Author: Derek

Vs. the Fiero, Part XVII

I faced off against the Fiero’s electrical system this past weekend. Ever since the fusible links blew and it was taken to a mechanic there had been problems with the internal lighting, headlights, radio and starter all failing to work on occasion.

After a bit of research, I tracked down the single point of failure for all of the above to a single point near the starter where everything daisy chained off of each other. It was a hard to reach spot, but I had noticed a good deal of black electrical tape wrapped around the connectors, and after taking off the air intake unit, I was able to removed the tape and replace most of the connectors. Several days have gone by and not even a single hiccup in the electrical system, so I’m considering this a minor success.

Now I only have to attack the clutch pedal, speed sensor, fuel filling hose and brakes, and I’ll be pretty much where everyone else with their vehicles. The joys of keeping a twenty year old piece of the 80s running.

Incoming choppers, six o’clock high!

Yesterday was an entire twelve hours of Battlefield Vietnam gaming LAN party goodness. Between six and ten people, depending on the time of day, computers all connected together, blowing the virtual hell out of each other and any helpless bot players that got in our way. I even managed to stay in the top three scores for most of the maps, which was fun.

Like most other situations in which you have other players in the same room, rather than facing off from across the country, we had some memorable moments, including a rather intense session of close quarters combat in which another player and I each scored over ninety kills each as enemy troops tried to break out of their spawn point across a bridge and take over our own bit of land on the other side of the river. Another such moment took place when the sixty bot players fought feverishly over a flag on the other side of the map, while the three people in the room who were on the opposing side decided they wanted the little hillside lean-to I had claimed as my own. They killed me numerous times, but never managed to take my little flag pit, even with three-point assaults taking place. I even managed a few knife kills on Bill while he desperately tried to scramble into an APC I had parked nearby.

Overall, it was a great experience that made those twelve hours disappear quicker than I expected.

For those looking into purchasing Battlefield Vietnam for the PC, you should be able to find it for $29.99 this week at your local Best Buy.