Valve is not entirely without blame here. They were the other half of the group to sign the contract. Valve shouldn't have signed the contract the way it is.
"If you don't own an XBox, in what way are you Bungie's customer?"
No, but I bought the PC version and I wish I could get my money back. I played the xbox version in stores and wish I could get my time back. I also bought Myth and the Marathon games in the past. Before Bungie sold out and became one trick ponies.
"Do you think I want some jackass to spoil the story for me because they have no respect for the effort Bungie put forth to create the game?"
Why is it the jackasses fault for spoiling the story when you are the one to read the thread about the story in the first place. Did someone FORCE you to read a thread about the halo 2 story? Did they tie you down and pin open your eyelids forcing you to watch what it going on before the game hits the stores?
Unless you add the path to the preference option of the user that you don't want to be indexed. This also isn't release software. Its beta toy tools stuff. You know, the kind that says "use at your own risk."
Before MS bought them out. How can a game company produce only 1 game and not sell the game engine to anyone and still stay in business? Id and Valve are different in that they sell the engine to other folks. But Bungie made Halo, sold a bunch. Made Halo 2, will sell a bunch. But thats it.
Is Bungie technically Microsoft? Or are the independant?
I was slammed by a bungie employee on these very slashdot forums a few years ago. And now they are treating their customers like shit by threatening them. No wonder I don't own an xbox and never will.
The problem is that I shouldn't have to go hunting to their website to d/l a pdf file. He is running for President! He should be telling everyone how he intends to implement his "plans". But he never does. He just says he's got a plan for this and a plan for that.
"Let's cut to the chase. Time Warner has disabled the DVI output, the RF output and the S-Video output on the box."
TW hasn't disabled the ports, Scientific Atlanta has. The firmware to enable those ports doesn't exist yet or TW NY hasn't gotten it from SA yet.
"How is this experience worth the $10,000+ I spent to achieve it?"
He spent 10k? Why the hell does he want his cable box to control what resolution he displays in? Put it in one on the box and let the tv do the hard work. Afterall the tv will do a better job of up or down converting.
"$3,500 for the Bose Lifestyle Audio System"
Oh, that explains everything right there.
"Yes, DiscoveryHD and ThirteenHD look like HDTV, but the other 300 channels are practically worthless."
There are not 300 HD channels. Basically he is complaining that the non-hd channels look like crap. Maybe he should have done his research and he would have found out that when you get a large 50" tv or so the noise on the non-hd channels will just be amplified even greater the larger the tv you use.
I played the stress test and really liked it. Liked it so much that I want to wait till its released. If I play too much in open beta then I won't want to play it when its released and there are more people playing.
Have you ever used a remote with a touch screen? If no they you don't know how bad an idea a touch screen is for a control device. You have no sense as to what "button" you are touching so in order to use it you always have to stop what you are doing and look down at the device. Touch screens are horrible for controlling something like this.
"Yeah, Dell's servers are cheap if you want to just sit in your server room and watch the pretty lights blink. If you plan on, oh I don't know, actually CONNECTING to them with other machines to do work, you might want to factor in the cost of Microsoft CALs."
Who the hell runs any MS OS on a dell rack mountable server? Not anyone at any companies I know. They all get it installed with or install Linux by themselves, and thats free. If a company complains that a dell server is expensive, its not Dell's fault that they chose MS to go with it.
"Again, I know because I've priced several alternatives out for clients, and they've always chosen the Xserve RAID because of its price/space ratio."
Or maybe the client chose the xserver raid because of your clear bias for apple products and you made your pitch side more toward the apple side. It's ok, it happens everyday on both sides of the fence. Its just a fact of life. If your shop does anything heavy or needing huge power in their servers they either choose IBM or dell these days. They don't choose apple servers running OS X Server.
Apple users refuse to acknowledge that apple hardware is more expensive than other pc makers. I used to be a Mac user myself. All through college. Then I got tired of paying for expensive hardware that wouldn't let me do everything I wanted to do. So for the cost of a low end mac I built a top of the line PC. I haven't looked back since.
I have been to an Apple store. They are pure fluff pushing overpriced computer products. Oh wow, they have all their PC's out connected to the internet that you can play with. Thats all fine and dandy but I've never seen anyone actually BUY anything from the store. That is reflected in apples very small profits compared to other computer companies.
"Microsoft has not produced a successful home electronics product"
I guess all those Microsoft keyboards and mice that are huge sellers don't count? Microsofts wireless products? XBox (but you named that). Apple sells rack mountable servers if you want to buy them, but rarely anyone does because you can get a comparable one for much cheaper through dell. You can make all the excuses you want but if you are going to state a stock price as a reason one is better than another then you also have to take into effect company size and profits. To say one but not acknowledge another shows your bias and makes your point completely invalid.
I'm not saying Ballmer isn't a tool, but using current stock prices (like you did) to state that one company is better than another is complete BS.
If the battery life on the PSP sucks, people will find out and not buy it. They can blaim the developers all they want, but the company that will get blaimed is the maker of the hardware, Sony.
Sure, but with preorders they don't charge you until they ship the product. Why should anyone give Valve $60-70 (or even 80?) bucks for a product that no one knows when they will even get it? For all we know the game could not come out for another 2-3 months. Yet Valve will get their huge flow of incoming money from people plopping down cash for a product that doesn't exist. With steam it is even more confusing. It has the ability to give it to the user instantly. So why bother preordering? Its not like they will run out of downloadable copies or something.
I could see preordering the box versions but looking at a digital distribution system taking preorders for something that can be d/l in an hour or so? Just seems really wierd to me, but based on Valves past it doesn't surprise me.
So basically they are willing to start taking peoples money for HL2, but not actually deliver anything? CS:Source doesn't count. The thing is just a mod and I view it as free.
No thanks. They'll get my money but I'm not giving them a cent until the game is finished.
* Bronze -- HL2* and CS:Source.
* Silver -- HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam.
* Gold -- HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam, Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games, 3 different Half-Life 2 posters, Half-Life 2 hat, Half-Life 2 postcard, Half-Life 2 stickers, Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD, Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased).
*To be made available upon product's release.
Also what does "to be made available upon product's release" mean? Does that mean DoD source isn't done? Does that mean HL1: Source isn't done? So basically if you buy the gold package next week the only thing you'll get are stupid posters, strategy guid, hat, postcard, stickers, soundtrack and all the old valve games until the other games are actually finished which still noone has any idea as to when that will happen?
When is it NOT about money? Sony is a company whose primary reason for being is to make money. Don't kid yourself into thinking that Sony created the Playstation and PS2 out of the goodness of their hearts to give something back to the gaming world. Its always been about money.
Need a relatively dark room. Need a place to mount the projector on the ceiling or the floor. Configuration to get the picture right takes more work. Won't work well for oddly shaped rooms.
Assuming one can find 16 players that actually buy it in the same area to have deathmatches with. The odds of me having people around me that buy a DS when I do to play a multiplayer demo against are slim and none. Wish they would bundle a real game with it.
In other words, he has a product that he knows brainless fans will buy over and over again so he moves up his timetable to release it sooner to take in the money from the sales.
Hmmm...who really is the idiot? The moron fans who bitch and moan everyday and then still buy the 18million different versions or Lucas who puts out the product that you can choose to buy if you want?
Lucas seems like a pure movie maker. His job is to make movies that make money. He isn't in the business to make people happy so why the hell should he give a damn what you or anyone else thinks about his movies?
This is his job and he's doing his job.
What is truely an idiot is something bringing Bush into a thread about Lucas and Star Wars. Give it a rest already.
Most of the options for scripting commands and binding controls should all be disabled during multiplayer. Just like they should be disabled in counterstrike. You should not be able to zoom in, fire, jump and switch weapons with one key press. The "feature" of scriptability of commands and consoles in games has been one of the biggest problems with games lately.
Slashdot Mirror
Valve is not entirely without blame here. They were the other half of the group to sign the contract. Valve shouldn't have signed the contract the way it is.
"If you don't own an XBox, in what way are you Bungie's customer?"
No, but I bought the PC version and I wish I could get my money back. I played the xbox version in stores and wish I could get my time back. I also bought Myth and the Marathon games in the past. Before Bungie sold out and became one trick ponies.
"Do you think I want some jackass to spoil the story for me because they have no respect for the effort Bungie put forth to create the game?"
Why is it the jackasses fault for spoiling the story when you are the one to read the thread about the story in the first place. Did someone FORCE you to read a thread about the halo 2 story? Did they tie you down and pin open your eyelids forcing you to watch what it going on before the game hits the stores?
Unless you add the path to the preference option of the user that you don't want to be indexed. This also isn't release software. Its beta toy tools stuff. You know, the kind that says "use at your own risk."
Before MS bought them out. How can a game company produce only 1 game and not sell the game engine to anyone and still stay in business? Id and Valve are different in that they sell the engine to other folks. But Bungie made Halo, sold a bunch. Made Halo 2, will sell a bunch. But thats it.
Is Bungie technically Microsoft? Or are the independant?
I was slammed by a bungie employee on these very slashdot forums a few years ago. And now they are treating their customers like shit by threatening them. No wonder I don't own an xbox and never will.
The problem is that I shouldn't have to go hunting to their website to d/l a pdf file. He is running for President! He should be telling everyone how he intends to implement his "plans". But he never does. He just says he's got a plan for this and a plan for that.
The newer 8300DVR HD box is supposedly better.
"Let's cut to the chase. Time Warner has disabled the DVI output, the RF output and the S-Video output on the box."
TW hasn't disabled the ports, Scientific Atlanta has. The firmware to enable those ports doesn't exist yet or TW NY hasn't gotten it from SA yet.
"How is this experience worth the $10,000+ I spent to achieve it?"
He spent 10k? Why the hell does he want his cable box to control what resolution he displays in? Put it in one on the box and let the tv do the hard work. Afterall the tv will do a better job of up or down converting.
"$3,500 for the Bose Lifestyle Audio System"
Oh, that explains everything right there.
"Yes, DiscoveryHD and ThirteenHD look like HDTV, but the other 300 channels are practically worthless."
There are not 300 HD channels. Basically he is complaining that the non-hd channels look like crap. Maybe he should have done his research and he would have found out that when you get a large 50" tv or so the noise on the non-hd channels will just be amplified even greater the larger the tv you use.
I played the stress test and really liked it. Liked it so much that I want to wait till its released. If I play too much in open beta then I won't want to play it when its released and there are more people playing.
Have you ever used a remote with a touch screen? If no they you don't know how bad an idea a touch screen is for a control device. You have no sense as to what "button" you are touching so in order to use it you always have to stop what you are doing and look down at the device. Touch screens are horrible for controlling something like this.
Once hardware is seized like this, it and everything on it will never be returned. Whether you are guilty or not.
"Yeah, Dell's servers are cheap if you want to just sit in your server room and watch the pretty lights blink. If you plan on, oh I don't know, actually CONNECTING to them with other machines to do work, you might want to factor in the cost of Microsoft CALs."
Who the hell runs any MS OS on a dell rack mountable server? Not anyone at any companies I know. They all get it installed with or install Linux by themselves, and thats free. If a company complains that a dell server is expensive, its not Dell's fault that they chose MS to go with it.
"Again, I know because I've priced several alternatives out for clients, and they've always chosen the Xserve RAID because of its price/space ratio."
Or maybe the client chose the xserver raid because of your clear bias for apple products and you made your pitch side more toward the apple side. It's ok, it happens everyday on both sides of the fence. Its just a fact of life. If your shop does anything heavy or needing huge power in their servers they either choose IBM or dell these days. They don't choose apple servers running OS X Server.
Apple users refuse to acknowledge that apple hardware is more expensive than other pc makers. I used to be a Mac user myself. All through college. Then I got tired of paying for expensive hardware that wouldn't let me do everything I wanted to do. So for the cost of a low end mac I built a top of the line PC. I haven't looked back since.
I have been to an Apple store. They are pure fluff pushing overpriced computer products. Oh wow, they have all their PC's out connected to the internet that you can play with. Thats all fine and dandy but I've never seen anyone actually BUY anything from the store. That is reflected in apples very small profits compared to other computer companies.
"Microsoft has not produced a successful home electronics product"
I guess all those Microsoft keyboards and mice that are huge sellers don't count? Microsofts wireless products? XBox (but you named that). Apple sells rack mountable servers if you want to buy them, but rarely anyone does because you can get a comparable one for much cheaper through dell. You can make all the excuses you want but if you are going to state a stock price as a reason one is better than another then you also have to take into effect company size and profits. To say one but not acknowledge another shows your bias and makes your point completely invalid.
I'm not saying Ballmer isn't a tool, but using current stock prices (like you did) to state that one company is better than another is complete BS.
Microsofts volume is 20.7 million, apples is only 3.6.
Microsofts market cap is 307 million, apples is 15.
Microsofts gross profit for q4 2003 - 7,811 million net 2,690 million.
Apples gross profit for q4 2003 - 559 million net 61 million.
If the battery life on the PSP sucks, people will find out and not buy it. They can blaim the developers all they want, but the company that will get blaimed is the maker of the hardware, Sony.
I wonder how many of the MS whiners here would be unemployed if Microsoft wasn't around. I bet a huge chunk of you.
Who buys a computer from Amazon??? Probably the same people that buy computers from best buy. Yuck.
Try Day of Defeat. You respawn after a certain time and its a lot more fun. But you die a lot more too.
Sure, but with preorders they don't charge you until they ship the product. Why should anyone give Valve $60-70 (or even 80?) bucks for a product that no one knows when they will even get it? For all we know the game could not come out for another 2-3 months. Yet Valve will get their huge flow of incoming money from people plopping down cash for a product that doesn't exist. With steam it is even more confusing. It has the ability to give it to the user instantly. So why bother preordering? Its not like they will run out of downloadable copies or something.
I could see preordering the box versions but looking at a digital distribution system taking preorders for something that can be d/l in an hour or so? Just seems really wierd to me, but based on Valves past it doesn't surprise me.
Maybe then need cash for their legal problems.
So basically they are willing to start taking peoples money for HL2, but not actually deliver anything? CS:Source doesn't count. The thing is just a mod and I view it as free.
No thanks. They'll get my money but I'm not giving them a cent until the game is finished.
Steam Packages
* Bronze -- HL2* and CS:Source.
* Silver -- HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam.
* Gold -- HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam, Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games, 3 different Half-Life 2 posters, Half-Life 2 hat, Half-Life 2 postcard, Half-Life 2 stickers, Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD, Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased).
*To be made available upon product's release.
Also what does "to be made available upon product's release" mean? Does that mean DoD source isn't done? Does that mean HL1: Source isn't done? So basically if you buy the gold package next week the only thing you'll get are stupid posters, strategy guid, hat, postcard, stickers, soundtrack and all the old valve games until the other games are actually finished which still noone has any idea as to when that will happen?
When is it NOT about money? Sony is a company whose primary reason for being is to make money. Don't kid yourself into thinking that Sony created the Playstation and PS2 out of the goodness of their hearts to give something back to the gaming world. Its always been about money.
Cons:
Need a relatively dark room.
Need a place to mount the projector on the ceiling or the floor.
Configuration to get the picture right takes more work.
Won't work well for oddly shaped rooms.
Assuming one can find 16 players that actually buy it in the same area to have deathmatches with. The odds of me having people around me that buy a DS when I do to play a multiplayer demo against are slim and none. Wish they would bundle a real game with it.
In other words, he has a product that he knows brainless fans will buy over and over again so he moves up his timetable to release it sooner to take in the money from the sales.
Hmmm...who really is the idiot? The moron fans who bitch and moan everyday and then still buy the 18million different versions or Lucas who puts out the product that you can choose to buy if you want?
Lucas seems like a pure movie maker. His job is to make movies that make money. He isn't in the business to make people happy so why the hell should he give a damn what you or anyone else thinks about his movies?
This is his job and he's doing his job.
What is truely an idiot is something bringing Bush into a thread about Lucas and Star Wars. Give it a rest already.
Most of the options for scripting commands and binding controls should all be disabled during multiplayer. Just like they should be disabled in counterstrike. You should not be able to zoom in, fire, jump and switch weapons with one key press. The "feature" of scriptability of commands and consoles in games has been one of the biggest problems with games lately.