Slashdot Mirror

The following article eliminates thoroughly a point heavily relied upon by the article. Namely that Halo 3 and the PS3 will be released at the same time. I believe there was a slashdot entry on it, but I could not find it.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/655/655574p1.html

Additionally, the article itself admits to be speculation. It is based on little more than what those biased here on slashdot continually tout to claim their favorite console will be victorious.

The only thing the article managed to prove was that baseless projections are just as bad as what the experts say.

You questioned whether or not sports games actually sold well. I responded by citing numbers that showed that sports games do sell well. Nowhere in my post did I claim that sports games have great replay value. My point was that when it comes to things like video games which are designed for personal entertainment, the yardstick is the individual and I see no point in people insulting others for what video games they choose to play.

As for your notion that sports games will never show up on a top 100 list, I will again refer you to the fact that different individuals enjoy different games. Top 100 lists are incredibly biased and normally reflect a small segment of the gamer population. With that being said, IGN's Top 100 List has 11 sports games by my count.

So let's go over what you haven't learned today.

1. Sports games sell well (even though you questioned whether they did).
2. Sports games appear in top 100 lists (even though you stated they didn't).
3. People who feel the need to attack people who play a particular genre of video game aren't as smart as they think they are (you've demonstrated this perfectly).

Don't be so scared of the outside world that you overcompensate by insulting others for what they choose to enjoy to entertain themselves. Enjoy what you want - others will do the same. Maybe once you grow up a little, you will realize this.

Masses don't care about their digital rights, as long as they get their daily shots of soap operas and Final Fantasies.

Actually, Square-Enix mentioned abandoning the PS3 platform. From the rumormill around Memphis, supposedly FFXII will be released on the PS3, *BUT* it's also being released on the 360, and once that's done, Square-Enix is going to drop the PS3 platform altogether and go 360. Relative links here.

People can just go watch the video.. It's pretty clear who the asshole is. The way Rein behaves is almost like he was paid off by Microsoft to bash Nintendo and hype XBox 360. He pretty much dominates the conversation, rarely letting others on the panel speak. At one point even a guy on the panel sarcastically says, "Yay for Mark." You get the sense that even he thinks Rein is an ass.

Why bother with High Definition if the console isn't going to center around the TV? Nintendo has never said that the TV will be the axis of which the console revolves around (like previous consoles). Have they ever shown the Revolution playing on a TV? Did you see a TV in the TGS controller video?

Start trying to think like Nintendo. It is not named codenamed Revolution just because of the controller. Here are some quotes:

"I think maybe if I could do anything, I would make it so you don't have to sit in front of a TV and play. If you could have a machine that you just plugged in and played inside a virtual world that - would be just great." Source: Miyamoto in Game Informer p. 50 issue 109.

"We plan on taking advantage of a number of new features in the Revolution, including the controller," Retro Studio's Metroid Prime 3 interview. http://cube.ign.com/articles/638/638879p1.html

"Obviously there's so much that we haven't said about Revolution,..." Post TGS comment by Beth Llewelyn http://cube.ign.com/articles/659/659020p1.html

"Sitting in front of your monitor with a controller, there's really nowhere to go from that paradigm, all you can do is make it prettier and faster,". -Miyamoto

"I could give you our technical specs, as I'd know you'd like that, but I won't for a simple reason: they really don't matter. The time when horsepower alone made all the difference is over. -Iwata

"We invented the current way a console is played - in front of a television and holding a controller - but maybe that image will change."-Iwata

Why bother with High Definition if the console isn't going to center around the TV? Nintendo has never said that the TV will be the axis of which the console revolves around (like previous consoles). Have they ever shown the Revolution playing on a TV? Did you see a TV in the TGS controller video?

Start trying to think like Nintendo. It is not named codenamed Revolution just because of the controller. Here are some quotes:

"I think maybe if I could do anything, I would make it so you don't have to sit in front of a TV and play. If you could have a machine that you just plugged in and played inside a virtual world that - would be just great." Source: Miyamoto in Game Informer p. 50 issue 109.

"We plan on taking advantage of a number of new features in the Revolution, including the controller," Retro Studio's Metroid Prime 3 interview. http://cube.ign.com/articles/638/638879p1.html

"Obviously there's so much that we haven't said about Revolution,..." Post TGS comment by Beth Llewelyn http://cube.ign.com/articles/659/659020p1.html

"Sitting in front of your monitor with a controller, there's really nowhere to go from that paradigm, all you can do is make it prettier and faster,". -Miyamoto

"I could give you our technical specs, as I'd know you'd like that, but I won't for a simple reason: they really don't matter. The time when horsepower alone made all the difference is over. -Iwata

"We invented the current way a console is played - in front of a television and holding a controller - but maybe that image will change."-Iwata

This was scored informative, this however, says otherwise. They weren't actual GAME demos, they were just silly tech demos, and the metroid prime thing was just another tech demo. I'm excited for the Revolution and all but those don't count as games.

One thing that should be noted is that the Revolution will be able to plug into a computer screen:

http://cube.ign.com/articles/522/522559p2.html

Given that we are likely to see most future HDTV as pure digital systems, maybe using a VGA or DVI connector (not clear which one it will use) may actually be a better solution than the component connectors we have now.

In fact, one could argue that the Revolution has more storage than the Xbox 360 standard, as the Revolution has 512 MB internal storage:

Data for GameCube titles will be saved to standard Memory Paks. Meanwhile, Revolution software data will be stored on 512MB flash memory, according to Nintendo.

On the other hand, features are being stripped from Xbox 360 games because it lacks the HDD as standard

Last but not least, after we were told that there was no ability to fly aircrafts in the game due to the DVD drive's inability to stream the environment fast enough in full 720p resolution. We asked Jacques Hennequet (Producer for Saint's Row), "If the Xbox 360 Hard Drive was standard across both SKU's, would flying aircrafts in the game have been a reality?", Jacques simply answered "Yes". While he completely understands why MS made the decision to not include a hard drive in the Core System, I think he felt somewhat disappointed, as it could have opened up much more possibilities within the gameplay for Volition's first Xbox 360 title.

As for Nintendo's choice to not support the higher ends of High-Definition, I expect it'll be something that won't affect most people as most people don't have HD TVs, but that the media will continue to raise a stink about how Nintendo isn't supporting it. Look at it as the Internet service of this generation's consoles.

There's no way it can be the worst Star Wars related thing out there (currently a tie between the Christmas Special and Episode I)

Its quite possible, based on this IGN review, that Star Wait can be added to the list of really bad Star Wars related things.

I have yet to see a game that's mor suited to having four friends gathered on the sofa killing each other long into the night.

Keep looking. Halo's looked down upon because it's overhyped. By a lot.

Apparently you seem to know nothing about the game and just posted something half-assedly controversial to get modded up.

The game has many novel features. First, every single NPC in the game has its own life cycle including eating meals, working, sleeping, idle activities (note that I said idle activities, not just idle actions such as those in Far Cry). This enhances the 'immersion' factor, which was a VERY big part of Morrowind. Oblivion takes place over a fairly large amount of land (the # of sq. mi. is at Oblivion's website), has a weather system, open-endedness that Morrowind had (feels a lot like Fallout in the sense that you have lots of stuff to do other than the 'main quest').

The physics engine is awesome even without cloth physics. Trees, grass, arrows, etc. If you look at one of the gameplay videos here you will see a demo where the player character fires arrows into a bucket hanging from the ceiling or something, and the bucket sways and the row buckles etc. from the arrows hitting it. You can then walk up to the bucket, and you will notice that depending on how the arrows penetrated the wood in the bucket (angle, force, etc.), the bucket is tilting or perhaps moving slowly to a stop. When the player character removes the arrows from the bucket, the bucket moves to reflect each arrow you pull out, taking a different 'tilted' position or whatever as per physics. I don't know about you, but the job they did in modifying Havok is pretty damn good.

Graphics: you have to be retarded if you think the game is just bloom effects. First, you might have noticed the large number of textures and colors in the world (in the cities for example). Graphics = technical quality (engine) + artwork (textures). Second, the tree generation (I believe they are using Speedtree like Gothic and Unreal 2007) is awesome, it actually feels like a forest instead of a few scattered trees with few leaves on them. Lastly, you may have noticed that the shader effects are present almost everywhere, whereas in Morrowind they were (mostly) confined to the water. There is soft-shadowing, self-soft-shadowing, and a host of other effects you would want in a tier-1 game as well.

Sound: If you check out the videos I pointed above, you will hear some of the same songs that were in Morrowind. These songs are extremely well done, and conducive to the atmosphere of the game. Oblivion apparently has many more songs now, as expected, and an awesome all-star cast of narrators that really make characters come through more realistically.

For those who enjoy games like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, or really any of the Black Isle works, Morrowind and Oblivion are a must-play.

I always find it amusing when people slam the Gamecube because it's too kiddy. Invariably, people who make this claim don't own the console. Repeat after me: the Gamecube is not kiddy, despite repeated claims to the contrary.

Even if you're not looking at M-rated games, there are several excellent games that are enjoyable for all ages, including F-Zero GX, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Pikmin, and Viewtiful Joe. I'd also like to see a kid play Ikaruga for more than five minutes before moving on to something easier. Finally, the PS2 has games like Powerpuff Girls Relish Rampage, Monsters Inc., and Piglet's Little Game, while the XBox has such Triple-A titles as Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure, Tom and Jerry: The War of the Whiskers, and Fairly Odd Parents: Breakin' Da Rules. Does that mean that Microsoft and Sony were "gunning for the kiddie games company role" too? Cutesy graphics does not necessarily equal "kiddie games."

• Reviewer: Zonk
• Score: 8/10

...[much later]...

Shadow is a 10/10 in my book, and easily the best gaming experience the end of the year has to offer.

I think this proves, once and for all, that the editors don't read the articles on slashdot: even the ones they're in the middle of writing. :-)

(This is a joke, I have nothing against slashdot editors. This is actually a fairly decent review, and I'm glad it's not nearly as gushy and ridiculous as, say, IGN's.)

Here and here.

IF the EGA graphics are getting to you, you can download (free!) a mod for NeverWinter Nights that is a pretty good translation of Pool of Radiance.

(available from the Neverwinter Vault: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detai l&id=1706)

There obviously were some changes made due to the change in engine for things like combat, but it's still a pretty fair translation and -considering that it is intentionally limited by its source material so the world is pretty static- still a heck of a lot of fun.

I believe modders have since gone on to make NWN versions of Curse of the Azure Bonds and other SSI Goldbox games, as well as translating classic PnP D&D modules such as the Giants series, but I only played Pool of Radiance.

you've seen that taylor is working on a new game, i hope?
http://pc.ign.com/objects/755/755287.html

I can't wait. TA was one of the best games ever made. Still is. = )

One rumor on the official message board (not linked because it's already about to collapse under increased usage) is that TTWO is postponing Oblivion so they'll have a game release during 1Q 2006 to make the books look better. They already warned on earnings for the rest of 2005 and 2006, and several of their other titles have been delayed as well, so any manipulation of release dates to even out revenues quarter-by-quarter is probably on the table. It's interesting that this news arrives from TTWO during a conference call and not from the developer, Bethesda Softworks.

Some are suggesting that Bethesda will try to drop TTWO as publisher (they did just fine by themselves with Morrowind) because the game is pretty much ready for release.

However, these are just rumors. The last word from Bethesda was apparently October 13, when Peter Hines, a Bethesda marketing VP, said that Oblivion would be ready for the holidays.

Does anyone have more insight into whether these rumors might be true?

correction: 70+ millon polygons a second WITHOUT TEXTURES OR EFFECTS, which is a meaningless number, and considering that the ps2's texture ram is low, that would mean that the REAL number of polygons a second is MUCH lower than 70 million, at about 3-20 million
source: ign

IGN preview

Pretty interesting stuff, yey for linked AH's. No mention of the paladin revamp in 1.9, sounds like ..they haven't started fixing the class they revamped two weeks before launch yet. The 'scripted world event' in 1.9 sounds cool though.

PC mag pages:
Page one
Page two
Page three
Page four
Page five

I'm a bit disapointed, with all this info I see nothing that makes me happy as a pvp player. I'd like to hear about a FFA pvp server type, but I don't think we are getting it.

No plans for Civilization on a portable machine? So what is this: http://ngage.ign.com/articles/637/637897p1.html

How about some actual reporting, the last half of that summary was totally unneccessary.

Seriously. What's with the XBOX-fanboy Sony-hating articles (or moderators, posters)? With "difficulty of development" we have to look at two different, but relavent points:

• The PS2 was hard to code for. Harder, possibly, than any other platform, historically. It also has the largest library of high-quality games. So, being hard to code for doesn't mean much. It's not like the whiny gamers who moan about difficulty of development are actually doing development. Smart developers (which excludes Tim Sweeney) say things like "The PS2 is hard. But look at the cool things we're doing with it."
• Sony is also not stupid or deaf. The PS2 required a lot of low-level programming right on the metal. Why? Because they listened to PS1 developers who said that's what they wanted. They are also aware of the PS2 difficulties out the door (which was later remedied by numerous devkits), so this time they've got numerous different kits.

How's that for some actual (factual) reporting? (Unfortunately, I can't find the link to the chart that shows how many orders of magnitude bigger the PS3 SDK is in terms of support libraries than the PS2/PS1. If someone can find this, please post.)

How about some actual reporting, the last half of that summary was totally unneccessary.

Seriously. What's with the XBOX-fanboy Sony-hating articles (or moderators, posters)? With "difficulty of development" we have to look at two different, but relavent points:

• The PS2 was hard to code for. Harder, possibly, than any other platform, historically. It also has the largest library of high-quality games. So, being hard to code for doesn't mean much. It's not like the whiny gamers who moan about difficulty of development are actually doing development. Smart developers (which excludes Tim Sweeney) say things like "The PS2 is hard. But look at the cool things we're doing with it."
• Sony is also not stupid or deaf. The PS2 required a lot of low-level programming right on the metal. Why? Because they listened to PS1 developers who said that's what they wanted. They are also aware of the PS2 difficulties out the door (which was later remedied by numerous devkits), so this time they've got numerous different kits.

How's that for some actual (factual) reporting? (Unfortunately, I can't find the link to the chart that shows how many orders of magnitude bigger the PS3 SDK is in terms of support libraries than the PS2/PS1. If someone can find this, please post.)

How about some actual reporting, the last half of that summary was totally unneccessary.

Seriously. What's with the XBOX-fanboy Sony-hating articles (or moderators, posters)? With "difficulty of development" we have to look at two different, but relavent points:

• The PS2 was hard to code for. Harder, possibly, than any other platform, historically. It also has the largest library of high-quality games. So, being hard to code for doesn't mean much. It's not like the whiny gamers who moan about difficulty of development are actually doing development. Smart developers (which excludes Tim Sweeney) say things like "The PS2 is hard. But look at the cool things we're doing with it."
• Sony is also not stupid or deaf. The PS2 required a lot of low-level programming right on the metal. Why? Because they listened to PS1 developers who said that's what they wanted. They are also aware of the PS2 difficulties out the door (which was later remedied by numerous devkits), so this time they've got numerous different kits.

How's that for some actual (factual) reporting? (Unfortunately, I can't find the link to the chart that shows how many orders of magnitude bigger the PS3 SDK is in terms of support libraries than the PS2/PS1. If someone can find this, please post.)

How about some actual reporting, the last half of that summary was totally unneccessary.

Seriously. What's with the XBOX-fanboy Sony-hating articles (or moderators, posters)? With "difficulty of development" we have to look at two different, but relavent points:

• The PS2 was hard to code for. Harder, possibly, than any other platform, historically. It also has the largest library of high-quality games. So, being hard to code for doesn't mean much. It's not like the whiny gamers who moan about difficulty of development are actually doing development. Smart developers (which excludes Tim Sweeney) say things like "The PS2 is hard. But look at the cool things we're doing with it."
• Sony is also not stupid or deaf. The PS2 required a lot of low-level programming right on the metal. Why? Because they listened to PS1 developers who said that's what they wanted. They are also aware of the PS2 difficulties out the door (which was later remedied by numerous devkits), so this time they've got numerous different kits.

How's that for some actual (factual) reporting? (Unfortunately, I can't find the link to the chart that shows how many orders of magnitude bigger the PS3 SDK is in terms of support libraries than the PS2/PS1. If someone can find this, please post.)

Suppose I should have looked around a bit.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/650/650805p1.html

Very cool. I always hated waiting for others to finish their turns.

Smash Melee is still pretty expensive. If you're looking to save money by buying a GameCube, you might as well also save some dough on a game and pick up Super Monek Ball 2 instead. It's just as fun multiplayer IMHO, has a better single player, and can usually be found cheap. I got my copy new at Sam's Club for $13.

If you pick up a Cube, you need to get Super Smash Brothers Melee. One of the funnest multiplayers you will ever play. If you get no other game, get that one.

I have thought about this recently and I've determined we're willing to give Sony the benefit of the doubt, simply because they have delivered with their consoles recently. The PSX had a massive library. The PS2 started out very very slowly, but now it has a massive library. The PS3 already has a ton of games lined up.

Contrast this with recent Nintendo; I don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Not because I don't like Nintendo. I love Nintendo. I have a Gamecube, a GBA SP, original GBA, an N64, a SNES, and a NES. But recently, starting with the N64, they simply haven't delivered the killer lineup they should be. So they will have to build it before I buy into it.

However, I haven't bought into the PSP with no games; I've been playing far too much THUG2: Remix, HSG2, and Metal Gear: Acid recently. Maybe these aren't your cup of tea; maybe none of the games are. That's too bad: there are some good ones. But if you don't like them, and you don't want the video/music features, don't buy one.

But while we're listing current and upcoming games, let's try the following, to name a few:

• X-Men Legends 2
• Popolocrois
• Legend of Heroes (probably better known as The Gagharv)
• The Con
• Kingdom of Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Four of those are RPGs, the only thing the PSP has been really lacking to this point. There are some interesting things; I'm curious as to what you're after if none of these or any other titles are to your liking.

I have thought about this recently and I've determined we're willing to give Sony the benefit of the doubt, simply because they have delivered with their consoles recently. The PSX had a massive library. The PS2 started out very very slowly, but now it has a massive library. The PS3 already has a ton of games lined up.

Contrast this with recent Nintendo; I don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Not because I don't like Nintendo. I love Nintendo. I have a Gamecube, a GBA SP, original GBA, an N64, a SNES, and a NES. But recently, starting with the N64, they simply haven't delivered the killer lineup they should be. So they will have to build it before I buy into it.

However, I haven't bought into the PSP with no games; I've been playing far too much THUG2: Remix, HSG2, and Metal Gear: Acid recently. Maybe these aren't your cup of tea; maybe none of the games are. That's too bad: there are some good ones. But if you don't like them, and you don't want the video/music features, don't buy one.

But while we're listing current and upcoming games, let's try the following, to name a few:

• X-Men Legends 2
• Popolocrois
• Legend of Heroes (probably better known as The Gagharv)
• The Con
• Kingdom of Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Four of those are RPGs, the only thing the PSP has been really lacking to this point. There are some interesting things; I'm curious as to what you're after if none of these or any other titles are to your liking.

Here is the IGN review which might help you decide if it's worth putting on the Linux box. http://pc.ign.com/articles/658/658263p1.html

keep in mind that IGN began by acquiring fan sites (n64.com, etc).

n64.com was always owned by IGN, although it wasn't apparent until the site became ign64.com. Read the response to the first question:

http://cube.ign.com/mail/2005-09-09.html

Right on. I always install Adblock with Firefox or Mozilla. I haven't seen a pop-up or flash advertisement for months. They all seem to come from a few advertisers. Here is my adblock list:

http://.mediaplex.com/* http://.tribalfusion.com/*
http://.doubleclick.net/* http://.adbureau.net/*
http://.atdmt.com/* http://.emode.com/*
http://.advertising.com/* http://.tickle.com/*
http://.fastclick.net/* http://.falkag.net/*
http://.e.akamai.net/* http://.yieldmanager.com/*
http://.casalemedia.com/* http://.serving-sys.com/*
http://.pointroll.com/* http://.thinktarget.com/*
http://.zedo.com/* http://.com.com/cnwk.*/Ads/*
http://.qnsr.com/* http://ar.atwola.com/*
http://ads.guardian.co.uk/* http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/*
http://.starwave.com/* http://ads.ign.com/advertisers/*
http://ads.space.com/RealMedia/ads/* http://gfx.dvlabs.com/*

In this case they are http://ps3.ign.com/articles/624/624046p1.html

Do you always ignore the content of comments and stories to post fluff?

Yeesh... they are module titles. Anyone who has ever downloaded NWN modules would know this....

Try this then:

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detai l&id=3700

Google is your friend as well.

DG

And we heard that a semi-sequel to Total Annihiliation is coming out, called Supreme Commander. Just reading a preview gave me as much enjoyment as many actual games manage.
Battalion Wars on the GC too.

And we heard that a semi-sequel to Total Annihiliation is coming out, called Supreme Commander. Just reading a preview gave me as much enjoyment as many actual games manage.
Battalion Wars on the GC too.

IGN has a picture of someone, um, holding it here.

in-game ad campaigns resulted in a 60 percent increase in awareness of new brands.

Hmm... are you aware of this brand you've never heard of? Ok, now play this game. Now are you aware of it? No? $%&#ing 40% jerkoffs.

50 percent of study participants said they found that in-game ads make the experience more realistic, while just 21 percent disagreed. Similarly, 54 percent said in-game advertising "catches your attention." Just 17 percent disagreed, the company said.

82% agreed that the ads were "bloody annoying." Oh wait, they didn't release that statistic. I'm sure tons of people would agree that Nike signs in a baseball stadium are realistic. And that they really do grab your attention away from the game that you're playing. Neither of these things is necessarily positive, nor does it imply a sale.

If you go to Double Fusion's home page, notice how all of the pictures in the bottom-left hand corner say "fictional advertisers" in tiny text that is almost entirely cut off?

At least Massive doesn't have to lie to people about its advertisers.

Even in the FAQ things sound a little dodgy.
Does DoubleFusion gather personally identifiable information about game users?
DoubleFusion conforms to the game publisher's policy.

Which is a nice way of saying, "as much as we can get away with."

And as a final nail in the coffin, would you trust your game to an unproven israeli company whose only managed to get into one game that nobody can find? And that game has a copycat name to a legitimate game developer?

Best size comparison evar!!!!!11!11oneone

gameboy.ign.com's review of the Micro is actually pretty positive

Here's the ending summary of it: The GB Micro isn't exactly the ideal way to enjoy Game Boy Advance games, but don't misjudge it by its size. Given the choice between toting a GBA SP in our backpacks or a GB Micro in our pockets, we'll take the Micro. It's tiny, its screen is amazing, and it is surprisingly comfortable to hold.

I think most people's biggest question is how well the controller actually works. Do they expect people to play Mario with it, or will most people fall back to the more standard controls? The same question was applied to the DS, and the DS was found to be lacking. My bet is that people young and old will play Mario with the standard controls.

You are right, there have been no innovations in gaming in the last two years. And those are just the ones off the top of my head. Stop following the marketing hype crowd and look around for yourself.

BULLSHIT

Gamespot 8.2 "Great"

RPG Vault Final Fantasy XI is a well-made , evolutionary online world that doesn't present a lot in the way of innovation, but does present an extensive list of adapted and enhanced features that combine to offer deep, solid play. Perhaps the single most noteworthy element is storytelling, something for which Square Enix is renowned.

AVault Final Fantasy XI succeeds on so many levels.

GameSpy 4/5 Stars

MMORPG.com Tied for 5th highest rated MMORPG with a user score of 8.0. The highest rated score is only 8.4.

This article should make you an Irrational fan for life: http://pc.ign.com/articles/586/586914p1.html.

One thing you often find with publisher funded sequels is the desire to grow the market share of the game. This usually takes the form of a marketing-driven attempt to make the game more "broadly appealing" or more "mass-market". Given the size and dedication of our fanbase, we knew that the last thing we wanted to do was a make a follow up to Freedom Force that tried to expand the market to casual gamers. To do so would have meant alienating our core fan base, something we refused to do. Freedom Force is always going to be a PC game for people who love strategy, RPG and heroes. It's not going to be for everybody.

I actually recall, when watching the video of Iwata's keynote speech that he actually did say there would be a more traditional controller sleeve type thing. It's toward the end as I recall.

It sounds like your wish will be answered.

IGN Interview

IGNPC: One aspect of the cultural game in Civilization 3 that really aggravated players was the lack of respect the AI showed for your borders. Are you planning to address this issue at all? Barry Caudill: In Civilization 4, the AI will have to respect your borders or declare war but you will be able to negotiate Open Borders to allow travel.

Ideally, our questions shouldn't overlap too much with what they've already answered elsewhere.

My question: I have recently adopted Pastafarian and would like to know if Civ 4 will support it ?

This preview over at IGN may answer your questions.

They're way ahead of you, man...

Mario Baseball

After all, Mario does everything, right? Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario RPG...he's a doctor, he's a painter, he referees boxing and tennis matches, he lays down the smack in Super Smash Bros, he even teaching typing!!

...so why not a superstar baseball player? Whatevz... *sigh*