My problem with Indigo Prophecy was that, while I expected the game to immerse me into an intriguing mystery-thriller plotline (which it did for the first half), I did not expect it to suddenly devolve into a silly SciFi Channel circus about space aliens and Mayan Kung-Fu ghost people. I was totally engrossed and throroughly impressed with Indigo Prophecy, and then quite abruptly my 'wow's became 'WTF's.
I hope Heavy Rain doesn't make the same mistake.
I'm an ex-air traffic controller, and I can tell you that we prefer such systems to be as accurate as possible. "Inherant sloppiness" in autopilot systems only offers an unpredictable margin that we'd rather do without, especially in urgent/emergent air traffic situations.
The best medicine is a pair of competent pilots who PAY ATTENTION TO THE RADIO and comply with control instructions.
Um. ALL black holes suck in light. Light that cannot escape a black hole's intense gravitational forces will not be visible, making the black hole's area of effect appear, well, black. Hence the name.
That's what this one sounds like. I read about it a while ago in an article I'm ashamed to say I can't locate at the moment.
Basically, (stop me if I'm all mixed up here) the theory is that a runaway chain reaction (wholly different from that of the common supernova) begins from within the star, causing it to collapse much faster and well before its predicted life expecatancy. The result is also a much more powerful super/hypernova that is also much brighter. It is believed that such a reaction can occur in any star, regardless of its age (including our sun), and astronomists have identified at least one star located relatively close to our solar system that is in particular danger of undergoing a pair-imbalance hypernova. It is believed that if this were to occur, the explosion would appear brighter than the moon, and may even have kinetic effects on our planetary system.
The only way you can solve this problem is to train harder than they do. I spend roughly 85% of my play-time in SFIV in unranked Player Matches; that's where you're gonna run into some real pros. Play against them repeatedly, and you'll soon become skilled enough to contend.
Remember, it's the defeats--not the victories--that make you stronger.;)
A similar ranking system is now utilized in Street Fighter IV's online matches. Battle Points are earned for each victory you attain, but the amount of points awarded is relative to the points you already have vs. the points your defeated opponent has. So if you have 2000 Battle Points, and you crush a n00b with only 172 points, you are rewarded with maybe 2 or 3 BP (which the loser forfeits in turn). On the other hand, if you were to lose against that same n00b, you'd probably get 120 points slashed from your stock (which the winner gains in turn).
The result is a ranking system that fairly accurately ranks you among other players who share your level of skill. A fine example of PvP balancing....It also results in widespread disdain for the ranking system, due to the high risk of losing a lot of hard-earned points that accompanies each match. Guess you can't please everyone.
"Be prepared for life."
It's foolish to place all your trust in any one system, because it won't last forever (least of all this technological house of cards we're living in). Mind you, I've always been rather biased on this subject, believing people in general have become a bit too complacent about the comfortable lives they lead in this modern age. So, the Cosmic Katrina happens, and we all get sent back to the proverbial Stone Age.
Dark outside? Light a fire. Hungry? Learn to hunt/gather/cultivate crops (not as hard as it seems). Got somewhere to go? Start walking. Need to send a message? Send a courier, or go there yourself. Men with guns trying to take your stuff? Learn to shoot/fight better than them. Injured? A military field survival guide will help with that.
The point is, if you're at least somewhat prepared for a disaster or other adverse contingency, the idea of it actually happening becomes less dreadful, and your odds of surviving it increase dramatically.
The idea is sound, but very difficult to properly implement. You'd think with all the benefits, healthcare providors would be clamoring to make the switch (some already have), but there are a lot of hidden problems associated with digital records.
I'm a healthcare technician in the USAF, where the DoD has already implemented a system called AHLTA. When a patient presents for a doctor's visit, all the screening, labs, tests, orders, prescriptions, and physician's notes are entered into the system, where they can be referred to easily for future visits. No need to store thousands of paper records, or train records techs to pull them and locate the appropriate exams.
Problems we experience: Privacy. It's difficult to ascertain just what records which type of doctor should be seeing, so right now we basically have a system where any variety of doctor or technician can see any variety of a particular patient's records (except Mental Health and STD visits, which are accessible only by password by default). This situation makes some patients rather uncomfortable.
Data load. That's a lot of records. And it requires a lot of trained technicians to keep track of it. And it requires frequent audits to ensure the information is current, and has not been illegally accessed. And the system has to communicate and exchange information with several other (often outdated) systems.
Server outages. When we have one, the clinic is virtually paralyzed. We can't refer to the patient's paper record for reliable case history, because the system was implemented five years ago. There won't be any recent records to refer to.
Good Old Boys. The transition has been difficult chiefly because, let's face it: doctors just don't wanna have to go to all the trouble of learning a whole new computer system. It's easier for them to scribble some notes on a sheet of paper, and stick it away in a paper record and be done with it.
There are clear advantages, but it just seems like we're not quite far enough along to handle such a system for just DoD personnel, let alone every single man, woman, and child in the US. A five-year plan is just not feasible from where I'm standing.
At some point, certain things might happen, or might not happen, as prescribed but unpublished circumstances deem necessary, occasionally, without prior notice, from time to time, at the sole discretion of Telus; and by using things, or reading stuff, or taking an unspecified action, you inherently agree to these terms. The point is, you're locked in by some sort of contractual agreement, or something. Whatever. Pay us your money.
The human factor can never be replaced in warfare. While using drones and programmed systems does reduce casualties and the likelihood of human error, it also fundamentally reduces the chances of success. There is no computer on earth that can obtain, process, and act creatively upon the maelstrom of information typical to airborne warfare quite as well as the mind of a trained American pilot.
The USAF's roots have always been in advanced technology (starting with balloons in the early 20th Century and onward to today's newest toys), so it's expected that they'd handle the frontier of cyber warfare.
Also, cracking the SIPRNET takes a hell of a lot more effort than simply switching around an ethernet cable. There are many layers of security in place--both digital and physical--which would require many hours and a rather conspicuous pile of gear to penetrate.
These guys created "Alien Hominid". They started out by making a full, polished Flash game, and because of it's roaring popularity, they were approached by industry developers to port it to the PS2 and Gamecube.
Your best bet is to rely on your own skills. Don't know how to program a full game? Teach yourself. Use free tutorials and resources. Publish on free websites like Newgrounds. Save as much overhead as possible. It'll take time, but like anything else, dedication is the key.
Like they say in the film industry, "If you wanna get into the movie business, start making movies." The same is true for games.
Slashdot Mirror
My problem with Indigo Prophecy was that, while I expected the game to immerse me into an intriguing mystery-thriller plotline (which it did for the first half), I did not expect it to suddenly devolve into a silly SciFi Channel circus about space aliens and Mayan Kung-Fu ghost people. I was totally engrossed and throroughly impressed with Indigo Prophecy, and then quite abruptly my 'wow's became 'WTF's. I hope Heavy Rain doesn't make the same mistake.
I know some cats like that.
...and there's no way his brain power calls for 147,456 processors.
I'm an ex-air traffic controller, and I can tell you that we prefer such systems to be as accurate as possible. "Inherant sloppiness" in autopilot systems only offers an unpredictable margin that we'd rather do without, especially in urgent/emergent air traffic situations. The best medicine is a pair of competent pilots who PAY ATTENTION TO THE RADIO and comply with control instructions.
Dart likes his Humble Pie with plenty of Failsauce on top.
...for security vulnerabilities?
Um. ALL black holes suck in light. Light that cannot escape a black hole's intense gravitational forces will not be visible, making the black hole's area of effect appear, well, black. Hence the name.
That's what this one sounds like. I read about it a while ago in an article I'm ashamed to say I can't locate at the moment. Basically, (stop me if I'm all mixed up here) the theory is that a runaway chain reaction (wholly different from that of the common supernova) begins from within the star, causing it to collapse much faster and well before its predicted life expecatancy. The result is also a much more powerful super/hypernova that is also much brighter. It is believed that such a reaction can occur in any star, regardless of its age (including our sun), and astronomists have identified at least one star located relatively close to our solar system that is in particular danger of undergoing a pair-imbalance hypernova. It is believed that if this were to occur, the explosion would appear brighter than the moon, and may even have kinetic effects on our planetary system.
The only way you can solve this problem is to train harder than they do. I spend roughly 85% of my play-time in SFIV in unranked Player Matches; that's where you're gonna run into some real pros. Play against them repeatedly, and you'll soon become skilled enough to contend.
Remember, it's the defeats--not the victories--that make you stronger. ;)
A similar ranking system is now utilized in Street Fighter IV's online matches. Battle Points are earned for each victory you attain, but the amount of points awarded is relative to the points you already have vs. the points your defeated opponent has. So if you have 2000 Battle Points, and you crush a n00b with only 172 points, you are rewarded with maybe 2 or 3 BP (which the loser forfeits in turn). On the other hand, if you were to lose against that same n00b, you'd probably get 120 points slashed from your stock (which the winner gains in turn).
The result is a ranking system that fairly accurately ranks you among other players who share your level of skill. A fine example of PvP balancing. ...It also results in widespread disdain for the ranking system, due to the high risk of losing a lot of hard-earned points that accompanies each match. Guess you can't please everyone.
"Be prepared for life." It's foolish to place all your trust in any one system, because it won't last forever (least of all this technological house of cards we're living in). Mind you, I've always been rather biased on this subject, believing people in general have become a bit too complacent about the comfortable lives they lead in this modern age. So, the Cosmic Katrina happens, and we all get sent back to the proverbial Stone Age. Dark outside? Light a fire. Hungry? Learn to hunt/gather/cultivate crops (not as hard as it seems). Got somewhere to go? Start walking. Need to send a message? Send a courier, or go there yourself. Men with guns trying to take your stuff? Learn to shoot/fight better than them. Injured? A military field survival guide will help with that. The point is, if you're at least somewhat prepared for a disaster or other adverse contingency, the idea of it actually happening becomes less dreadful, and your odds of surviving it increase dramatically.
The idea is sound, but very difficult to properly implement. You'd think with all the benefits, healthcare providors would be clamoring to make the switch (some already have), but there are a lot of hidden problems associated with digital records.
I'm a healthcare technician in the USAF, where the DoD has already implemented a system called AHLTA. When a patient presents for a doctor's visit, all the screening, labs, tests, orders, prescriptions, and physician's notes are entered into the system, where they can be referred to easily for future visits. No need to store thousands of paper records, or train records techs to pull them and locate the appropriate exams.
Problems we experience: Privacy. It's difficult to ascertain just what records which type of doctor should be seeing, so right now we basically have a system where any variety of doctor or technician can see any variety of a particular patient's records (except Mental Health and STD visits, which are accessible only by password by default). This situation makes some patients rather uncomfortable.
Data load. That's a lot of records. And it requires a lot of trained technicians to keep track of it. And it requires frequent audits to ensure the information is current, and has not been illegally accessed. And the system has to communicate and exchange information with several other (often outdated) systems.
Server outages. When we have one, the clinic is virtually paralyzed. We can't refer to the patient's paper record for reliable case history, because the system was implemented five years ago. There won't be any recent records to refer to.
Good Old Boys. The transition has been difficult chiefly because, let's face it: doctors just don't wanna have to go to all the trouble of learning a whole new computer system. It's easier for them to scribble some notes on a sheet of paper, and stick it away in a paper record and be done with it.
There are clear advantages, but it just seems like we're not quite far enough along to handle such a system for just DoD personnel, let alone every single man, woman, and child in the US. A five-year plan is just not feasible from where I'm standing.
At some point, certain things might happen, or might not happen, as prescribed but unpublished circumstances deem necessary, occasionally, without prior notice, from time to time, at the sole discretion of Telus; and by using things, or reading stuff, or taking an unspecified action, you inherently agree to these terms. The point is, you're locked in by some sort of contractual agreement, or something. Whatever. Pay us your money.
The human factor can never be replaced in warfare. While using drones and programmed systems does reduce casualties and the likelihood of human error, it also fundamentally reduces the chances of success. There is no computer on earth that can obtain, process, and act creatively upon the maelstrom of information typical to airborne warfare quite as well as the mind of a trained American pilot. The USAF's roots have always been in advanced technology (starting with balloons in the early 20th Century and onward to today's newest toys), so it's expected that they'd handle the frontier of cyber warfare. Also, cracking the SIPRNET takes a hell of a lot more effort than simply switching around an ethernet cable. There are many layers of security in place--both digital and physical--which would require many hours and a rather conspicuous pile of gear to penetrate.
These guys created "Alien Hominid". They started out by making a full, polished Flash game, and because of it's roaring popularity, they were approached by industry developers to port it to the PS2 and Gamecube.
Your best bet is to rely on your own skills. Don't know how to program a full game? Teach yourself. Use free tutorials and resources. Publish on free websites like Newgrounds. Save as much overhead as possible. It'll take time, but like anything else, dedication is the key.
Like they say in the film industry, "If you wanna get into the movie business, start making movies." The same is true for games.