Pictures are back!

Apocalypse has been averted - we finally got the pictures back on the website!

Head on over to the all new http://www.peaceloveandrockets.org and check out our awesome new gallery of the same old pictures.

They should help brighten your day while you wait on the 3 day weekend to arrive...

Peace, Love, and Rockets 15 Announced!

Howdy LAN goers! TXG is happy to share two awesome bits of information with you this morning. The first is that Peace, Love, And Rockets has released it all new website! Please visit the site and browse the all new gallery and post up in the forums! Shoot us a message on the forums or on Facebook and let us know what you think of the redesign, we'd love to hear any comments you may have. PLR and TXG would like to thank Alex "ent" Meswarb for completely redesigning and coding the site from scratch!

The second and most awesome news is that the next LAN Party has been announced! That's right, PLR 15 is officially schedule for November 3rd and 4th at Starwood Studios and Mancave in Southlake, TX. Capacity is set at 50 BYOC seats and registration will be announced soon. Admission will be $15 pre-pay and $20 at the door.

The insider information straight from TXG suggests that there may be an early registration discount, so stay tuned to both www.thetexangamer.com and www.peaceloveandrockets.org for more info to come.

America! Fuck yeah!

Happy 4th everyone. Pure awesomeness is coming your way very soon.

Just a quick heads up that Starwood LAN Party will be taking place July 13-15th in Southlake, TX. More details available here: http://starwoodlanparty.com/

And in other news, QuakeCon 2012 is  only 28 days away as of this post! Get your shit ready, it's time to roll! http://www.quakecon.org/

As for today, go cook a brisket, drink some beer, and blow stuff up!

Updated TXG Facebook!

To continue our return to the ring, we have refreshed yet another site in the TXG family. This time Our very own Facebook page gets some love with an updated Timeline view including a new cover photo and all new logo. The new FB profile pic bring our social branding in line with the new TXG website that launched late last year.

Go check it out and suggest that all your friends fan up!

PLR Website updated

After a few months of inactivity, the official website of the Peace, Love, and Rockets LAN Party has received a few touch ups.

We first would like to thank the AWESOME Wendy Woode for the brand new logo featured on the main page and all future publications. This logo was released for the last PLR in November, and it's long overdue arrival to the web is here.

Sponsors have been flushed in preparation for a potential future LAN, and the brand new, fully featured photo gallery is now up and running. This new gallery includes all official galleries from the entire history of PLR starting with Peace, Love, and Rockets #1 from January of 2007 in Ennis, TX - right up to PLR 14 in November 2011 in Dallas, TX. We are currently missing PLR 8 and 9 as they were never delivered from the interim PLR staff of that time. If anyone has any photo's from these two events, we'd love to have them!

Watch for more news about upcoming PLR LANs here!
As always, the most up to date official PLR info can be found at www.peaceloveandrockets.org

QuakeCon 2012!

I can't believe we didn't post about this!

QuakeCon 2012 is coming up in just over a month at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX.

QuakeCon will provide a BYOC LAN party for more than 2300 attendees, as well as feature an action packed Exhibitor Hall where you can check out the latest and greatest games and hardware. QuakeCon has historically held some spectacular tournaments with cash prizes, although none have yet been announced as of this post.

TheTexanGamer will be present as usual, and will be looking forward to seeing all our friends under one roof!

For more, check out www.quakecon.org

Valve Wants to Pull Players Off CS 1.6 with CS: GO

Valve wants to merge the two Counter-Strike communities with the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The original, 11-year-old Counter-Strike (1.6) game is currently Valve's most-played title on Steam, and its successor, Counter-Strike Source, is the studio's third-most played game. Yet with the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valve is essentially faced with the daunting task of luring those two communities away from their beloved games and stick with the newer product. That said, how will Valve end the seven year division between the two without shutting the games down completely?

One way to get them interested is to implement suggestions made by the pro Counter-Strike community. In an interview with Develop, Valve writer Chet Faliszek said they didn't take that route with Counter-Strike Source. "With Global Offensive we want to make sure that we’re doing what they want," he said. "Or that we at least understand the implications of what they’re asking for."

Other ways to get the long-term fans interested in the new game is to bring them into the closed beta so that they can help mold the shooter into what it should be, and to even bring them directly into the studio itself to play-test the beta right in front of the developers' eyes and ears. Feedback through forums is one thing -- doing so face-to-face with the game's creators can lead to a better understanding of what the players want, and what the developer is trying to create.

"It’s a really good way of testing your ideas," he said. "As a developer we may have what we think is a great idea, but then we realize people aren’t playing the game the way that we want them to. So you have to lead them to play it that way, and then you’ll find out the adjustments you have to make for that to happen."

"With Global Offensive, we’re making it to be the best version of Counter-Strike, and the one that people should be playing – but we can’t force that," he added. "We need to talk with those players and try to understand their concerns. But we know the 1.6 players and the CSS players are looking for something new. I think they’d like something from us that can incorporate them into being one."

Possibly one of the big selling points of Global Offensive is a possible support for cross-platform play between the Mac, PC and PlayStation 3. This in itself could open up a whole new batch of players who may have been unable to play a Counter-Strike title on their PC. Previous reports indicated that the PS3 to PC cross-platform support was a done deal, but Faliszek seems to indicate otherwise.

"We’re looking at it," he admitted. "It’s something that we’ll find out during the beta. We don't want to hamstring one platform to another."

He goes on to indicate that there's still details to hammer out in regards to Steamworks functioning at its full potential -- including handing out incremental updates -- on the PlayStation Network. And so far, there's still no sign of Steamworks support on the Xbox 360, but that hasn't been crossed off the list just yet.

"We’ll see," he said when asked about Steamworks on Microsoft's console. "That’s something Microsoft will has to decide. There’s some things going on with Portal 2 right now, but we’ll see. "

To read the full interview, head here.

Provided by: Tomshardware

46 More Days!

46 day till Peace Love and Rockets and we are oozing from the ears with great news! 3 new great sponsors, video card giveaways, and only more good stuff to come! Don't forget to register for the event if you haven't done so yet, and if you have, don't forget it is cheaper to pre-pay now then to wait and pay at the door! Now for what you have been waiting for...MOAR SPONSORS!

Peace Love and Rockets would like to spotlight Zotac for jumping on the PLR extravaganza!

Established in 2006, ZOTAC is the world’s largest and most innovative manufacturer of graphics cards, mini-ITX motherboards and mini-PCs. ZOTAC system components, and mini-PCs can be found in all continents around the globe. Derived from the terms “zone,” for being distinct in the PC components and systems business, and “tact,” for our superior skill, experience, quality and manufacturing capabilities. Combined, “ZOTAC,” represents technological strength and experience blended with a fresh approach on the industry’s ever-changing needs.

Zotac is also asked us to help spread the word about their weekend competitions that they host weekly. They are called Zotac Cup, games that are included are Starcraft II, Quake Live, Warcraft III, and FIFA 11. You can find the tournaments at this location!

Peace Love and Rockets would also like to welcome this non stranger of a sponsor Coolermaster!

Cooler Master was founded with the mission of providing the industry's best thermal solutions. Since its establishment a decade ago, the company has remained faithful to this mission, emerging as a world leader in products and services for companies dealing with devices where heat issues must be resolved. We are excited to bring back aboard Cooler Master and look forward to seeing what they will give all our great attendees, we are especially excited about their CM Storm product line!

Last but not least we are very happy to bring aboard Rosewill!

Not long ago Rosewill had an idea - bring quality hardware and affordable prices together. From that idea Rosewill was born. Formed from a top team of hardware professionals, Rosewill is dedicated to our mission to compete and win on price, quality, and service. Rosewill works only with the best partners - businesses Rosewill knows and businesses we trust. What can we say? We are ecstatic that Rosewill will help sponsor PLR and can't wait to see what they have in store for us!

Keep watching for more updates!

Tribes: Ascend Closed Beta Now Accepting Applicants

Hi-Rez Studios is launching the first wave of its Tribes: Ascend closed beta in the next few weeks, and is now accepting applications.

Wednesday Hi-Rez Studios sent over a quick note announcing that it's now accepting applications for the first phase of the Tribes: Ascend closed beta which begins in a few weeks. Although the actual launch date wasn't given, Hi-Rez plans to grant access to thousands of "hand-selected" players worldwide.

"During this initial beta phase, Tribes: Ascend players will experience 4 multiplayer maps, 2 game-modes and 3 vehicles as they progress through 12 playable classes in fast-paced, high-flying online multiplayer matches of up to 32 people," the studio said. "Hi-Rez Studios will continue to increase the number of beta participants through the end of this year in preparation for a general game release in Q1 of 2012."

As noted, the game has been officially delayed, pushed back from its original Q4 2011 release schedule. However, when launched, Tribes: Ascend will be the first new Tribes game to be released since Tribes: Vengeance hit the PC way back in 2004.

According to the studio, Tribes: Ascend will be the official multiplayer successor to 2001's Tribes 2, and will be brought to the PC as a digital download using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. The game will also arrive on the Xbox 360 console, launching alongside the PC version when they both go live early next year.

To sign up for the closed beta, head here.

Provided by: Tomshardware

Insane in the Membrane!

The Texan Gamer has gone MAD! Free video card WHAT?!!? Thats right! If we can get The Texan Gamer facebook page up to 200 likes and Peace Love and Rockets LAN Party facebook page up to 60 likes, we will post a form in which you can fill out and qualify for the chance to win a EVGA GTX 560! How cool is that?!?!


The Texan Gamer has also gone LAN party CRAZY! This Saturday join us on our LAN Party Extravaganza when we attend the NGC LAN Party in Greenville then high tail it back to Richardson to host our own LAN party in Richardson at Shadow LAN! It is sure to be a blast and we would love for everyone to join us.

There are also rumors that LeXXon will be handing out Pre-PLR swag?!?! He has gone off his rocker!

Frag ya later!

PLR Tournament Information

In preparation for November 5th, we have posted the tournament information far enough ahead so that everyone has a equal shot at competing in them, here is a sneak peak of what you will get by winning one of the top prizes of each of the tournaments. You can find the tournament sign ups here!The tournaments for this PLR are as follows:

Quake Live 1v1 Double Elimination
Top 3 Winners will receive one of the trophies to the left and more!

















Starcraft 2 1v1 Single Elimination
Top 3 Winners will receive one of the trophies to the left and more!

















Unreal Tournament 3 FFA
Top 4 Winners will receive one of the trophies to the left and more!

















For those of you that already registered, watch your emails in the next upcoming weeks, we have some exciting announcements and giveaways, for those who haven't registered...well you will be on the wait list but you can still register!

PLR Partnership

Good News Everyone! We are happy to bring aboard Gamerz Unite!

Gamerz Unite has agreed to run a tournament or two and introduce their community to the PLR family! We are excited to have Gamerz Unite aboard and can't wait to show you what we have in store for you! Below is what they just announced about what they will be contributing to Peace Love and Rockets!

"Today we're announcing our sponsorship of the Peace, Love & Rockets lan party that will take place in Addison, TX on Saturday, November, 5 2011. The festivities kick off at 11am and end at 10pm. The lan itself is pretty much full at the moment but guests are always welcome to come check out the event. The gaming event will feature several tournaments which include the following;

• "Official GU Sponsored" Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour (2v2)
• Starcraft 2: 1v1 Single Elimination
• Quake Live: 1v1 Double Elmination
• Unreal Tournament 3: FFA

We'll be giving away various prizes for the tournament which will include:

- CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
- Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
- 2 x Patriot Supersonic Xpress 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drives
- 2 x Kingston DataTraveler 100 Generation 2 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drives
- Official PLR/Gamerzunite.com branded t-shirts

We'll announce what tournaments these prizes belong to later.

For further information on how to register and the LAN itself, visit this thread:
Peace Love and Rockets November 15h, 2011, North Texas LAN Party"

Could this LAN get any better?!?! Well yes it can! Keep watching in the coming weeks for more sponsors, prizes, and news on Peace Love and Rockets coming to you on November 5th!

Registration Full! More Could Open!

I don't know about everyone else...but I believe we have a LAN party on our hands! Registration filled up in 1 week and 1 day within going live, and we even have 6 people on the wait list! We have surpassed our original estimated filled date and are moving plans a little faster than we expected! For all you people on the wait list, don't you worry, we will be opening up to a additional 20 people once we have 10 people on the wait list, and by this rate it looks like we will hit that very soon! Don't forget to remind your friends to register for PLR, it isn't going to be a event to miss, trust us on that!

www.peaceloveandrockets.org

Also...I hear there is a new logo in the making...are you as excited as us?!?!

Few Seats Left! Sponsor LOVE!

Only a few seats remain for PLR! After that it is waiting list until we get enough interest to open up some additional space! Tell your friends that they better register or they may not have a seat! Go to www.peaceloveandrockets.org and register quickly, this event will be filled and it will not be something you want to be on the outside looking in on! Registration is free, but you have the option to pre-pay for $10 but the price at the door the day of the event is going to be $15! With this post, we want to also announce a few more sponsors!

We would like to welcome aboard 2K Games!

Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment software games for the console, PC, and handheld gaming systems through its three divisions: 2K Games, 2K Sports, and 2K Play. 2K publishes titles in today's most popular gaming genres, including first-person shooters, action, role-playing, real-time strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment.

2K Games is the producer of such games as Bioshock, Duke Nukem: Forever, Borderlands, and the future Borderlands 2! Be sure to swing by their facebook page and show them some love!

Peace Love and Rockets would also like to welcome aboard Greenman Gaming!

Green Man Gaming is a digital retailer of PC games. We sell games globally and have sold to over 89 countries. We're based in London, UK, and our offices are in Bloomsbury which sounds much more posh than it really is.

Unlike any other digital retailer, our customers can trade-in their digitally downloaded games for credit in their account and this credit can then be used for new purchases. We have some very clever patent-protected technology that allows only us to do this.

Greenman Gaming has so kinda accepted being a official sponsor of PLR! Check them out next time you decide to purchase a game online, constant discount on current and upcoming games which activate on Steam!

Remember everyone, register for PLR! You aren't gonna wanna miss this!

EA's Origin Sends Personal Data to Third Parties

Part of Origin's EULA allows Electronic Arts to snoop through your system -- including installed and uninstalled software -- and send that information to third-party service providers.

Honestly EA, what are you up to now? The gaming publisher is currently under fire by outraged consumers after a close examination of the End User License Agreement for Origin reveals that it grants EA the right to snoop through desktops and laptops once the user agrees to the terms. If that wasn't invasive enough, the agreement also allows EA to share all that information to third party service providers.

"You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol Address), operating system, Application usage (including but not limited to successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware, that may be gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, dynamically served content, product support and other services to you, including online services," the agreement reads. "EA may also use this information combined with personal information for marketing purposes and to improve our products and services. We may also share that data with our third party service providers in a form that does not personally identify you. IF YOU DO NOT WANT EA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, TRANSMIT OR DISPLAY THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE APPLICATION."

Now here’s the kicker: if EA customers don't agree to the company's snooping and sharing of private data to third parties, then they won't have access to exclusive PC games like Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Origin agreement also doesn't allow the user to opt out at any time after the initial acceptance, meaning that they either must choose to share their personal information indefinitely, or not play EA's exclusive PC games at all.

Reddit is currently rallying EA gamers to contact the company by email or snail mail to protest against the invasion of privacy. According to EA's privacy policy instructions, consumers can first try to settle the matter with the company directly using the contact info at http://www.ea.com/1/privacy-contacts. Consumers can also drop an email to the relevant statutory privacy body or advocacy group, presumably the Electronic Frontier Foundation which typically stands up for gamer privacy rights.

Then again, Origin's invasive nature may have been one of the reasons why EA chose to launch its own client in the first place: to see who is pirating EA games... if it indeed scans all installed and uninstalled software on a system, that is.

So far EA hasn't publicly responded to the complaints.

Provided by: Tomshardware

Intel LANFest in Austin on Labor Day Weekend!

Intel LANFest returns to Austin for the benefit of the local Capital Area United Way. Like other Lanfest events; 100%* of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the United Way.

This event is open to the general public. Please help spread the word so we can show how much of a positive impact Gamers can have to the local communities. Kids are welcome but are the responsibility of the parent or guardian. 16-18 year olds are allowed w/o parent with a signed waiver. Under 16 must have a legal guardian present at all times.

The LAN will be held at the Austin Intel Campus on Friday, Sept 2nd 8pm through the Monday, Sept 5th noon. The event will run nonstop from 8pm to noon on Monday. There are 70 seats to fill.
You can register for the Bring Your Own Computer or Console (BYOC) at http://lanfest.intel.com/?page=event&eventid=1747

Games and Tournaments are still being discussed with possible events to include World of Warcraft, Lead and Gold, Team Fortress 2, and Left4Dead 2.
Have a favorite game you'd like to play? Talk about it on the forums and/or volunteer to run a tournament.

When:
Sept 2nd 8pm (Friday) to Sept 5th noon (Monday)

Where:
Intel Corp
1501 S Mopac Expressway
Suite 150
Austin, TX 78746

If they fill enough seats, they might even get BBQ from Rudy's. I'd also like to emphasize that this event is open to EVERYONE and they have a ton of prizes up for raffle. It's a nice facility with plenty of parking, power, and even some internet bandwidth.

Pre-Registration Anouncement!

Pre-Registration tonight! Want another sponsor? Well here ya go!

Peace Love and Rockets and The Texan Gamer are proud to bring aboard Shuttle PC!

Established in 1990, Shuttle Computer Group Inc. is the American arm of the world renowned Shuttle Inc. Based in Taiwan with an extensive worldwide network of subsidiaries, resellers, partners, and suppliers, Shuttle Inc. is recognized as a premier manufacturer of motherboards and barebones systems. Shuttle Inc. has received numerous awards and accolades from independent media and analysts, affirming the superior quality of Shuttle products and services.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Shuttle Computer Group Inc. services a nationwide network of distributors and resellers with superior Marketing and Sales, Technical Support, RMA, Repair and Accounting and Inventory services. A commitment to customer satisfaction has made Shuttle Computer Group Inc. the first choice of many system integrators, VARs, OEMs and ODMs.

Shuttle PC has sent us some amazing swag in which we get to hand out to the attendees of Peace Love and Rockets and we can't wait till you see what they have given you! Don't forget to Pre-Register!

Pre-Registration Sponsor Announcement!

Today is the day people! Pre-registration for Peace Love and Rockets starts at 7 pm CST and we are ready to get this show on the road! We have lots of surprises coming in the upcoming months leading up to the actual LAN party but will give you a great one ahead of time!

The Texan Gamer and Peace Love and Rockets are happy to announce Alpha Grip as a sponsor of the November edition of Peace Love and Rockets!

Write emails, instant messages, and take notes comfortably from any position at 50 words per minute and enjoy 10-finger touch control for enhanced, desk-free gaming with an iGrip Ergonomic Keyboard, a handheld keyboard and mouse that has the look and feel of a game controller on steroids. With a scientifically designed button layout, Enhanced Qwerty, the iGrip gives you fast, comfortable access to all the keys you need for high speed typing and gaming. Its handheld design enables powerful desk-free computing from any location in any position: leaning away from your desk, standing up, riding in a vehicle, relaxing on a sofa in your living room, sitting on the floor, leaning back in a recliner, or even lying in bed. The iGrip is also the best all around input device for laptop and notebook computers, whether in the office, on the road, or at home.

AlphaGrip has agreed to showcase their iGrip Ergonomic Keyboard at Peace Love and Rockets in November! Also, two lucky attendees will be walking away with these iGrips to take home and enjoy! Be sure to check out the AlphaGrip website and read all about the iGrip and what it has to offer, you will be able to try it out at the LAN also! We are happy to have AlphaGrip as a sponsor and look forward to working with them again!

Don't forget everyone that Pre-Registration for Peace Love and Rockets starts at 7pm! Price for pre-pay is $10 and the cost will be $15! 50 spots are available for now, but I can promise you we will be expanding to 80 spots very soon so keep registering and if you are on the wait list, don't worry about it!

Check back later for yet another amazing sponsor!

Sponsor Announcement

1 day left till registration opens, and we are as excited as you are! We can't wait to get this show on the road and get this LAN started! We are sorry about the past two days of no post but hopefully this post will make up for it! We will be announcing 3 sponsors with this one post!

Peace Love and Rockets and The Texan Gamer are happy to bring aboard Spire Coolers!

Spire is a leading premier brand for computer thermal solutions, power supplies and enclosures. In order to meet the requirements and demands of the global market, we have established our production facilities and corporate office in ShenZhen, China. Our overseas branches are located in USA, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan and Brazil. All locations are strategically located to better work with the customers we serve.
We are happy to bring Spire aboard for the first time and look forward to working with them in the future! They have donated some swag, so you have to come out in order to be eligible to receive some!

Peace Love and Rockets and The Texan Gamer are happy to bring aboard Thermalright!
Thermalright is an elite design house that manufactures cooling products for computer components for the best quality and performance your money can buy. In 2002, AMD released its first generation Thunderbird CPU and since then we have been there every step of the way to counter high voltage and high heat with innovative design and highly acclaimed cooling solutions not only for AMD but for Intel as well. One of early well known solutions was the SK-6. With many positive and rave reviews under its belt Thermalright bolted to the top as the heat sink manufacturer mostly preferred by Overclockers and enthusiasts around the World. To this day, innovation never left our vocabulary as we keep coming up with leading edge designs staying ahead of the competition.

Looks like we have all the cooling covered for the LAN! This will also be the first time that Thermalright has sponsored PLR and it looks like they are happy to be our sponsors! We welcome them aboard and hope they enjoy the PLR Love!

Peace Love and Rockets and The Texan Gamer are happy to bring aboard CPU Magazine!
Computer Power User is a monthly print publication aimed at people who breathe, eat, and sleep technology. The kind of person who gets his kicks upgrading graphics cards and smashing benchmarks. The type of person who reinstalls Windows at 2 a.m. because his system keeps crashing while he's encoding video. Or the person who repartitions his drive to create a dual-boot system and install Linux so he can learn more about how the OS works.
CPU Magazine is no stranger to LANs around the area and we are happy to have them as a sponsor once again! Get ready for some free magazines!

Don't forget about registration tomorrow night at 7! We will be announcing 2 more sponsors that we are sure you will jump for joy about! Keep watching the Texan Gamer and Peace Love and Rockets for more exciting news!

Sponsor Announcement!

4 More Days till Peace Love and Rockets Pre-Registration and more sponsors to come! Are you ready?

Peace Love and Rockets is happy to announce Gunnar as a official sponsor of PLR!

Gunnars are high performance computer eyewear optimized for the digital screen.

Comprised of a proprietary lens material in an advanced geometry tuned for specific viewing distances and finished with custom formulated lens filters, tints and coatings - Gunnar with i-AMP lens technology delievers a noticeable advantage when viewing any digital LCD.

Gunnar will be providing us with a promo code for a discount on their product! The only way to get it though is to Pre-Register for the LAN!

Keep watching for more updates!