That number would not not surprise me at all. I host LAN parties from time to time, and almost every female I know has either tried playing them, or does play them (except for one gal who hasn't bothered trying them.) However, it is a bit different between playing online, and playing at a LAN party - a LAN party isn't anonymous, and people are yelling and cursing at each other, and generally having a good time. Online, well, it's a bit different - I don't know how many of those same females play online. But they sure have a blast at the local LAN parties! (Which makes me think - it's time for another one soon!)
That game was so awesome. I still have dreams about that damn room where you had to put the tones in the right order(i'm half tone deaf). By the way, the best C64 game of all time... Jumpman!
Ok, I hate to do this, but, the capitolist dog in my just can't help it at the mention of Jumpman...
There are two new Jumpman games under development. Randy Glover (the original author of Jumpman) is working on Jumpman II, and MidnightRyder.Com (my company) is working on Jumpman: 2049 (authorized by Randy Glover - yep, two separate Jumpman titles being developed at the same time, going different directions - fairly cool!) Drop by MidnightRyder.Com and check in on development of Jumpman: 2049, and look at Randy Glover's entries on the Developer's Diaries section for what he's up to with Jumpman II
The other person I talk to from time to time is working on something called The Jumpman Project - basically, he took the original version from IBM for the PC (no, not Jumpman Lives! produced much later - IBM actually ported a version of Jumpman way, way back during the CGA gfx era) which was some serious abandonware, and has began hacking it into shape. It now runs under Windows (and I'm sure WINE would run it, but, haven't tried yet), has a brand new partial working level editor, etc. He didn't just pirate it, like most of the abandonware stuff - he took it, and is somewhat modernizing it. Very cool. Check out Jeff's work at Jumpman Project. One really cool part - Randy knows it exists, and has no problem with his work on it:-)
Fucking myself...
Never been able to do it..there are times when I would have love to figure out how...
Jon, I gotta say... I'm not a huge fan of yours (but I still read your articles), but this is your best comment all year! A combination of wit and honesty;-) That's assuming, of course, this is indeed the really Jon Katz...
Of course one reason to buy a console this time around is the fact Microsoft is trying to buy up a number of game companies. The PC games market could be awfully thin on the ground next holiday season.
Pretty unlikely. While MS could buy out tons of game developers, the publishers are hungry enough for game titles they will start supporting new developers. The vacuum that occurs when a developer leaves the PC game market is filled pretty damned fast - there are too many companies like me who want those positions. Personally, I'd like to see MS buy out some of those developers and make them X-Box only developers - the bigger the vacuum, the better. Plus, well, maybe we can finally get some innovative titles out there, instead of so many "Me Too!" products (unluckly, it's not developer initutive that causes that, rather, it's publisher marketing that forces us to put up with so damned many FPS titles right now - they see it as being where the money is, so it's where they put thier money!)
Yes, it's a game. In fact, it looks like it's going to be a great game - the graphics aren't all that (to me anyway) but, the game is somewhere along the lines of Populous in some ways. However, I don't know for sure if it's going to be a great game - I haven't played it personally But looking at who's behind the game...
In short, Windows has a GUI display control panel, MacOS has a GUI display control panel, so why doesn't Linux have one yet? They've only had about five years to make one, so there's no excuse.
Ya know, you are right - there is no excuse for the fact that there isn't a control panel. For the last however long, Linux users have lived without a control panel. Since Linux (GNU/Linux, whatever) is an Open Source project, and the same with the WMs running on X, etc., it means that until recently, no one felt the need.
However - you feel the need. So, go build it. That's what it's about - contributing when you feel the system is lacking something. Have an itch? Scratch it, and submit the code. Go build one for Gnome or KDE. Don't give the excuse you aren't a programmer - here's a project to cut your teeth on. And I can't belive you don't have the time to do it - I've now seen this exact statment from you twice. The tools are free, so money isn't the issue.
So, basically, put up or shut up - if you want it, build it. That's how it works in an Open Source project. You won't see my name on any of the Linux projects - I've yet to feel the need for something within Linux (however, I have helped out on a couple other OS and free software projects. I just happen to have different itches to scratch.) Seriously - take up the project, design it, implement the inital code, and release it on the world - that's what it's all about!:-)
...And 3D hardware support!!! That's one of my biggest grips as a VMWare user (since 1.0 - which isn't THAT long ago;-) If I could get 3D hardware support and full DirectX support, I would probably run Linux excusively as my base OS, and NT & 98 on top of it. Right now I run 98 and multiple instances of NT on top of NT, plus SuSE Linux. Works great (but I recomment dual-processor configurations, and a healthy amount of RAM. But, even on a dual PII/266 it runs great.)
>> The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.
Simply attributing a declarative like this to some famous name is not proof. At best it is argument by authority. Where are your arguments? What line of logical reasoning leads you to such a dim-witted statement?
Ok, this is flamin' when I shouldn't, but - where are your brains? It's a sig that presents a small portion of someone's beliefs. Considering a/. sig has a limit of 120 characters, I'm fairly certain that the person in question wasn't going to add a paragraph, or even a 50 page paper on the subject. And if he did, you'd probably flame even harder that he took up your precious bandwidth doing it.
It's definitely not a discussion relating to P2P networking in the context of the original/. article which was presented for discussion. Neither is my comment, of course;-)
PS: Didn't say I agreed or disagreed with the comment, but, I didn't bother to save my karma by posting as an AC either;-)
This box looks like a great idea in theory. But in reality, I gotta say, I think they are probably screwed - but I sure hope they keep trying!
Also, for me, I've got mixed emotions about this. Linux tends to be a very Open Source oriented system as a whole - but now the box in question is going to be a combination of both. For those that support Open Source efforts, this goes against the grain in some ways (proprietary API's and binary only packages). It just doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me.
He also talks about protecting the copyrights of developers - but, in reality, why bother with the effort? At best a token effort should be put forth, but, anything to protect copyrights on a system like this is gonna get cracked, and fast. It's just the norm of the world.
He also talks about how easy it's gonna be to port to the box, but, you can't run applications from the box on a normal Linux machine, and the opposite is also true. Problem is, what's thier advantage here? If it's easy to port back and forth, what advantage is this going to give the developer, who already has an installed base of PC's running Linux he can develop for? (I know, same argument can be made for the X-Box. At least with it you have some really good hardware reasons to go that direction, maybe.)
Personally, it sounds like a fabulous idea that's gonna flop in the face of some really stiff competition. When I start hearing about some killer games that will be available for it, and no where else, I'll get more interested. At best, Linux fans will have a new toy to play with for a while, until interest wains.
I do also have one other fear - this guy is just some crook trying to do a money grab off of the Linux name without really providing any real benefit to the Linux community, or providing a great product to the end user. Hopefully, that fear us completely unfounded - he does sound sincere. (But, then, so did the last car salesman I talked to.)
I love it. I'm not the worlds largest fan of David Brin (I don't dislike his works, but he's definitely not my favorite) but he writes a really good 'rant' here.
While it may have been pointed at as a bit of a rant, it's very well thought out. I can't agree with all of his points, but you know, it would be nice if all of the candidates had advocates as good as this. It's thought provoking, a good plea for votes, and generally some really good stuff that's probably going to stick in/.'ers heads for quite a while, probably all the way to the voting booth.
I'm NOT a fan of Al Gore, and I'm sure as hell not a fan of Bush. I haven't decided for sure who I'm going to vote for, but, I know that this essay will probably pop up in my head just before I vote. I wish I had David Brin's email address, just so I could send him a thank you for such a cool piece.
Is this news for nerds? Probably not. Is this a hard, factual article? Not really - it falls under the 'emotional plea' area in many ways. Is this something that should happen more often on/.? Damned straight. I'd love to see more stuff from literate, intelligent, and high profile people like this. I'd probably email CmdrTaco and say just that - but I know it would get lost in all the comments and story submissions;-)
Ok - I'm done patting David Brin on the back, and done praising/. for now. Actually, no I'm not - lets see more works like this on/. Stuff that really works the brain, instead of the normal/. stories. This is a good direction for/.
I'm sure/. would probably run an editorial from someone else on the other side of the issues - 'specially if they are someone has high-profile and eloquent as David Brin.
And,/. is giving the opportuninity for all sides to speak thier piece on issues that/.'ers find important - look back at the most recent set of questions to be presented to the various presidential candidate camps from here based on user comments.
I do need to jump in and defend the agent on this one - he wasn't thinking of his preferences, but, instead he was thinking of the preferences of the PUBLISHERS he's gotta pitch it to. I read it later, and realized that sounded like it was his opinion - not really, he's just echoing what the publishers want, good or bad:-( (He's a fairly cool guy that I chat with about more than just trying to make money on a game, etc. Plus, he ENJOYS games, and knew what Jumpman was right off the bat. If he's a game-pimp, he's a very nice and tollerable one;-)
That seems to be an entire genre of games now. I looked at the system requirements for Lemmings (the original I believe came on a single floppy) and it was at least a P2 300 with a 3d accelerator. To play LEMMINGS! Same with Frogger, Centipede, and Asteroids. None of these games have been improved by the addition of 3D rendering, and in my opinion they have more in common with FPSs than their namesakes.
I still can't figure out why they thought moving some of these games to a 3D environment was going to be such a great idea. Randy Glover (original Jumpman / Jumpman Jr developer) will be doing a 3D Jumpman eventually - but, I've already seen how he's going to implement it, and it makes sense and fits with the Jumpman concepts (I wouldn't have thought of it, and it's quite a bit different than, say, Mario World. I want him to hurry up and finish it one of these days - I wanna play!) Problem is, companies like Hasbro aren't looking for innovative game design - they bought Atari, and all it's IP, and want to make money off of it. Retro gaming is starting to be large enough to notice, so they find a developer and say "Write this game in 3D." If you are a game development company, you sure don't turn down the opportunity and the money to pay the bills for the next year in exchange for developing a title;-) I think it mainly boils down to "Look, these titles made TONS of cash in the past. People like things from the past. Lets make them items for the present. But, since 3D games are the other hot property, lets make them 3D."
If 2.5D isometric games were the hot technology at the moment, you might have seen Frogger done as an odd isometric game instead!;-)
Firstly, if I understand correctly, the author or someone he is quoting is questioning the physics behind Donkey Kong. The very concept that there should be actual physics behind every piece of gameplay is ludicrous - think about fantasy and sci-fi games, for one thing. Or Pac-man!
I gotta agree here. Game physics are an interesting thing - for a game like DK or Pac-Man which is fairly abstracted from the real world of physics, all that matters is that the physics are consistent. When the physics in a game have an inconsistency, the effect is fairly jaring, and the errors with the game's own physics model become quite glairing. Within games like that, we tend to just 'accept' the physics it presents, and go on.
But something funky happens when games try more and more to emulate real-world physics: as you get closer to being right with real-world physics, the differences between real-world physics and game world physics become glairing.
Secondly, I have long griped about the decline of gameplay in recent years. Sure, you have all these fancy new games with their fancy high-framerate multi-texeled whatevers, but does it make the GAME any good? What I see is a lot of rehashed ideas, worn-out puzzles and games so simple a half-dead carrot could beat them.
I dunno - there have been some games that have had great gameplay. Most of them are not FPS, of course - RTS games usually are the ones I think that have the best gameplay, and tend to be as good or better than games produced in the past.
It sounds like the video game industry is realizing what the movie industry found out years ago - smart doesn't sell. If you want to sell copies, sell to the lowest common denominator. The only reason for "strategy guides" and hint books these days is to point out the "secret areas" in games and the stuff the developers hid! Think about all the games there are now - especially of this new "3-d adventure" variety - that it is impossible to lose the game. How more dumbed-down does it need to get?!
A gripe of mine too. Who cares if they finish some of the newest games out there - there is very little sense of accomplishment! I like games that present a real challenge - I want to feel like I really did something when I manage to whip the shit out of the final bad guy! (Actually, I'm surprised on what the last game I felt that way about was: Finishing the final tournament in the Single Player sections of Unreal Tournament. I actually had that feeling I hadn't had playing a game in quite a while! Before that, however, I can't remember the last time I felt really challenged.:-( )
Hiding stuff can be interesting - sometimes it just goes to far, unluckly. For Jumpman: 2049, I'm hiding all of the original Jumpman and Jumpman, Jr levels within the main game as a sort of 'bonus' system. Instead of making the game any easier to win, it really just drags out the game further, plus presents some interesting options towards the end of the game. I don't have much problem with hiding stuff, but, I really hate when it's nessisary to win the game, or when that's what most of the game seems to be composed of - hidden items and areas!
Well, considering the oldest computer games (console, arcade, and all possible platforms) can't top more than, what, 30 some years now IIRC (Counting SpaceWar as the first) this is a very apples and oranges question. Computer games, taken as a whole, are just a minor blip when you compair them to classics like Go, Chess, etc. Yes - Go and Chess have been arround a while, and will continue to exist for quite a while longer. But it's fairly hard to compair a technology independant game like Go (face it - colored stones and a grid is all you need to play) with something like Donkey Kong. Plus, even then, only time will tell if something from the begining of the computerized game era will continue to survive well into the future of computing and game playing. (If something does survive, my bet is on the original Pac Man;-)
First: The off topic part (don't worry, there's an on topic part to this too) I noticed that too - for a different reason! Jumpman and Jumpman Jr were two of my favorite games for the C64. I still have both of them, and my SX-64 to play them on;-)
When I started getting into the idea of quitting what I do for a living, and going to game programming for a living, I hunted down Randy Glover, and chatted with him off and on. I've got the rights, and am developing a whole new Jumpman game - Jumpman: 2049. All the original Jumpman and Jumpman Jr levels are in there (as hidden items you have to find;-), plus an unknown number more (IE - they ain't done yet!) For now - play Jumpman on an emulator - there's pleanty that can do it. But in the future, you can get the chance to play a whole new Jumpman!:-)
As for are game getting more fun, etc. WAY too much time is spent on the technology behind games, and not enough time on the game it's self. Someone gets a good cool idea (like the blood difussion in water mentioned in the article) and while it does provide a chance to make a more 'emmersive' environment for the gamer in some ways, the resources could have be better utilized, IMHO. It's not that the game ideas these days sucks - they don't all suck (some do.) It's just that focus on technology. I remember talking to an agent I'm using for getting a couple of titles published, and I mentioned Jumpman - and one of his questions was basically "Could it be done in 3D?" For those who don't remember, Jumpman was a combination of platformer and somewhat puzzle game. Utilizing 3D just for the sake of doing it wouldn't lend much to the game (PS: Randy Glover is ALSO doing a second Jumpman project while I'm doing Jumpman: 2049 - it IS in 3D, and looks like it might work well, but don't think 3D as in Mario World, etc. Quite a good transition). Utilizing technology in a game where it makes sense, where it helps gameplay, where it helps immerse the player in your design, and where it truely makes the game more fun is important. Unluckly, too many publishers was buzzword compliant games, too many developers just want to use the technology for the hell of it, and too few people involved stop and ask "What is this REALLY doing for our gameplay?"
Of course - this could just be a bunch of BS. I could just be looking back at the 'old days' of games, and trying to compair them to todays counterparts. The gap in technology between the different generations of games that it's now compairing apples and oranges.
What's NOT redundant is this - these comments are awsome. I mean, these aren't/. quality, half baked, spur of the moment replies. Everyone (on both sides) produced some really interesting and well thought out responses. Check out the Computer & Comminications Industry Association for a good loud voice who is looking at trying to make the concept of reverse engineering for the sake of allowing a user to use purchased materials on any platform - even if it means writing your own driver. (CCIA represents AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Fujitsu, and a couple others.)
Point blank - if you want to see the right way to debate an issue like this in an informed manner, most of these comments got it right. A good read, even if everything is in.PDF format.
Here at the day job, I have a wonderful LCD screen setting on my desk. It's an Allen-Bradley 21 inch LCD touch screen.
It's wonderful. I mean, REALLY wonderful. I normally runn 1280 x 1024, and since this thing got put on my desk, I haven't worn my glasses a single day because of eye strain. What this thing REALLY is happens to be a re-labled Elotouch screen, and if you get the chance, check one out. However, one downside - expensive as hell. It's designed for Industrial Control applications, and since it has the Allen-Bradley name on it, it's marked up a considerable amount. The only REAL downside to this screen - it belongs to a customer, and in a couple of months, I have to part with it and go back to my old 21" CRT display, because I'll be installing this one at the customer's site.:-(
What a bad idea when it comes to businesses who make thier living online. There's no real boundry set here for the ideas - just the other day, it became 'legal' here in the US for an electronic signature to become a legally binding contract. This includes web forms, faxes, and yes, email. Now, if email becomes 'null and void' after a 6 month period, then what the heck... it kinda makes that worthless!
However, this gets into another debate - why should there be a difference between something you write in a magazine in the real world (or any other pen and paper medium) and email? You are held responsible in the real world for your actions, and I really do believe you should be held responsible for the crap you do on the Internet. Why should it be different?
I'll probably get blasted by a couple of people because of this, but, I've gotta say this looks like a relatively genuine interview.
Normally, when looking at an MS product, who ever is talking has a very "We can do no wrong" and every feature is a "Must Have". In this case, however, Michael doesn't seem to being doing that. Take a look at a couple of the statements being made:
About statements that nVidia's chips are 3 generations ahead:
MA: I hadn't seen that quote. No, I personally wouldn't say three generations; more like either 1.5 or 2, depending on how you count. Not that it matters; the bottom line is that this is the most powerful chip I could imagine anyone getting into a console in 2001.
And concerning the importance of HDTV:
MA: I think it's exciting but too early. First off, there aren't that many HDTVs. Second, supporting HDTV is a major change: it requires larger video buffers and more rendering time, requires artwork targeted at higher resolution and sharper pixels, and changes gameplay because of the wider field of view. I have a hard time seeing anyone abandoning NTSC for HDTV in the near future, and if you don't abandon NTSC, it's a lot of work to support HDTV as well.
There are more examples in there if you read the article (instead of just making the obligitory and completely overused arguments that MS can't make it, XBox will suck, etc. It's all been said before - contribute something new to the discussion please. Too many people reply, and don't bother to read the article;-) Yes, he pimps the X-Box. Of course, he works for the company producing it, so he's gonna pimp it!;-) But all in all, it seems more like a genuine enthusiasim rather than marketingdroid 'tote the company line' type work being done here. To me, it was a good read.
As for the X-Box it's self: Well, I'll be interested in seeing it from a game developer's standpoint. I make only be shipping small POS games at the moment, but, I'm watching the X-Box closely. Not having to worry about an end-user's hardware and software configuration will be a nice change ('specially for anything that tries to really push 3D to the limit.) However, that same thing can be provided by the GAMECUBE, PS2, DreamCast, and even the upcomming Linux based console. Here you get the advantages of easy porting (but MS is actually discuraging that for most content - they want original stuff for the X-Box, instead of just porting over a PC title. Makes sense, but does limit the number of games available at release.)
MS has a chance to be a contender in a new arena now - if they don't screw it up. They rarely manage to get a product right the first time they ship it (some would debate they NEVER get it right!;-), but I do think this will be a first for them - a product that hits the market stable on the first shot. If they don't, they will have lost alot of cash!
It's a parody, which is protected by US Constitution (and it's a right that has been defended successfully in the Supreme Court). For the parody to REALLY be funny, look at Idea Lab's site Pretty much a perfect parody, design wise! Best part - eToys is in the dead center of the pile, on both IdeaLabs and FuckedCompany's version!
Exactly. Since I was stuck in a Windows based environment, I decided to try out VMWare back when the first beta was released. When the full version was released, I bought it, and started using it from time to time. As the product matured a little, I discovered I really liked it, and began depending on it. I decided I really didn't want to re-setup VMWare again since I've got it all working!
One other minor problem was that X didn't like my video card - I tried setting up a dual boot system way back (havent tried it with the newest stuff out there - no need now.) VMWare was an interesting solution since NT liked the video card just fine, but, VMWare 'abstracts' the hardware so Linux always sees the same video and sound card on any machine. X may not have liked my real video card, but, it never had any problem with the emulated video card:-)
One minor recommendation - if you have the cash, go with a dual processor system for VMWare. While my machine is a dual PII system, what I did was install VMWare on the machine, reconfiged NT real quick for one processor (which is a pain) and installed a 'default' NT setup. NT only checks for multiple processors when you initally install it - anything after that requires some hacking around to make work. Then, after creating the default NT install, I put the 2nd processor back in, and reconfigured the machine again. Why go through so much of a pain? Well, if one of the NT sessions happens to be compiling something or any other really CPU intensive operations, it can still only take over one CPU completely, which means you never notice preformance degredation on the rest of your system:-)
It works fine without dual proccessors, but, it just makes it that much cooler.
Can't decide if you are trying to gain some points from moderators as funny, or loose some as troll, but, I gotta respond.
I don't agree with your comment really. See, I'm stuck in a Windows based environment at work - Windows NT 4.0. And no, my machine doesn't crash daily, or require reboots, with a minor exception - a couple of the MMI development packages require reboots when I install or uninstall them (they don't play well together - what a PITA!)
So, I run Windows NT on Windows NT under VMWare. I never have to reboot the base NT OS that's running. But even better - I get to run a Linux machine at the same time. Some people run the idea of VMWare down (IE - why not just get another box) but it's great for applications like this - multiple differently configured Linux installs in one machine, differently configured NT installs on one machine - each with the software that can't seem to get along with each other. I don't have to have 6 machines on my desk, and I don't have to switch between them, etc. My box does have some horsepower, but, not as much as some people on here I'm sure (Dual PII/350 with 256 MB RAM, and a bunch of HD space).
So - for your comment about it being a bad idea? Heck no! It works great, and it's damned stable. I like Linux, and I keep it loaded on the box too - I just don't use it as my base OS:-)
Only downside? It's not speed (2 Linux sessions and 2 NT sessions running at the same time usually only take 4% of processing power unless they are doing something CPU intensive), resources (running low? Hit suspend on one you aren't using at the moment, and restore it when you need it!), or anything like that. Just the fact that it does mean that you have to pay for NT;-) (And in my case, I do have on 98 session on it too. Can't remember why anymore...)
Chromium comes in different forms, just like a lot of other stuff. Chromium Picolinate (sp?) is generally safe, even at relatively high concentrations. Hexavalent Chromium, on the other hand, is fairly toxic at low concentrations. For more information on Chromium Picolinate, check some of the online vitamin databases. For info on Hexavalent Chromium, go check out some of the environmental databases.
I feel your pain. I commited one of these attrocities - Boulder Panic! and Boulder Panic! 2 both use punctuation in the name. After trying to have a conversation by email about Boulder Panic! 2 I realized just how silly it is to put an exclamation point in the middle of a product name (or even at the end.) It got worse when I released a special competition version of the game called Boulder Panic! 2: The Challenge! *SIGH* Needless to say, all future products I've got planned no longer use punctuation in the name - it's just too much of a PITA to work with, and if you run a grammar check on a document that utilizes such a name, well, things just don't work out;-)
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That number would not not surprise me at all. I host LAN parties from time to time, and almost every female I know has either tried playing them, or does play them (except for one gal who hasn't bothered trying them.) However, it is a bit different between playing online, and playing at a LAN party - a LAN party isn't anonymous, and people are yelling and cursing at each other, and generally having a good time. Online, well, it's a bit different - I don't know how many of those same females play online. But they sure have a blast at the local LAN parties! (Which makes me think - it's time for another one soon!)
That game was so awesome. I still have dreams about that damn room where you had to put the tones in the right order(i'm half tone deaf). By the way, the best C64 game of all time... Jumpman!
Ok, I hate to do this, but, the capitolist dog in my just can't help it at the mention of Jumpman...
There are two new Jumpman games under development. Randy Glover (the original author of Jumpman) is working on Jumpman II, and MidnightRyder.Com (my company) is working on Jumpman: 2049 (authorized by Randy Glover - yep, two separate Jumpman titles being developed at the same time, going different directions - fairly cool!) Drop by MidnightRyder.Com and check in on development of Jumpman: 2049, and look at Randy Glover's entries on the Developer's Diaries section for what he's up to with Jumpman II
The other person I talk to from time to time is working on something called The Jumpman Project - basically, he took the original version from IBM for the PC (no, not Jumpman Lives! produced much later - IBM actually ported a version of Jumpman way, way back during the CGA gfx era) which was some serious abandonware, and has began hacking it into shape. It now runs under Windows (and I'm sure WINE would run it, but, haven't tried yet), has a brand new partial working level editor, etc. He didn't just pirate it, like most of the abandonware stuff - he took it, and is somewhat modernizing it. Very cool. Check out Jeff's work at Jumpman Project. One really cool part - Randy knows it exists, and has no problem with his work on it :-)
Fucking myself... Never been able to do it..there are times when I would have love to figure out how...
Jon, I gotta say... I'm not a huge fan of yours (but I still read your articles), but this is your best comment all year! A combination of wit and honesty ;-) That's assuming, of course, this is indeed the really Jon Katz...
Of course one reason to buy a console this time around is the fact Microsoft is trying to buy up a number of game companies. The PC games market could be awfully thin on the ground next holiday season.
Pretty unlikely. While MS could buy out tons of game developers, the publishers are hungry enough for game titles they will start supporting new developers. The vacuum that occurs when a developer leaves the PC game market is filled pretty damned fast - there are too many companies like me who want those positions. Personally, I'd like to see MS buy out some of those developers and make them X-Box only developers - the bigger the vacuum, the better. Plus, well, maybe we can finally get some innovative titles out there, instead of so many "Me Too!" products (unluckly, it's not developer initutive that causes that, rather, it's publisher marketing that forces us to put up with so damned many FPS titles right now - they see it as being where the money is, so it's where they put thier money!)
Yes, it's a game. In fact, it looks like it's going to be a great game - the graphics aren't all that (to me anyway) but, the game is somewhere along the lines of Populous in some ways. However, I don't know for sure if it's going to be a great game - I haven't played it personally But looking at who's behind the game...
In short, Windows has a GUI display control panel, MacOS has a GUI display control panel, so why doesn't Linux have one yet? They've only had about five years to make one, so there's no excuse.
Ya know, you are right - there is no excuse for the fact that there isn't a control panel. For the last however long, Linux users have lived without a control panel. Since Linux (GNU/Linux, whatever) is an Open Source project, and the same with the WMs running on X, etc., it means that until recently, no one felt the need.
However - you feel the need. So, go build it. That's what it's about - contributing when you feel the system is lacking something. Have an itch? Scratch it, and submit the code. Go build one for Gnome or KDE. Don't give the excuse you aren't a programmer - here's a project to cut your teeth on. And I can't belive you don't have the time to do it - I've now seen this exact statment from you twice. The tools are free, so money isn't the issue.
So, basically, put up or shut up - if you want it, build it. That's how it works in an Open Source project. You won't see my name on any of the Linux projects - I've yet to feel the need for something within Linux (however, I have helped out on a couple other OS and free software projects. I just happen to have different itches to scratch.) Seriously - take up the project, design it, implement the inital code, and release it on the world - that's what it's all about! :-)
...And 3D hardware support!!! That's one of my biggest grips as a VMWare user (since 1.0 - which isn't THAT long ago ;-) If I could get 3D hardware support and full DirectX support, I would probably run Linux excusively as my base OS, and NT & 98 on top of it. Right now I run 98 and multiple instances of NT on top of NT, plus SuSE Linux. Works great (but I recomment dual-processor configurations, and a healthy amount of RAM. But, even on a dual PII/266 it runs great.)
>> The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.
Simply attributing a declarative like this to some famous name is not proof. At best it is argument by authority. Where are your arguments? What line of logical reasoning leads you to such a dim-witted statement?
Ok, this is flamin' when I shouldn't, but - where are your brains? It's a sig that presents a small portion of someone's beliefs. Considering a /. sig has a limit of 120 characters, I'm fairly certain that the person in question wasn't going to add a paragraph, or even a 50 page paper on the subject. And if he did, you'd probably flame even harder that he took up your precious bandwidth doing it.
It's definitely not a discussion relating to P2P networking in the context of the original /. article which was presented for discussion. Neither is my comment, of course ;-)
PS: Didn't say I agreed or disagreed with the comment, but, I didn't bother to save my karma by posting as an AC either ;-)
This box looks like a great idea in theory. But in reality, I gotta say, I think they are probably screwed - but I sure hope they keep trying!
Also, for me, I've got mixed emotions about this. Linux tends to be a very Open Source oriented system as a whole - but now the box in question is going to be a combination of both. For those that support Open Source efforts, this goes against the grain in some ways (proprietary API's and binary only packages). It just doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me.
He also talks about protecting the copyrights of developers - but, in reality, why bother with the effort? At best a token effort should be put forth, but, anything to protect copyrights on a system like this is gonna get cracked, and fast. It's just the norm of the world.
He also talks about how easy it's gonna be to port to the box, but, you can't run applications from the box on a normal Linux machine, and the opposite is also true. Problem is, what's thier advantage here? If it's easy to port back and forth, what advantage is this going to give the developer, who already has an installed base of PC's running Linux he can develop for? (I know, same argument can be made for the X-Box. At least with it you have some really good hardware reasons to go that direction, maybe.)
Personally, it sounds like a fabulous idea that's gonna flop in the face of some really stiff competition. When I start hearing about some killer games that will be available for it, and no where else, I'll get more interested. At best, Linux fans will have a new toy to play with for a while, until interest wains.
I do also have one other fear - this guy is just some crook trying to do a money grab off of the Linux name without really providing any real benefit to the Linux community, or providing a great product to the end user. Hopefully, that fear us completely unfounded - he does sound sincere. (But, then, so did the last car salesman I talked to.)
I love it. I'm not the worlds largest fan of David Brin (I don't dislike his works, but he's definitely not my favorite) but he writes a really good 'rant' here.
While it may have been pointed at as a bit of a rant, it's very well thought out. I can't agree with all of his points, but you know, it would be nice if all of the candidates had advocates as good as this. It's thought provoking, a good plea for votes, and generally some really good stuff that's probably going to stick in /.'ers heads for quite a while, probably all the way to the voting booth.
I'm NOT a fan of Al Gore, and I'm sure as hell not a fan of Bush. I haven't decided for sure who I'm going to vote for, but, I know that this essay will probably pop up in my head just before I vote. I wish I had David Brin's email address, just so I could send him a thank you for such a cool piece.
Is this news for nerds? Probably not. Is this a hard, factual article? Not really - it falls under the 'emotional plea' area in many ways. Is this something that should happen more often on /.? Damned straight. I'd love to see more stuff from literate, intelligent, and high profile people like this. I'd probably email CmdrTaco and say just that - but I know it would get lost in all the comments and story submissions ;-)
Ok - I'm done patting David Brin on the back, and done praising /. for now. Actually, no I'm not - lets see more works like this on /. Stuff that really works the brain, instead of the normal /. stories. This is a good direction for /.
I'm sure /. would probably run an editorial from someone else on the other side of the issues - 'specially if they are someone has high-profile and eloquent as David Brin.
And, /. is giving the opportuninity for all sides to speak thier piece on issues that /.'ers find important - look back at the most recent set of questions to be presented to the various presidential candidate camps from here based on user comments.
"Could it be done in 3D?"
I do need to jump in and defend the agent on this one - he wasn't thinking of his preferences, but, instead he was thinking of the preferences of the PUBLISHERS he's gotta pitch it to. I read it later, and realized that sounded like it was his opinion - not really, he's just echoing what the publishers want, good or bad :-( (He's a fairly cool guy that I chat with about more than just trying to make money on a game, etc. Plus, he ENJOYS games, and knew what Jumpman was right off the bat. If he's a game-pimp, he's a very nice and tollerable one ;-)
That seems to be an entire genre of games now. I looked at the system requirements for Lemmings (the original I believe came on a single floppy) and it was at least a P2 300 with a 3d accelerator. To play LEMMINGS! Same with Frogger, Centipede, and Asteroids. None of these games have been improved by the addition of 3D rendering, and in my opinion they have more in common with FPSs than their namesakes.
I still can't figure out why they thought moving some of these games to a 3D environment was going to be such a great idea. Randy Glover (original Jumpman / Jumpman Jr developer) will be doing a 3D Jumpman eventually - but, I've already seen how he's going to implement it, and it makes sense and fits with the Jumpman concepts (I wouldn't have thought of it, and it's quite a bit different than, say, Mario World. I want him to hurry up and finish it one of these days - I wanna play!) Problem is, companies like Hasbro aren't looking for innovative game design - they bought Atari, and all it's IP, and want to make money off of it. Retro gaming is starting to be large enough to notice, so they find a developer and say "Write this game in 3D." If you are a game development company, you sure don't turn down the opportunity and the money to pay the bills for the next year in exchange for developing a title ;-) I think it mainly boils down to "Look, these titles made TONS of cash in the past. People like things from the past. Lets make them items for the present. But, since 3D games are the other hot property, lets make them 3D."
If 2.5D isometric games were the hot technology at the moment, you might have seen Frogger done as an odd isometric game instead! ;-)
Firstly, if I understand correctly, the author or someone he is quoting is questioning the physics behind Donkey Kong. The very concept that there should be actual physics behind every piece of gameplay is ludicrous - think about fantasy and sci-fi games, for one thing. Or Pac-man!
I gotta agree here. Game physics are an interesting thing - for a game like DK or Pac-Man which is fairly abstracted from the real world of physics, all that matters is that the physics are consistent. When the physics in a game have an inconsistency, the effect is fairly jaring, and the errors with the game's own physics model become quite glairing. Within games like that, we tend to just 'accept' the physics it presents, and go on.
But something funky happens when games try more and more to emulate real-world physics: as you get closer to being right with real-world physics, the differences between real-world physics and game world physics become glairing.
Secondly, I have long griped about the decline of gameplay in recent years. Sure, you have all these fancy new games with their fancy high-framerate multi-texeled whatevers, but does it make the GAME any good? What I see is a lot of rehashed ideas, worn-out puzzles and games so simple a half-dead carrot could beat them.
I dunno - there have been some games that have had great gameplay. Most of them are not FPS, of course - RTS games usually are the ones I think that have the best gameplay, and tend to be as good or better than games produced in the past.
It sounds like the video game industry is realizing what the movie industry found out years ago - smart doesn't sell. If you want to sell copies, sell to the lowest common denominator. The only reason for "strategy guides" and hint books these days is to point out the "secret areas" in games and the stuff the developers hid! Think about all the games there are now - especially of this new "3-d adventure" variety - that it is impossible to lose the game. How more dumbed-down does it need to get?!
A gripe of mine too. Who cares if they finish some of the newest games out there - there is very little sense of accomplishment! I like games that present a real challenge - I want to feel like I really did something when I manage to whip the shit out of the final bad guy! (Actually, I'm surprised on what the last game I felt that way about was: Finishing the final tournament in the Single Player sections of Unreal Tournament. I actually had that feeling I hadn't had playing a game in quite a while! Before that, however, I can't remember the last time I felt really challenged. :-( )
Hiding stuff can be interesting - sometimes it just goes to far, unluckly. For Jumpman: 2049, I'm hiding all of the original Jumpman and Jumpman, Jr levels within the main game as a sort of 'bonus' system. Instead of making the game any easier to win, it really just drags out the game further, plus presents some interesting options towards the end of the game. I don't have much problem with hiding stuff, but, I really hate when it's nessisary to win the game, or when that's what most of the game seems to be composed of - hidden items and areas!
Well, considering the oldest computer games (console, arcade, and all possible platforms) can't top more than, what, 30 some years now IIRC (Counting SpaceWar as the first) this is a very apples and oranges question. Computer games, taken as a whole, are just a minor blip when you compair them to classics like Go, Chess, etc. Yes - Go and Chess have been arround a while, and will continue to exist for quite a while longer. But it's fairly hard to compair a technology independant game like Go (face it - colored stones and a grid is all you need to play) with something like Donkey Kong. Plus, even then, only time will tell if something from the begining of the computerized game era will continue to survive well into the future of computing and game playing. (If something does survive, my bet is on the original Pac Man ;-)
First: The off topic part (don't worry, there's an on topic part to this too) I noticed that too - for a different reason! Jumpman and Jumpman Jr were two of my favorite games for the C64. I still have both of them, and my SX-64 to play them on ;-)
When I started getting into the idea of quitting what I do for a living, and going to game programming for a living, I hunted down Randy Glover, and chatted with him off and on. I've got the rights, and am developing a whole new Jumpman game - Jumpman: 2049. All the original Jumpman and Jumpman Jr levels are in there (as hidden items you have to find ;-), plus an unknown number more (IE - they ain't done yet!) For now - play Jumpman on an emulator - there's pleanty that can do it. But in the future, you can get the chance to play a whole new Jumpman! :-)
As for are game getting more fun, etc. WAY too much time is spent on the technology behind games, and not enough time on the game it's self. Someone gets a good cool idea (like the blood difussion in water mentioned in the article) and while it does provide a chance to make a more 'emmersive' environment for the gamer in some ways, the resources could have be better utilized, IMHO. It's not that the game ideas these days sucks - they don't all suck (some do.) It's just that focus on technology. I remember talking to an agent I'm using for getting a couple of titles published, and I mentioned Jumpman - and one of his questions was basically "Could it be done in 3D?" For those who don't remember, Jumpman was a combination of platformer and somewhat puzzle game. Utilizing 3D just for the sake of doing it wouldn't lend much to the game (PS: Randy Glover is ALSO doing a second Jumpman project while I'm doing Jumpman: 2049 - it IS in 3D, and looks like it might work well, but don't think 3D as in Mario World, etc. Quite a good transition). Utilizing technology in a game where it makes sense, where it helps gameplay, where it helps immerse the player in your design, and where it truely makes the game more fun is important. Unluckly, too many publishers was buzzword compliant games, too many developers just want to use the technology for the hell of it, and too few people involved stop and ask "What is this REALLY doing for our gameplay?"
Of course - this could just be a bunch of BS. I could just be looking back at the 'old days' of games, and trying to compair them to todays counterparts. The gap in technology between the different generations of games that it's now compairing apples and oranges.
Well, even though the time for submitting comments has passed, you can read the comments at www.loc.gov/copyright/1201.comments& lt;/A> This is redundant information of course, but, worth mentioning.
What's NOT redundant is this - these comments are awsome. I mean, these aren't /. quality, half baked, spur of the moment replies. Everyone (on both sides) produced some really interesting and well thought out responses. Check out the Computer & Comminications Industry Association for a good loud voice who is looking at trying to make the concept of reverse engineering for the sake of allowing a user to use purchased materials on any platform - even if it means writing your own driver. (CCIA represents AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Fujitsu, and a couple others.)
Point blank - if you want to see the right way to debate an issue like this in an informed manner, most of these comments got it right. A good read, even if everything is in .PDF format.
Here at the day job, I have a wonderful LCD screen setting on my desk. It's an Allen-Bradley 21 inch LCD touch screen.
It's wonderful. I mean, REALLY wonderful. I normally runn 1280 x 1024, and since this thing got put on my desk, I haven't worn my glasses a single day because of eye strain. What this thing REALLY is happens to be a re-labled Elotouch screen, and if you get the chance, check one out. However, one downside - expensive as hell. It's designed for Industrial Control applications, and since it has the Allen-Bradley name on it, it's marked up a considerable amount. The only REAL downside to this screen - it belongs to a customer, and in a couple of months, I have to part with it and go back to my old 21" CRT display, because I'll be installing this one at the customer's site. :-(
What a bad idea when it comes to businesses who make thier living online. There's no real boundry set here for the ideas - just the other day, it became 'legal' here in the US for an electronic signature to become a legally binding contract. This includes web forms, faxes, and yes, email. Now, if email becomes 'null and void' after a 6 month period, then what the heck... it kinda makes that worthless!
However, this gets into another debate - why should there be a difference between something you write in a magazine in the real world (or any other pen and paper medium) and email? You are held responsible in the real world for your actions, and I really do believe you should be held responsible for the crap you do on the Internet. Why should it be different?
I'll probably get blasted by a couple of people because of this, but, I've gotta say this looks like a relatively genuine interview.
Normally, when looking at an MS product, who ever is talking has a very "We can do no wrong" and every feature is a "Must Have". In this case, however, Michael doesn't seem to being doing that. Take a look at a couple of the statements being made:
About statements that nVidia's chips are 3 generations ahead:
MA: I hadn't seen that quote. No, I personally wouldn't say three generations; more like either 1.5 or 2, depending on how you count. Not that it matters; the bottom line is that this is the most powerful chip I could imagine anyone getting into a console in 2001.
And concerning the importance of HDTV:
MA: I think it's exciting but too early. First off, there aren't that many HDTVs. Second, supporting HDTV is a major change: it requires larger video buffers and more rendering time, requires artwork targeted at higher resolution and sharper pixels, and changes gameplay because of the wider field of view. I have a hard time seeing anyone abandoning NTSC for HDTV in the near future, and if you don't abandon NTSC, it's a lot of work to support HDTV as well.
There are more examples in there if you read the article (instead of just making the obligitory and completely overused arguments that MS can't make it, XBox will suck, etc. It's all been said before - contribute something new to the discussion please. Too many people reply, and don't bother to read the article ;-) Yes, he pimps the X-Box. Of course, he works for the company producing it, so he's gonna pimp it! ;-) But all in all, it seems more like a genuine enthusiasim rather than marketingdroid 'tote the company line' type work being done here. To me, it was a good read.
As for the X-Box it's self: Well, I'll be interested in seeing it from a game developer's standpoint. I make only be shipping small POS games at the moment, but, I'm watching the X-Box closely. Not having to worry about an end-user's hardware and software configuration will be a nice change ('specially for anything that tries to really push 3D to the limit.) However, that same thing can be provided by the GAMECUBE, PS2, DreamCast, and even the upcomming Linux based console. Here you get the advantages of easy porting (but MS is actually discuraging that for most content - they want original stuff for the X-Box, instead of just porting over a PC title. Makes sense, but does limit the number of games available at release.)
MS has a chance to be a contender in a new arena now - if they don't screw it up. They rarely manage to get a product right the first time they ship it (some would debate they NEVER get it right! ;-), but I do think this will be a first for them - a product that hits the market stable on the first shot. If they don't, they will have lost alot of cash!
This is the URL for the parody FuckedCompany.Com did:
FuckedLab.gifIt's a parody, which is protected by US Constitution (and it's a right that has been defended successfully in the Supreme Court). For the parody to REALLY be funny, look at Idea Lab's site Pretty much a perfect parody, design wise! Best part - eToys is in the dead center of the pile, on both IdeaLabs and FuckedCompany's version!
Exactly. Since I was stuck in a Windows based environment, I decided to try out VMWare back when the first beta was released. When the full version was released, I bought it, and started using it from time to time. As the product matured a little, I discovered I really liked it, and began depending on it. I decided I really didn't want to re-setup VMWare again since I've got it all working!
One other minor problem was that X didn't like my video card - I tried setting up a dual boot system way back (havent tried it with the newest stuff out there - no need now.) VMWare was an interesting solution since NT liked the video card just fine, but, VMWare 'abstracts' the hardware so Linux always sees the same video and sound card on any machine. X may not have liked my real video card, but, it never had any problem with the emulated video card :-)
One minor recommendation - if you have the cash, go with a dual processor system for VMWare. While my machine is a dual PII system, what I did was install VMWare on the machine, reconfiged NT real quick for one processor (which is a pain) and installed a 'default' NT setup. NT only checks for multiple processors when you initally install it - anything after that requires some hacking around to make work. Then, after creating the default NT install, I put the 2nd processor back in, and reconfigured the machine again. Why go through so much of a pain? Well, if one of the NT sessions happens to be compiling something or any other really CPU intensive operations, it can still only take over one CPU completely, which means you never notice preformance degredation on the rest of your system :-)
It works fine without dual proccessors, but, it just makes it that much cooler.
Can't decide if you are trying to gain some points from moderators as funny, or loose some as troll, but, I gotta respond.
I don't agree with your comment really. See, I'm stuck in a Windows based environment at work - Windows NT 4.0. And no, my machine doesn't crash daily, or require reboots, with a minor exception - a couple of the MMI development packages require reboots when I install or uninstall them (they don't play well together - what a PITA!)
So, I run Windows NT on Windows NT under VMWare. I never have to reboot the base NT OS that's running. But even better - I get to run a Linux machine at the same time. Some people run the idea of VMWare down (IE - why not just get another box) but it's great for applications like this - multiple differently configured Linux installs in one machine, differently configured NT installs on one machine - each with the software that can't seem to get along with each other. I don't have to have 6 machines on my desk, and I don't have to switch between them, etc. My box does have some horsepower, but, not as much as some people on here I'm sure (Dual PII/350 with 256 MB RAM, and a bunch of HD space).
So - for your comment about it being a bad idea? Heck no! It works great, and it's damned stable. I like Linux, and I keep it loaded on the box too - I just don't use it as my base OS :-)
Only downside? It's not speed (2 Linux sessions and 2 NT sessions running at the same time usually only take 4% of processing power unless they are doing something CPU intensive), resources (running low? Hit suspend on one you aren't using at the moment, and restore it when you need it!), or anything like that. Just the fact that it does mean that you have to pay for NT ;-) (And in my case, I do have on 98 session on it too. Can't remember why anymore...)
Chromium comes in different forms, just like a lot of other stuff. Chromium Picolinate (sp?) is generally safe, even at relatively high concentrations. Hexavalent Chromium, on the other hand, is fairly toxic at low concentrations. For more information on Chromium Picolinate, check some of the online vitamin databases. For info on Hexavalent Chromium, go check out some of the environmental databases.
I feel your pain. I commited one of these attrocities - Boulder Panic! and Boulder Panic! 2 both use punctuation in the name. After trying to have a conversation by email about Boulder Panic! 2 I realized just how silly it is to put an exclamation point in the middle of a product name (or even at the end.) It got worse when I released a special competition version of the game called Boulder Panic! 2: The Challenge! *SIGH* Needless to say, all future products I've got planned no longer use punctuation in the name - it's just too much of a PITA to work with, and if you run a grammar check on a document that utilizes such a name, well, things just don't work out ;-)