They WILL hamstring themselves. Even with the overall apathetic appearance of a large portion of the United States, if they attempt to kill off the secondary or used game market they will, in effect, be killing the console game market. The only people who can afford to throw $60+ at a game every time they turn around does not constitute the overall gaming market. I would be willing to bet that those people with large enough bank accounts to buy games AT WILL amounts to less than 10% of the overall gaming market. The VAST majority of the gaming market depends on being able to play a game and then turn it in to lessen the cost of the next game, specially when you can run through the majority of the games on the market in under, what? -- 20 hours per game?
Their need for control and their greed will be their undoing. A lot of people say that voting with your dollars doesn't work. I say that it will work when at least 50% of the market rises up against the corporate overlords who are producing this crap. Who want us, the gamers, to continually pay them for the privilege of using their game - not owning OUR game. As these rumors become fact, I hope that each of you who despises this will begin educating those fellow gamers who may not be following the information. Educate them that the cool thing to do is not to buy that uber new shiny, but to reject the new paradigm that the corporations want to foist upon all of us. Actually vote with your dollars this time and not just pay it lip service. All it takes is enough of us protesting in forums, in direct mails to the companies, in e-mails to the companies, and DO NOT BUY ANY NEW CONSOLES. Make it plain and clear, without resorting to cursing and ranting, that you nor anyone in your family or circle of friends will be purchasing any gaming console that removes the rights of the people* to First Sale Doctrine or the ability to trade it in so you can afford to purchase another new game.
Make them understand they will pay for their hubris by us, the gamers, simply saying "No."
* Do NOT, under any circumstance, call yourself a consumer. We should always remind them that even if we act as a group, we are individuals who are much more than just a consumer.
Please see subject, because you know it's true. As soon as people realize they can't trade-in games, everything is tied to one PSN account, and games still cost $60+ this game console will fly... right back to Japan.
Same thing with XBOX - if it comes locked down and games tied to a single account and no used game sales then it will be a very expensive paperweight. A dead albatross weighting them down.
Time for a new game company to step up and create something open or,rather, more open than the "next gen" consoles appear to be.
I, for one, will be following the (hopefully) masses of gamers who shun any and all games that require a constant online connection to play - even if you want to play the "single player" version. Furthermore, I will be writing each game company (as in real paper and a stamp) explaining to them why I am no longer purchasing any of their products. I will not be using any vitriol or hate-filled speech because I want to get my point across, not just lash out. I will, of course, follow-up my paper letter with an e-mail to multiple departments or persons within that company (sales, marketing, the president/ceo, and so on) - NOT spamming the letter, but making sure it gets to key personnel or is seen by them.
Since this is not my letter to those companies and people, I do have one thing I'd like to say:
I'd be willing to bet my last dollar that Blackboard getting adopted by schools can be summed up in one word - kickbacks.
Greed is good. Unless you actually want to educate your students, then it funnels money needed for local projects to big companies who are complete shit.
For one thing, it's not child pornography. The law may perhaps interpret it as such, especially if it ends up being treated as such by the person caught on camera / their legal guardians, but naked people walking in front of a camera does not necessarily pornography make.
I fully agree with you. I went down the road that it seems our governing bodies* want to take to make a point. I personally don't believe that an image of a nude person is, per se, pornography. Nor do I believe it is immoral or illegal or prurient by most measures. SOMEONE will take it that way, but I am not one of those people.
I also agree that people are way too jumpy about things like this. Ready, fire, aim response. Once again, our governing bodies* are usually the ones to take that tact if not "concerned citizens" that, ultimately, should have been more concerned with what goes on at their house than everyone else house. Someone accidentally walking by a camera that this company is analyzing should be way down on the list of concerns about this program. Number one should be the realization that if you're willing to give up your liberty (privacy in your own home) for what amounts to nothing to this company, then why should you be concerned with letting in the authorities? Other than that pesky Constitution, of course.
*our governing bodies in this case means those in the United States of America, just for clarification.
Pardon me for being crude but - what are these nutjobs thinking? All it takes is someone in the household going "Sure, we'll do that!" and then little 15 year old Suzie walks by the camera on the way from her bathroom to her bedroom and *boom!* the company behind this has just analyzed child porn. Congrats!
I cover up or disconnect all cameras in my home that might be turned on remotely for one simple reason -- it is my private home. Period. The end.
I was going to moderate, but decided to post instead.
I want to see "No Child Left Behind" repealed/revoked/removed NOW. That massive, steaming pile of feel-good horse shit is one of the final nails in what used to be a good education system. As a reference, I am in my 40s. I remember when, based on your individual testing and academic excellence, you were placed in one of three "tracks" - Track 1 for children that excelled and didn't need a lot of hand holding but instead needed to be challenged, Track 2 for those who fell in the middle of the pack for whatever reason and maybe needed a little extra hand holding or more reinforcement of the subject being learned, and Track 3 for those who needed more individual teaching/hand holding and a lot more reinforcement of the subject matter (some of those who landed in here were those we now know were autistic or had dyslexia or other issues that can now be better managed which allows them greater success). For the most part, parents didn't bitch because their child was in Track 3 schooling - they understood that the SCHOOL SYSTEM had been following their child's achievements and abilities over the years to determine which teaching method best suited them and could, hopefully, help them to the attain the next track. I also remember that schools were not afraid to fail children who _should not have passed that grade_!!! For the love of all that is holy (or unholy as your case may be), can we not simply pass on troubled learners to a higher grade just so that they won't feel bad about themselves?
Ooh, ooh, I know! How about the PARENT'S actually take some responsibility and gain some understanding of the situation before just pitching a bitch and screaming at a teacher who has done their best to teach their child? How about school counselors assist the parents of these children in talking with them about why they are not getting passed to the next grade with their friends and together help try to pinpoint the problems that child is having with school? Despite the jokes about Picard's insistence on discussing everything in ST:TNG, dialogue works in this case. It can help get to the crux of the issue and help that child excel. Let's not stop there, either. If the child who isn't passing to the next grade has 10 really close friends, they and THEIR parents should be brought into the school counselor so that they can be helped to understand that it is NOT ok to pick on their friend because he did not pass and - if it is cleared with the parents of the child not passing to the next grade - explain to that child's friends why he is being held in the current grade. EXPLAIN it to them as if they were adults, help them to understand as well. If they are really his friends, they will understand and help defend him in case someone else decides to take potshots and bully him.
There does need to be new metrics to grade teachers on, and we do need to pay our teachers an assload more than they are making now for those teachers who a) "make the grade" and b) really do want to teach and make a difference in children's lives. Teachers should be our sports stars and rock gods, since they (should) actually make a difference.
I live in one of the cities mentioned. Actually, I live in the county and here is my take:
*** Fuck him with a large rubber duck Girl-with-a-Dragon-Tattoo style. ***
Until the city implemented a broadband plan with cable TV, we had ONE choice for cable TV and virtually NO high speed internet especially in the county (Bellsouth/AT&T DSL is a massive joke to anyone who lived in the county and so was high speed internet connections). Suddenly, when the city decided "We want to attract more business to the area and also supply all of our schools with high speed internet services..." then WHOA! the local cable company went into overdrive. They started expanding their high speed internet services much faster and pushed them out into the county. They offered better bundle rates AND dropped their cost for cable TV alone. The move by the city _incentivized_ the local cable MONOPOLY to get off their ass and start offering the services to both city and county that they had been promising for a while and to bring their price down to a more competitive level.
THIS. This shit right here is what _creates_ people who pirate software. Not because it is "free", but because it is FREE OF RESTRICTIONS on what I can do with the software that I (would have) legally paid for and own.
Hey, Ubisoft employees! Start thanking your bosses now for the loss of your jobs, especially those in the PC gaming section. I have a business idea for you: Start a new gaming company with the best and brightest among you and put out your games for the PC market WITHOUT DRM of any kind. Skip the major distributor route (no EA, no Ubisoft, no Company X). Put it on Steam. Put it out at a good price (_not_ $59.99 US). Put in GOOD game play with replayability. We will fill your coffers with gold and jewels.
Those that ultimately pirate your title? Well, fuck em because they were never going to pay for it anyway. They aren't a lost sale, they are just lost.
Based on a lot of the different articles I have read today from Forbes, NY Times, Escapist Magazine and so on it seems that this version may be going with a GURPS philosophy -- Here is your basic game. You have more than enough information to design characters and play the game. But then...
Oh, you want to play a more miniatures based, combat-oriented style of play? Here is the miniatures rule book/module and here is the epic combat rule book/module and off you go.
Oh, you want to mix magic and psionics in one campaign world you are creating? Well, here is a book for world designing and the rule book/module for psionics.
Oh, you want to play such and such... and so on, and so forth.
I believe they want one basic ruleset so that you can then go with how your play group usually games - from those who are diehard first edition players to those who choose a more MMO style of play. From the role-players who want a much wider creative range to play within to those who say "I want to bash shit in the head" and have to do little creative input into designing your character, I believe Wizards wants to give them the option. All from a single starting point.
I am going to be cautiously optimistic and do both "wait and see" and get my play group into helping test so we can give our feedback. Just some quick background - my play group has played under 1st ed, 2nd ed, 3rd ed, and 3.5 and we are currently running an extended player-designed world and campaign under 2nd edition rules (with house rules/modifications as Gygax intended:-p).
Isn't it amazing that by actually doing THE RIGHT THING and accepting responsibility, they gain more press than if they had just said "The bloggers did it." and washed their hands of the situation.
Maybe they, and other companies, can actually learn from this? You know, a) try not to fuck up in the first place and b) when you do, take responsibility and FIX IT.
No, no, you CAN give Paypal access to a bank account. Just make sure it is one you setup for Paypal only. Cost is minimal as most banks still have a no-fee or small fee bank account that you don't have to keep a large balance in. Just deposit 6 months worth of bank fees in the account and make sure you sweep all money from eBay, Paypal, etc. off the Paypal only account and into your REAL bank account on a daily/weekly basis.
That way, Paypal can eat a dick if they decide to hijack that bank account. Just close it down and start a new one. If the bank asks what the hell is going on, explain to them that if Paypal was regulated like a bank is then you would not have to use multiple accounts to keep Paypal from trying to screw you over. I dislike the big corp mentality as much as anyone, but if enough banks complain about Paypal then maybe something will get done.
(Some quick background - I beta tested and played SWG until the NGE nerf. I beta tested and played World of Warcraft up until about 18 months ago. I have also played multiple other MMOs including DDO, Ultima, Tabula Rasa, A Tale in the Desert, and so on.)
It actually IS this awesome new MMO experience, and please stop WoW fanboying by playing down the impact of the fully voiced universe and the fact Bioware has done what Blizzard did - borrowed from the best of in other MMOs and refined it. As dward90 says above, if you're skipping the voiced scenes then you're missing the point.
It is definitely NOT WoW with lightsabers - I don't see any orcs, goblins, or pandas running around. Oh? You mean it PLAYS like Word of Warcraft somewhat? Yes, it does. In as much as World of Warcraft played like Star Wars Galaxies, and Ultima Online, and Asheron's Call, and the other MMOs that came before it.
I have been in multiple betas of SWTOR and I have been playing since December 13th of early access. I can tell you now, this game has longevity and inventiveness on its side. It is fresh and new and compelling in ways that other MMOs "walls-o-text" quest/missions are not. It engages you in both your class storyline and in the world at large. It doesn't have the sandbox open worlds of an MMO like Galaxies or an RPG like The Elder Scrolls series, but there are hints that Bioware may be moving that direction as the game grows. The game is great visually and gameplay is engrossing. The mission/gather system is an amazing combination of previous MMOs like Eve and WoW. The crafting system is fairly solid, interesting, useful and will come into its own as more players inhabit the universe and expand the player economy.
As for the so-called "end game" that hard core players and game sites seem to want to focus on, well, that will be a while in coming for casual gamers like myself (although my main character is level 22 at this time). Those hard core players with no life and a caffeine drip in their veins can probably give you a review in another 5 days or less:-p My hope is that Bioware ignores their outcries when they consume the game inside of 14 days and start looking for something else. Your revenue stream is NOT the hard core players, it is the casual gamers who will play for years on end.
FUCK THEM. They are raking in fat stacks of cash every year off of their supposedly well-honed machine, they should be responsible for policing their own content. It is not the responsibility of the government of the United States or any other country to police the Internet looking for content violations. Most governments have put in place laws and regulations that allow the "owner" of the content to be able to work within that system and get rid of infringing copies - AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. Not at the expense of the taxpayers.
Fuck you if you expect me and 250+ million other taxpayers help you sue for damages when we don't see a dime of that unless we are a luxury car dealer or real estate agent (or a lawyer). Not to mention that the net effect on the United States of corporatism laws like the DMCA and extended copyright periods is that we, as a nation, are less and less LEADING the way into new science and technology frontiers and more and more about holding the status quo or LOSING ground to other nations who don't exactly give a shit about the laws of the United States.
Seriously? 33% of the search market? It has to be new users or new computers causing this. The same old Microsoft story of cramming as much cross-marketing on their OS as they can -- Internet Explorer being the prime example.
I know a good many non-tech users and except for those who are just too apathetic or lazy to change settings that come pre-loaded on their new desktops/laptops (you know, the "sheep" among the herd), I do not know of anyone who uses Bing to search. I still know people who use Yahoo (which, yeah, uses MS engine) but otherwise it is overwhelmingly Google. Every time I tried to it, the results were much worse or had things missing than Google. Crap in a pretty package is still crap.
..is because those not normally in politics are surrounded by people who wish to maintain the "status quo" and are fearful of change. Regardless of how amazing an idea is, regardless of how well it would work, those that are in power are afraid to lose it and stymie what could be real progress from an out-of-the-box thinker.
Even with the smaller guilds syndrome, I still got tired of all the drama 30 and 40-man guilds could create. Seeing as I was the guild leader, that made it even worse. So many fucking massive egos to try and placate or squash that I finally said "Screw you guys, I'm going home." I changed the officers of the guild around to who I thought was best to run it, left myself as leader (intending to go back and turn it over), and then logged out. I haven't been back in almost two years now.
And I really do not miss it. Amazing, I know. Level-capped multiple characters, profitable professions, cash on hand, decent 10-man core of players that did get along, and a lot of others I enjoyed talking to. Still don't miss it but, of course, all of those friends who formed the core left as well within a short span of time -- if they had not left before.
Now I play some DDO and an old-school MUD and am looking forward to Star Wars: The Old Republic. With a very small, friends and family only guild. Fuck being the largest or first to do X crap. I want to have fun with friends and socialize while killing those scum in the Republic.
I should have posted this much earlier, but how about sending out some CONGRATULATIONS! to the Humble crew for proving again that, by putting together a bundle of good games (with good game play), one can not only make a damn decent amount of money but can also do it without encumbering the user with DRM or other restrictions. For that reason alone, I'd buy the bundle every time.
How about LucasArts getting off their ass and bringing us an updated X-Wing, Tie Fighter, or X-Wing vs Tie Fighter?? Damn those games were fun. Plenty of new ships in the Star Wars Universe that we can blow shit up with '-)
...all over again. Except the CU affected game play and this is just highway robbery on the new digital highway. Hmm, let me explain. No, it would take too long, let me sum up -- based on the posts here from current EVE players about the background of what is happening, this whole event has the _feel_ of the SWG community after the CU and is moving towards the feel of the NGE implosion.
Sucks for long-term players, regardless of your game of choice. I had three accounts on Star Wars Galaxies at the height of my playing. A LOT of the people I gamed with did. We all, to the last person, left by the time of NGE. Maybe CCP will get its shit together and stop trying to use EVE to beta-test for their other games. Or at least stop trying to get you to pay for their R&D through EVE, other than a subscription.
...have already been given to the telecom companies to expand broadband to under-served areas. I want to know where that money has gone - because it didn't go into expanding and improving broadband.
I have a wild suggestion and I actually don't believe I am suggesting this, as I dislike interference by the government in general, but... make all telephone and cable transmission lines national infrastructure. Virtually all of the current infrastructure built by the Bells and cable companies runs on or under what is the "right of way" governed by either local, state, or federal authority. Without them being able to run their infrastructure on or under this property they would not have a business - and, yes, the USA would be in the stone age. The idea is still valid - turn all the infrastructure of the telecom and cable companies into a common pool from which ANYONE can dip - small telecoms, large telecoms, competing cable companies, multiple ISPs, etc, etc. Open it up to true competition because every company would pay the exact same amount for each connection to the national backbone. The differences would be customer service,l quality of service, and number of offerings.
Make each company pay $X.00 per connection for maintenance and upgrades and a base fee of $Y.00 for each connection. Also make it a stipulation that NO company can loss lead a connection or charge only what the connection cost. Limited specials to entice new customers can be allowed, but no charging only the connection cost over a long span of time (for instance, limit specials to 6 or 9 months maximum). This would remove significant barriers to entry and actually bring competition to the market. Disband all of the cable monopolies. Decimate the telecom strongholds. Make companies compete on a common ground and let's see who wins the hearts, minds, and wallets of the American broadband market.
Of course, it would need to be legislated that this national infrastructure would be completely OPEN and not running through NSA headquarters or the like. No snooping, sniffing, or tracing without judicial oversight. You know, that whole pesky 4th Amendment thing.
Maybe I should have been clearer - I understand what is going on with this case. I know eBay wants to get into the Craigslist model of doing business.
What I am saying is that this is a perfect opportunity to break some of eBay's monopoly on the online auction market -- IF they are proven to have stolen trade secrets from Craigslist, then why should they not suffer? If an individual steals trade secrets, and is proven guilty, then they are dealt with harshly. Just because eBay is a company does not - and should not - preclude them from being dealt with harshly; harsh enough to make them stutter-step in the core business market and provide an opening for a competitor.
Slashdot Mirror
They WILL hamstring themselves. Even with the overall apathetic appearance of a large portion of the United States, if they attempt to kill off the secondary or used game market they will, in effect, be killing the console game market. The only people who can afford to throw $60+ at a game every time they turn around does not constitute the overall gaming market. I would be willing to bet that those people with large enough bank accounts to buy games AT WILL amounts to less than 10% of the overall gaming market. The VAST majority of the gaming market depends on being able to play a game and then turn it in to lessen the cost of the next game, specially when you can run through the majority of the games on the market in under, what? -- 20 hours per game?
Their need for control and their greed will be their undoing. A lot of people say that voting with your dollars doesn't work. I say that it will work when at least 50% of the market rises up against the corporate overlords who are producing this crap. Who want us, the gamers, to continually pay them for the privilege of using their game - not owning OUR game. As these rumors become fact, I hope that each of you who despises this will begin educating those fellow gamers who may not be following the information. Educate them that the cool thing to do is not to buy that uber new shiny, but to reject the new paradigm that the corporations want to foist upon all of us. Actually vote with your dollars this time and not just pay it lip service. All it takes is enough of us protesting in forums, in direct mails to the companies, in e-mails to the companies, and DO NOT BUY ANY NEW CONSOLES. Make it plain and clear, without resorting to cursing and ranting, that you nor anyone in your family or circle of friends will be purchasing any gaming console that removes the rights of the people* to First Sale Doctrine or the ability to trade it in so you can afford to purchase another new game.
Make them understand they will pay for their hubris by us, the gamers, simply saying "No."
* Do NOT, under any circumstance, call yourself a consumer. We should always remind them that even if we act as a group, we are individuals who are much more than just a consumer.
Please see subject, because you know it's true. As soon as people realize they can't trade-in games, everything is tied to one PSN account, and games still cost $60+ this game console will fly ... right back to Japan.
Same thing with XBOX - if it comes locked down and games tied to a single account and no used game sales then it will be a very expensive paperweight. A dead albatross weighting them down.
Time for a new game company to step up and create something open or ,rather, more open than the "next gen" consoles appear to be.
I, for one, will be following the (hopefully) masses of gamers who shun any and all games that require a constant online connection to play - even if you want to play the "single player" version. Furthermore, I will be writing each game company (as in real paper and a stamp) explaining to them why I am no longer purchasing any of their products. I will not be using any vitriol or hate-filled speech because I want to get my point across, not just lash out. I will, of course, follow-up my paper letter with an e-mail to multiple departments or persons within that company (sales, marketing, the president/ceo, and so on) - NOT spamming the letter, but making sure it gets to key personnel or is seen by them.
Since this is not my letter to those companies and people, I do have one thing I'd like to say:
FUCK THEM IN THEIR MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLES!
Thank you.
I'd be willing to bet my last dollar that Blackboard getting adopted by schools can be summed up in one word - kickbacks.
Greed is good. Unless you actually want to educate your students, then it funnels money needed for local projects to big companies who are complete shit.
"Some voices got treble, some voices got bass
We've got the kind of voices that are in your face!"
-- Beastie Boys
See? Not out of use at all... Oh, wait, we're talking about treble/triple though aren't we?
For one thing, it's not child pornography. The law may perhaps interpret it as such, especially if it ends up being treated as such by the person caught on camera / their legal guardians, but naked people walking in front of a camera does not necessarily pornography make.
I fully agree with you. I went down the road that it seems our governing bodies* want to take to make a point. I personally don't believe that an image of a nude person is, per se, pornography. Nor do I believe it is immoral or illegal or prurient by most measures. SOMEONE will take it that way, but I am not one of those people.
I also agree that people are way too jumpy about things like this. Ready, fire, aim response. Once again, our governing bodies* are usually the ones to take that tact if not "concerned citizens" that, ultimately, should have been more concerned with what goes on at their house than everyone else house. Someone accidentally walking by a camera that this company is analyzing should be way down on the list of concerns about this program. Number one should be the realization that if you're willing to give up your liberty (privacy in your own home) for what amounts to nothing to this company, then why should you be concerned with letting in the authorities? Other than that pesky Constitution, of course.
*our governing bodies in this case means those in the United States of America, just for clarification.
Fuck you. No.
Pardon me for being crude but - what are these nutjobs thinking? All it takes is someone in the household going "Sure, we'll do that!" and then little 15 year old Suzie walks by the camera on the way from her bathroom to her bedroom and *boom!* the company behind this has just analyzed child porn. Congrats!
I cover up or disconnect all cameras in my home that might be turned on remotely for one simple reason -- it is my private home. Period. The end.
I was going to moderate, but decided to post instead.
I want to see "No Child Left Behind" repealed/revoked/removed NOW. That massive, steaming pile of feel-good horse shit is one of the final nails in what used to be a good education system. As a reference, I am in my 40s. I remember when, based on your individual testing and academic excellence, you were placed in one of three "tracks" - Track 1 for children that excelled and didn't need a lot of hand holding but instead needed to be challenged, Track 2 for those who fell in the middle of the pack for whatever reason and maybe needed a little extra hand holding or more reinforcement of the subject being learned, and Track 3 for those who needed more individual teaching/hand holding and a lot more reinforcement of the subject matter (some of those who landed in here were those we now know were autistic or had dyslexia or other issues that can now be better managed which allows them greater success). For the most part, parents didn't bitch because their child was in Track 3 schooling - they understood that the SCHOOL SYSTEM had been following their child's achievements and abilities over the years to determine which teaching method best suited them and could, hopefully, help them to the attain the next track. I also remember that schools were not afraid to fail children who _should not have passed that grade_!!! For the love of all that is holy (or unholy as your case may be), can we not simply pass on troubled learners to a higher grade just so that they won't feel bad about themselves?
Ooh, ooh, I know! How about the PARENT'S actually take some responsibility and gain some understanding of the situation before just pitching a bitch and screaming at a teacher who has done their best to teach their child? How about school counselors assist the parents of these children in talking with them about why they are not getting passed to the next grade with their friends and together help try to pinpoint the problems that child is having with school? Despite the jokes about Picard's insistence on discussing everything in ST:TNG, dialogue works in this case. It can help get to the crux of the issue and help that child excel. Let's not stop there, either. If the child who isn't passing to the next grade has 10 really close friends, they and THEIR parents should be brought into the school counselor so that they can be helped to understand that it is NOT ok to pick on their friend because he did not pass and - if it is cleared with the parents of the child not passing to the next grade - explain to that child's friends why he is being held in the current grade. EXPLAIN it to them as if they were adults, help them to understand as well. If they are really his friends, they will understand and help defend him in case someone else decides to take potshots and bully him.
There does need to be new metrics to grade teachers on, and we do need to pay our teachers an assload more than they are making now for those teachers who a) "make the grade" and b) really do want to teach and make a difference in children's lives. Teachers should be our sports stars and rock gods, since they (should) actually make a difference.
I live in one of the cities mentioned. Actually, I live in the county and here is my take:
*** Fuck him with a large rubber duck Girl-with-a-Dragon-Tattoo style. ***
Until the city implemented a broadband plan with cable TV, we had ONE choice for cable TV and virtually NO high speed internet especially in the county (Bellsouth/AT&T DSL is a massive joke to anyone who lived in the county and so was high speed internet connections). Suddenly, when the city decided "We want to attract more business to the area and also supply all of our schools with high speed internet services..." then WHOA! the local cable company went into overdrive. They started expanding their high speed internet services much faster and pushed them out into the county. They offered better bundle rates AND dropped their cost for cable TV alone. The move by the city _incentivized_ the local cable MONOPOLY to get off their ass and start offering the services to both city and county that they had been promising for a while and to bring their price down to a more competitive level.
THIS. This shit right here is what _creates_ people who pirate software. Not because it is "free", but because it is FREE OF RESTRICTIONS on what I can do with the software that I (would have) legally paid for and own.
Hey, Ubisoft employees! Start thanking your bosses now for the loss of your jobs, especially those in the PC gaming section. I have a business idea for you: Start a new gaming company with the best and brightest among you and put out your games for the PC market WITHOUT DRM of any kind. Skip the major distributor route (no EA, no Ubisoft, no Company X). Put it on Steam. Put it out at a good price (_not_ $59.99 US). Put in GOOD game play with replayability. We will fill your coffers with gold and jewels.
Those that ultimately pirate your title? Well, fuck em because they were never going to pay for it anyway. They aren't a lost sale, they are just lost.
Based on a lot of the different articles I have read today from Forbes, NY Times, Escapist Magazine and so on it seems that this version may be going with a GURPS philosophy -- Here is your basic game. You have more than enough information to design characters and play the game. But then...
Oh, you want to play a more miniatures based, combat-oriented style of play? Here is the miniatures rule book/module and here is the epic combat rule book/module and off you go.
Oh, you want to mix magic and psionics in one campaign world you are creating? Well, here is a book for world designing and the rule book/module for psionics.
Oh, you want to play such and such... and so on, and so forth.
I believe they want one basic ruleset so that you can then go with how your play group usually games - from those who are diehard first edition players to those who choose a more MMO style of play. From the role-players who want a much wider creative range to play within to those who say "I want to bash shit in the head" and have to do little creative input into designing your character, I believe Wizards wants to give them the option. All from a single starting point.
I am going to be cautiously optimistic and do both "wait and see" and get my play group into helping test so we can give our feedback. Just some quick background - my play group has played under 1st ed, 2nd ed, 3rd ed, and 3.5 and we are currently running an extended player-designed world and campaign under 2nd edition rules (with house rules/modifications as Gygax intended :-p).
Isn't it amazing that by actually doing THE RIGHT THING and accepting responsibility, they gain more press than if they had just said "The bloggers did it." and washed their hands of the situation.
Maybe they, and other companies, can actually learn from this? You know, a) try not to fuck up in the first place and b) when you do, take responsibility and FIX IT.
Uncommon outbreak of good sense, perhaps?
No, no, you CAN give Paypal access to a bank account. Just make sure it is one you setup for Paypal only. Cost is minimal as most banks still have a no-fee or small fee bank account that you don't have to keep a large balance in. Just deposit 6 months worth of bank fees in the account and make sure you sweep all money from eBay, Paypal, etc. off the Paypal only account and into your REAL bank account on a daily/weekly basis.
That way, Paypal can eat a dick if they decide to hijack that bank account. Just close it down and start a new one. If the bank asks what the hell is going on, explain to them that if Paypal was regulated like a bank is then you would not have to use multiple accounts to keep Paypal from trying to screw you over. I dislike the big corp mentality as much as anyone, but if enough banks complain about Paypal then maybe something will get done.
(Some quick background - I beta tested and played SWG until the NGE nerf. I beta tested and played World of Warcraft up until about 18 months ago. I have also played multiple other MMOs including DDO, Ultima, Tabula Rasa, A Tale in the Desert, and so on.)
It actually IS this awesome new MMO experience, and please stop WoW fanboying by playing down the impact of the fully voiced universe and the fact Bioware has done what Blizzard did - borrowed from the best of in other MMOs and refined it. As dward90 says above, if you're skipping the voiced scenes then you're missing the point.
It is definitely NOT WoW with lightsabers - I don't see any orcs, goblins, or pandas running around. Oh? You mean it PLAYS like Word of Warcraft somewhat? Yes, it does. In as much as World of Warcraft played like Star Wars Galaxies, and Ultima Online, and Asheron's Call, and the other MMOs that came before it.
I have been in multiple betas of SWTOR and I have been playing since December 13th of early access. I can tell you now, this game has longevity and inventiveness on its side. It is fresh and new and compelling in ways that other MMOs "walls-o-text" quest/missions are not. It engages you in both your class storyline and in the world at large. It doesn't have the sandbox open worlds of an MMO like Galaxies or an RPG like The Elder Scrolls series, but there are hints that Bioware may be moving that direction as the game grows. The game is great visually and gameplay is engrossing. The mission/gather system is an amazing combination of previous MMOs like Eve and WoW. The crafting system is fairly solid, interesting, useful and will come into its own as more players inhabit the universe and expand the player economy.
As for the so-called "end game" that hard core players and game sites seem to want to focus on, well, that will be a while in coming for casual gamers like myself (although my main character is level 22 at this time). Those hard core players with no life and a caffeine drip in their veins can probably give you a review in another 5 days or less :-p My hope is that Bioware ignores their outcries when they consume the game inside of 14 days and start looking for something else. Your revenue stream is NOT the hard core players, it is the casual gamers who will play for years on end.
FUCK THEM. They are raking in fat stacks of cash every year off of their supposedly well-honed machine, they should be responsible for policing their own content. It is not the responsibility of the government of the United States or any other country to police the Internet looking for content violations. Most governments have put in place laws and regulations that allow the "owner" of the content to be able to work within that system and get rid of infringing copies - AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. Not at the expense of the taxpayers.
Fuck you if you expect me and 250+ million other taxpayers help you sue for damages when we don't see a dime of that unless we are a luxury car dealer or real estate agent (or a lawyer). Not to mention that the net effect on the United States of corporatism laws like the DMCA and extended copyright periods is that we, as a nation, are less and less LEADING the way into new science and technology frontiers and more and more about holding the status quo or LOSING ground to other nations who don't exactly give a shit about the laws of the United States.
Seriously? 33% of the search market? It has to be new users or new computers causing this. The same old Microsoft story of cramming as much cross-marketing on their OS as they can -- Internet Explorer being the prime example.
I know a good many non-tech users and except for those who are just too apathetic or lazy to change settings that come pre-loaded on their new desktops/laptops (you know, the "sheep" among the herd), I do not know of anyone who uses Bing to search. I still know people who use Yahoo (which, yeah, uses MS engine) but otherwise it is overwhelmingly Google. Every time I tried to it, the results were much worse or had things missing than Google. Crap in a pretty package is still crap.
..is because those not normally in politics are surrounded by people who wish to maintain the "status quo" and are fearful of change. Regardless of how amazing an idea is, regardless of how well it would work, those that are in power are afraid to lose it and stymie what could be real progress from an out-of-the-box thinker.
Just my .02 microns worth.
Even with the smaller guilds syndrome, I still got tired of all the drama 30 and 40-man guilds could create. Seeing as I was the guild leader, that made it even worse. So many fucking massive egos to try and placate or squash that I finally said "Screw you guys, I'm going home." I changed the officers of the guild around to who I thought was best to run it, left myself as leader (intending to go back and turn it over), and then logged out. I haven't been back in almost two years now.
And I really do not miss it. Amazing, I know. Level-capped multiple characters, profitable professions, cash on hand, decent 10-man core of players that did get along, and a lot of others I enjoyed talking to. Still don't miss it but, of course, all of those friends who formed the core left as well within a short span of time -- if they had not left before.
Now I play some DDO and an old-school MUD and am looking forward to Star Wars: The Old Republic. With a very small, friends and family only guild. Fuck being the largest or first to do X crap. I want to have fun with friends and socialize while killing those scum in the Republic.
FUCK HER. If her birthdate was not public then it would never have been posted on her profile in IMDB.
Not to mention, all it would take is a couple of phone calls by a director to find out her age.
I should have posted this much earlier, but how about sending out some CONGRATULATIONS! to the Humble crew for proving again that, by putting together a bundle of good games (with good game play), one can not only make a damn decent amount of money but can also do it without encumbering the user with DRM or other restrictions. For that reason alone, I'd buy the bundle every time.
How about LucasArts getting off their ass and bringing us an updated X-Wing, Tie Fighter, or X-Wing vs Tie Fighter?? Damn those games were fun. Plenty of new ships in the Star Wars Universe that we can blow shit up with '-)
...all over again. Except the CU affected game play and this is just highway robbery on the new digital highway. Hmm, let me explain. No, it would take too long, let me sum up -- based on the posts here from current EVE players about the background of what is happening, this whole event has the _feel_ of the SWG community after the CU and is moving towards the feel of the NGE implosion.
Sucks for long-term players, regardless of your game of choice. I had three accounts on Star Wars Galaxies at the height of my playing. A LOT of the people I gamed with did. We all, to the last person, left by the time of NGE. Maybe CCP will get its shit together and stop trying to use EVE to beta-test for their other games. Or at least stop trying to get you to pay for their R&D through EVE, other than a subscription.
...have already been given to the telecom companies to expand broadband to under-served areas. I want to know where that money has gone - because it didn't go into expanding and improving broadband.
I have a wild suggestion and I actually don't believe I am suggesting this, as I dislike interference by the government in general, but... make all telephone and cable transmission lines national infrastructure. Virtually all of the current infrastructure built by the Bells and cable companies runs on or under what is the "right of way" governed by either local, state, or federal authority. Without them being able to run their infrastructure on or under this property they would not have a business - and, yes, the USA would be in the stone age. The idea is still valid - turn all the infrastructure of the telecom and cable companies into a common pool from which ANYONE can dip - small telecoms, large telecoms, competing cable companies, multiple ISPs, etc, etc. Open it up to true competition because every company would pay the exact same amount for each connection to the national backbone. The differences would be customer service,l quality of service, and number of offerings.
Make each company pay $X.00 per connection for maintenance and upgrades and a base fee of $Y.00 for each connection. Also make it a stipulation that NO company can loss lead a connection or charge only what the connection cost. Limited specials to entice new customers can be allowed, but no charging only the connection cost over a long span of time (for instance, limit specials to 6 or 9 months maximum). This would remove significant barriers to entry and actually bring competition to the market. Disband all of the cable monopolies. Decimate the telecom strongholds. Make companies compete on a common ground and let's see who wins the hearts, minds, and wallets of the American broadband market.
Of course, it would need to be legislated that this national infrastructure would be completely OPEN and not running through NSA headquarters or the like. No snooping, sniffing, or tracing without judicial oversight. You know, that whole pesky 4th Amendment thing.
According to Shatner, during a panel at this year's Dragon*Con, Nimoy was giving up the con circuit to pursue photography full time. He is rather accomplished at it - http://www.rmichelson.com/Artist_Pages/Nimoy/pages/Leonard-Nimoy-Gallery.html and it has been a lifelong passion.
Maybe I should have been clearer - I understand what is going on with this case. I know eBay wants to get into the Craigslist model of doing business.
What I am saying is that this is a perfect opportunity to break some of eBay's monopoly on the online auction market -- IF they are proven to have stolen trade secrets from Craigslist, then why should they not suffer? If an individual steals trade secrets, and is proven guilty, then they are dealt with harshly. Just because eBay is a company does not - and should not - preclude them from being dealt with harshly; harsh enough to make them stutter-step in the core business market and provide an opening for a competitor.