I'm kind of late to the party here, but in Manitoba this certainly seems to work.
MTS provides both specific theme bundles as well as individual channels (though, admittedly, not all channels are available individually) and it doesn't seem to have killed Shaw (Rogers isn't available here and I don't think I've seen Bell providing cable).
Then again, we're out west, not part of the central area that actually gets cared about.
I think one of the issues here is the definition of "cut scene". It sounds like it's being used here to mean what we called FMVs back in the PSX's day. That is, scenes that were specially rendered to really show something off (like the Highwind, as someone mentioned above).
But that's not what they're being used for or even what they are, here. I don't even know if I've seen a single scene rendered outside of the normal game graphics except for the very beginning (and I think when Sora wakes up) and, I assume, the ending. The rest of the so-called cut scenes are just dialogue sections. Would you berate Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger for every time you have more than say 3 windows of dialogue in a row during which you can't move? Those are the exact same thing, after all.
Or how about this, take a book, and every time you have a page that's at least 50% dialogue, skip the whole page. See how much of the plot you understand. If you don't understand the plot after doing that does it mean the book was poorly written? Does it mean the plot was "poorly integrated" as someone mentioned? No, it means you're a retard who skipped most of the plot. Same exact thing as skipping the "cut scenes" in KH2.
Another point I find farsical is the idea that everything should be completely active like Halo. I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to envision Sora and company always running around fighting stuff or doing things, even when they're being told something important like what Yen Sid (lame joke, BTW) tells them. If you don't have the patience to pay attention to the story and dialogue without the urge to run and jump and whatever, then why on earth are you playing an RPG in the first place? Go play a mindless fighter like Dynasty Warriors.
I personally didn't find the voice acting that bad for the most part, but there were definitely really bad parts. ex: Aerith's new voice actress should be shot. The lines where Cloud tells you about Sephiroth for the first time are certainly among the worst written I've ever seen, I'll grant, but it's not ALL that bad.
It's rather interesting what they pull out, particularly during the news. Grabbing a quick breath before the next story, for example. Ever wonder how they don't need to breathe?
Anyway, there's actually a Canadian now in the UK who's collected these little snippets and put them onto a CD. Check out Silence Isn't Golden for more info. (The links there break in Konqueror...)
I mean no offence to Americans in general with this, but it's always struck me that the US in general is a haven for anyone who wants to sue anyone else for anything they an think of. The RIAA hasn't made me think otherwise.
As to whether Napster has caused me to buy more CDs or not... No. I'm a cheap bastard and wouldn't have bought any CDs anyway - besides, most of what I listen to can't even be bought on this continent, so they'd not have profited even if I could get them - so they're not losing anything from me using Napster. If it wasn't for Napster, I'd probably still have to be listening to Commercial Radio... thank God for Napster. (CBC all the way)
------
If I cared anymore about what the RIAA had to say about anything, I'd not have asked anyway and saved the effort taken to ignore them.
I could be a bit wrong on this - it was before my time - but didn't we hear stuff like this regarding Dungeons and Dragons years back? I don't know if anyone tried to bring in legislation against it, but I'm pretty sure there was an outcry at least...
I can just see it now, some kid running around, throwing a D-20 at someone, checking to see what it landed on after it hit them and then saying, "I got a twenty! You're decapitated!" Or maybe running aound with a video game controller, acting like he was using it control himself, and then 'shooting' at people and wondering why they refuse to turn into a bloody pulp of a mess.
In other words, pretending to do something is a tad different from the real thing. I've played both FPS games and D&D type games, and I'm safe to be around... right?
Some interesting ideas here, but what I've seen wouldn't be much of a help from my point of view.
I, personally, don't really have trouble with back pain. I may spend half my day sitting, but I don't spend all that time in one position. I've taken to using a hassock or something - I dunno what to call it, maybe a long foot rest - as my computing chair, so while it doesn't have a back I can keep chaning positions alot. I've not noticed pain much... though my shoulder bugs me a bit occassionally, at which point I just shift positions.
I and most of us, are lucky. My mom has arthritis at the base of her spine, really nasty condition. It hurts her to lift things, it hurts her to bend at almost any angle, it hurts to move, it hurts to stay still. That's one of my ideas of Hell. We've yet to find anything to help her... Pain killers were the most effective for her, for awhile...
As to my comments regarding the Alexander Tchnique, I say it sounds good, but it only works on people whose habits cause their problems, and that isn't always the case. I can see it working for myself since I know I'm doing things wrong, but I don't know if it would be enough of a help to jutify the disruption it would cause... but I'm probably wrong.
For my own advice, I have the long and short of it. In long, I may have subconsciously learned to live with the pain and now ignore it - hence why I don't think i have a problem - while mom can't do anything to help. In short, what we suggest here probably won't work for everyone. Just try what you think might work or is the least disruptive and see where you go. My favourite has usually been to ignore pain like that, subconsciously or otherwise, bu not too many people can do that.
If this has been prestated, my apologies. I didn't see it posted, but it might have been below my threshold.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm kind of late to the party here, but in Manitoba this certainly seems to work.
MTS provides both specific theme bundles as well as individual channels (though, admittedly, not all channels are available individually) and it doesn't seem to have killed Shaw (Rogers isn't available here and I don't think I've seen Bell providing cable).
Then again, we're out west, not part of the central area that actually gets cared about.
I think one of the issues here is the definition of "cut scene". It sounds like it's being used here to mean what we called FMVs back in the PSX's day. That is, scenes that were specially rendered to really show something off (like the Highwind, as someone mentioned above).
But that's not what they're being used for or even what they are, here. I don't even know if I've seen a single scene rendered outside of the normal game graphics except for the very beginning (and I think when Sora wakes up) and, I assume, the ending. The rest of the so-called cut scenes are just dialogue sections. Would you berate Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger for every time you have more than say 3 windows of dialogue in a row during which you can't move? Those are the exact same thing, after all.
Or how about this, take a book, and every time you have a page that's at least 50% dialogue, skip the whole page. See how much of the plot you understand. If you don't understand the plot after doing that does it mean the book was poorly written? Does it mean the plot was "poorly integrated" as someone mentioned? No, it means you're a retard who skipped most of the plot. Same exact thing as skipping the "cut scenes" in KH2.
Another point I find farsical is the idea that everything should be completely active like Halo. I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to envision Sora and company always running around fighting stuff or doing things, even when they're being told something important like what Yen Sid (lame joke, BTW) tells them. If you don't have the patience to pay attention to the story and dialogue without the urge to run and jump and whatever, then why on earth are you playing an RPG in the first place? Go play a mindless fighter like Dynasty Warriors.
I personally didn't find the voice acting that bad for the most part, but there were definitely really bad parts. ex: Aerith's new voice actress should be shot. The lines where Cloud tells you about Sephiroth for the first time are certainly among the worst written I've ever seen, I'll grant, but it's not ALL that bad.
Anyway, there's actually a Canadian now in the UK who's collected these little snippets and put them onto a CD. Check out Silence Isn't Golden for more info. (The links there break in Konqueror ...)
I mean no offence to Americans in general with this, but it's always struck me that the US in general is a haven for anyone who wants to sue anyone else for anything they an think of. The RIAA hasn't made me think otherwise.
As to whether Napster has caused me to buy more CDs or not ... No. I'm a cheap bastard and wouldn't have bought any CDs anyway - besides, most of what I listen to can't even be bought on this continent, so they'd not have profited even if I could get them - so they're not losing anything from me using Napster. If it wasn't for Napster, I'd probably still have to be listening to Commercial Radio ... thank God for Napster. (CBC all the way)
------
If I cared anymore about what the RIAA had to say about anything, I'd not have asked anyway and saved the effort taken to ignore them.
I can just see it now, some kid running around, throwing a D-20 at someone, checking to see what it landed on after it hit them and then saying, "I got a twenty! You're decapitated!" Or maybe running aound with a video game controller, acting like he was using it control himself, and then 'shooting' at people and wondering why they refuse to turn into a bloody pulp of a mess.
In other words, pretending to do something is a tad different from the real thing. I've played both FPS games and D&D type games, and I'm safe to be around ... right?
I am sane
I, personally, don't really have trouble with back pain. I may spend half my day sitting, but I don't spend all that time in one position. I've taken to using a hassock or something - I dunno what to call it, maybe a long foot rest - as my computing chair, so while it doesn't have a back I can keep chaning positions alot. I've not noticed pain much ... though my shoulder bugs me a bit occassionally, at which point I just shift positions.
I and most of us, are lucky. My mom has arthritis at the base of her spine, really nasty condition. It hurts her to lift things, it hurts her to bend at almost any angle, it hurts to move, it hurts to stay still. That's one of my ideas of Hell. We've yet to find anything to help her ... Pain killers were the most effective for her, for awhile ...
As to my comments regarding the Alexander Tchnique, I say it sounds good, but it only works on people whose habits cause their problems, and that isn't always the case. I can see it working for myself since I know I'm doing things wrong, but I don't know if it would be enough of a help to jutify the disruption it would cause ... but I'm probably wrong.
For my own advice, I have the long and short of it. In long, I may have subconsciously learned to live with the pain and now ignore it - hence why I don't think i have a problem - while mom can't do anything to help. In short, what we suggest here probably won't work for everyone. Just try what you think might work or is the least disruptive and see where you go. My favourite has usually been to ignore pain like that, subconsciously or otherwise, bu not too many people can do that.
If this has been prestated, my apologies. I didn't see it posted, but it might have been below my threshold.