I'm surprised that this mod gets so much publicity while the excellent TrueCombat seems to get less.
I think quite a few people have worked on both mods, and I prefer TrueCombat.
They released a new version recently: http://www.truecombat.com/
It has a more realistic feel IMO, and I think the models are better. It doesn't have lots of maps though. They even seem to have removed a few maps from the most recent version (unless I am mistaken) that's a shame because some of the old maps were really good, I can't see why they did that.
It's the law in the UK! The law requests this (and that you keep said logs for something like ~>3 months) but it's very vauge in what your specifically asked to keep track of......as a result no-one really does it, and I've worked at quite a few ISP's. It's a waste of storage space, and equipment - i.e. racks of proxy/logging servers - needed to handle such an operation are just prohibitably expensive and not financially viable (unless you want to nearly double subscription costs)...
I'm not sure how relevent that is to the post;) but yes I think it's true in any case..
Just look at tar cfvz....I can never remember what the flag du jour for bzip compression is, so I just use 'z' & gzip it (like all the other lazy slackers with bad memories)!:)
I have a similar, but less mature product than you. In fact I'm doing something that replicates a lot of your functionality and will ultimiately replicate most of what you do (hah;P ).
You project seems not only more mature than mine, but more powerful too (I had functionality like sub-tasks in the previous version, but I have chosen to re-impliment them to allow for a more flexible product in the long term, I wish to adapt the software to be used as a call tracking & bug tracking tool in future, as well as a trouble ticket system).
IMO, I'd say the biggest hurdles for your project probably are:
a) The interface.
b) The J2EE dependancy.
The Interface:
I think your interface is definately not the worst I've ever seen, but it's not very slick or easy to use. For some reason this doesn't seem to hurt programs like Remedy, but I think in the long run, it will. I think ~90% of similar software suffers from this problem. Represending complext functionality with a simple and easy to use interface on the web is hard, because you have to rely on coding your own rotines to emulate things like 'tab like' functionality (because most of us do not want to resort to frames, though I find it can be nice to use iFrames if avalible).
I'd be very happy to help you with your interface if you like? I'm no Java wizard, but I have been using Java on and off since 1998 and I know some pretty funky ways of doing neat stuff in HTML (take a look at my app if you like;) which I think could be useful. Email me at iain_collins@mac.com if you'd like to discuss it (or if you want some code to rip off:)!
The J2EE dependancy:
While I think this would not be a hurdle for an established killer app, I think it could stop some users. There are a lot of task list style apps out there, most of them are half baked (a bit like mine:) but this means people will flit from project to project and only devote a small amount of time to each application.
If users have to install J2EE to run your software then they need to be sold on the idea that it's worth the hassle of all that clicking/typing to install (users are lazy, of course), and they will deduct the time/hassle it takes to install J2EE from your project (which can count against you). Now I'm very much in favor of Java, but I think that's true, and worth mentioning.:)
I think having a working and reponsive demo site helps work past a lot of the negative aspects of needing to install J2EE, but I think the more you can sell your product on the site as a 'professional' product with a 'quality' feel the better you are to combat this:).
Good luck with your project btw, and get in touch if you'd like to work on the UI!
Yeah, I thought he must be a troll, but when I checked his history, he had positive raitings on all his posts, and a number of 'friends' who seem normal, which lead me to assume he was just a moron.
It's hard to tell, either the normal seeming people who modded him as a friends are all morons, or the people who modded him previously are all morons, or he's a moron.
Fortunately his posts been modded down appropriately now in any case (this wasn't true when I was posting however).
I think/. should have a maxium number of allowed troll posts in a given period (to give an example, say 30 days). More than 5 troll posts in 30 days and your Karma get's taken down to -50 (no matter how many positive posts you've made).
Just to nitpick: "extremist" Muslim nations equal "extremist" Catholic nations in intolerance
Oh I quite agree!
And obviously there are extremist Christians too and they are equally as problematic and dangerous (and worry me just as much), but I don't think in truth there is a real or large problem with extremist Christian countries (at least not at the moment....).
Christian and Catholic religions certainly have a much worse record historically in terms of invading butchering and looting. And - historically - Mulsims have been much more tollerant of science and the presuit of knowledge.
I think, however, in the world at present, predominatly 'Chistian' nations now are almost all very moderate and practice seperation of the church and state. Sadly (like the poster I was replying to) a lot of Muslim groups seem to be pressing for Irainian style Muslim-state, which I hope Iraq does not become, as I don't think that will bode well for it's citizens.
No actually it doesn't, we are not all mindless drones. That's what seperates largely tollerant societies (such as midly Christian, Catholic, Shinto, Hindu (etc) societies) from intollerant ones (such as extremist Muslim nations).
What part of the idea of 'serpation of church and state' do you not understand?
Pakistani does not equal 'muslim', just as American does not equal 'Christian'.
I didn't know killing was one of the rights of the govt.
Wow, then you *are* completely clueless.
I'm glad we don't have Capital Punishment here in the UK , but it is a right of the US government and many other governments (including Pakistan).
It's also still practiced in Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Christopher & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad And Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
OTOH, what has Corporate America done to prevent spam and porn from reaching kids?
Erm, lots actually, like MAPS, a myriad of other porn blocking tools, content filtering and huge time and effort spend at companies like AOL to stop this stuff. Not to mention lots of legislation. I work at network provider, and can tell you - you really really are clueless if don't reallise how many millions have been spent trying to stop people abusing the system.
Why can't there be a simple legislation requiring all adult content to be registered under a.adult domain? Simple - the firms making money over porn wouldn't stand for it
Hell I wouldn't stand for it. You can't do it because there is no world government to enforce it and we (in the largely liberal, non vail wearing, not averse to porn countries - those which make up the majority of internet users) don't care enough about it to collaborate to achive it. But you don't like that answer I'll wager.
If you're quitting because of downtime in the first month of play and not because you dislike the actual gameplay then you're being foolish.
If you think it's going get beter soon you've no idea about how SOE do business - PlanetSide (another SOE game, that's been running for longer) has constant down time issues, they STILL reboot the servers daily and take them down during peak times and they still have lots of problems when they are running.
Doors frequently don't open in the game, you can get stuck in the game until they servers are rebooted, you can shoot through some objects (like trees), people can shoot and kill you even when they are facing the *opposite* direction (which makes using stealth suits to sneak up on someone a joke), the killer client side hit detection means you can - for example - get run over and killed by a vehicle (like a tank), even if it seems to you that you were 10-20 feet away from where you are standing - all issues that have been knowen about for a month, but not fixed.
A couple of months won't be long enough for them to even nearly sort it out, trust me (or read the the SOE Station.com forums). It might be sufficently useable to be considered ready for release in 6 months, but not in 8 weeks.
I say people are right not to go beyond the first month if it narks them, the bugs in SOE games such as SWG and PS can be really annoying, and the issues are NOT going to go away anytime soon - the developers don't even know what's going on with there games.
For example, the developers of PS recently said they didn't know sticking doors were an issue, despite the numerous bug reports submitted by players (including myself) and forum topics dedicated to the subject.
The games are not ready for release by a long shot (and many of the issues are not specifically to do with it being massive multiplayer, simply that the game has had too short a development cycle).
Techies don't seem to understand that businesses want to have a support contract with their usual supplier before they will buy Linux, even though the likelihood is that they may never need support
Wow, I thought we had all grown up a little bit and stopped using this type of term. It seems some of us have not...
Simply refer to 'those who don't understand the requirements of a professional organisation' - rather than use the term 'techies', singaling out 'technical' staff in the given context is foolish and inflammatory. Just because you have a highly technical job doesn't mean you are a seperate species from the rest of the human race.
Get over this 'techie' mentality you have. It's a demeaning, unhelpful and misleading term used, IMO, by people who exhibit very little understanding of people in general (and who certainly find it easier to pigeon hole them firmly into distinct categories). If you must use an abbreviation, use the more widely paletable and existing term 'techs', not the infantile term 'techies'.
A technition in any other field is not nearly as likely to be as knowlegable about their field as a Unix or Networking professional. The comparison of an average technition with a Unix technition a very poor one. For example, few radiography/photocopier/air-con/security/camera/tv & radio/PC/elevator/lighting/gas/electricity/automot ive tech's are not nearly as knowledge able about their chosen professions as those involved in the deployment of Linux or similar open source software.
While certainly there are a few 'technical' roles (that is to say, roles where the employees are refered to explicitly as 'technitions') that are equally as complex, they are the exception by far. Before anyone counters back, note that a skilled employee with a given amount (n years) of Unix and/or Networking experience is far more valuable in the market place then any of the above descibed types of 'technition' with a similar amount of experience in their field (even when there is a surplus of Unix/Networking personnel).
Furthermore, any competant, valuable employee is aqutely aware of both technical and commercial responsibilites in their role. In any field.
It's about time people started demanding that, and that they stopped perpetuating the idea of 'techie's as some class of individuals that are not required to have a working knowledge of sensible buisness practice (or in this case, basic common sense). I wan't to name and shame those who DON'T think of issues like 'support contracts' on hardware and software they install or are responsible for suggesting.
Even if your employees are all baboon's: at some point you need to have a technical manager who is an officer of the company who is legally required to exhibit behavior that demonstraights an understanding of both these issues (or you may become open to legal action from such bodies as customers, share holders, government agencies, or consumer groups).
Balancing commercial and technical goals should be a pre-requiste of your job and taken-as-read as a requirement, not something you find difficult to grasp, or that you should need to be constantly reminded to factor in.
--
No apologies made for spelling or gammatical errors, it's 5 AM and I don't have a spell checker installed, if something is unclear, please ask me to clarify, otherwise keep shtum and don't waste bandwith whinging about it:P.
This is why users should harbor some forgiveness in their hearts for a new system. It is basically impossible for humans to track every aspect of a complex system, such as computer software.
That's why you do slow, careful roll outs, then load test your service before going live.
That's what/I/ do when I roll out a new platform for thousands of users.
(And again, it's not their first time at this).
(Not that I'm fussed about SWG - after (a) Seeing the types of problems PS has I'm sure it's going to be just as bad for the next couple of months and (b) reading the reviews of it - I'm not going to touch it with a pointy stick.)
*Sigh* If only it'd had a semblance of user controlled real time combat. Something like Morrowind stat's based hit/miss but user controlled in real time would have been just fine.
They delete eloquent posts with listed known issues that they have refused to acknowledge, or almost anything that criticizes support.
For example: They are refusing to support systems which match the specifications required.
I've posted on this topic and seen the entire thread deleted. Point out they are not allowed to say one thing on the box then refuse to support it unless they are willing to offer a refund. *Poof* threads gone, *TWICE*.
I asked them to clarify, if the box was now considered incorrect (and would they be changing it)? But they don't like to hear that kind of talk. They want users, and money.
They can't be bothered to support nVidia sound cards now, or a whole range of graphics cards, or even the latest drivers for the graphics cards they do claim to 'support'.
And the support you get is laughable - "Oh yeah, it crashes a lot, it's an issue." (!). I spend 3 days working on it and find out that over 60% of users posts on the forums are related to the SAME ISSUE that is distinctly fixable. It took me 3 days to work it out, that they were not able to work it out just shows them up to be incompetent.
I spoke to one very polite Technical Support representative who was helpful, but could have saved me a lot of time if they'd volunteered information they MUST have been aware of (and the even hinted at, but didn't expand on), the other one was a complete monkey who sounded like he was in the middle of something else and just really annoyed I called (he was clearly having a conversation with someone else).
I also have an X-Box - XBox Live support is, in comparison, the *best* support I've ever had. They are really good, freephone number and didn't mind calling me back from the US after they had looked into the problem.
But then, IMO, Sony have *never* been good at support, for any of their products (domestic electronics, laptops/desktops, or games consoles).
SWG is just another shambles in the same line as PS and EQ which had a very similar set of issues and in every case the vast majority of users (not just the pertetually unhappy flakes) said 'this system is nowhere near ready to release' but they did it anyway (even at the cost of subscribers who tired with the never ending bugs very quickly).
Yeah you not alone with the dropship tutorial thing, it's been broken for everybody for weeks and they don't seem to care, the don't even include it in 'known bugs' (even thought it is one).
Most users end up rebooting when they get to that screen because they don't know you can press 'ESC' to bring up a menu (seems obvious, but it's not when your in game, as you'd never expect the turorial of all things to be completly busted.
An enterpising users discoverd you can edit one of the data files with a HEX editor to get round it, but that's hardly a good thing:(
It is a good game though, when it's working:)
The developers do seem to have some good ideas about how make it longer lasting and introduce a little more depth, which is a good thing.
I hope they are allowed to carry out their plans and that SOE don't get too complacent with it.
It's a very fun game (definately CFT/CS for a new generation). I hear a *lot* of CS players moving over to it, simply because of the bigger scope. I hope they stay around despite the monthly fee though (I could see a lot of users not wanting to cough up after being able to play games like CS for free).
SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) are useless at server management and treat users with contempt.
As far as techincal support go:
Posts with complaints and bugs on the forums are frequently deleted by Technical Support and they constantly palm of users with lame excuses.
Most of the problems user have are user-side, but the could easily suggest fixes for them, or post known issues, but they don't bother.
As far as the developers go:
They don't bother to updated version numbers or the 'News' / 'Info' panels within the game after making significant changes, they just patch away. Recently they posted a patch and said 'we weren't able to get a test server up and running, so we just posted it live' in the announce. Of course the corresponding patch caused more issues than it fixed, and they had to release another patch shortly afterwards.
Due to problems with the severs they now reboot them once a day. It's like it's running on NT. I can't see why their line managers let them get away with that (unless they are complacent or incompetant).
SWG, like PlanetSide, appears not ready to ship, and I'm sure it won't be up to scratch for a few months.
This could be down to commercial pressure from Sony, if so then the developers lives are problably hell and they will end up quitting at some point.
If that's the case then SOE mangement need to lighten up quickly before they loose staff and customers.
If it's down to poorly disiplined staff with no focus on customer care and/or bad management (imposing artificial deadlines, not ensuring QOS) then they need to start replacing staff. Middle managment should be the ones to be replace, as it's prmarily a process and attuide issue. If there are issues they need to flag them, if they arn't doing that, then they are not doing their job.
I really like PlanetSide, it's not a very deep game as the RPG elements are very thin on the ground (it's much more like a huge Counter Strike/Unreal Tournament/CTF game than an Everquest with guns in space), but it's exellent fun and I play it for around 4 hours a day (closer to 8 at weekends).
I wish they had more displine in managing the service. A lot of users don't bother subscribing after their first month because of all the hassles they've seen.
It's money that won't be avalible to help supply troops with (or reasearch) better armour and equipment (thus helping save the lives of American citizens).
It's money that won't be avalible to put into reasearch in to building better, smarter, more accurate, long range conventional weaponry (meaning more 'dumb' conventional arms will be used instead, thus increasing collateral damange).
It's money that the US government won't be spending on helping the poor, plowing into the healthcare system, or spending on education in the USA.
Seriously though:
The US Army has enough smart people and reasources to make a solution like Linux pay off, by having a standard customised-install-for them that's free, easily installable and easy to use (and it could be much easier to use given a customised distribution where all the options are hidden from users).
The only compelling reason for them not to be switching to a free operating system is an existing dependancy on Windows only software they may already have.
Someone else made a transposition error - so what. It was obvious who the poster was referring too.
Did being pompous and rude over a transposition error make you feel better, did it boost your ego?.
It wasn't even me that made the error, and moronic no-value comments like yours still piss me off.
Tedious grammar and spelling nazi's stifle free speech on the web because people don't want to post if others are just going to nitpick at their spelling or grammar.
Please grow up or find somewhere else to hang out.
Stop whinging, find somewhere else to go, and quit. It should be patently obvious.
Unemployment is not that high, there are plenty of jobs in the US. If you live in an area like the SF bay area, and can't find work, *MOVE*. Clearly, if your in an area with a large population density that your going to be more vunrable to economic ups and downs (that's why people move to large cities, to catch the upsides - the don't think of the downturns).
And to those who make excues like 'I have a family' - if you are unable to do something as basic find work that you like and still provide for you family then please for the love of grud don't have any more children.
You are not going though a major depression, so what if the economy isn't growing at 8% a year? That was never going to continue indefinately.
It's as if the big crunch at the end of the 1980's never happened.
I can't belive people have such short term memories.
When this happens again in 10 years time people will still be whinging, and I will still have no sympathy for all the inadequates who get caught up the hoopla du jour and subsequent stock frenzy.
troll v. To utter a posting on USENET designed to attract stupid responses or flames
I certainly got the latter, didn't I
Seriously though, your very amature, it's very funny.
To learn the meaning of the word flame have a look at page 193[0]. You'll then see why it doesn't qualify as a Troll.
[0] New Hackers Dictionary 3rd Edition, Jargon File Hard Copy by ESR.[1] [1] Or look it up on line/use grep if your too much of pikey to own a hardcopy.
1) I bet it's not that good in reality. 2) Slagging of GBA SP owners by suggesting they are uncool 10 year olds is market suicide (have they not heard of the 'GBA:SP - For Men' campaign all over London?) 3) You take the battery out to change games? *boggle* 4) Looks like a brick, and I can't see it being comfortable. 5) It's been hyped for over 6 months, but they still have no actual in game screen shots on the web site.
..and lastly...
6) They plan to unthroan the Gameboy SP how? With magic pixie dust?
If the Atari Lynx and the Sega Game Gear couldn't do it, this phone doesn't have a chance (the only advantage it has is wireless play and we know that GBA BlueTooth adapters are en route).
Nintendo may have screwed up their last two consoles (N64 - pants, GC - good, not enough games) and the GBA (backlight) but with the GBA:SP they have an excellent system with a huge back catalog of games, and one that is capeable of running quality SNES and Megadrive conversions. I don't even see Sony beating them now (not after how big they've said the screen is going to be).
I wish they would make offical blank ROM carts though, carrying games is a pain and they are soo cool. I'd love to be able to pay and download games via the net (getting hold of popular carts like SF:Turbo and Golden Sun:LA can be a pain as every man and his dog want's to get them it seems).
It does require skill and some dedication to play games, but only a moderate amount...
I think the world 'moderate' is very relative.
I'm not comparing current videogames with learning an serious musical instrument, but videogames are ment to be fun (and wouldn't be if it took 15 years to become professional at a single game), but for example:
If you practiced, say Quake 3 Arena, the same way people practice something simple the recoder (i.e. an hour or two a day), I think you could become very proficient in both within the same amount of time.
Though obviously the two are difficult to compare, under such a regime it would take weeks, or rather months to become very proficient. And people who *are* _really_ good at games have often been playing them for 10, 15 or more years and use skills built up over time (as even on new titles they have no experience of they can frequently start pulling ahead and become unbeatable by most people after just a few rounds).
I mention this because I think because video games are 'fun' and because it's easy to sit for many many hours straight in front of a game and watch the time melt away to nothing (I've done many games for 12+ hours straight). I did piano lessons for years as a kid, but I'm sure I spent more time playing Quake the year it came out that I did in something like 4 years of piano lessons.
I'm still/very/ good at Quake I (like ~100 kills to everybody elses 0 an office game against 7 people, no camping, no map specific knowledge, against non-newbies, just timing and being 'at one with the game') but that's the only game I'd say I'm really good at. (For example, I'm useless at Q3A, as it has a slower feel, different timing and an odd balance I never liked - as a consequence I haven't spend a lot of time with it). I'm actually useless at most games (as I can't be bothered to put the effort in any more).
I should qualify this though: I certainly don't think all games - or even most - require much in the way of skill, but live real time multiplayer games against other people (like C:S, Quake, CTF, Ghost Recon, etc) have scope for more skill that I think they are being given credit for (though even a few, predominantly Japanese, hardcore single player games *do* require Neo-esq timing, beond the abilities of most mere mortals).
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, sez who, Einstein? Pfft :P
God not only plays dice with the universe, but sometimes throws them where we can't see them.
--Stephen Hawking
I hadn't noticed until I saw this post, but I'd never seen that word before, I was able to grok its meaning just from the context.
I'm surprised that this mod gets so much publicity while the excellent TrueCombat seems to get less.
I think quite a few people have worked on both mods, and I prefer TrueCombat.
They released a new version recently:
http://www.truecombat.com/
It has a more realistic feel IMO, and I think the models are better. It doesn't have lots of maps though. They even seem to have removed a few maps from the most recent version (unless I am mistaken) that's a shame because some of the old maps were really good, I can't see why they did that.
> What ISP keeps such records?
...as a result no-one really does it, and I've worked at quite a few ISP's. It's a waste of storage space, and equipment - i.e. racks of proxy/logging servers - needed to handle such an operation are just prohibitably expensive and not financially viable (unless you want to nearly double subscription costs)...
It's the law in the UK! The law requests this (and that you keep said logs for something like ~>3 months) but it's very vauge in what your specifically asked to keep track of...
I'm not sure how relevent that is to the post ;) but yes I think it's true in any case..
....I can never remember what the flag du jour for bzip compression is, so I just use 'z' & gzip it (like all the other lazy slackers with bad memories)! :)
Just look at tar cfvz
I have a similar, but less mature product than you. In fact I'm doing something that replicates a lot of your functionality and will ultimiately replicate most of what you do (hah ;P ).
1 015
;) which I think could be useful. Email me at iain_collins@mac.com if you'd like to discuss it (or if you want some code to rip off :)!
:)
:).
http://freshmeat.net/projects/tasklist/?topic_id=
You project seems not only more mature than mine, but more powerful too (I had functionality like sub-tasks in the previous version, but I have chosen to re-impliment them to allow for a more flexible product in the long term, I wish to adapt the software to be used as a call tracking & bug tracking tool in future, as well as a trouble ticket system).
IMO, I'd say the biggest hurdles for your project probably are:
a) The interface.
b) The J2EE dependancy.
The Interface:
I think your interface is definately not the worst I've ever seen, but it's not very slick or easy to use. For some reason this doesn't seem to hurt programs like Remedy, but I think in the long run, it will. I think ~90% of similar software suffers from this problem. Represending complext functionality with a simple and easy to use interface on the web is hard, because you have to rely on coding your own rotines to emulate things like 'tab like' functionality (because most of us do not want to resort to frames, though I find it can be nice to use iFrames if avalible).
I'd be very happy to help you with your interface if you like? I'm no Java wizard, but I have been using Java on and off since 1998 and I know some pretty funky ways of doing neat stuff in HTML (take a look at my app if you like
The J2EE dependancy:
While I think this would not be a hurdle for an established killer app, I think it could stop some users. There are a lot of task list style apps out there, most of them are half baked (a bit like mine:) but this means people will flit from project to project and only devote a small amount of time to each application.
If users have to install J2EE to run your software then they need to be sold on the idea that it's worth the hassle of all that clicking/typing to install (users are lazy, of course), and they will deduct the time/hassle it takes to install J2EE from your project (which can count against you). Now I'm very much in favor of Java, but I think that's true, and worth mentioning.
I think having a working and reponsive demo site helps work past a lot of the negative aspects of needing to install J2EE, but I think the more you can sell your product on the site as a 'professional' product with a 'quality' feel the better you are to combat this
Good luck with your project btw, and get in touch if you'd like to work on the UI!
Yeah, I thought he must be a troll, but when I checked his history, he had positive raitings on all his posts, and a number of 'friends' who seem normal, which lead me to assume he was just a moron.
/. should have a maxium number of allowed troll posts in a given period (to give an example, say 30 days). More than 5 troll posts in 30 days and your Karma get's taken down to -50 (no matter how many positive posts you've made).
It's hard to tell, either the normal seeming people who modded him as a friends are all morons, or the people who modded him previously are all morons, or he's a moron.
Fortunately his posts been modded down appropriately now in any case (this wasn't true when I was posting however).
I think
Good grief, please learn to how to quote properly.
Did it escape your notice that everyone else uses itallics to mark sections of text appropriately?
It's just tedious chore to work through your insane retoric without it, in fact, I don't think I can be bothered.
You are in need of several very serious clues.
And erm, why do you seem to think I'm an American? *boggle*
Just to nitpick: "extremist" Muslim nations equal "extremist" Catholic nations in intolerance
Oh I quite agree!
And obviously there are extremist Christians too and they are equally as problematic and dangerous (and worry me just as much), but I don't think in truth there is a real or large problem with extremist Christian countries (at least not at the moment....).
Christian and Catholic religions certainly have a much worse record historically in terms of invading butchering and looting. And - historically - Mulsims have been much more tollerant of science and the presuit of knowledge.
I think, however, in the world at present, predominatly 'Chistian' nations now are almost all very moderate and practice seperation of the church and state. Sadly (like the poster I was replying to) a lot of Muslim groups seem to be pressing for Irainian style Muslim-state, which I hope Iraq does not become, as I don't think that will bode well for it's citizens.
society has a uniform set of values
.adult domain? Simple - the firms making money over porn wouldn't stand for it
No actually it doesn't, we are not all mindless drones. That's what seperates largely tollerant societies (such as midly Christian, Catholic, Shinto, Hindu (etc) societies) from intollerant ones (such as extremist Muslim nations).
What part of the idea of 'serpation of church and state' do you not understand?
Pakistani does not equal 'muslim', just as American does not equal 'Christian'.
I didn't know killing was one of the rights of the govt.
Wow, then you *are* completely clueless.
I'm glad we don't have Capital Punishment here in the UK , but it is a right of the US government and many other governments (including Pakistan).
It's also still practiced in Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Christopher & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad And Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
OTOH, what has Corporate America done to prevent spam and porn from reaching kids?
Erm, lots actually, like MAPS, a myriad of other porn blocking tools, content filtering and huge time and effort spend at companies like AOL to stop this stuff. Not to mention lots of legislation. I work at network provider, and can tell you - you really really are clueless if don't reallise how many millions have been spent trying to stop people abusing the system.
Why can't there be a simple legislation requiring all adult content to be registered under a
Hell I wouldn't stand for it. You can't do it because there is no world government to enforce it and we (in the largely liberal, non vail wearing, not averse to porn countries - those which make up the majority of internet users) don't care enough about it to collaborate to achive it. But you don't like that answer I'll wager.
If you're quitting because of downtime in the first month of play and not because you dislike the actual gameplay then you're being foolish.
If you think it's going get beter soon you've no idea about how SOE do business - PlanetSide (another SOE game, that's been running for longer) has constant down time issues, they STILL reboot the servers daily and take them down during peak times and they still have lots of problems when they are running.
Doors frequently don't open in the game, you can get stuck in the game until they servers are rebooted, you can shoot through some objects (like trees), people can shoot and kill you even when they are facing the *opposite* direction (which makes using stealth suits to sneak up on someone a joke), the killer client side hit detection means you can - for example - get run over and killed by a vehicle (like a tank), even if it seems to you that you were 10-20 feet away from where you are standing - all issues that have been knowen about for a month, but not fixed.
A couple of months won't be long enough for them to even nearly sort it out, trust me (or read the the SOE Station.com forums). It might be sufficently useable to be considered ready for release in 6 months, but not in 8 weeks.
I say people are right not to go beyond the first month if it narks them, the bugs in SOE games such as SWG and PS can be really annoying, and the issues are NOT going to go away anytime soon - the developers don't even know what's going on with there games.
For example, the developers of PS recently said they didn't know sticking doors were an issue, despite the numerous bug reports submitted by players (including myself) and forum topics dedicated to the subject.
The games are not ready for release by a long shot (and many of the issues are not specifically to do with it being massive multiplayer, simply that the game has had too short a development cycle).
Oh great *three* posts and it's already /.'d.
Grrr.
Techies don't seem to understand that businesses want to have a support contract with their usual supplier before they will buy Linux, even though the likelihood is that they may never need support
v & radio/PC/elevator/lighting/gas/electricity/automot ive tech's are not nearly as knowledge able about their chosen professions as those involved in the deployment of Linux or similar open source software.
:P.
Wow, I thought we had all grown up a little bit and stopped using this type of term. It seems some of us have not...
Simply refer to 'those who don't understand the requirements of a professional organisation' - rather than use the term 'techies', singaling out 'technical' staff in the given context is foolish and inflammatory. Just because you have a highly technical job doesn't mean you are a seperate species from the rest of the human race.
Get over this 'techie' mentality you have. It's a demeaning, unhelpful and misleading term used, IMO, by people who exhibit very little understanding of people in general (and who certainly find it easier to pigeon hole them firmly into distinct categories). If you must use an abbreviation, use the more widely paletable and existing term 'techs', not the infantile term 'techies'.
A technition in any other field is not nearly as likely to be as knowlegable about their field as a Unix or Networking professional. The comparison of an average technition with a Unix technition a very poor one. For example, few radiography/photocopier/air-con/security/camera/t
While certainly there are a few 'technical' roles (that is to say, roles where the employees are refered to explicitly as 'technitions') that are equally as complex, they are the exception by far. Before anyone counters back, note that a skilled employee with a given amount (n years) of Unix and/or Networking experience is far more valuable in the market place then any of the above descibed types of 'technition' with a similar amount of experience in their field (even when there is a surplus of Unix/Networking personnel).
Furthermore, any competant, valuable employee is aqutely aware of both technical and commercial responsibilites in their role. In any field.
It's about time people started demanding that, and that they stopped perpetuating the idea of 'techie's as some class of individuals that are not required to have a working knowledge of sensible buisness practice (or in this case, basic common sense). I wan't to name and shame those who DON'T think of issues like 'support contracts' on hardware and software they install or are responsible for suggesting.
Even if your employees are all baboon's: at some point you need to have a technical manager who is an officer of the company who is legally required to exhibit behavior that demonstraights an understanding of both these issues (or you may become open to legal action from such bodies as customers, share holders, government agencies, or consumer groups).
Balancing commercial and technical goals should be a pre-requiste of your job and taken-as-read as a requirement, not something you find difficult to grasp, or that you should need to be constantly reminded to factor in.
--
No apologies made for spelling or gammatical errors, it's 5 AM and I don't have a spell checker installed, if something is unclear, please ask me to clarify, otherwise keep shtum and don't waste bandwith whinging about it
This is why users should harbor some forgiveness in their hearts for a new system. It is basically impossible for humans to track every aspect of a complex system, such as computer software.
/I/ do when I roll out a new platform for thousands of users.
That's why you do slow, careful roll outs, then load test your service before going live.
That's what
(And again, it's not their first time at this).
(Not that I'm fussed about SWG - after (a) Seeing the types of problems PS has I'm sure it's going to be just as bad for the next couple of months and (b) reading the reviews of it - I'm not going to touch it with a pointy stick.)
*Sigh* If only it'd had a semblance of user controlled real time combat. Something like Morrowind stat's based hit/miss but user controlled in real time would have been just fine.
They delete eloquent posts with listed known issues that they have refused to acknowledge, or almost anything that criticizes support.
For example: They are refusing to support systems which match the specifications required.
I've posted on this topic and seen the entire thread deleted. Point out they are not allowed to say one thing on the box then refuse to support it unless they are willing to offer a refund. *Poof* threads gone, *TWICE*.
I asked them to clarify, if the box was now considered incorrect (and would they be changing it)? But they don't like to hear that kind of talk. They want users, and money.
They can't be bothered to support nVidia sound cards now, or a whole range of graphics cards, or even the latest drivers for the graphics cards they do claim to 'support'.
And the support you get is laughable - "Oh yeah, it crashes a lot, it's an issue." (!). I spend 3 days working on it and find out that over 60% of users posts on the forums are related to the SAME ISSUE that is distinctly fixable. It took me 3 days to work it out, that they were not able to work it out just shows them up to be incompetent.
I spoke to one very polite Technical Support representative who was helpful, but could have saved me a lot of time if they'd volunteered information they MUST have been aware of (and the even hinted at, but didn't expand on), the other one was a complete monkey who sounded like he was in the middle of something else and just really annoyed I called (he was clearly having a conversation with someone else).
I also have an X-Box - XBox Live support is, in comparison, the *best* support I've ever had. They are really good, freephone number and didn't mind calling me back from the US after they had looked into the problem.
But then, IMO, Sony have *never* been good at support, for any of their products (domestic electronics, laptops/desktops, or games consoles).
SWG is just another shambles in the same line as PS and EQ which had a very similar set of issues and in every case the vast majority of users (not just the pertetually unhappy flakes) said 'this system is nowhere near ready to release' but they did it anyway (even at the cost of subscribers who tired with the never ending bugs very quickly).
Yeah you not alone with the dropship tutorial thing, it's been broken for everybody for weeks and they don't seem to care, the don't even include it in 'known bugs' (even thought it is one).
:(
:)
Most users end up rebooting when they get to that screen because they don't know you can press 'ESC' to bring up a menu (seems obvious, but it's not when your in game, as you'd never expect the turorial of all things to be completly busted.
An enterpising users discoverd you can edit one of the data files with a HEX editor to get round it, but that's hardly a good thing
It is a good game though, when it's working
The developers do seem to have some good ideas about how make it longer lasting and introduce a little more depth, which is a good thing.
I hope they are allowed to carry out their plans and that SOE don't get too complacent with it.
It's a very fun game (definately CFT/CS for a new generation). I hear a *lot* of CS players moving over to it, simply because of the bigger scope. I hope they stay around despite the monthly fee though (I could see a lot of users not wanting to cough up after being able to play games like CS for free).
SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) are useless at server management and treat users with contempt.
As far as techincal support go:
Posts with complaints and bugs on the forums are frequently deleted by Technical Support and they constantly palm of users with lame excuses.
Most of the problems user have are user-side, but the could easily suggest fixes for them, or post known issues, but they don't bother.
As far as the developers go:
They don't bother to updated version numbers or the 'News' / 'Info' panels within the game after making significant changes, they just patch away. Recently they posted a patch and said 'we weren't able to get a test server up and running, so we just posted it live' in the announce. Of course the corresponding patch caused more issues than it fixed, and they had to release another patch shortly afterwards.
Due to problems with the severs they now reboot them once a day. It's like it's running on NT. I can't see why their line managers let them get away with that (unless they are complacent or incompetant).
SWG, like PlanetSide, appears not ready to ship, and I'm sure it won't be up to scratch for a few months.
This could be down to commercial pressure from Sony, if so then the developers lives are problably hell and they will end up quitting at some point.
If that's the case then SOE mangement need to lighten up quickly before they loose staff and customers.
If it's down to poorly disiplined staff with no focus on customer care and/or bad management (imposing artificial deadlines, not ensuring QOS) then they need to start replacing staff. Middle managment should be the ones to be replace, as it's prmarily a process and attuide issue. If there are issues they need to flag them, if they arn't doing that, then they are not doing their job.
I really like PlanetSide, it's not a very deep game as the RPG elements are very thin on the ground (it's much more like a huge Counter Strike/Unreal Tournament/CTF game than an Everquest with guns in space), but it's exellent fun and I play it for around 4 hours a day (closer to 8 at weekends).
I wish they had more displine in managing the service. A lot of users don't bother subscribing after their first month because of all the hassles they've seen.
Each $ wasted could be a life saved.
Or alternatively...
It's money that won't be avalible to help supply troops with (or reasearch) better armour and equipment (thus helping save the lives of American citizens).
It's money that won't be avalible to put into reasearch in to building better, smarter, more accurate, long range conventional weaponry (meaning more 'dumb' conventional arms will be used instead, thus increasing collateral damange).
It's money that the US government won't be spending on helping the poor, plowing into the healthcare system, or spending on education in the USA.
Seriously though:
The US Army has enough smart people and reasources to make a solution like Linux pay off, by having a standard customised-install-for them that's free, easily installable and easy to use (and it could be much easier to use given a customised distribution where all the options are hidden from users).
The only compelling reason for them not to be switching to a free operating system is an existing dependancy on Windows only software they may already have.
It's Sklyarov. Get it right.
You are one rude, arrogant in-duh-vidual.
Someone else made a transposition error - so what. It was obvious who the poster was referring too.
Did being pompous and rude over a transposition error make you feel better, did it boost your ego?.
It wasn't even me that made the error, and moronic no-value comments like yours still piss me off.
Tedious grammar and spelling nazi's stifle free speech on the web because people don't want to post if others are just going to nitpick at their spelling or grammar.
Please grow up or find somewhere else to hang out.
Stop whinging, find somewhere else to go, and quit. It should be patently obvious.
Unemployment is not that high, there are plenty of jobs in the US. If you live in an area like the SF bay area, and can't find work, *MOVE*. Clearly, if your in an area with a large population density that your going to be more vunrable to economic ups and downs (that's why people move to large cities, to catch the upsides - the don't think of the downturns).
And to those who make excues like 'I have a family' - if you are unable to do something as basic find work that you like and still provide for you family then please for the love of grud don't have any more children.
You are not going though a major depression, so what if the economy isn't growing at 8% a year? That was never going to continue indefinately.
It's as if the big crunch at the end of the 1980's never happened.
I can't belive people have such short term memories.
When this happens again in 10 years time people will still be whinging, and I will still have no sympathy for all the inadequates who get caught up the hoopla du jour and subsequent stock frenzy.
That would fit the definition of flame. Because of that, my post was therefore a troll.
lmao...
Man you are weak, dude, I can't belive you responded to that seriously...
And resorting to spelling corrections as line of defense? Man you are too k-rad 4 me.
huh?
ROFL.
troll v. To utter a posting on USENET designed to attract stupid responses or flames
I certainly got the latter, didn't I
Seriously though, your very amature, it's very funny.
To learn the meaning of the word flame have a look at page 193[0]. You'll then see why it doesn't qualify as a Troll.
[0] New Hackers Dictionary 3rd Edition, Jargon File Hard Copy by ESR.[1]
[1] Or look it up on line/use grep if your too much of pikey to own a hardcopy.
Yeah, I wonder Why there are no screen shots, oh no I don't, I know why, it's because it's going to be pants.
..and lastly...
Actually from these screen shots it looks half reasonable, but:
1) I bet it's not that good in reality.
2) Slagging of GBA SP owners by suggesting they are uncool 10 year olds is market suicide (have they not heard of the 'GBA:SP - For Men' campaign all over London?)
3) You take the battery out to change games? *boggle*
4) Looks like a brick, and I can't see it being comfortable.
5) It's been hyped for over 6 months, but they still have no actual in game screen shots on the web site.
6) They plan to unthroan the Gameboy SP how? With magic pixie dust?
If the Atari Lynx and the Sega Game Gear couldn't do it, this phone doesn't have a chance (the only advantage it has is wireless play and we know that GBA BlueTooth adapters are en route).
Nintendo may have screwed up their last two consoles (N64 - pants, GC - good, not enough games) and the GBA (backlight) but with the GBA:SP they have an excellent system with a huge back catalog of games, and one that is capeable of running quality SNES and Megadrive conversions. I don't even see Sony beating them now (not after how big they've said the screen is going to be).
I wish they would make offical blank ROM carts though, carrying games is a pain and they are soo cool. I'd love to be able to pay and download games via the net (getting hold of popular carts like SF:Turbo and Golden Sun:LA can be a pain as every man and his dog want's to get them it seems).
It does require skill and some dedication to play games, but only a moderate amount...
/very/ good at Quake I (like ~100 kills to everybody elses 0 an office game against 7 people, no camping, no map specific knowledge, against non-newbies, just timing and being 'at one with the game') but that's the only game I'd say I'm really good at. (For example, I'm useless at Q3A, as it has a slower feel, different timing and an odd balance I never liked - as a consequence I haven't spend a lot of time with it). I'm actually useless at most games (as I can't be bothered to put the effort in any more).
I think the world 'moderate' is very relative.
I'm not comparing current videogames with learning an serious musical instrument, but videogames are ment to be fun (and wouldn't be if it took 15 years to become professional at a single game), but for example:
If you practiced, say Quake 3 Arena, the same way people practice something simple the recoder (i.e. an hour or two a day), I think you could become very proficient in both within the same amount of time.
Though obviously the two are difficult to compare, under such a regime it would take weeks, or rather months to become very proficient. And people who *are* _really_ good at games have often been playing them for 10, 15 or more years and use skills built up over time (as even on new titles they have no experience of they can frequently start pulling ahead and become unbeatable by most people after just a few rounds).
I mention this because I think because video games are 'fun' and because it's easy to sit for many many hours straight in front of a game and watch the time melt away to nothing (I've done many games for 12+ hours straight). I did piano lessons for years as a kid, but I'm sure I spent more time playing Quake the year it came out that I did in something like 4 years of piano lessons.
I'm still
I should qualify this though: I certainly don't think all games - or even most - require much in the way of skill, but live real time multiplayer games against other people (like C:S, Quake, CTF, Ghost Recon, etc) have scope for more skill that I think they are being given credit for (though even a few, predominantly Japanese, hardcore single player games *do* require Neo-esq timing, beond the abilities of most mere mortals).
My comments get read, modded up and more people read them, which helps me fufil my social agenda (which is what people do). Win Win.
And, wow, if you think *that's* trolling your are the worst Troll in history (or don't know what it means).