes on and on. However the updates are moderately released and deep so hopes are gradually growing for this title, and there is other news to consider. introduction of a single player campaign. At present, the game drops you into a shared online world in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Survival of the fittest is the maxim of the day -- other players are often more terrifying than the walking dead. While this is great for tension, it also makes the game increasingly difficult to get to grips with for newcomers. A solo mode -- described by Hicks as also good for if your internet goes down -- could help address this, giving newcomers the skills they need to scavenge and survive. It will also launch with a trio of vehicles to use, and more importantly the materials necessary to salvage them. Yet this is no dumbing down exercise. Although "feature complete" DayZ will be more accessible, it will also offer a host of new features aimed at the more dedicated player. The solo mode will be fully moddable, and allow you to test out fan-made tweaks offline before trying to get them to work online. Bohemia will also "fully embrace" the Steam Workshop, encouraging players to make and share their own creations for the game, and deliver tools to allow users to host their own private servers and ultimately have "more control" over the game. At least that's the hope, But is it a hope that the player base is taking to heart ..... Not entirely. Latest reports show that fewer than 9,000 concurrent players are now playing the game at peak times. Only three months ago that number stood at 30k, while at its peak it reached 45k. Rival online title Rust has grown from 9k concurrent peak users earlier this year to around 26k last month, while Daybreak’s H1Z1 has overcome many of its early problems to pass 1m sales and overtake DayZ’s numbers. Users have lamented the slow update schedule and claimed that even when they do arrive, new content has a habit of causing technical disruption to the existing game. One even went as far to say: “Unfortunately this is going to be the poster child for why you don’t listen to your community when it comes [to] releasing things too early.” So it's safe to say the community is hitting back against Bohemia, but they hope the closer it gets to Beta release the more people will return, So it's going to be a while and if they want to hit their goal then DayZ will have to be in beta within 4 months. Do I think they can do it ? If I'm honest no, but I can say they are making great strides finally in the right direction and it's now to a point where I'm happy to be back in Chernarus, Slaying Zombies, fending off bandits and happily munching beans in front of a fire with my trusty Mosin with high powered scope next to me should anyone want a spoon full of my beans. If anything, Dn'y let this put you off DayZ, it's had a rocky start but it's finally heading in the right direction, and now is the perfect time to either get back into it or start fresh before the price gets hiked up by nearly $20. All I will say is, Give it a try and see how it goes.

Review Rating Scale for Ordo Imperialis Gaming As reviews and games start to develop, all members will get the option to participate in a poll to vote on a rating scale that will be made available in the review. We ask that your votes be based off actual use or experience with the game in that area. If you feel your review is incorrect, you're always free to come back and refine it. Additionally, feel free to post your own comments, suggestions, tips and constructive criticism within the review thread! All reviews will be posted to the front page and made available in Steam/Valve curation system. Content (Why you play, Entertainment / Story) Content Entertainment Immersion Replayability Story Gameplay (How You Play, Controls / Features) Controls Integration Features Gameplay Design (What You Play, Artwork / Environment) Animation Art Audio Design Environment Graphics Media Presentation Senses

So, we have this board now, it's for reviews and curators (yes, steam curator networking and reviews of any type). However, we need to start somewhere in our gaming reviews. These reviews will be very simple, not a ton of mumbo jumbo, my goal is to make them technical and straight forward covering features, play style, type of game and a rating. No excessive drama or complaints about little things like development or current community, because that all evolves. We want to allow a reader to determine, if the game is worth the X amount of dollars based on their interests in what the game has. In addition, most of the information in the review will be based off the community members and a few other sources. Be honest, be critical but have fun and understand what this is all about. To start, we need a game... POST BELOW what game we should aim to first review!

review Date; 16AUG13 Product name: Merc Stealth Product Manufacturer: Steel Series Product Website: http://steelseries.com/us/products/keyboards/steelseries-merc-stealth Retail: ~90 USD (Currently listed on sale for ~50USD) Time Used: ~5+ years. The primary reason I bought this keyboard was the gamepad built into it. Second reason was because it was backlit. I've been using this keyboard for ages and It's one of the best investments I've made in Gaming hardware outside of my main rig itself. the gamepad is set at an angle where your hand naturally rests, and it has buttons layed out in a pattern that everything is in easy reach. I dont get much strain from this due to it's gamepad angle offset. Buttons are nicely aranged and I rarely have a missed key hit, and the stacked number keys is nice as I do not have to move my hand away from my movement keys to hit one of of the numbers above 6. The Num Pad is probably the most difficult to get used to as the numpad also doubles as your Home, pgup pgdn ins and all those other keys. Your arrow keys are likewise mashed in there as well. You toggle between these two modes with the numlock key. Probably not too much of an issue for most instances, for programs that use those extra keys along side num keys, or you just happen to 10key your numbers, you can sometimes forget to switch modes. 10 key also takes a slight adjustment as the positioning of the keys is different. The reason for mashing all that stuff together is to keep this thing from taking up even more space on your desk than it currently does. This thing is massive. Aprox 21" wide (53cm), but well worth it imo. The Keyboard does come with Software to do auto-profile switching, setting up macros, and all that other fun stuff, I choose not to use it. It's kinda clunky, and at times does not work too well. For most cases, simply using stock configuration and rebinding keys through the game interface works best. Example GW2 Layout someone posted online: For those where were from SL, I had a profile setup so that I could zoom my cam in before Right click Zoom was available on any viewers, as well as HUD/Weapon Gestures loaded where I wanted them on my keybinds. This really helped me manage the million different commands we had for all our stuff. All and all I'd reccomend it to anyone who is considering some form of game keypad system. Pros: Comfortable and functional keypad for extended gaming Completely programmable glowy Cons: Larger than other keyboards Combined numpad setup Software not the best.