Computer:

Phanteks Enthoo Luxe full tower case, 8 fans, i7 4790K 4.0 GHz cpu, Asus Z97-A mobo, 32 GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR3 (4 x 8) @ 2400 MHz, EVGA GTX 980 SC video card, Corsair RM1000i power supply "all digital", Noctua NH-U12S cpu cooler with double fans in push-pull config, NEC 2690 WUXi 26.5" diagonal monitor always at 1920 x 1200, WD Black series 2 TB main HDD and WD Black 1 TB video drive, WD My Book 3 TB external drive for additional storage.

I have built 12 computers now and this one is the nicest for sure. It is without doubt a very strong computer. I will always use a full tower case from now on.

Steam member since July 3, 2005. Just turned my badge into a 16-year badge. This is actually a long time, since Steam's inception date is September 12, 2003. I am one of its senior members! In all my time with Steam I have only personally chatted with a single individual who joined prior to me. I realize there are many, but I've only come across one.

I started out gaming as a First Person Shooter player. I have played most all of the top tier FPS games, like the entire Call of Duty series, Left 4 Dead series 1 & 2, Battlefield, Crysis and Crysis 2, the new Doom, Doom 3 + expansions, FarCry 1 and 2, Fear and expansions, Rainbow 6 Vegas, Stalker 1, Quake 4, Half Life 2 series, Bioshock, Bioshock Infinity, Ghost Recon, Star Wars Battlefront II and Halo. The first one that got me hooked on FPS was the original FarCry. Then Halo 1, then COD 2 and Quake 4. By now I was truly hooked. Doom 3 followed and I never looked back.

I fell in love with the Left 4 Dead game just after it came out. I was utterly consumed by this for many years, along with Left 4 Dead 2 when it came out. My lifetime stats are definitely very strong, especially with Left 4 Dead 2, which I began as already a very accomplished player, and I consider myself one of the strongest players in both offensive catagories and in the "team helper" catagory. I have over 1 million kills in each of Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. More than 99% of my games were played at the Expert level.

Some of my happiest days are playing these two games, especially with Josh, "Mr. Biggles", during our marathon Left 4 Dead "Survival" games in which we achieved a Gold Medal on every single map. We made quite the team back then. We played an aweful lot of addon campaigns as well. We were always looking for the next greatest addon campaign. The zombies were at a distinct disadvantage with us on the same team. Josh, "Mr. Biggles", is also one of the very strongest players.

In the original Left 4 Dead, I have succeeded in completing EVERY campaign 5 times each on expert difficulty BY MYSELF with nothing but the bots. 5 times each on expert, by myself with just the bots !!! I feel this is a real accomplishment. The trick is in Killing the Tank, and understanding why bots do what they do. Yes, bots can be very effectively manipulated.

I retired from both Left 4 Dead games in late 2015. It wasn't that I stopped loving the games, but rather that there were so few players that were actually strong players and genuinely fun to play with. The lions share of the good guys had already moved on. And sooooo many games were plagued with constant griefers. It was time to move on. RIP Zombicidal Maniac !

As a result I discovered Turned Based Strategy and dove in to Total War Rome II (553 hrs played). I liked it a lot. Then I got into playing TW Warhammer and I really like the game with its fantasy theme with magic and stuff. I also truly love the brain puzzle games too. Like Portal and The Talos Principle. In the Talos Principle I solved all but one puzzle on my own without a google lookup.

Currently, Real Time Strategy is a favorite genre. Ultimate General: Civil War is my game of choice, although it leaves me "wanting" in several respects. I have almost 1,715 hours played as of mid October 2018. Maybe even I'll pass 2000 hours for my all time most played game. I have finally earned all 39 achievements !!! All 39 of 39. I conpleted the Union Major General difficulty campaign with a victory at every battle, while skipping no battles. If I can manage to be victorious at the fictitional Battle of Washington as the CSA, then I'll have done what barely 1% of all players in the UG:CW have done, which is to complete both the Union AND the CSA campaigns on the Major General difficulty, winning every battle, skipping not a single battle. UPDATE: Mission Accomplished !! Both Major General Campaigns completed and victorious in every battle, while skipping none. Barely 1% or less all players can say this.

There is really no RTS game like this UG:CW out there. In many ways it is a pretty fantastic game. However, what I really feel is needed is another developer to give Game-Labs some competition in this genre. (Did I say that?) Please forgive me fellow UG:CW comrads LOL. Don't get me wrong...it's a great game, but it also has some poor developement choice baggage to carry and many oversights...unfortunately probably permanantly. A bigger developer with a bigger crew and bank account could take this type of game to much higher levels.

I just got my 66th game (Call Of Duty WWII). Love that Zombie mode !! A few games are still yet to be played. Needless to say there will be many nights still before I can say I played them all. Steam Summer Sale 2017 saw a few games added as well. I have gone hog wild in the acquisition of badges and as of this writing my Steam level is 73 and I have 66 Badges. Now I have a "Screenshot Showcase" and a "Favorite Game Showcase". My best days are still to come.

I have not played much Steam for a while. Chess has me consumed for the last 3 years or so. But the new Ultimate General: Age of Sail is coming, so I may be back for another adventure.

Life...a work in progress