Okay, while this is a really interesting story, I think your confusing something that is really bothering me that people do a lot - Make up your mind, South America or South Africa?
I tried to like Mars Attacks, to keep an open mind for the bizarre comedy. Still, I watched it, and I just didn't find most of it funny (yes, the dove shooting was fun, ditto the "we are your friends" thing, but most of the movie was just, well, stupid. The only thing I liked was a chance to see all these really annoying characters get killed.
Idunno, I'm not sure I'll be rushing out to see this one. I mean, what really bothers me is how its coming out so in time with Lord of the Rings. It really worries me that this movie, an action flick at best, will spoil fantasy for a lot of people. Tolkein is very different from dungeons and dragons.
Actually, I looked into it a while back. Robotech II: The Sentinels looked pretty cool how it was panning out. They had both the old cast as older captain-types, and new characters to be heroic and all. The new mecha were cool, the Zentradi were on the good guys (with revamped battle pods), and there were tons of freaky aliens. That, and the Invid make much better bad guys then the Zentradi. That, and I like how they mixed the mecha from all 3 series into the fleet (Hovertanks from Southern Cross, Cyclones & Alphas from Invid, and a new SDF, battle pods, and destroids). And its got Praxians. Yesssss, Praxians. Amazon space-babes riding mechanical horses, what more do you want?
Yes, the OAV sucked, but they really didn't get the plot underway. I mean, it was a wedding and a ship disembarking, wtf would you expect from the first 4 episodes of what was planned to be a very long series.
Bitmap Brothers made it. Its kinda old, one of the last commercial dos games, but there's a new full 3d sequel in the works. Its an RTS where there's no building construction, only flags you capture to take over all the buildings within the sector. Each building makes units, defences, or works as radar or repair. Each sector you have also boosts the speed of your individuation construction buildings. The game is all one non-stop rush, as you have to try and conquer territory quickly or you'll fall behind your opponent in unit construction.
There's a reason for that - they're stupid puzzle games. I'm so annoyed that they're sticking to such boring games for this concept. While I agree that the overgraphicked monstrous racing games of today's arcades would be a bad move, this isn't too good either. I mean, all they offer are a ton of variations on solitare and mindlesssweeper. They connect ot the internet, but most aren't even multiplayer. Its idiotic. While I realize they are looking for simple games that wont maul the newbies, that doesn't mean they have to be so boring.
Simple games I'd like to see on one of these
1) cybersled (really easy to learn but intricate)
2) Z (really fast and easy RTS game)
3) scorched Earth (this is great over coffee, I've tried)
4) Liero (always a classic)
5) some sort Space War remake.
6) Ballistix (wierd psygnosis pinball/sport hybrid thing)
7) Ballblazer - the original (1 on 1 soccer with hover vehicles)
8) Cannons and Catapults (old BBS game that would be great for multiplayer)
9) Rampart
You're probably noticing that I list old mainly old games. This is cause new ones are waaaaay to0 complicated for newbie gamers. Do you remember the first time you played Quake with a mouse? Not much fun. I mean, think of all our big hits right now - the Sims, UT, StarCraft, HomeWorld, Diablo, etc. About the only one I'd wanna really get into in the first game, without prior experience in the genre, is Diablo. There are very few recent games that are really easy to play. 3d is part of the problem, as 3d makes steering more complicated. The most complex 3d game I'd put in one of these would be a really oversimplified flight/space sim, like Line Wars, or VR Slingshot, or Pyrotechnica. Thats why Cybersled is on the list - its a simple game, but the 2-joystick system is dead easy to pick up, and there's just two buttons to worry about. Z would be nice because it has none of the traditional learning problems of an RTS game - its got no buildings to build, no rescources to manage. Its just one non-stop rush.
I think the main things to consider when planning one of these games is
A) is it easy enough to play decently first time?
B) is the match short enough that a person wont play for hours on 1 payment? (Total Annihlation games are hours long, so that's not happening). These things have to make money. A game shouldn't last more then 5-10 minutes. That's why Z is the only RTS I'd consider.
C) is it casual? You don't really want to play Q2, with all its gore and splattering and gunshots, in a coffee shop. That's why I think Scorched Earth would be a good move for that.
Of course, I'm being unrealistic anyways. I know that, if they're trying to pander to the average joe, the only non-puzzle games that'll sell will be the sports games.
Oh right... wait no, silicon isn't the conductor... there must be something else in electronics... oh yeah, metal. Metals can be exhausted, although it would take an incredible shortage to make us unablle to provide the teeny amounts its required for electronics. One thing worth considering is that biological solutions might be more environmentally friendly then traditional systems, as chemicals like hydrofluoric acid are used in electronics production.
Conversely, organic solutions might be less environmentally friendly, like the plastics or oil industries, who both deal in organic compounds.
Movie releases.... movies are released in theatres at different times, sometimes on video one place and theatre elsewhere. Case in point - the Mononoke Hime DVD.... they were going to release the English version here, with no Japanese, because if they made it japanese audio as well then in Japan they could use multi-region players to get the DVD before it was released in Japan. So now we have to wait for Mononoke, 'cause we want the dual-language DVD that they won't put out till they're ready to release in Japan. Its all about control.
Oh well, looks like its back to DeCSS for me. Or sticking to good old-fashioned VHS.... or ignoring this stupid culture and sticking to video games anyways.
Reminds me of a Dilbert comic - I'm screwing up the details.
Wally: "If you cancel my project, the earth's rotation will speed up and all the people will be spun of the Earth."
Dilbert: "If you cut my funding, there will be a plague of locusts 'oer the land."
Budget: "Perfect, the rotation will get rid of the locusts"
The only prediction on that list I might believe is the $1000 windows, which I figure would be a good thing (the value of my copy will go through the roof, M$ os division will die, and ppl will start using sensible os's).
Well, look at Quake... its got everything opensource, and the only real cheats that are tough to stop are the aimbots, and an aimbot in a flightsim wouldn't work too well (Quake aimbots work because quake has no limit on how fast you rotate)... you just have to be careful how you code the server side end - if another player is flying an F15, he can't hover, the server knows that, its that simple.
Personally, I want the physics to be editable.... imagine the mods possible - Independance day - real jetfighters against alien UFOs (which I doubt handle like realistic planes). Or alien environments - Lets fly two SR-71's through Neptune. Hackable physics are fun, the problem is that most flight games either a) focus on realism and make it overcomplicated, or b) make it arcade style and throw out the physics completely, like in Terminal Velocity (hello, gravity?). An opensource flightsim would let some really inventive mods come out (as happens with the Quake games). If you dissallow physics tinkering, all you get is more of the same, hundreds of fighters and planes, but no real variety.
Well, unlike space, your tub is not a totally frictionless surface. If your tub was made of helium II and your bathtub was in a complete vacuum, then it just might go on for ever. The suds in the tub lose angular velocity because the friction of the air and ground slows them down. We have no such mediums in space.
I quite agree.... I mean, the only time where I think such measures are okay is for the protection of the accused (to prevent a man from being lynched for something they're not sure that he did yet) which I doubt was the case here.
Umm, you do realise that obesety, is, sometimes, a genetic disease and not a result of poor personal dieting, right? And some heart-conditions are born with right? So what crime did these people commit that means they should pay more for their treatment? Smoking is one thing, its totally avoidable. Insurance companies don't generally care about avoidability though (I'm male, so even though I've never had an accident, I have to pay higher car-insurance premiums then my hypothetical female counterpart, 'cause most guys are worse drivers, apparently). I think you should have to pay for someone elses hereditary heart problems, because you didn't commit any heroic act that made you healthy and him ill. You could just as easily be that person, by noones fault.
Of course, its a completely different story when we talk about smoking, drinking, and other various forms of gradual suicide.
Heheh, what about crappy little vb programs? According to M$, they're considered applications.... so lets see then... each person in my highschool OAC class took 3 semesters of programming, 2 of which were vb. There were about 24 people in that class. Each semester there were about 6 units, with about 5 programs for each, plus 2 major assignments. So, thats 2+6* 5 = 32 * 2 semesters of VB * 24 ppl = roughly 768 programs per school year. We've been doing this about 2.5 years, so we get 1920 VB shitware applications from one school in Hamilton, Ontario. This is, of course, you count a bunch of cash registers, roman numeral converters, personal calenders, chat programs, and bitblt mini-games as applications (I'm sure Microsoft does). Never underestimate the sheer volume of crap that exists out there.
No, they get excited over our live action movies and pop-stars like we get excited over the cartoons. Frankly, I think we get the better end of the trade. The highest grossing movie in Japan was Titanic, and they can keep it thankyou (followed closely by Mononoke Hime, which is beautiful). Most US cartoons are pretty weak, last time I checked. I can't think of any US cartoons other than Batman Beyond that are currently in production that I like (powerpuff girls aint bad, but its no prize).
Okay, how about Chile? The elected socialist government was overthrown by the military with American backing. What they got afterwards was an oppressive military government, all because the new socialists were hurting the American corporate interests. Now I'm not saying the Americans shouldn't have taken action to protect their interests, but these actions are not to include funding and equipping an armed coup against a democratically elected government.
And how about Cuba - sure, not much for freedom, but they've got a better medical system then you americans, and the poor aren't dying in the streets. Yes, they don't have much in the way of cars, computers, or condominiums, but everyone is cared for. Of course, its not perfect. Castro's got a history of oppressing homosexuals, and most people aren't allowed to leave Cuba (some of this makes sense though - you got a free education and health care plan, you're obliged to pay the government back with your productive citizenship). Its got its problems, but its not purgatory.
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Okay, while this is a really interesting story, I think your confusing something that is really bothering me that people do a lot - Make up your mind, South America or South Africa?
I tried to like Mars Attacks, to keep an open mind for the bizarre comedy. Still, I watched it, and I just didn't find most of it funny (yes, the dove shooting was fun, ditto the "we are your friends" thing, but most of the movie was just, well, stupid. The only thing I liked was a chance to see all these really annoying characters get killed.
Idunno, I'm not sure I'll be rushing out to see this one. I mean, what really bothers me is how its coming out so in time with Lord of the Rings. It really worries me that this movie, an action flick at best, will spoil fantasy for a lot of people. Tolkein is very different from dungeons and dragons.
I believe it was Dragon magazine that said, and I quote:
"Do not trifle with dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Yes, I know its a Tolkein spoof.
Fine, you worried about dealing with people with swords in church, then bring your own sword.
Its damn hard to get a gun here in Canada, and we're all quite happy to keep it that way.
Actually, I looked into it a while back. Robotech II: The Sentinels looked pretty cool how it was panning out. They had both the old cast as older captain-types, and new characters to be heroic and all. The new mecha were cool, the Zentradi were on the good guys (with revamped battle pods), and there were tons of freaky aliens. That, and the Invid make much better bad guys then the Zentradi. That, and I like how they mixed the mecha from all 3 series into the fleet (Hovertanks from Southern Cross, Cyclones & Alphas from Invid, and a new SDF, battle pods, and destroids). And its got Praxians. Yesssss, Praxians. Amazon space-babes riding mechanical horses, what more do you want?
Yes, the OAV sucked, but they really didn't get the plot underway. I mean, it was a wedding and a ship disembarking, wtf would you expect from the first 4 episodes of what was planned to be a very long series.
Bitmap Brothers made it. Its kinda old, one of the last commercial dos games, but there's a new full 3d sequel in the works. Its an RTS where there's no building construction, only flags you capture to take over all the buildings within the sector. Each building makes units, defences, or works as radar or repair. Each sector you have also boosts the speed of your individuation construction buildings. The game is all one non-stop rush, as you have to try and conquer territory quickly or you'll fall behind your opponent in unit construction.
Don't get your hopes up yet, all they're offering is silly puzzle games. Yay solitare.
nt
There's a reason for that - they're stupid puzzle games. I'm so annoyed that they're sticking to such boring games for this concept. While I agree that the overgraphicked monstrous racing games of today's arcades would be a bad move, this isn't too good either. I mean, all they offer are a ton of variations on solitare and mindlesssweeper. They connect ot the internet, but most aren't even multiplayer. Its idiotic. While I realize they are looking for simple games that wont maul the newbies, that doesn't mean they have to be so boring. Simple games I'd like to see on one of these 1) cybersled (really easy to learn but intricate) 2) Z (really fast and easy RTS game) 3) scorched Earth (this is great over coffee, I've tried) 4) Liero (always a classic) 5) some sort Space War remake. 6) Ballistix (wierd psygnosis pinball/sport hybrid thing) 7) Ballblazer - the original (1 on 1 soccer with hover vehicles) 8) Cannons and Catapults (old BBS game that would be great for multiplayer) 9) Rampart You're probably noticing that I list old mainly old games. This is cause new ones are waaaaay to0 complicated for newbie gamers. Do you remember the first time you played Quake with a mouse? Not much fun. I mean, think of all our big hits right now - the Sims, UT, StarCraft, HomeWorld, Diablo, etc. About the only one I'd wanna really get into in the first game, without prior experience in the genre, is Diablo. There are very few recent games that are really easy to play. 3d is part of the problem, as 3d makes steering more complicated. The most complex 3d game I'd put in one of these would be a really oversimplified flight/space sim, like Line Wars, or VR Slingshot, or Pyrotechnica. Thats why Cybersled is on the list - its a simple game, but the 2-joystick system is dead easy to pick up, and there's just two buttons to worry about. Z would be nice because it has none of the traditional learning problems of an RTS game - its got no buildings to build, no rescources to manage. Its just one non-stop rush. I think the main things to consider when planning one of these games is A) is it easy enough to play decently first time? B) is the match short enough that a person wont play for hours on 1 payment? (Total Annihlation games are hours long, so that's not happening). These things have to make money. A game shouldn't last more then 5-10 minutes. That's why Z is the only RTS I'd consider. C) is it casual? You don't really want to play Q2, with all its gore and splattering and gunshots, in a coffee shop. That's why I think Scorched Earth would be a good move for that. Of course, I'm being unrealistic anyways. I know that, if they're trying to pander to the average joe, the only non-puzzle games that'll sell will be the sports games.
Only .com domains. There are plenty of .org and .net domains availble in only 3 letters.
Oh right... wait no, silicon isn't the conductor... there must be something else in electronics... oh yeah, metal. Metals can be exhausted, although it would take an incredible shortage to make us unablle to provide the teeny amounts its required for electronics. One thing worth considering is that biological solutions might be more environmentally friendly then traditional systems, as chemicals like hydrofluoric acid are used in electronics production.
Conversely, organic solutions might be less environmentally friendly, like the plastics or oil industries, who both deal in organic compounds.
Movie releases.... movies are released in theatres at different times, sometimes on video one place and theatre elsewhere. Case in point - the Mononoke Hime DVD.... they were going to release the English version here, with no Japanese, because if they made it japanese audio as well then in Japan they could use multi-region players to get the DVD before it was released in Japan. So now we have to wait for Mononoke, 'cause we want the dual-language DVD that they won't put out till they're ready to release in Japan. Its all about control.
Oh well, looks like its back to DeCSS for me. Or sticking to good old-fashioned VHS.... or ignoring this stupid culture and sticking to video games anyways.
Reminds me of a Dilbert comic - I'm screwing up the details.
Wally: "If you cancel my project, the earth's rotation will speed up and all the people will be spun of the Earth."
Dilbert: "If you cut my funding, there will be a plague of locusts 'oer the land."
Budget: "Perfect, the rotation will get rid of the locusts"
The only prediction on that list I might believe is the $1000 windows, which I figure would be a good thing (the value of my copy will go through the roof, M$ os division will die, and ppl will start using sensible os's).
Well, you could use Odigo for ICQ listings, but its a pretty shitty client too.
Well, look at Quake... its got everything opensource, and the only real cheats that are tough to stop are the aimbots, and an aimbot in a flightsim wouldn't work too well (Quake aimbots work because quake has no limit on how fast you rotate)... you just have to be careful how you code the server side end - if another player is flying an F15, he can't hover, the server knows that, its that simple. Personally, I want the physics to be editable.... imagine the mods possible - Independance day - real jetfighters against alien UFOs (which I doubt handle like realistic planes). Or alien environments - Lets fly two SR-71's through Neptune. Hackable physics are fun, the problem is that most flight games either a) focus on realism and make it overcomplicated, or b) make it arcade style and throw out the physics completely, like in Terminal Velocity (hello, gravity?). An opensource flightsim would let some really inventive mods come out (as happens with the Quake games). If you dissallow physics tinkering, all you get is more of the same, hundreds of fighters and planes, but no real variety.
Well, unlike space, your tub is not a totally frictionless surface. If your tub was made of helium II and your bathtub was in a complete vacuum, then it just might go on for ever. The suds in the tub lose angular velocity because the friction of the air and ground slows them down. We have no such mediums in space.
It really would be a tragedy if M$ screwed up Halo just because they needed to use their impotent os.
I quite agree.... I mean, the only time where I think such measures are okay is for the protection of the accused (to prevent a man from being lynched for something they're not sure that he did yet) which I doubt was the case here.
In that case, he seems to like circa 100-200 million years ago. His last gag was those wierd giant bird-lizard bones from around that time.
Umm, you do realise that obesety, is, sometimes, a genetic disease and not a result of poor personal dieting, right? And some heart-conditions are born with right? So what crime did these people commit that means they should pay more for their treatment? Smoking is one thing, its totally avoidable. Insurance companies don't generally care about avoidability though (I'm male, so even though I've never had an accident, I have to pay higher car-insurance premiums then my hypothetical female counterpart, 'cause most guys are worse drivers, apparently). I think you should have to pay for someone elses hereditary heart problems, because you didn't commit any heroic act that made you healthy and him ill. You could just as easily be that person, by noones fault.
Of course, its a completely different story when we talk about smoking, drinking, and other various forms of gradual suicide.
Heheh, what about crappy little vb programs? According to M$, they're considered applications.... so lets see then... each person in my highschool OAC class took 3 semesters of programming, 2 of which were vb. There were about 24 people in that class. Each semester there were about 6 units, with about 5 programs for each, plus 2 major assignments. So, thats 2+6* 5 = 32 * 2 semesters of VB * 24 ppl = roughly 768 programs per school year. We've been doing this about 2.5 years, so we get 1920 VB shitware applications from one school in Hamilton, Ontario. This is, of course, you count a bunch of cash registers, roman numeral converters, personal calenders, chat programs, and bitblt mini-games as applications (I'm sure Microsoft does). Never underestimate the sheer volume of crap that exists out there.
No, they get excited over our live action movies and pop-stars like we get excited over the cartoons. Frankly, I think we get the better end of the trade. The highest grossing movie in Japan was Titanic, and they can keep it thankyou (followed closely by Mononoke Hime, which is beautiful). Most US cartoons are pretty weak, last time I checked. I can't think of any US cartoons other than Batman Beyond that are currently in production that I like (powerpuff girls aint bad, but its no prize).
Okay, how about Chile? The elected socialist government was overthrown by the military with American backing. What they got afterwards was an oppressive military government, all because the new socialists were hurting the American corporate interests. Now I'm not saying the Americans shouldn't have taken action to protect their interests, but these actions are not to include funding and equipping an armed coup against a democratically elected government.
And how about Cuba - sure, not much for freedom, but they've got a better medical system then you americans, and the poor aren't dying in the streets. Yes, they don't have much in the way of cars, computers, or condominiums, but everyone is cared for. Of course, its not perfect. Castro's got a history of oppressing homosexuals, and most people aren't allowed to leave Cuba (some of this makes sense though - you got a free education and health care plan, you're obliged to pay the government back with your productive citizenship). Its got its problems, but its not purgatory.