Halo isn't dethroning Half-life. Half-life was only "the king" because it was so popular. It was never the best.
If you want the best, try checking out the Marathon series. Yeah, the graphics are kind of dated by now- but the story still holds up as the best there ever was in a video game. By the way, the guys who made Marathon are (in fact) the same guys who made Halo. The two will probably even be intertwined a bit, if you know what to look for. Halo probably won't dethrone Half-life as the most popular game out there- but that isn't what it was designed to do. It's just supposed to be a good game.
-Elendale (We'll see soon enough if it succeeds in what it was set out to do...)
Sorry, try flaming when you have actual knowledge
on
First Review of Halo
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· Score: 1
Bungie has said themselves that Ringworld was a big influence on the game design. As in, the guys who wrote the story have all read Ringworld. They've read The Song Of Roland too, and Greek mythology- it's in there as well, all over the damn place as a matter of fact. But since the world is ring-shaped it's just a cheap ringworld theft by hacks? Get a clue. Play Marathon. Notice the allusions in Marathon. Notice how many of them there are. Durandal? Isn't that like a sword? Cortana is a sword too! Both of them are also AIs in Bungie's games. Wow! It's really too much for my little mind to handle! *shudder, curl up in corner*
Jeezus... why do i even read this damn site anymore?
Bungie has a very edged style, but that doesn't mean their engine can't handle curves. I haven't noticed a lack of curves at all, though i suppose i could be wrong.
He's only REALLY beaten it if he's done it at the highest difficulty levels:)
If you feel like a challenge, try vidmastery... I remember back when i tried to do the whole game of M2. That was back when there were a few levels that were thought to be nearly impossible to vidmaster;)
Half-life is far more advanced in terms of technology and graphics.
But as far as story goes, i don't think a single video game has beaten out the Marathon series. And believe me, i've played plenty! Plus, Half-life was pretty bland as far as gameplay went. There were some pretty tense moments, and some very sweet scenes- but overall it just didn't have that same "Ohmygodohmygodiamgonnadie!!!" feel that playing Marathon did. In the end, Half-life just wasn't as fun to play.
On my current machine (a WinME laptop) i can type slightly faster than the word processor. On the other hand, when i stop to think the word processor catches up...
The reason your brain can't handle >72 FPS is quite likely the fact that your monitor can't handle >72 FPS. On the other hand, smooth movement is around 80-90 Hz (where you really can't tell a difference anymore) but monitors cut out there as well.
As far as the 'ideal' FPS for quake 3, 125 constant is what you want. By setting Cl_Maxfps 125 (or some other variable very much like it... i forget the exact one) you can obtain this, as long as your system will be cranking out framerate equal to or higher than 125 FPS. The reason you want this is that the physics in Quake 3 are changed by the framerate (believe it or not) and 125 yields the most advantageous physics. One of the reasons the q3 'pros' can do many jumps that most people can't is because they ensure they're running at 125 FPS at all times (often by turning the graphical intensity way down) and thus always at that peak. Any frames greater than what your monitor can spit out (usually around 90) just get dropped, but they do matter for the physics.
And as far as your system, dual Athlon1800 could probably run Q3 at 1024X768 maxed everything in software mode:) (Note: Not an indication of actual performance!) My Athlon 900/GeForce2 GTS/256MB ram system runs with most settings (except a few wierd ones like R_Subdivisions) maxed out at around 90-115 solidly (really around 90-150 depending on the action and map).
For a 2d game (well, semi 3d) it eats power worse than Quake 3 does. For instance, on my 700 mhz Celeron laptop i can't break 20 FPS- though admittedly, it has a very poor video card. Even on my home machine (256 mb ram, 900 Athlon, GF2GTS vid card) it can be choppy in some places.
Of course, at 800X600 mode it just sucks power down like an SUV does gas. I can't believe how much it takes to run at that resolution. Even 1280X1024 Q3 with most of the settings turned up isn't that bad.
1) "Serious" gamers who spend the money on high-end video cards typically are running through quake at such a highspeed that they could give a crap about the image quality or artifacts that are in the images. They are looking for movement and listening for sound and most often have memorized the levels to the point that they could move backwards and blindfolded through them. And while the 15% difference at 50-58fps IS NOT negligible the 15% difference at 204-215 IS NEGLIGIBLE since the human brain in tests so far only seems to be able to perceive at the very high end of the scale, 90fps.
I've seen a few of the pictures of the "optimized" q3 and "unoptimized" q3 on the same video card and thought they were pretty obviously different qualities. The optimized was quite a bit blurrier than unoptimized- which may or may not make a difference to the really heavy duty gamers, depending on how they aim.
Part of the reason we only see differences up to around 90 FPS (standard is around 70-80) is because most monitors don't ever run at greater than 90 Hz. You are correct in that there's not much advantage to getting 230 FPS over 200, but there is an advantage to getting 125 FPS in quake 3. Quake 3 has a physics engine that changes depending on the framerate (I thought we gave this stuff up years ago...) and 125 FPS is the most advantageous amount to be at. That's one reason why most hardcore gamers play with most settings turned down: to squeeze the few extra FPS out- the other being to be able to see easier. Being a semi-pro (i hate the "pro" community, and as such stay out of tournaments and whatnot- though you might see me running around on servers every once in a while) i have to agree that many would gladly take a visual hit to get a few more FPS, especially if they can't hit the 125 mark. Still, these "optimizations" are just cheating- and not everyone is "pro" level, some people like pretty graphics. Hell, Doom3 is basically going to sell on its graphical quality alone:)
What's the world coming to when nVidia is held up as a standard of virtue in the graphics world? These guys are the right-hand men of Evil, with a capital E. Still, this is a Very Bad Thing- not just because Q3 is the standard benchmark. Why?
First, ATI is sacrificing image quality for speed. I would also like to point out that 15% is NOT (N O T, NOT, otherwise known as a standard negative response, also spelled "Get a fucking clue") negligable. If you think there is no difference between 50 and 58 FPS then please get a clue. Both in optics and the coding of Quake 3.
This is a very specific enhancement of certain function geared specifically towards what is perhaps the single most widely used and trusted benchmark in the history of video cards: Quake. ATI is specifically targetting a benchmark standard for increased speed (at the cost of image quality even!) with the (presumed) intent of misleading customers about their performance. They're trying to lie to their customers, which is (in the rest of the world) Very Bad. This is what the parent asserted, but i felt it should be asserted a second time.
First off, for me: 'hardcore' gaming is fun. I can't just play a game without looking at how i could play it better. It's in my blood.
Second, people wouldn't whine as much about it if Carmack&Co. hadn't promoted the game as a 'hardcore deathmatch' game. Obviously the people who spend several months just learning how to do a single trick jump correctly (side note: Q3 trickjumps might become a part of the xgames) are going to be very few indeed. Quake 3 simply does not allow enough skill to be a valuable tournament-level game, though it is better than Counterstrike in that regard. Counterstrike is the T-ball of FPSs, though it is fun for 90% of the gamers out there. If you want a game that actually takes skill to play, however, look to the CPM mod for q3 or Quakeworld.
Gee... that sounds 1984-like...
Yeah, it's getting old to say it... but hot damn... you'd think people would start, you know, checking against that book at least...
Human face recognition with computers could be theoretically used to track your movements throughout the country. Letting whoever controls them know exactly where you were, and when. Think: Telescreens, but without the need for humans behind them. That's the danger in face recognition technologies. It isn't impossible to overcome, but it must be watched.
Yeah, i think the subject says it all... The web was pretty darn slow... on the other hand, sites like/. will have useful discussion- sites like CNN will only have TV-like coverage
So the next step is that someone should create an open 'COM' like interface and supply some basic software tools. Open Source can take care of the rest. I suspect it would start out like Mozilla (if this comes around) and end up with a fairly good Office-alike program; maybe you could even write an Office interface to it. Of course, if you're 'COM'-alike sucks... well... don't even bother.
If the summary is any indication, this bill is unsalvagable. It looks as though whoever drafted it is used to playing the politics game: introduce something so ungodly and insane that no one in their right mind would pass it, then offer to 'cut out' some of the bad parts and get that passed- despite the fact the end bill would have been quietly killed if it was presented in that manner.
In short: kill it now.
Don't remind me. I'm already trying to re-adjust myself to the college network. First off, they'll only deliver email to Outlook (i don't know HOW they did it, but they managed to... i suspect its something on the notebooks (the machines they distributed) that won't let any non-outlook programs touch the email server) and yet, at the same time, mention that bringing an email virus into the school (yes, even by accident) is an expellable offense. Yikes! Talk about making you sweat whenever you click on an email. Next, and probably worse (i don't distribute my real email to anyone but people who i know aren't likely to send me virii) is that all the bulk email comes from a single email adress in the school. What this means is that any dumbass on campus who wants to send worthless email to you can do so and you can't block this email because the valuable (read: required reading) email comes through this same adress.
Furthermore, these people don't seem to understand how to be polite. When you send me an email (especially if it is something i HAVE to read) you don't make it light purple and 36 font. Hell, if i were colorblind i wouldn't have been able to read it without copying it into a txt file (remember, Office will probably keep the damn text formatting- well, that or mangle the text to unreadability). And this is the stuff from the school. The bulk mailer is not a dating service. The bulk mailer is not a way to set up parties with your friends. The bulk mailer is not a way to send announcements about your anime. The bulk mailer is not to be used to talk about cable TV. Yet, when i woke up this morning i found all these things in my inbox. If this gets much worse, i'll probably end up banning the bulk mailer and then giving the administration the finger when i miss something required.
Asus is usually pretty good, they've had some stability issues and (more recently) huge PR blunders within the gaming community. They were releasing drivers for their GeForce variety of video cards that let unscrupulous players see through walls, lighten/darken scenes, and do a bunch of other things that really destroys enjoyment in a multiplayer gaming scenario- all completely at a driver level, without fear of reprisal. No, i can't really recommend them as a company (Two notes: this isn't the first time they've tried to do something like this, both times the backlash has hurt them badly enough they pulled everything, secondly my current system runs an A7V mobo (Asus) and works quite nicely).
An alternative might be Abit, but i'm not really into the hardware hacking community: better to check what guys on some of the really esoteric hardware sites say first:)
I just know someone, somewhere wants to say this:
"But when i install Windows i don't need to muck around for a week, this is just the sort of thing i'm talking about!"
Welcome to monopoly land. Keep in mind that Mandrake is a change, not necessarily a change for the better or worse- a different system. People going from *nix to Windws have the same problem.
Slashdot Mirror
-Elendale
If you want the best, try checking out the Marathon series. Yeah, the graphics are kind of dated by now- but the story still holds up as the best there ever was in a video game. By the way, the guys who made Marathon are (in fact) the same guys who made Halo. The two will probably even be intertwined a bit, if you know what to look for. Halo probably won't dethrone Half-life as the most popular game out there- but that isn't what it was designed to do. It's just supposed to be a good game.
-Elendale (We'll see soon enough if it succeeds in what it was set out to do...)
Jeezus... why do i even read this damn site anymore?
-Elendale
-Elendale
If you feel like a challenge, try vidmastery... I remember back when i tried to do the whole game of M2. That was back when there were a few levels that were thought to be nearly impossible to vidmaster
-Elendale
But as far as story goes, i don't think a single video game has beaten out the Marathon series. And believe me, i've played plenty! Plus, Half-life was pretty bland as far as gameplay went. There were some pretty tense moments, and some very sweet scenes- but overall it just didn't have that same "Ohmygodohmygodiamgonnadie!!!" feel that playing Marathon did. In the end, Half-life just wasn't as fun to play.
-Elendale
-Elendale
As far as the 'ideal' FPS for quake 3, 125 constant is what you want. By setting Cl_Maxfps 125 (or some other variable very much like it... i forget the exact one) you can obtain this, as long as your system will be cranking out framerate equal to or higher than 125 FPS. The reason you want this is that the physics in Quake 3 are changed by the framerate (believe it or not) and 125 yields the most advantageous physics. One of the reasons the q3 'pros' can do many jumps that most people can't is because they ensure they're running at 125 FPS at all times (often by turning the graphical intensity way down) and thus always at that peak. Any frames greater than what your monitor can spit out (usually around 90) just get dropped, but they do matter for the physics.
And as far as your system, dual Athlon1800 could probably run Q3 at 1024X768 maxed everything in software mode :) (Note: Not an indication of actual performance!) My Athlon 900/GeForce2 GTS/256MB ram system runs with most settings (except a few wierd ones like R_Subdivisions) maxed out at around 90-115 solidly (really around 90-150 depending on the action and map).
-Elendale
Of course, at 800X600 mode it just sucks power down like an SUV does gas. I can't believe how much it takes to run at that resolution. Even 1280X1024 Q3 with most of the settings turned up isn't that bad.
-Elendale
I've seen a few of the pictures of the "optimized" q3 and "unoptimized" q3 on the same video card and thought they were pretty obviously different qualities. The optimized was quite a bit blurrier than unoptimized- which may or may not make a difference to the really heavy duty gamers, depending on how they aim.
Part of the reason we only see differences up to around 90 FPS (standard is around 70-80) is because most monitors don't ever run at greater than 90 Hz. You are correct in that there's not much advantage to getting 230 FPS over 200, but there is an advantage to getting 125 FPS in quake 3. Quake 3 has a physics engine that changes depending on the framerate (I thought we gave this stuff up years ago...) and 125 FPS is the most advantageous amount to be at. That's one reason why most hardcore gamers play with most settings turned down: to squeeze the few extra FPS out- the other being to be able to see easier. Being a semi-pro (i hate the "pro" community, and as such stay out of tournaments and whatnot- though you might see me running around on servers every once in a while) i have to agree that many would gladly take a visual hit to get a few more FPS, especially if they can't hit the 125 mark. Still, these "optimizations" are just cheating- and not everyone is "pro" level, some people like pretty graphics. Hell, Doom3 is basically going to sell on its graphical quality alone :)
-Elendale
-Elendale
Seriously, that was crazy stuff.
-Elendale
I think that Dmitry guy is still being held...
Yeah, this one gets the "most uninformed /. of the year" award.
-Elendale
Second, people wouldn't whine as much about it if Carmack&Co. hadn't promoted the game as a 'hardcore deathmatch' game. Obviously the people who spend several months just learning how to do a single trick jump correctly (side note: Q3 trickjumps might become a part of the xgames) are going to be very few indeed. Quake 3 simply does not allow enough skill to be a valuable tournament-level game, though it is better than Counterstrike in that regard. Counterstrike is the T-ball of FPSs, though it is fun for 90% of the gamers out there. If you want a game that actually takes skill to play, however, look to the CPM mod for q3 or Quakeworld.
-Elendale
Yeah, it's getting old to say it... but hot damn... you'd think people would start, you know, checking against that book at least...
-Elendale
That's the danger in face recognition technologies. It isn't impossible to overcome, but it must be watched.
-Elendale
The web was pretty darn slow... on the other hand, sites like
-Elendale
-Elendale
In short: kill it now.
-Elendale
Furthermore, these people don't seem to understand how to be polite. When you send me an email (especially if it is something i HAVE to read) you don't make it light purple and 36 font. Hell, if i were colorblind i wouldn't have been able to read it without copying it into a txt file (remember, Office will probably keep the damn text formatting- well, that or mangle the text to unreadability). And this is the stuff from the school. The bulk mailer is not a dating service. The bulk mailer is not a way to set up parties with your friends. The bulk mailer is not a way to send announcements about your anime. The bulk mailer is not to be used to talk about cable TV. Yet, when i woke up this morning i found all these things in my inbox. If this gets much worse, i'll probably end up banning the bulk mailer and then giving the administration the finger when i miss something required.
-Elendale
-Elendale
An alternative might be Abit, but i'm not really into the hardware hacking community: better to check what guys on some of the really esoteric hardware sites say first :)
-Elendale
"But when i install Windows i don't need to muck around for a week, this is just the sort of thing i'm talking about!"
Welcome to monopoly land. Keep in mind that Mandrake is a change, not necessarily a change for the better or worse- a different system. People going from *nix to Windws have the same problem.
-Elendale
-Elendale
Real geeks don't need to debug.
-Elendale