Recently [Notebookcheck]
injected malware to their website which is detecting if you are using some-kind of adblocker to make viewing experience more “convenient” and redirects to another scam domain reporting that if don’t turn off adblock you won’t be able to use their website at all. Ok, no problemo, you don’t have to persuade me hard on this, i am just saying bye-bye then.
[Ghacks]
which i have mentioned in the post header don’t do this, but their “news” converted to just plain undisguised advertisements.
UPDATED ON: 2026-06-16
Today we are closing the topic of S.T.A.L.K.E.R modifications and for the sake of it i have to say something new here. In one of the previous Stalker related posts i [already covered]
optimization questions, but recently i’ve stumbled upon very neat Japanese utility [FastCopy]
, which is focused on ultra fast copying of the files, especially on modern SSD/NVME drives. That is why I have decided to rewrite the game launch and save backup scripts.
It’s Friday, for God’s sake! It’s been a while since i dropped 80s-like music here. So, let’s pause this techological ranting with some neat synthwave dedicated to all of you.
WORLD COMPLETE ■ SYNTHÉTIQUE
Despite having quite a machine [Ryzen 7950X / 64Gb / Optane 5800X / 3090Ti], Stalker is notoriously known to stutter due to it’s old and heavily modified engine with it’s substantional dependence on a single thread performance. Here is a list of tweaks, which i came up during long AI conversations.
■ OGSE_CONFIG.LTX [alife]
ai_distance 140
switch_distance 130
objects_per_update 5
max_hear_dist 100 The most important tweaks, that effects NPC processing in a very positive way OGSR is based around OGSE so settings are located in ogse_config.
For the most part, it is a note to myself, because most of the website audience is English speaking people. I highly doubt that i cover Russian segment of the interwebs. [TV show]
was dedicated to video game reviews, featuring a highly engaging and witty approach . For a strange [or not so strange] reason some of the series are not accessible from Russian YT, that is why i have decided to stash it in the cloud and preserve media for a future use.
UPDATED ON: 2026-06-11
I was never a fan of Windows 8, especially the 8.0 operating system. Yes, it is fast, but the overall concept, ergonomics, and looks were quite pathetic. However, since the appearance can easily be changed, I decided to reconsider my opinion. Frankly speaking, I planned to do this around October to match the EOL (End of Life) of Windows Server 2012 R2, hoping that server updates could somehow be ported to the desktop version.
UPDATED ON: 2026-06-04 I will return here somewhere in November to check if the final v26.2.7 is still working
Previously, we already did this with [Windows 7 and LibreOffice version 25.8]
. And now, it is time to repeat the above-mentioned pattern with LibreOffice 26. Windows 7 cannot handle the 2026 version of the software, no matter how hard I tried. So, in light of my recent transition to Windows 8.
You can run Renoise 3.5.X branch in Windows 7 with the help of [VxKex Next]
kernel extensions. For some reason application installer blocks installation in Windows 8.1 environment. However, we can easily unlock this stupid restriction. Of course we can change major and minor versions of the OS requirements via [CFF Explorer]
, but luckily there is an easier way to handle such obstacle. We can just unpack installer by means of [InnoExtract]
utility.
Note: the track is not available in paramilitary locations.
We haven’t heard anything really good from maestro Orbit in a long time, so here it is. Make sure to listen through bass-voiced speakers or neat quality Hi-Fi earphones.
WILLIAM ORBIT ▀ THE DIVER FEAT. NATALIE WALKER [2022]
UPDATED ON: 2026-05-26
Finally updated an article with some recent pictures
Despite being “this kinda old” I still prefer to stay on the edge of the technical rainbow, so much so that even Gen Z can rarely keep up with my tech cravings. Modern CPUs, GPUs and RAM are already very fast for my workloads. So which part of computer has the most bottleneck currently? In my humble opinion it is the storage media.
If i get around something useful i’ll drop in acquired information here
Despite that OGSR has newer 64bit engine and is way better than original 32-bit Stalker, it is quite prone to crashes. This small note is aimed at accumulation of all available methods, which help to improve stability of the game by any means.
ESSENTIAL THINGS TO DO reinstall [DirectX9]
/ reboot reinstall [OpenAL]
/ reboot reinstall [Visual C++ libraries]
/ reboot turn off SMT in BIOS or do it by means of [Process Lasso]
or assign CPU affinity via Windows task manager [less convenient] let the game use only 4 physical cores, more cores is worse because the game don’t know how to use them IF NOTHING HELPS
LGR continues to impress us with very interesting pieces of computer history. So, educate your self and be in touch with important history events and devices from the past.
I am not even going to poke the game for its enormous amount of bugs and atrocious performance, even on relatively powerful machines. Frankly speaking, there are loads of other reasons that are unacceptable to die-hard fans of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Here’s a quick breakdown of the whys.
GLOBAL THINGS TO MENTION
The story isn’t even remotely close to the quality of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R [Stalker 2 is about messing around with faction relationships, not exploring the Zone world at all]
UPDATED ON: 2026-04-23
Some preface words: recently I’ve had a couple of attempts at trying to play Stalker 2. When I realized that I can’t handle the game, I decided to give it a try by watching a let’s play. After wasting almost 4 hours watching a let’s play from a trusted streamer, I fully understand that playing or watching this game is beyond my comprehension.
Moreover, in a half an hour I realized that I completely and fully forgot about the excellent Stalker: Shadow Of Chernobyl [OGSR modification]
.
Continuing on the topic of relics from the past, I stumbled upon a unique 72x CD-ROM drive that easily outperforms 56x drives spinning at a crazy 11,000 RPM. This technology allows the device to split the laser beam into seven independent beams, reading seven tracks simultaneously. It achieves whopping transfer rates of around 8-10 MB/s without increasing spin noise [staying at ~5,000 RPM]. LGR, a well-known vintage tech YouTuber, reviews it in his signature style.
IBM OS/2 WARP 3 IN ACTION
For those who crave [more information]
and not only operating system porno. Guy is speed-running the very last version: IBM OS/2 WARP 4.52.
Frankly speaking, i’m not a fan boy of medieval times and all of that magical stuff out there, but i have to admit that my taste has changed due to inevitable maturing process. Previously, i wrote about excellent [Spartacus series]
, which i already watched more than two times. Today’s discovery is a medieval fantasy drama with some humor elements. [A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms]
was recommended by current coworker of mine.
I have gotten tired of the week which I spent on job interviews, where I’ve seen different types of psychological “performances” by potential employers.
There were a small number of decent people, but frankly speaking, in majority of cases it was a freak show consisting of loutish human resources recruiters, self-satisfied leaders and pretentious CEO poseurs who actually have no idea who they’re looking for. So the essential thing to do was to drop that horrible shit aura and get busy with something positive.
Mozilla has recently demonstrated significant generosity toward the Windows 7 user base, despite a lack of widespread demand. According to the [Firefox release calendar]
, the three-year-old ESR version continues to receive support extensions. This is a quite notable development. Many users, including members of my [Windows 7 Discord community]
, prefer to remain on official software versions rather than switching to custom hacks like [Redfox]
.
In another words, web support of “obsolete”, almost 20 years old operating system, stays confident and strong even in 2026.
[Totally unexpected movie]
from [Sam Raimi]
, especially after almost five years of creative silence. I almost skipped this trailer because it was categorized as a rom-com. Then, halfway through, I saw “Directed by Sam Raimi” and instantly changed my mind. The film is packed with Sam’s signature style:
mature, satirical, and grotesque humor solid acting and recognizable VFX [ Evil Dead ][ & ]I[ vibes are surely here ] usage of first person and wide angle perspectives [ reminded me of Evil Dead movies, again ] and yes, there is a zombie scene Overall verdict: Highly recommended.
I already wrote about magnificent Far Manager [in the past]
. It is ridiculously fast orthodox text file manager, which can deliver Linux-like experience to your Windows 7 machine. Version 3.x is way more advanced than Linux’s [Midnight Commander]
. Since i spent quite much time in appointed file manager and even caught myself couple of times doing coding works right in the internal editor instead of VS Code… And then i thought: “why don’t i make my spending time in the environment more pleasant for my eye”.
Failing to believe in sci-fi and the high-tech industry, I’m beginning to think that the future is not as interesting as the past. And this feeling isn’t triggered by nostalgia, it’s something more fundamental and solid that leads me to think this way.
A movie geek friend of mine recommended [Apocalypto]
, and I’m just sharing this excellent offering with all the readers of this website. In today’s reality, we don’t have many great movies, but this one surely belongs to the finest category.