It's Not Just You™ - NVIDIA Drivers Released Today Seem To 'Reset' Notifications Back To Default (ON)

Just a quick post to say that, if you Updated your NVIDIA GPU Drivers today (2018.09.19) and think that the Notifications (Pop-Up Messages) are 'resetting' themselves back to 'ON', if you set them to 'OFF', after rebooting, etc - that It's Not Just You™...

I personally prefer them all 'OFF' (sometimes I leave the Screenshot Notification 'ON') - and so I noticed right away, that after setting them to 'OFF' and then rebooting - they appear to have 'reset' themselves automatically to 'ON' again.

Highlighting the very-helpful 'toggle all' slider, this is how the Notifications look when they are all turned OFF

(GeForce Experience, NVIDIA GPU Software)

I thought maybe I just didn't properly Disable them, so I brought up the GFx In-Game Overlay (formerly SHARE, formerly SHADOWPLAY, etc) and turned off the Notifications (there is a great one-click 'disable all' shortcut-type toggle, wtg NVIDIA!). Then I rebooted.

Restart'in Windaz (Windows 10 Power/Restart Interface)

Upon startup, I hit the Screenshot key configured and 'BLOWP', there was the pop-up Notification ["Blowp" is the sound an NVIDIA Notification makes on this Timeline].

"BLOWP! I SAVE A SCREEN THING!"
(Oh and this is what My Desktop looks like at the moment... The background Wallpaper I made from a Fallout 4 Screenshot. Some icons are made by me as well - if people start asking for them, I will release them, either as a "Pack" or separately, sometime)

I opened up the configuration for the In-Game Overlay (SHARE...SHADOWPLAY...etc) just to see if it was 'reset' back to 'ON' - and it was.

The Notifications in GeForce Experience's In-Game Overlay seem to have automagically 'reset' themselves to the 'ON' setting, after Rebooting the system (GeForce Experience, NVIDIA GPU Software)

Not a huge deal - many of us don't even turn off our systems or need to Reboot near as much anymore these days - and although there is the possibility that NVIDIA intended it to be 'resetting/defaulting to ON', as some sort of "Hey, I'm Runnin' Here" notification to Users after Restarting/Rebooting/etc; I still wanted to try help improve GFx [my abbrev.] and keep it 'free of issues' (as much as I can assist) and 'just in case' went to inform NVIDIA's Support Team that this is occurring with their latest iteration, so I opened up the Feedback and typed this in:

This seemed a lot funnier late at night and really tired... I totally thought I was going to 'cheer up someone's day' with a semi-silly little "complaint", heh (Feedback, GeForce Experience, NVIDIA GPU Software)

Then, I came to Share [pun originally not intended] with my dear readers, or Searchers of this issue/popup occurrence, that this indeed happens - hopefully making the world a little safer and happier, letting others know that if you run into this issue of the notifications 'resetting themselves' with this latest Update of NVIDIA's Drivers - that It's Not Just You™...

Fallout 4 - Things The Game Doesn't Tell You Or Explain To New Players Very Well (in Point Form) [UNDER CONSTRUCTION / LIVE UPDATES]

[Note.: This post is 'LIVE' and 'UNDER CONSTRUCTION', as I continue to add more data and Tips and Example Screenshots to it eventually... I decided to make it available now however, to assist those playing Fallout 4; especially those just starting out - seeing as there was a Steam Sale on (Welcome New Players, heh). I will be adding more Text and Tips and Screenshots and More and this post cannot be considered 'finalized' until after I add a 'Final Footer Image' to the posting (see some of my other posts for examples of this type of 'end image' I put in my posts). Please excuse changes as they occur and temporary mistakes and spelling errors, which may show up should you return to this article while it is under development. Enjoy, however - I hope you find something helpful to you - and have fun in Fallout 4!]

At the 3000 Hours Played mark now, I'm having a ton of fun playing Fallout 4 [as I always say, 'spending too much time Working On Settlements and ignoring the Main Storyline'] - but I wanted to share a bunch of things that I had to 'figure out on my own' in the game, or that I saw others had to (in forums, etc)... There is a kind of Tutorial in the first town/area in the game, and when you first start out some things are explained, and when some things are 'unlocked', but not much is explained in detail after that (there are some Instruction Screens the first time you Lockpick or Hack A Terminal). Below then, are a handful of concepts, in point form, that I wanted to share; especially for New Players, that the game doesn't quite cover (or 'cover enough'):

• If it says "You lack the requirements to create this item" ... and you have the requirements and Perks listed... there can actually be more Component requirements (build materials needed), you have to SCROLL DOWN on the Requirements List (labelled "Requires") to see them - for example, on the PC you can place your Mouse Cursor over the item requirements listing and Scroll the Mouse Wheel, to reveal the other Required Materials that are not showing. It should show a downward-facing chevron (looks like << ) to show that there are more of the list to see

• How to Holster your Weapon: Hold R for a moment (on PC, by Default); the same key as you have set for Reload (The game walks you through Aiming and Reloading, but does not seem to cover Holstering)

• Weapons do not need to be Repaired in Fallout 4, but Power Armor can be damaged and need Repairing at a Power Armor Station, which can be found in Towns and Settlements, and can be Crafted in Workshop Mode as well (they require two Perks/Skills; Armorer (Rank 1) and Local Leader (Rank 2))

• How to use the VANS Perk so that it shows the 'Trail to Follow': (See my article on V.A.N.S. ... hold Q for a bit, then put away Pip-Boy right away with TAB and the 'smoke trail to follow' should be left behind)

• You can adjust the Difficulty at any time in the game, even if it is just temporarily (such as if you are ill and can't fight as well for a while). To change your Difficulty, bring up the Menu while playing (Escape on the PC), then go into the Settings, then into the Gameplay category, changing the Difficulty in there, from Very Easy all the way to Survival Mode (where you have to Sleep, Eat and Drink to stay alive and everything is ultra-hard to kill!). The chance for Legendary Items (and the Legendary Enemies that carry them) increases with the Difficulty - but you can also increase the chance of Legendaries by simply going further South and East, increasing the Difficulty of the Area/Mobs/etc - be careful!

• If you TRADE with Dogmeat he can carry Items like all other Companions can (he can also wear Dog Apparel, such as Dog Armor or Dog Collars, if they are found in The Wasteland)

• You can increase how much Robot Companions can Carry, depending on what parts you build them with (need Automatron DLC to build a Robot that can be your Companion [to 'accompany you on your Travels']), watch the "Carry Weight" Amount as you choose parts and put your Automatron together

• It is "ok" to Drink 'the regular Water that is everywhere', it will still heal you a little; it is just Irradiated and causes some Radiation Exposure. If you are playing Survival Mode and have a container such as an Empty Bottle or Milk Bottle, you can also fill these containers at Streams or other bodies of water, to Drink or Cook with

Don't totally ignore Cooking (although you totally can, if you want to). Cooking various icky parts and gooey bits that you find in The Commonwealth not only heals you, most of the Recipes also give you 'Buffs' - temporary increases in various Stats - and things like Breathing Underwater or the ability to Carry More... Cook All The Things!

• The RED Bar in your Health Bar (that is normally GREEN) is the level of Radiation you have acquired. It 'takes up space' in your Health Bar, because you cannot be "100% healthy" with Radiation Exposure, just like IRL, actually (in-game Radiation must be removed with RadAway or by a Doctor at a Clinic (who takes it away for a small fee))

• The Water Pumps that are built at Settlements give 'Pure Water' from underground (it counts as "Purified Water" as it comes from underground where it has been protected/filtered from radiation by the land/ground, similar to how it would be IRL). The Water Pumps can be drunk from directly (like a Water Fountain) or the water can be bottled to drink later (if carrying empty bottles/etc) if you are playing in Survival Mode; you don't have to go all the way back to The Vault to get "Pure Water" [something I was doing in Survival Mode all the time - if you didn't know this, you can always run/travel back to Vault 111 to get "pure water" from the fountains there - I was filling my Bottles there in Survival Mode, heh]

• To Build in a Settlement, go up to the Workshop Bench (always 'mostly red' colour, with 'tools' on it and usually located somewhat Centrally in the Settlement) and Activate/Use it. If you are "Allied with the Settlement" (helping them out or have already helped them out by Completing a Mission for them, sometimes it requires killing all enemies nearby) it will open Workshop Mode, allowing you to Build in the Settlement area

• To Scrap in Workshop Mode (to 'break down an item/weapons/armor into Components you can use for Building Materials), look at it (drop it on the ground if you are carrying it) and hit SCRAP. Walk around a Settlement as soon as you can utilize Workshop Mode, looking for anything that you can Scrap in the area, for use as building materials. The items you Scrap all get 'broken down' into Components, which are the building materials themselves, the 'things you construct other things with' - everything being stored in the Workshop Bench itself as Inventory

You do not have to Scrap everything 'manually'/'one at a time'. Just STORE or put Junk Items in the Workshop Inventory ('trading with the Workshop Bench', called "Transfer") and when you want to Build something, the Workbench calculates if you have enough Junk Items to break down into enough Components to build with. It will show what you want to build as GREEN if you have enough estimated building materials to construct the thing you are trying to build. (You may also need certain Perks to build some things, watch the Requirements list)

• People can 'steal' your Power Armor... Raiders can Steal your Power Armor if they come across it in The Wasteland, for example. Settlers can even take Weapons out of nearby Crates/Containers to use, when attacked. To avoid losing your Power Armor, take out the Fusion Core from the Power Armor ("Transfer") when leaving it, so that it cannot be used by anyone else (it is like 'taking the keys out of your vehicle') [NPCs don't seem to carry/use Fusion Cores on the Armor]. However there have been stories of cases where Settlers will take a Fusion Core out of a container in a Settlement and throw it in a nearby Power Armor Suit and run off with it to Defend the Settlement! Crazy. Although most of the time, the Settler will simply 'get out' of your Power Armor after the Settlement is Defended - still, take out Fusion Cores from your Power Armor when you leave it, so that noone (for the most part) can take your Power Armor and you can always find it where you left it.

• If Items and Containers around you are 'glowing green' or looking like they have 'pip-boy radar on them', this is a result of the Highlighting from the Scrapper Perk. Any items that you 'Tag for Searching' for (eg. when trying to Build something and you didn't have enough materials, you can "Tag the Components for Search") will have this GREEN highlighting when the Pip-Boy detects you are close to an Item in the world that is made up of that type of Component (eg. Steel or Plastic).
  To turn this 'containers glowing thing' OFF, open the Pip-Boy and go to the Junk page in the Inventory tab, and change to component view by clicking on the Component View button at the bottom ('C' on PC).
  Then in this view, go through the Component types and clear the Tag For Search by doing it again on the Component type.
  Then, your 'Highlighted view' from the Scrapper Perk is turned off and Items and Containers will not 'glow green' around you anymore

• Speaking of glowing green, unless you want your vision to be green-ish and REALLY BRIGHT every time you crouch (Sneak), don't get Night Person Rank 2 (Perk). Although the Perk does state that you'll get "Night Vision when you Sneak", unless you really want to be able to see really well (and slightly green-ish) in the dark or when you Sneak, hold off on Rank 2, or watch some videos on it first, to see what it looks like. [To some, the Bonuses are worth it - and they don't mind the way it looks - but personally, I did not like how the Night Vision worked/looked - it 'spoiled' the darkness and tension of nighttime in the game for me, on that character; and since Rank 2 of the Perk and the Vision are tied together (you cannot have one without the other), I personally avoid Rank 2 of the Perk, for now]

• If you Exit the game (in any way except using ALT+F4), the game will Save your progress as an "Exit Save". Then, when you start up the game again and Load the Exit Save, it will [should] Delete that Savegame. Note that if you try to Exit the game with the Pip-Boy up, the game cannot Save your progress when you Exit to the Main Menu or the Desktop (be careful in Survival Mode!)

• Don't forget to periodically see what Upgrades you can perform on your Weapons (to do more Damage) and Armor (to withstand/absorb more Damage) at Weapons Workbenches and Armor Workbenches. Some Modifications require Perks to 'know how to do them'; check the Requirements as you go through your Weapons and Armor, to see what you need to make them better

Tip: If you are having trouble killing things, look for ways to improve your Weapons to do more Damage and your Armor to protect you from it - with Modifications at Armor and Weapon Workbenches! Also, the further South/East you go, the harder (higher level) enemies you will face. Tread slowly, go back over areas you have been, to see if anyone has 'moved in' and left items/money around. Stick to the 'NW' as long as you need to (especially in Survival Mode)...

Speaking of Killing Things, here is how to fully utilize the Suppressor (the Weapon Modification attachment that actually works really well in the game; but it is more 'realistic' than 'silent'...).

Note: Knowing how to attach a Suppressor to your Gun requires the skill/knowledge, represented by needed the "Gun Nut" Perk of different Ranks (needing Rank 2 for attaching a Suppressor to Pistols and needing Rank 4 for attaching a Suppressor to Rifles)


Here are some Tips for shooting enemies (even groups) with a Suppressor on your gun - and staying undetected (silent):

» Shoot from a distance
(the Suppressor reduces sound, but is not "Silent", just like IRL)

» Headshot for instant kills
(most of the time, aim manually to help this, as the chance to miss is always present in V.A.T.S. With good aiming, that single shot can always be spot-on)

» Stop attacking your enemies for a moment
(they will look around at first of course, but if you don't move and don't shoot, they will not know what the hell is going on and if you wait longer, they will eventually even stop looking "thinking it was the wind/rats/etc")

» Repeat, killing the second enemy, and so on...

Try to remember that if you shoot too frequently, they can hear the direction (suppressors aren't silent, just like IRL) or can see the puff of smoke or something, because they eventually figure out where you are BUT ONLY if you keep shooting when they are Cautious and looking for you. If you stop shooting when they are looking for the source of the sound/attack, you will be ok. Remember, "low and slow...".

• Weapon And Armor Attachments (Modifications made to Weapons and Armor at Workstations for each) can be taken off of Weapons and Armor you find and put on your own favourite pieces/items... As an example, take a 'Weapon you found on a Raider' to a Weapons Workbench and choose a lesser attachment/modification than what is present on the item. In this example, if you want a "Hardened Receiver" that is on a Weapon you found, choose one further 'up' the List of Modifications, such as a "Standard Receiver" and 'build' it on the Weapon you found; then you will be changing the Attachment and receive the "Hardened Receiver" Modification in the form of a small box 'kit' in your Inventory that you can then use on your own Weapon! Simply go back to your favourite gun at the same Weapons Workbench and see if you can put the new Weapon Mod ("the Hardened Receiver" with higher damage output) on your favourite gun

• If people around you are glowing (looking, for example, red or green) and look like they have 'lines through them' as well, you may have a helmet of Power Armor that has the "Targeting HUD (Heads-Up Display)" on it as an Attachment/Modification. This effect is visible even if it is only active on a Companion's Power Armor Helmet. Simply remove or change the Targeting HUD Modification of the Helmet at any Power Armor Station, to disable the effect.
  If people around you are glowing red or purple-ish colour (looking like 'smoke' or 'fog' around them), you may have eaten some Food or taken a Drug that has the "Detect Enemies" effect (eg. Berry Mentats). [It is similar to the "Detect Life" effect in Skyrim]
  It will cause anything living to have a red fog or smoke effect around them. This is to aid in your detecting enemies nearby (it even shows through walls). This red effect will go away after a time, on its' own.
  Note that if you have a Companion that has eaten Berry Mentats, or has the Targeting HUD Power Armor modification, this will affect you as well.

[......I am going to add to this post, as I remember things that I already have forgotten and can't seem to bring back up at the moment to throw in here; but I still hope someone finds these concepts and Tips helpful - especially new players to the game..... Have fun with Fallout 4!]

Hitman: Blood Money - Something That You Might Have Missed... "Gun Owners Hate Him!" [Discovery **Updated to Glitch]

This is actually a Personal Discovery (something I found in the game) that I have never seen before (even though it was there)** - and initially I thought that maybe it was something that was well-known and has been talked about, especially in a game over a decade old now - but after doing some searching and poking and prodding, it appears that this may in fact be an actual "discovery" - something 'unearthed' that, even though it was 'already there', it was never before seen (or at least, noticed)**

Now, I don't like Articles on the Intertubes that take a long time to 'get to the point'
[one of the reasons why I try to put a "Short Version and Long Version" in my longer articles with explanations]
so here it is:

When Agent 47 loads the W2000 Sniper Rifle, he 'flips' the clip magazine into place¹.

^1[I wanted to say 'clip' here, as a gun novice, but as I understand after some quick researching, 
the big block-y thing is called a 'magazine' and not a 'clip']

I'll say it again, just to let it sink in: When The One And Only Hitman puts a magazine into his W2000, he 'spins' it, 'kicking' the cartridge in with his hand**

I never saw this at all, or at least, never 'caught' it happening, previously. And after looking all of the above words up (putting them into different forms of phrasing in searches online), I don't think anyone has noticed this - hence, my slightly over-the-top title - I really do think I discovered something here...**

"How can I not have seen this before?", I asked myself. And Myself answered [it often does that, don't tell anyone]:
"Well, we didn't have this technology before" - at least I didn't. That seemed like the explanation. We (meaning me, I shouldn't really say "everyone has missed this for years on end") have never had the capability to turn up the graphic settings in a game as much as in recent years. Basically, I'm putting the blame on the fact that I have never been able to see such detail in this game before (I recently upgraded to a R9 Series Radeon 280 and so I was never able, in the past, to 'turn everything up' in this game and therefore, never caught it - which is why I'm terming it a 'discovery' (at least, for me) - and it was discovered by accident...

I was doing some Speedruns of A Vintage Year, trying to beat my own Personal Best [of 1:44, which I did, a video to be uploaded Soon™]. While doing so, on one run, while near a corner of a wall, setting 47 up to open his Sniper Rifle case and put his weapon together, the camera rotates to show The Hitman loading up his rifle. The camera however, got 'caught' on the nearby wall, moving along the wall and causing a 'zooming-in', which highlighted this little occurrence.

Here is a short GIF I put together showing off this little move he does:

Agent 47's "spin move" with the clip magazine, loading the W2000 sniper rifle...
(**which, upon closer inspection isn't him 'kicking it in', it is a glitch)
GIF created using Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Honeycam

I can't tell from the recording if the clip magazine gets partially inserted (and then 47 'kicks' it in with his hand, which would be the source of all the awesome), or if it is more of a 'glitch'**, and the graphical model of the magazine is getting caught/stuck on the handle of the rifle, causing a spinning motion as 47 then pushes it up and into the magazine receptacle [I don't know the name of the slot on the gun where the magazine inserts into lol]. Until I get a Final Ruling on this matter, for now, I am going to consider it a little personal 'trick' of 47's and sit in awe of his awesome hitman-ness...** Maybe I will slow it down and put it above, in a GIF for all to see, Soon™

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go do some more Speedrun attempts in Blood Money. I have to beat my previous time!

**Update (and explanation of the many instances of **): Initially, I wrote this article with the 'spinning of the clip magazine' as a really neat discovery (something I didn't see before and I didn't find anyone talking about online) - thinking that The Hitman was 'spinning the cartridge into place'... but upon further analysis, I feel it now to be more of a graphical 'Glitch' [I am changing the title to Glitch, to reflect this]. This is based on my own observations within the game and an attempt to create a 'final explanation' to myself (and to help others). The clip magazine appears to 'float' in midair on further inspection/zooming/slowmotion/etc, it seems to be getting 'stuck' on the handle of the rifle - and why would it even be 'flipped/spun' after being 'placed' in the rifle, by a person using it? It would not... Hence my own personal, final decision then: The coolness factor may still be there, but it is not a 'fully functional' coolness - it seems to be more of a graphical glitch, where the model/mesh of the magazine is getting caught on the butt of the handle... /sigh - oh well, still a little enjoyable thing nonetheless [I am changing the title, adding "Glitch", to reflect this decision]

The Game Tips And More Blog's Ludo Ludi (Game Play) #1-3

I wanted to start a video series that was Random Gameplay Video Clips that I have collected over time. I started out calling it FLASHBACK, creating a logo for it and everything; but I wanted a way to archive/share them out a little bit faster/easier, rather than 'Featuring' them every time, so I came up with the concept of "Ludo Ludi".

It means "game" and "play" in Esperanto. The idea was to not label the gameplay clips or state what they are, in order to have other people enjoy the "surprise reminiscence" of the games. Viewers could try to guess what they are for fun or just enjoy them as part of a playlist where they didn't know what was coming next. For the most part it would be easy to guess them of course; if you played the game, you'll know what game it is and what class I played, etc.etc. But, I still thought it would be entertaining to have a bunch on a playlist of some sort, with no obvious names, having a transitory video (without logos/intros) of something loopable such as static - as though changing the channel on a television - in-between videos. With Youtube's Playlist and Randomize features, this can now be done and one can sit and reminisce on games of yesteryear with my video clips showing snippets of gaming moments recorded from a wide variety of games! Everyone with ADD/ADHD can just click the Next button on the playlist to skip to the next one if the current one isn't holding their interest! Everyone is a winner! With this in mind then, I now present one long paragraph and the first three installments of :

The Game Tips And More Blog's New Gameplay Video Series, "Ludo Ludi (Game Play)"

Enjoy and See You In The Games!

Hitman: Blood Money - Requiem Done In Under 26 Minutes (Video)

Warming up for the fifth installment in the Hitman series, I decided to boot up some Hitman: Blood Money. I tried to complete the game on the Pro difficulty setting, something I didn't do when I first bought the game. It wasn't too bad actually. After getting used to the controls again, I wished I was recording when some great moments happened while playing through the game (of course), but everything was going pretty smoothly considering I hadn't played in a while - until  'that level', the hidden-but-not-really bonus stage named Requiem (the 12th 'mission' in the game).

* YARR HERE THERE BE SPOILERS *  [Jump to the video to avoid them]

For those that don't know, when Agent 47 is considered dead, you can actually continue playing him by moving/pressing buttons and shoot your way out of your own funeral - and who wouldn't want to do that? Isn't that nearly the purpose of a 'wake' anyway? Then you just shoot your way out of there. Or, if you are playing on Pro difficulty, you get shot and die and restart and then die and then restart and die and then restart and try again. Apparently, some people are still trying to pass this level to this day.


Going in knowing only two things: that you can take the priest as a hostage/shield and there is some sort of weapon or item in the corner, I managed to complete the stage in less than 26 Minutes. Booyah! (hmm I don't think people say that anymore)..

Unedited, One-Take Recorded with Bandicam
- complete video compressed to ~5Mbps for smaller upload size
Game: Hitman: Blood Money, Steam Release (v.1.2)
- 'Secret'/Bonus Stage, Requiem (Mission 12)
Gameplay Time: ~26mins.
- recording resolution 1280x720, while playing at 1920x1080
- logo watermark (our GTAM logo), embeds a little bigger when recording at 720p
- might try out annotations on YouTube for the attempts

See you in the games!