Not my proudest moment, but not too long ago games retailers were REALLY dumb about this. They'd put all kinds of games on the shelves that were used either just loose in the original box, or if the box wasn't around, then they'd just shrink wrap the disc and the manual. I'd just go walking around with a notepad and a pen and I'd scribble down dozens of cd-keys.
I dunno, I don't think "games for windows" has a whole lot to do with quality control. All I know is the annoying proprietary software that all games made with it FORCE you to install, even if playing single player, and then it was a hassle to get games going with a friend of mine through the service. I would expect at LEAST it to be equivalent to the xbox 360 live service, give me some tools for finding buddies, forming up parties, etc.
But really, M$ has done very very little to help its status as a gaming platform other than to make DirectX. (which just further secured their monopoly). Just throwing out ideas for ten minutes, I can come up with twenty things they could add to windows that would make it a ton more gaming friendly. They're not interested, and I'm tired of it. Somebody else needs to be the gaming OS.
Selling the game implies quality and marketability. People expect PC games sold in stores to work. It does say "requires a constant internet connection to play" on the box, so I guess anyone who bought it and then had a problem with their internet wouldn't be too fair to complain. (I most certainly did not buy it because I think thats ridiculous)
But where is the little box that says "your game may be unplayable sometimes when our servers go down" ? Didn't see that one. If they don't warn customers, then they won't know to expect it, and then you're ripping the customer off, not just selling him a stupid product.
No! You aren't listening! The correct solution is just not to have DRM, because it accomplishes nothing productive to the business, and to just release your games, and collect the profits from where you may.
piracy should be considered as non-issue to software business as the price of tea in china.
Its not really about when they go out of business; just look at companies today. NOBODY keeps game servers up for the entire lifetime of fans using the product. Hell, they just canned ALL xbox online functionality, and I was reading about all kinds of other games shutting down their servers, as soon as nobody's buying it anymore, its not profitable, so they shut it down and move on. If you ask em now, sure, they're gonna make it look like they'll be up for the life of the company, but thats completely unrealistic.
I wish all developers would realize that in the real world you market at your CUSTOMERS. A business is concerned with profits, not vigilantism. If a game is playable single player, it should never lose the ability to be played on the proper hardware, even a hundred years later. Requiring a connection to a business owned server is ludicrous.
Bigger Issue
on
Window Pain
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Amen to alot you said. Yeah, people are going on and on about adblock (which I use, and is great) but I still think you made some good points regardless. As the internet is growing up, we need more and more simple ways for the average browser to educate himself (where did this ad come from?) and be able to send that information to the host. Maybe today its feasible for the host to try to manage himself, but the internet is only going to get bigger and bigger.
I think this shows a more fundamental problem with browsers, (and even Operating System environments). I feel like we've been basing too much on just like, the first IE design of what a browser should look like.
I remember when tabs first came about, it was so revolutionary! It COMPLETELY changed how we browse the internet, and now every browser and their mom has tabbed browsing built in. I'd like to see more things like this.
For instance, if I've got open 15 tabs (on 3 different windows, between 2 different browsers, chrome and firefox), that should be completely managable. But then I get some pop-up that starts making LOUD noise (YOU WON AN IPOD!) and it takes me 10 minutes to go through all the tabs and figure out which page I need to block. I think there should be a built in browser equalizer. I should be able to mute and change the volume of my tabs at will; why not? Sound is becoming just as big a part of the internet as text. Not being able to change font sizes per page would be inexcusable, so why can't I change volumes?
Getting information about and control over ads is just another area where I feel browsers have alot of room to grow.
I heard about this awhile ago, and it drove me to a rage. I'm never buying another Ubisoft game ever again, period.
In case you haven't realized, lemme spell it out for you: You can never play the games offline (never on a plane, never on a laptop, never at grandma's house....). But even more ridiculous,
ON THE OFFICIAL UBISOFT FAQ:
Q: Can I sell my game?
A: No.
I am not a lawyer, but shouldn't that be illegal?
I agree entirely. As I study artificial intelligence and learning algorithms more and more, The less I can see something like a "soul" and the more I think that we're just biological machines that are too arrogant to realize how beautiful a machine feeling emotions is.
The 24 year old wont play a game just because it has "hot horny nympho sex and buckets of blood". While that is still pretty sweet, it lacks the novelty value it has for the 14 year old.
People need to wake up and realize that when a kid sees blood or sex, it doesn't instantly destroy him. 99.999% of the time, if his parents have already talked to him about everything, then he's just going to go, "blood, COOL!" or "boobies, COOL!"
meanwhile, it is the ADULTS that want more out of games than just blood and sex.
SOOO many people who have never picked up a single videogame in their life are going on and on about videogame violence ruining kids and this and that, and don't understand M rated games...
Hey guys, the average gamer is now like over 30! Go read the statistics. And leave our entertainment medium alone; it deserves the same respect as you've already given to books, tv, and film.
I dunno about you guys, but when I was in Highschool, I was also working (often going to work the minute the school bell rang), and participated in tons of extracurriculars (band, *sigh*). When I did play videogames, I'd have to save up for a long time to buy a single one. Then college came, and I started taking 19 hours a semester, mind you still working part time or other times FULL TIME to support myself through college. Plus I had even less money for videogames in college.
Now the only thing taking up my time is my job, which I actually LIKE, instead of school, which just stressed me out most of the time. Also, because I'm an adult, I've got SOOOO much more disposable income, I own every console (which was something I couldn't DREAM of as a kid) and buy games all the time.
Sorry, but my life (and that of most 20-somethings I know) is completely the opposite of what you said.
I did RTFA, and yeah, this is pretty sorry. Apparently every image software developer out there cut corners, EVERY one, and it took us this long to notice.
makes us wonder how much we're missing. Little mistakes here and there...
You didn't because the article has nothing to do with cameras and this guy was making a postulation.
This article is about, given an image, software scales it down incorrectly.
Now, I am not a photographer, but I would assume that the proper image taken by a camera ends up in a computer file exactly the way it was taken. And has nothing to do with this bug. Though, the image taken by that camera, if downsized, may have it...
Agreed, this is front page news? I heard about Project Offset easily 3 years ago, and THEN It sure seemed cool.
And no, Its not just project offset that is that old, those videos and pictures and the whole project offset website hasn't been changed at all in at least a year. Check the video dates.
So, whats the news? Somebody just heard about it for the first time?
The point is that people who are completely technologically illiterate aren't going to do very well with windows xp. Thats what I've set up tons of family members with, they can use it, but every time I go over there and look at one of their machines, I notice all sorts of obvious problems. Viruses everywhere, terribly fragmented drives, etc. etc.
Then I made them switch to OSX and Ubuntu. Yeah, it took em a couple days of complaining to learn the UI differences, but... now their machines run all day and never crash.
If you want XP, just use XP! I don't understand Windows clone distros. If you want Windows then don't switch to Linux.
They DON'T want XP though, thats the whole point. They were forced to use windows because of their monopoly on software and mindshare (where people think microsoft = = computers) and now they just don't know any better than to realize that viruses and bluescreens aren't just "part of computers", but part of windows.
Hm, I must be doing something wrong, because I went to go see what a standard information density on a HDD platter is, and It looks like 17.57 GB/inch2 and up on modern drives, which is faster than 3.68, not 1 / 39th as the article claims...
The problem actually doesn't have anything to do with happy birthday, that was just somebody's comment. They're not guilty for singing Happy Birthday, its a ridiculous copyright. People sing it in public all the time, and only a few big-budget movies have had to pay commission. It should really be in the public domain. And would be if not for the supreme court... anyways thats an argument for another day.
What we have here is lobbyists from the RIAA and the MPAA and the like pushing to have more and more control over their works, so they can sue us all and squeeze more money. Teenagers downloading music? Sue them for billions. People recording bootlegs of movies in theatres? Book em for a felony.
A felony, for recording a movie? Really? jeeze. But even if you think thats fair, the girl in question obviously wasn't trying to bootleg the movie, its very very clear she was just having a birthday party at the theater, in accordance with the theater. Then somebody saw a camera and flipped a shit for no good reason, and a girl's in jail because of stupid laws.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah thats complete bs, I wouldn't have paid for it myself.
Not my proudest moment, but not too long ago games retailers were REALLY dumb about this. They'd put all kinds of games on the shelves that were used either just loose in the original box, or if the box wasn't around, then they'd just shrink wrap the disc and the manual. I'd just go walking around with a notepad and a pen and I'd scribble down dozens of cd-keys.
I always prefer to play the Xbox version because the Windows version is almost always a crashing piece of buggy shit.
QFT
I dunno, I don't think "games for windows" has a whole lot to do with quality control. All I know is the annoying proprietary software that all games made with it FORCE you to install, even if playing single player, and then it was a hassle to get games going with a friend of mine through the service. I would expect at LEAST it to be equivalent to the xbox 360 live service, give me some tools for finding buddies, forming up parties, etc.
But really, M$ has done very very little to help its status as a gaming platform other than to make DirectX. (which just further secured their monopoly). Just throwing out ideas for ten minutes, I can come up with twenty things they could add to windows that would make it a ton more gaming friendly. They're not interested, and I'm tired of it. Somebody else needs to be the gaming OS.
Your guesses seem spot on ;)
Selling the game implies quality and marketability. People expect PC games sold in stores to work. It does say "requires a constant internet connection to play" on the box, so I guess anyone who bought it and then had a problem with their internet wouldn't be too fair to complain. (I most certainly did not buy it because I think thats ridiculous)
But where is the little box that says "your game may be unplayable sometimes when our servers go down" ? Didn't see that one. If they don't warn customers, then they won't know to expect it, and then you're ripping the customer off, not just selling him a stupid product.
No! You aren't listening! The correct solution is just not to have DRM, because it accomplishes nothing productive to the business, and to just release your games, and collect the profits from where you may.
piracy should be considered as non-issue to software business as the price of tea in china.
Its not really about when they go out of business; just look at companies today. NOBODY keeps game servers up for the entire lifetime of fans using the product. Hell, they just canned ALL xbox online functionality, and I was reading about all kinds of other games shutting down their servers, as soon as nobody's buying it anymore, its not profitable, so they shut it down and move on. If you ask em now, sure, they're gonna make it look like they'll be up for the life of the company, but thats completely unrealistic.
I wish all developers would realize that in the real world you market at your CUSTOMERS. A business is concerned with profits, not vigilantism. If a game is playable single player, it should never lose the ability to be played on the proper hardware, even a hundred years later. Requiring a connection to a business owned server is ludicrous.
Amen to alot you said. Yeah, people are going on and on about adblock (which I use, and is great) but I still think you made some good points regardless. As the internet is growing up, we need more and more simple ways for the average browser to educate himself (where did this ad come from?) and be able to send that information to the host. Maybe today its feasible for the host to try to manage himself, but the internet is only going to get bigger and bigger.
I think this shows a more fundamental problem with browsers, (and even Operating System environments). I feel like we've been basing too much on just like, the first IE design of what a browser should look like.
I remember when tabs first came about, it was so revolutionary! It COMPLETELY changed how we browse the internet, and now every browser and their mom has tabbed browsing built in. I'd like to see more things like this.
For instance, if I've got open 15 tabs (on 3 different windows, between 2 different browsers, chrome and firefox), that should be completely managable. But then I get some pop-up that starts making LOUD noise (YOU WON AN IPOD!) and it takes me 10 minutes to go through all the tabs and figure out which page I need to block. I think there should be a built in browser equalizer. I should be able to mute and change the volume of my tabs at will; why not? Sound is becoming just as big a part of the internet as text. Not being able to change font sizes per page would be inexcusable, so why can't I change volumes?
Getting information about and control over ads is just another area where I feel browsers have alot of room to grow.
I heard about this awhile ago, and it drove me to a rage. I'm never buying another Ubisoft game ever again, period.
In case you haven't realized, lemme spell it out for you: You can never play the games offline (never on a plane, never on a laptop, never at grandma's house....). But even more ridiculous,
ON THE OFFICIAL UBISOFT FAQ:
Q: Can I sell my game?
A: No.
I am not a lawyer, but shouldn't that be illegal?
I agree entirely. As I study artificial intelligence and learning algorithms more and more, The less I can see something like a "soul" and the more I think that we're just biological machines that are too arrogant to realize how beautiful a machine feeling emotions is.
DirectX is indeed Windows only, and in particular 11 is Vista and 7 only, which is ridiculous.
So not only all Macs and Linux boxes couldn't play these games, but all XP boxes too.
Sorry, I just don't see Dx11 becoming huge in browsers.
The 24 year old wont play a game just because it has "hot horny nympho sex and buckets of blood". While that is still pretty sweet, it lacks the novelty value it has for the 14 year old.
People need to wake up and realize that when a kid sees blood or sex, it doesn't instantly destroy him. 99.999% of the time, if his parents have already talked to him about everything, then he's just going to go, "blood, COOL!" or "boobies, COOL!"
meanwhile, it is the ADULTS that want more out of games than just blood and sex.
SOOO many people who have never picked up a single videogame in their life are going on and on about videogame violence ruining kids and this and that, and don't understand M rated games...
Hey guys, the average gamer is now like over 30! Go read the statistics. And leave our entertainment medium alone; it deserves the same respect as you've already given to books, tv, and film.
I dunno about you guys, but when I was in Highschool, I was also working (often going to work the minute the school bell rang), and participated in tons of extracurriculars (band, *sigh*). When I did play videogames, I'd have to save up for a long time to buy a single one. Then college came, and I started taking 19 hours a semester, mind you still working part time or other times FULL TIME to support myself through college. Plus I had even less money for videogames in college.
Now the only thing taking up my time is my job, which I actually LIKE, instead of school, which just stressed me out most of the time. Also, because I'm an adult, I've got SOOOO much more disposable income, I own every console (which was something I couldn't DREAM of as a kid) and buy games all the time.
Sorry, but my life (and that of most 20-somethings I know) is completely the opposite of what you said.
And all the bugs they have instead! :D
I did RTFA, and yeah, this is pretty sorry. Apparently every image software developer out there cut corners, EVERY one, and it took us this long to notice.
makes us wonder how much we're missing. Little mistakes here and there...
You didn't because the article has nothing to do with cameras and this guy was making a postulation.
This article is about, given an image, software scales it down incorrectly. Now, I am not a photographer, but I would assume that the proper image taken by a camera ends up in a computer file exactly the way it was taken. And has nothing to do with this bug. Though, the image taken by that camera, if downsized, may have it...
Agreed, this is front page news? I heard about Project Offset easily 3 years ago, and THEN It sure seemed cool.
And no, Its not just project offset that is that old, those videos and pictures and the whole project offset website hasn't been changed at all in at least a year. Check the video dates.
So, whats the news? Somebody just heard about it for the first time?
If you want XP, just use XP! I don't understand Windows clone distros. If you want Windows then don't switch to Linux.
They DON'T want XP though, thats the whole point. They were forced to use windows because of their monopoly on software and mindshare (where people think microsoft = = computers) and now they just don't know any better than to realize that viruses and bluescreens aren't just "part of computers", but part of windows.
Ah, I see. Guess I need to RTFA instead of skim.
Though, this suddenly seems a whole lot less important now though.
Hm, I must be doing something wrong, because I went to go see what a standard information density on a HDD platter is, and It looks like 17.57 GB/inch2 and up on modern drives, which is faster than 3.68, not 1 / 39th as the article claims...
So in other words, 3.6875 GB/ inch^2 We have units for this stuff guys, dunno why we suddenly went back to "billion bits"
Last rave I went to (6 months ago?) I ran into a woman who had to be at least 40 if not 50, but she fit right in. Pretty cool actually.
Cheats Enabled
The problem actually doesn't have anything to do with happy birthday, that was just somebody's comment. They're not guilty for singing Happy Birthday, its a ridiculous copyright. People sing it in public all the time, and only a few big-budget movies have had to pay commission. It should really be in the public domain. And would be if not for the supreme court... anyways thats an argument for another day.
What we have here is lobbyists from the RIAA and the MPAA and the like pushing to have more and more control over their works, so they can sue us all and squeeze more money. Teenagers downloading music? Sue them for billions. People recording bootlegs of movies in theatres? Book em for a felony.
A felony, for recording a movie? Really? jeeze. But even if you think thats fair, the girl in question obviously wasn't trying to bootleg the movie, its very very clear she was just having a birthday party at the theater, in accordance with the theater. Then somebody saw a camera and flipped a shit for no good reason, and a girl's in jail because of stupid laws.