Would you like to specify which of Bach's many fugues you're referring to? He wrote a couple books full of them, as well as seperate works.
Fugue is a type of music. Not a title. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue He was probably referring to Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D minor', which is the more well known fugue of Bach.
They wouldn't be allowed to use his name or likeness, as he'd more than likely sue straight away. Try a parody (it'd fit better with the GTA humour).
Let's say I've got this friend call Tack Johnson. He's a crazy lawyer from... Morida! Yeah, that's it... He seems to have a vendetta against a gaming company called.. FakePoo!
First off, you have to defeat region coding.
Further to this - Most Australian Wii games are marked that the game will only work in Aus / NZ Wii consoles. I'm not sure if that's true, or if they'll work in any PAL Wii, but I'd assume they have region coded the games.
For what it's worth, many, many 360 modders have NOT been banned. It may be these checks were only performed when they were actively playing a backup on Live... no pattern has emerged, and much of the data is suspect (panicky users, usual liars, etc...). I'm curious now - from what you are saying, it's only when you play a backup on Live that it performs the check? So either playing a backup offline or playing a legitimate game online is fine?
If the devs worked on it in the form of new content, or ageing content, you could get away with a perpetual world. Have enemy mobs in communities that grow and expand, the occasional random enemy hero popping up that requires more effort to beat. Have set improvements in world technology and travel that unlocks previously accessable areas.
IANAGD, so I wouldn't really have any idea how much work this would take. I'll assume far too much. I just don't like the idea of a forced server reset when players might be getting attached to their current character. If it was age induced, then they could retire them whenever they felt they had to, and would feel a sense of pride for what they've achieved. You could even throw in a Heroes hall or something where all the top level retirees go and get drunk every night, talking about all the things they'd done before and how kids these days have it easy compared to their day...
The one thing the RPG can do that a MMO can never do is have an ending.
Why not? Why can't the game be won or lost? Why can't you, after winning or losing, play it again? A lot of these games claim to have over-arching story arcs -- why can't the story end?
And when they do, ease players into the next arc, do a server reset, and start the world anew, and let players take it down a different road. When you do the reset don't completely wipe the characters, let them pass a selection of equipment or attributes to the 'next generation', so they don't 'lose everything'.
*blink*
That's actually a great idea, assuming it could be implemented properly. One way you could do it would be to associate an 'age' to a character and make that character age as they play. They'll still go up levels and have a grand old time doing it, but when they get to a certain point their stats start deteriorating and the player then has a choice to 'retire' the character and start using a next generation character, that either has similar traits to the first (like a son) or a different character altogether. It would lend into the 'passing equipment down' theory too.
In the Guitar Hero games, the 'as made famous by' line shows that the song used in the actual game is a cover produced for the game. The songs that simply say 'by xxx' use master tracks, so it'll be the proper recording.
Most of the covers in the first two games weren't too bad. Some of the voices weren't the best, but for the most part it was good. It helps fit in with the 'you're in a cover band' feel to the game.
In the case of your examples, they'll usually pick the most popular version of the song to use. That's why you'll see 'Higher Ground' in GH1 using the Red Hot Chilli Peppers version and instead of the original by Stevie Wonder and 'You Really Got Me' done by Van Halen instead of The Kinks.
For talking to a non-technical minded person, the easiest way I've found to communicate with them is to put it in terms that they understand.
However, you'll need to make sure that you have a good understanding of what you're trying to express and a fair understanding of the terms you're trying to express it with. Otherwise, everything will be like a series of tubes...
On a similar note - I'm an admin for a local LAN group as well. We were holding a LAN in a large school multi-purpose building (stage area next to basketball courts). The power distribution for the lanners was spread out to various circuits, with the admin / server power coming from an extension cord in the kitchen area nearby.
The kitchen door had 'Do not enter' plastered on it, which we assumed would be enough. During one of the competitions, all of the admin PCs and servers (and some of the network gear) just died. Lanners started whining, so we had to look for the source of the power outage. Just before we went into the kitchen, one of the lanners walked out with his recently reheated KFC. He'd gone into the kitchen to use a microwave, saw that it was unplugged so he unplugged the extension cord which was in the way.
We considered making "Microwave Boy" t-shirts made for the next LAN..
Let me add, I'm undecided about this particular site. Teacher feedback is obviously a useful thing, and as a former teacher, I would have welcomed constructive criticism. Unfortunately a lot of the stuff on this site doesn't seem to be that. Many many teachers will be devastated and upset about some of the nasty stuff written about them.
Teaching is a tough job, and teachers need encouragement, not ruthless slandering. The profession has a high enough drop out rate as it is. I think the site would be far better off if it used a rating system and allowed only moderated comments. Remember that we all need or once needed our teachers.
Though I haven't browsed much of the site, I did check and see what people had said about teachers at my high school. Stereotype or not, it seems to be the troublemakers / less interested students making the comments moreso than a varied cross-section of students. Some of the teachers I saw listed were reasonably good teachers, but due to lack of maturity and (most likely) malicious intent, they'd been scored harshly and given derogatory comments. That will be why the schools want it banned - it's a one sided view from immature brats.
With the major pipes leaving the country, it's not so much the supplier of the connection that would have control over content, but it would probably boil down to each ISP choosing whether or not they'd like to limit content. The problem is, if the ability to limit content on a grand scale gets put into place, it'll be abused and the floodgates will open to any organisation wanting to ban websites for various reasons.
I believe it was Sen. Alston a few years ago that was after some form of mass internet censorship. Thankfully, that died down and was forgotten. Let's not go down that path again, even for a look...
I think the best example would be the most recent HD-DVD publicity. They wanted to keep that code hidden, now it's almost as memorable as 867-5309...
The problem with Australian media (probably not just Australian media either) is that they'll jump on a minor story or quote and blow it out of proportion. As others have said, most Aussies don't like censorship, however the people being targeted by the teacher / school comments obviously took offence to it. Not much they can do about it though.
I can't believe this didn't get a bite. US citizens aside, this article relates to any other country that uses Vista, so it's a worthwhile topic. Just because one country's constitution states something, doesn't mean that all has been said and done.
One or two of the better ones would have been fine, then perhaps a post linking to all the rest of them at once. Separate posts for each one is a little over the top.
I definitely agree on the 'pick up and play' aspect of many of the XBLA games. If I've got a spare 30 minutes before I have to be somewhere, I'll sit down and play Lumines for a while, or maybe even try some of the other titles I've purchased.
More puzzle games would be nice. I enjoyed Marble Blast Ultra, love Lumines (though the standard 360 controller isn't the best for playing) and would like to see some other classics. A simple, cheap Tetris clone never goes astray.
I've only played from FF7 onwards. I've finished 7 multiple times, 10 once, currently playing 12. In 8 and 9 (and the abomination that is FFX-2) I also just lost interest right near the end. It's especially sad in a FF game because of all the time you spend getting up to that point in that game, but there's not a lot you can really do about it if you do lose interest.
Swwwweeet. I am so good with that. Do you remember the other 2? or have a link? I hope Bark at the Moon is still there. Tuff as bawls as it is, I love playing it.... It's only a comment in the GH forum (bottom of the page), so I'd take it with a bag of salt. You'd assume that once they reworked the original tracks to support GH2-style multiplayer, they'd release them online. IF they want to do that.
Same. In fact I haven't seen my Dual Shock in over 6 months. It hasn't mattered either. I'm hoping the 360 GHII has the ability to download the first game (for a fee of course), so you can get the better tracks (of GH) with the better multiplayer (of GHII). Word has it that Guitar Hero 2 on the 360 will let you download (for a fee) most of the bonus songs (all but 3, from memory) from the original game. I was saddened to learn that Cheat on the Church wasn't one of them, but I think I'll get over it. Plus there will be future content released online, as well as the 10 new songs (including Iron Maiden's "The Trooper") that the PS2 version didn't get.
Game Boy Player Startup Disc is a GameCube disc that does not work on Wii because he Wii has no port to plug in a Game Boy Player accessory for Nintendo GameCube.
Ok. Where do you plug in your Guitar Hero Guitars?
While the PS3 hasn't been released in Australia yet, this is one of the main reasons I'm in no rush to pick up the PS3 when it does get released. There's only a handful of games that I play on my PS2, and GH1 and GH2 would be at the top of the list. As there is currently no way to plug the guitars into the PS3, I think I'll just stick with the PS2 and my X360 (which will have Guitar Hero 2 on it in March).
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in a console. I've got myself both a X360 and a Wii as well, with a handful of games for each console, and I'm still struggling to keep up playing all the games I'd like to (jumped from Zelda to Viva Pinata, with Lost Planet and FFXII to be played). Chances are I'll be getting a PS3 at some point, but I have no excitement or urgency to buy when it is released (unlike the Wii, which was pre-ordered and picked up on Day 1).
I've found that the Wii, with the current releases, works best as a party console. I spent 35 hours playing through Zelda, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but as you say, aside from that there's not a lot of substance out there that doesn't look better on a different console. I heard Red Steel was a bit poor in the control department, so I have avoided that so far. I have Rayman / SMB for party games. Considering Call of Duty 3, but again I could get a graphically superior version for my 360.
The PS3, to me, just doesn't have the same 'buy me now' factor that the other next gen consoles had. Part of the deterrent is the price, as well as other little things. Of all my IRL gamer friends, none of them seem interested in the PS3 on release at all.
The Wii is outselling the PS3 over here as well. It's near impossible to find them in stores at the moment (though that's slowly changing with every release). But I guess it's easy to outsell something that HASN'T BEEN RELEASED YET! We won't see the PS3 til March, by which time I'd say most people will be over it. That and the AUS$1000 price tag.
Bad Sony, bad...
About the only thing that PS3 trumps the Xbox 360 on is JRPGs... but that's not even the current situation... that's a "down the road" situation. Even still the 360 is stronger then the Xbox 1 was with FFXI, Enchanted Arms, Ninty Nine Nights, Blue Dragon, and Lost Odyssey coming. Western Style RPGs are a whole lot stronger on the 360 though with Oblivion out months before the PS3 release and games like Fable 2, and MassEffect and Bioshock coming.
Some of your RPGs are a bit of a stretch. I note that you do a comparison vs the Xbox in that, but in terms of comparing to next gen consoles, it's a different story. FFXI and Oblivion were cross-platform. NNN was more of a Dynasty Warriors type hack and slash as opposed to an RPG, but still it was a vast improvement visually over the DW series. Blue Dragon / Lost Odyssey haven't been released yet (aside from the Blue Dragon launch in Japan, which was the driving force behind the recent uptake in 360 sales over there). All that really leaves the 360 with, in terms of a 'true' JRPG, is Enchanted Arms. Enchanted Arms wasn't that bad of a game either, once you get passed Makoto's personality at the start of the game.
Sony have always had the platform to beat for RPGs (specifically JRPGs) since the original Playstation, but from the way Microsoft seem to be attacking that market, things could soon change.
Slashdot Mirror
Fugue is a type of music. Not a title.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue He was probably referring to Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D minor', which is the more well known fugue of Bach.
They wouldn't be allowed to use his name or likeness, as he'd more than likely sue straight away. Try a parody (it'd fit better with the GTA humour). Let's say I've got this friend call Tack Johnson. He's a crazy lawyer from... Morida! Yeah, that's it... He seems to have a vendetta against a gaming company called.. FakePoo!
Further to this - Most Australian Wii games are marked that the game will only work in Aus / NZ Wii consoles. I'm not sure if that's true, or if they'll work in any PAL Wii, but I'd assume they have region coded the games.
If the devs worked on it in the form of new content, or ageing content, you could get away with a perpetual world. Have enemy mobs in communities that grow and expand, the occasional random enemy hero popping up that requires more effort to beat. Have set improvements in world technology and travel that unlocks previously accessable areas.
IANAGD, so I wouldn't really have any idea how much work this would take. I'll assume far too much. I just don't like the idea of a forced server reset when players might be getting attached to their current character. If it was age induced, then they could retire them whenever they felt they had to, and would feel a sense of pride for what they've achieved. You could even throw in a Heroes hall or something where all the top level retirees go and get drunk every night, talking about all the things they'd done before and how kids these days have it easy compared to their day...
Why not? Why can't the game be won or lost? Why can't you, after winning or losing, play it again? A lot of these games claim to have over-arching story arcs -- why can't the story end?
And when they do, ease players into the next arc, do a server reset, and start the world anew, and let players take it down a different road. When you do the reset don't completely wipe the characters, let them pass a selection of equipment or attributes to the 'next generation', so they don't 'lose everything'.
*blink*
That's actually a great idea, assuming it could be implemented properly. One way you could do it would be to associate an 'age' to a character and make that character age as they play. They'll still go up levels and have a grand old time doing it, but when they get to a certain point their stats start deteriorating and the player then has a choice to 'retire' the character and start using a next generation character, that either has similar traits to the first (like a son) or a different character altogether. It would lend into the 'passing equipment down' theory too.
With the Xbox 360 guitar, being a USB controller you can simply plug it into the PC and it'll work. I've used it for Frets and it seems to be OK.
In the Guitar Hero games, the 'as made famous by' line shows that the song used in the actual game is a cover produced for the game. The songs that simply say 'by xxx' use master tracks, so it'll be the proper recording.
Most of the covers in the first two games weren't too bad. Some of the voices weren't the best, but for the most part it was good. It helps fit in with the 'you're in a cover band' feel to the game.
In the case of your examples, they'll usually pick the most popular version of the song to use. That's why you'll see 'Higher Ground' in GH1 using the Red Hot Chilli Peppers version and instead of the original by Stevie Wonder and 'You Really Got Me' done by Van Halen instead of The Kinks.
For talking to a non-technical minded person, the easiest way I've found to communicate with them is to put it in terms that they understand.
However, you'll need to make sure that you have a good understanding of what you're trying to express and a fair understanding of the terms you're trying to express it with. Otherwise, everything will be like a series of tubes...
On a similar note - I'm an admin for a local LAN group as well. We were holding a LAN in a large school multi-purpose building (stage area next to basketball courts). The power distribution for the lanners was spread out to various circuits, with the admin / server power coming from an extension cord in the kitchen area nearby.
The kitchen door had 'Do not enter' plastered on it, which we assumed would be enough. During one of the competitions, all of the admin PCs and servers (and some of the network gear) just died. Lanners started whining, so we had to look for the source of the power outage. Just before we went into the kitchen, one of the lanners walked out with his recently reheated KFC. He'd gone into the kitchen to use a microwave, saw that it was unplugged so he unplugged the extension cord which was in the way.
We considered making "Microwave Boy" t-shirts made for the next LAN..
Let me add, I'm undecided about this particular site. Teacher feedback is obviously a useful thing, and as a former teacher, I would have welcomed constructive criticism. Unfortunately a lot of the stuff on this site doesn't seem to be that. Many many teachers will be devastated and upset about some of the nasty stuff written about them.
Teaching is a tough job, and teachers need encouragement, not ruthless slandering. The profession has a high enough drop out rate as it is. I think the site would be far better off if it used a rating system and allowed only moderated comments. Remember that we all need or once needed our teachers.
Though I haven't browsed much of the site, I did check and see what people had said about teachers at my high school. Stereotype or not, it seems to be the troublemakers / less interested students making the comments moreso than a varied cross-section of students. Some of the teachers I saw listed were reasonably good teachers, but due to lack of maturity and (most likely) malicious intent, they'd been scored harshly and given derogatory comments. That will be why the schools want it banned - it's a one sided view from immature brats.Hey! That's my Mom's number! What have you been doing? Decoding her home HD-DVD movies...
With the major pipes leaving the country, it's not so much the supplier of the connection that would have control over content, but it would probably boil down to each ISP choosing whether or not they'd like to limit content. The problem is, if the ability to limit content on a grand scale gets put into place, it'll be abused and the floodgates will open to any organisation wanting to ban websites for various reasons.
I believe it was Sen. Alston a few years ago that was after some form of mass internet censorship. Thankfully, that died down and was forgotten. Let's not go down that path again, even for a look...
I think the best example would be the most recent HD-DVD publicity. They wanted to keep that code hidden, now it's almost as memorable as 867-5309...
The problem with Australian media (probably not just Australian media either) is that they'll jump on a minor story or quote and blow it out of proportion. As others have said, most Aussies don't like censorship, however the people being targeted by the teacher / school comments obviously took offence to it. Not much they can do about it though.
I can't believe this didn't get a bite. US citizens aside, this article relates to any other country that uses Vista, so it's a worthwhile topic. Just because one country's constitution states something, doesn't mean that all has been said and done.
One or two of the better ones would have been fine, then perhaps a post linking to all the rest of them at once. Separate posts for each one is a little over the top.
I definitely agree on the 'pick up and play' aspect of many of the XBLA games. If I've got a spare 30 minutes before I have to be somewhere, I'll sit down and play Lumines for a while, or maybe even try some of the other titles I've purchased. More puzzle games would be nice. I enjoyed Marble Blast Ultra, love Lumines (though the standard 360 controller isn't the best for playing) and would like to see some other classics. A simple, cheap Tetris clone never goes astray.
I've only played from FF7 onwards. I've finished 7 multiple times, 10 once, currently playing 12. In 8 and 9 (and the abomination that is FFX-2) I also just lost interest right near the end. It's especially sad in a FF game because of all the time you spend getting up to that point in that game, but there's not a lot you can really do about it if you do lose interest.
After using ocarinas, pianos (FFVII) and numerous other in-game musical tests, I didn't really have a problem with the howling either.
And apparently I got lucky with moving the two statues as well. Once I figured out how they moved, I think I nailed it in about 2 minutes.
Word has it that Guitar Hero 2 on the 360 will let you download (for a fee) most of the bonus songs (all but 3, from memory) from the original game. I was saddened to learn that Cheat on the Church wasn't one of them, but I think I'll get over it. Plus there will be future content released online, as well as the 10 new songs (including Iron Maiden's "The Trooper") that the PS2 version didn't get.
Ok. Where do you plug in your Guitar Hero Guitars?
While the PS3 hasn't been released in Australia yet, this is one of the main reasons I'm in no rush to pick up the PS3 when it does get released. There's only a handful of games that I play on my PS2, and GH1 and GH2 would be at the top of the list. As there is currently no way to plug the guitars into the PS3, I think I'll just stick with the PS2 and my X360 (which will have Guitar Hero 2 on it in March).I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in a console. I've got myself both a X360 and a Wii as well, with a handful of games for each console, and I'm still struggling to keep up playing all the games I'd like to (jumped from Zelda to Viva Pinata, with Lost Planet and FFXII to be played). Chances are I'll be getting a PS3 at some point, but I have no excitement or urgency to buy when it is released (unlike the Wii, which was pre-ordered and picked up on Day 1).
I've found that the Wii, with the current releases, works best as a party console. I spent 35 hours playing through Zelda, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but as you say, aside from that there's not a lot of substance out there that doesn't look better on a different console. I heard Red Steel was a bit poor in the control department, so I have avoided that so far. I have Rayman / SMB for party games. Considering Call of Duty 3, but again I could get a graphically superior version for my 360.
The PS3, to me, just doesn't have the same 'buy me now' factor that the other next gen consoles had. Part of the deterrent is the price, as well as other little things. Of all my IRL gamer friends, none of them seem interested in the PS3 on release at all.
The Wii is outselling the PS3 over here as well. It's near impossible to find them in stores at the moment (though that's slowly changing with every release). But I guess it's easy to outsell something that HASN'T BEEN RELEASED YET! We won't see the PS3 til March, by which time I'd say most people will be over it. That and the AUS$1000 price tag. Bad Sony, bad...
Sony have always had the platform to beat for RPGs (specifically JRPGs) since the original Playstation, but from the way Microsoft seem to be attacking that market, things could soon change.