Definitely agree - we do the exact same thing here.
My fiancee and I are *huge* RPG junkies. Is there a new game out that we're not sure we'll enjoy, with no demo? Chances are it can be snagged off Kazaa. We try it out, and if we like it, we buy a copy. If not, it gets deleted.
A great example of this was Morrowind. There's no demo available, and the game is hell on system resources. Some setups have *huge* problems with crashing, while others are fine. It's also not the kind of RPG that all RPG fans will enjoy. Rather slow and plodding, especially at the beginning, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue as opposed to combat. So, we downloaded it. Absolutely gorgeous in the eyecandy department. Openended quests. Lots of fun. Very few crashes on our setup. So, we bought a copy. Bethesda impressed us, so they got our money. In return, we got a great game, the construction set, and update patches (that seem to have fixed the few crashes we did have). Good deal. They've also had at least 2 more purchases from friends we recommended the game to, and most likely at least 2 more in the future.
So, one user "pirating" the game turned into 3 sales for them (possibly 5 over the next few weeks). In addition, we'll most likely be picking up the expansion as well - which is more money in Bethesda's pocket.
Had we hated the game, they wouldn't have got any money. But, had we purchased the game initially, instead of "pirating" it, then the store would have had a return. AFAIK a return is considered worse than no sale at all (at least it was a few years ago when I worked retail - things may have changed).
Actually, Xenogears is (IIRC) part 6 of a much longer storyline. Xenosaga (already out in Japan, coming to the US sometime early next year) is going to be part 1. (but not produced by Square - which makes me wonder if they will "remake" Xenogears in a few years when they get that far...)
I do agree though - Xenogears in a more cinematic format would definitely be cool - although I almost think there's too much content for one movie...
The funny part is just how many anti-globalization peaceniks who hate the militray would just cream their Guatamalen pants to play with these, I guess military stuff is bad, unless you find it entertaining.
It's not the technology itself, but the use, I think.
Using this kind of tech to train people to kill other people more efficiently is possibly objectionable, while using it to "enhance" people's experience in a game, killing simulated digital avatars of other people is okay;P
Re:Great idea but still an unrealistic solution
on
BBC says "Avoid Explorer"
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· Score: 3, Insightful
Very true. The important thing is that the information on your site is displayed, regardless of the browser. Whether it looks good or not is inconsequential when compared to getting your information across.
Now, if the page looks good in a "current" browser, it's a plus. If it doesn't render *quite* right under something old, like IE3/NS3/NS4, it's not generally a big deal, unless the content can't be accessed, or the navigation can't be used. Sticking to standards will (generally) ensure that the content and navigation will be accessible to everyone, regardless of platform or browser.
That having been said, I don't keep NS4 around to check my pages. I probably *should*, but, if they will render legibly in w3m and/or lynx/links, then I figure NS4 can't mangle them too bad;P
The only way Linux is more secure is if you spend several hours every day downloading and installing the latest security patches.
OK, I'll bite.
Several hours? I don't know what distribution you run, but remind me to avoid it! I've run both Debian and RedHat - neither require several hours of daily patching.
With Debian, you only install the services you intend to use, then keep an eye out for security issues with those services (which isn't hard, and takes 15 minutes at most per day, usually less). When there is a vulnerability found that affects you, all that's generally required is an 'apt-get update && apt-get -u dist-upgrade', which may take a bit of time if you're on a slow link, or have a lot to update, but generally is pretty darn quick (again, for me it's generally less than 15 minutes). If they haven't managed to roll an "official" patch in yet, you can either wait for it (generally less than 24 hours for most), or compile it yourself. Turnaround time for security patching on Debian is excellent, though, and you generally won't find yourself needing to compile things yourself if you don't want to.
RedHat is a little different in that (at least prior to 7.3 - the last one I installed was 7.2, and things may have changed with 7.3 or 8.0) it installs everything but the kitchen sink by default - and you have to go around turning off what you don't need. Once you've got the "undesirables" turned off, security updates really aren't much different from Debian (especially if you're using apt for RPM). Again, for major vulnerabilities, patch turnaround time is excellent (generally 24 hours or less) and you won't have to recompile things you don't want to. Because RedHat is a bit more widespread than Debian, there are a few more exploits to watch out for, but hitting a few security sites during your daily web browsing should alert you to anything you might need to know. Definitely not "several hours every day".
They don't. They expect to put the non-profit webcasters off the air because they can't pay. Then, the only webcasts will be for-profit, run by people or companies that can afford the payments (which, most likely will result in a situation very similar to that of over-the-air radio, except instead of being paid, webcasters will be paying)
Think of stuff like drugs, suicide, fictional pornography, and you'll have lots of laws which can get you arrested for doing things in the privacy of your own home.
If you commit suicide, you don't get arrested, you get enbalmed (or cremated, I suppose, depending on your wishes).
Unless, of course, you screw up.
Same with drugs, really - unless you're either in public (maiking an ass of yourself), distributing, or get caught while buying, you're pretty much safe doing them in the confines of your own home. It's generally the periphery effects of drugs that get people caught (committing crimes for money with which to buy the drugs, or going into public whilst blasted and doing something equally stupid).
the Chrono Cross engine has the same look and feel as the previously released Xenogears engine (and even roughly the same file layout).
???
Xenogears (great game, btw - looking forward to Xenosaga ep. 1 next year...) used a polygonal background with sprite characters animated on top of it for the exploration. The Gear sequences were fully polygonal, but seemed to use VERY simplified backgrounds. In fact, it seemed to be the exact opposite of the FF7 engine, which used polygonal characters over static (or fmv) backdrops.
Chrono Cross was all polygonal, IIRC (Can't seem to find my copy to verify this). Again, the backgrounds during combat were very simplified, but enginewise, that appears to be the only similarity I can find. (the other similarity between the two games being the exceptional music, by Yasunori Mitsuda, IIRC)
On the plus side, you can see Aeris again in FFT....and again in Kingdom Hearts. Haven't played it too much yet, but from the looks of things, Sephi's in it too (check out the latest commercial)...wonder if we'll get a re-enactment of the scene that made my fiancee quit playing FF7 for about a month...
Re:Quake is old-school now?
on
Tenebrae Quake
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· Score: 2
I think simply revamping the textures to match the level of detail newer video cards can handle would go a LONG way towards making things more bearable. (And most likely it would be a less ambitious undertaking than revamping the models themselves).
Putting copy protection on products is identical to putting anti-theft tags on pocketable good, with mirrors and cameras and pickups by the door to stop shoplifters.
With the exception being that copy protection only hurts the honest - it does nothing to prevent the piracy groups from doing thier thing. For real examples of this, take a look at the gaming industry.
Warcraft 3 (and many other titles) use a copy protection on the CD called SecuRom. This copy protection puts invalid data on the CD, with the intention of "tricking" burners. That's all well and good, except it also hinders the ability of certain drives to READ the CD. This is causing problems with legitimate owners of the CD not being able to play the game they paid for. It doesn't, however, seem to have prevented the warez groups from releasing a non-protected ISO. It's kind of funny, actually, that in the first couple of weeks, the most user-suggested workarounds for Warcraft 3 problems (on Blizzard's "Open Support" forum) were "Try the no-CD", and "Try to find the warezed version and see if that works". Blizzard, of course, couldn't condone either one of these, and instead pointed to a general system-tweaking checklist that had little to do with actual game issues.
Dear lord that would be trippy. Dark City is the only movie I can remember people visibly disoriented while walking out of the theatre. I can only imagine the effect IMAX would have on that...
I think I worked for that company. I clearly remember a powerclip-wielding madman taking pot shots across the office, into the air, etc... All that ended in March. So sad. It was fun while it lasted.
We have always lived in three dimensions... So if a 4D object came it would look like a morphing 3D object.
Actually, if you define time as the 4th dimension, we *are* in fact 4-dimensional beings (and perceive our world in 3-space, although we are capable of perceiving motion over time, which could be argued as a 4th-dimensional perception...). We indeed do appear in 3-space as a "morphing" 3D object -- think of how a human is born, grows, matures, and dies as the "motion".
Of course, I'm no mathemetician or physicist, so I have no idea as to whether the "time as the 4th dimension" thing is even valid, but at least it's something fun to ponder on the long commuter rail trip =)
The key difference being that you don't modify your car so that it can then be used to break the law. Increase your horsepower? Go right ahead. Hotwire a car to steal it? Different story.
What about hotwiring your own car? (Let's say...you can't find your keys, are late for a meeting, and have to deal with Boston rush-hour traffic - but technically, if we're talking about the action, the reason doesn't really matter) I'd say that's closer to the modchip issue. Assuming that you don't use it to play illegal copies of games, it should be perfectly legal to do whatever you want with the system.
Closer example: I own a PS2. I'm learning Japanese. Xenosaga has no US release date, yet has been out in Japan for a year and a half. I get a modchip (or better yet one of the new plug-in deals that doesn't require invasive hardware surgery), and use it on my own PS2. I buy a legal (Japanese) copy of Xenosaga. I play the game I legally bought, on hardware I legally bought. Morally, I see no questionable material there. I haven't stolen anything. I have, in fact, given *more* money to Sony (as they get a cut of game sales). In addition, since English is my native language, when/if Xenosaga sees US release, I'll most likely buy it too - thereby giving Sony *twice* as much money.
Yet, they say this is wrong.
If you took your PS2 and destroyed it with a hammer you wouldn't be breaking the law, so opening it to tinker with the insides isn't illegal either.
Every other game released today is (except maybe Blizzard's).
You haven't been hanging out in the Open Support forum over at Blizzard's Battle.net site...War3 is (quite literally) unplayable on many systems out there due to a number of fairly nasty crash bugs.
In comparison, the few bugs in NWN seem insignifigant;P
Nah - he's just got it backwards. They're currently using their OS monopoly to get dominance in the IM field. Notice that if you run XP, any time you reboot, MSN Messenger starts. Any time you start Outlook Express, or Outlook 2002 (AKA Outlook XP), it starts an instance of MSN Messenger (if one isn't already running). The ability to uninstall the MSN Messenger program is disabled by default, and the enabler is hidden in a place none but the most persistant users will find. It also constantly nags you to register for an account, if you don't.
So, let's review:
It's installed by default
You can't uninstall it easily
It runs automatically at startup
Even if you disable the automatic startup, if you start a MS email client, it starts up too.
It nags you to register and get an account Sounds suspiciously like the "integration" of IE into Win98...other than the nagging part.
You obviously dont work with customers:) EVERY SINGLE ONE IS STUPID. At least the ones that call me are.
LOL! Actually, I don't think all of them are stupid (some are, don't get me wrong) - but most are what I'd like to call "Aggressively Ignorant".
They don't want to know how to do something - they don't want to learn how to do it - but yet, they still want to do it. They will go to great lengths to avoid learning how to do it. Even when presented with a simple sequence of steps that will accomplish what they want to do, they complain that "It shouldn't be hard", when it's not hard, it just takes time to learn.
These same people will buy into whatever marketing literature is put in front of them -- AOL is "the easiest", XP is "easy to use", Laundry detergent A is better than laundry detergent X. They do this because they don't want to think for themselves.
See, thinking takes effort, and they've been conditioned that effort is bad. It's sooo much better to pay a monthly fee to have something done for you, than to take a few minutes a week and do it yourself. It's better to let AOL handle your security and personal information, than to take matters into your own hands, and care about your own security. It's better to hate those dang Arab terrorists, then to take a critical view of your government, which is getting out of control. Thinking is bad. That's what these people believe - and they will fight for that belief to the death.
Slashdot Mirror
Definitely agree - we do the exact same thing here.
My fiancee and I are *huge* RPG junkies. Is there a new game out that we're not sure we'll enjoy, with no demo? Chances are it can be snagged off Kazaa. We try it out, and if we like it, we buy a copy. If not, it gets deleted.
A great example of this was Morrowind. There's no demo available, and the game is hell on system resources. Some setups have *huge* problems with crashing, while others are fine. It's also not the kind of RPG that all RPG fans will enjoy. Rather slow and plodding, especially at the beginning, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue as opposed to combat. So, we downloaded it. Absolutely gorgeous in the eyecandy department. Openended quests. Lots of fun. Very few crashes on our setup. So, we bought a copy. Bethesda impressed us, so they got our money. In return, we got a great game, the construction set, and update patches (that seem to have fixed the few crashes we did have). Good deal. They've also had at least 2 more purchases from friends we recommended the game to, and most likely at least 2 more in the future.
So, one user "pirating" the game turned into 3 sales for them (possibly 5 over the next few weeks). In addition, we'll most likely be picking up the expansion as well - which is more money in Bethesda's pocket.
Had we hated the game, they wouldn't have got any money. But, had we purchased the game initially, instead of "pirating" it, then the store would have had a return. AFAIK a return is considered worse than no sale at all (at least it was a few years ago when I worked retail - things may have changed).
Actually, Xenogears is (IIRC) part 6 of a much longer storyline. Xenosaga (already out in Japan, coming to the US sometime early next year) is going to be part 1. (but not produced by Square - which makes me wonder if they will "remake" Xenogears in a few years when they get that far...)
I do agree though - Xenogears in a more cinematic format would definitely be cool - although I almost think there's too much content for one movie...
The funny part is just how many anti-globalization peaceniks who hate the militray would just cream their Guatamalen pants to play with these, I guess military stuff is bad, unless you find it entertaining.
;P
It's not the technology itself, but the use, I think.
Using this kind of tech to train people to kill other people more efficiently is possibly objectionable, while using it to "enhance" people's experience in a game, killing simulated digital avatars of other people is okay
Very true. The important thing is that the information on your site is displayed, regardless of the browser. Whether it looks good or not is inconsequential when compared to getting your information across.
;P
Now, if the page looks good in a "current" browser, it's a plus. If it doesn't render *quite* right under something old, like IE3/NS3/NS4, it's not generally a big deal, unless the content can't be accessed, or the navigation can't be used. Sticking to standards will (generally) ensure that the content and navigation will be accessible to everyone, regardless of platform or browser.
That having been said, I don't keep NS4 around to check my pages. I probably *should*, but, if they will render legibly in w3m and/or lynx/links, then I figure NS4 can't mangle them too bad
The only way Linux is more secure is if you spend several hours every day downloading and installing the latest security patches.
OK, I'll bite.
Several hours? I don't know what distribution you run, but remind me to avoid it! I've run both Debian and RedHat - neither require several hours of daily patching.
With Debian, you only install the services you intend to use, then keep an eye out for security issues with those services (which isn't hard, and takes 15 minutes at most per day, usually less). When there is a vulnerability found that affects you, all that's generally required is an 'apt-get update && apt-get -u dist-upgrade', which may take a bit of time if you're on a slow link, or have a lot to update, but generally is pretty darn quick (again, for me it's generally less than 15 minutes). If they haven't managed to roll an "official" patch in yet, you can either wait for it (generally less than 24 hours for most), or compile it yourself. Turnaround time for security patching on Debian is excellent, though, and you generally won't find yourself needing to compile things yourself if you don't want to.
RedHat is a little different in that (at least prior to 7.3 - the last one I installed was 7.2, and things may have changed with 7.3 or 8.0) it installs everything but the kitchen sink by default - and you have to go around turning off what you don't need. Once you've got the "undesirables" turned off, security updates really aren't much different from Debian (especially if you're using apt for RPM). Again, for major vulnerabilities, patch turnaround time is excellent (generally 24 hours or less) and you won't have to recompile things you don't want to. Because RedHat is a bit more widespread than Debian, there are a few more exploits to watch out for, but hitting a few security sites during your daily web browsing should alert you to anything you might need to know. Definitely not "several hours every day".
They don't. They expect to put the non-profit webcasters off the air because they can't pay. Then, the only webcasts will be for-profit, run by people or companies that can afford the payments (which, most likely will result in a situation very similar to that of over-the-air radio, except instead of being paid, webcasters will be paying)
Esobofh - Currently drinking fresh mango juice.
;P
Ahh...but are you shipwrecked and comatose?
(apologies to those who miss the reference)
Current high score here: 126994
Force: 6 bars
Heading: 37.24
Pitch: 48.41
Almost fell out of my chair when I saw his head pop off for a second, after he hit the side of the stairs!
Think of stuff like drugs, suicide, fictional pornography, and you'll have lots of laws which can get you arrested for doing things in the privacy of your own home.
If you commit suicide, you don't get arrested, you get enbalmed (or cremated, I suppose, depending on your wishes).
Unless, of course, you screw up.
Same with drugs, really - unless you're either in public (maiking an ass of yourself), distributing, or get caught while buying, you're pretty much safe doing them in the confines of your own home. It's generally the periphery effects of drugs that get people caught (committing crimes for money with which to buy the drugs, or going into public whilst blasted and doing something equally stupid).
What does M$ expect to get out of it?
Remember, MS owns MSN, an ISP.
If BlueLight gets sold, it's possible whomever it is sold to will become a competitor to MSN. We all know how much MS likes competition...
This is MS bringing out their 200-ton anti-competition stompy-foot to kick a tiny competitor while it's down.
the Chrono Cross engine has the same look and feel as the previously released Xenogears engine (and even roughly the same file layout).
???
Xenogears (great game, btw - looking forward to Xenosaga ep. 1 next year...) used a polygonal background with sprite characters animated on top of it for the exploration. The Gear sequences were fully polygonal, but seemed to use VERY simplified backgrounds. In fact, it seemed to be the exact opposite of the FF7 engine, which used polygonal characters over static (or fmv) backdrops.
Chrono Cross was all polygonal, IIRC (Can't seem to find my copy to verify this). Again, the backgrounds during combat were very simplified, but enginewise, that appears to be the only similarity I can find. (the other similarity between the two games being the exceptional music, by Yasunori Mitsuda, IIRC)
I can't speak for the file layout, though. =)
On the plus side, you can see Aeris again in FFT. ...and again in Kingdom Hearts. Haven't played it too much yet, but from the looks of things, Sephi's in it too (check out the latest commercial)...wonder if we'll get a re-enactment of the scene that made my fiancee quit playing FF7 for about a month...
I think simply revamping the textures to match the level of detail newer video cards can handle would go a LONG way towards making things more bearable. (And most likely it would be a less ambitious undertaking than revamping the models themselves).
Putting copy protection on products is identical to putting anti-theft tags on pocketable good, with mirrors and cameras and pickups by the door to stop shoplifters.
With the exception being that copy protection only hurts the honest - it does nothing to prevent the piracy groups from doing thier thing. For real examples of this, take a look at the gaming industry.
Warcraft 3 (and many other titles) use a copy protection on the CD called SecuRom. This copy protection puts invalid data on the CD, with the intention of "tricking" burners. That's all well and good, except it also hinders the ability of certain drives to READ the CD. This is causing problems with legitimate owners of the CD not being able to play the game they paid for. It doesn't, however, seem to have prevented the warez groups from releasing a non-protected ISO. It's kind of funny, actually, that in the first couple of weeks, the most user-suggested workarounds for Warcraft 3 problems (on Blizzard's "Open Support" forum) were "Try the no-CD", and "Try to find the warezed version and see if that works". Blizzard, of course, couldn't condone either one of these, and instead pointed to a general system-tweaking checklist that had little to do with actual game issues.
"Okay, let's do the T-rex next.."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"It might EAT us?"
Hercules is still around too, producing quite a few ATI chipset boards.
Dear lord that would be trippy. Dark City is the only movie I can remember people visibly disoriented while walking out of the theatre. I can only imagine the effect IMAX would have on that...
I think I worked for that company. I clearly remember a powerclip-wielding madman taking pot shots across the office, into the air, etc... All that ended in March. So sad. It was fun while it lasted.
We have always lived in three dimensions...
So if a 4D object came it would look like a morphing 3D object.
Actually, if you define time as the 4th dimension, we *are* in fact 4-dimensional beings (and perceive our world in 3-space, although we are capable of perceiving motion over time, which could be argued as a 4th-dimensional perception...). We indeed do appear in 3-space as a "morphing" 3D object -- think of how a human is born, grows, matures, and dies as the "motion".
Of course, I'm no mathemetician or physicist, so I have no idea as to whether the "time as the 4th dimension" thing is even valid, but at least it's something fun to ponder on the long commuter rail trip =)
The key difference being that you don't modify your car so that it can then be used to break the law. Increase your horsepower? Go right ahead. Hotwire a car to steal it? Different story.
What about hotwiring your own car? (Let's say...you can't find your keys, are late for a meeting, and have to deal with Boston rush-hour traffic - but technically, if we're talking about the action, the reason doesn't really matter) I'd say that's closer to the modchip issue. Assuming that you don't use it to play illegal copies of games, it should be perfectly legal to do whatever you want with the system.
Closer example: I own a PS2. I'm learning Japanese. Xenosaga has no US release date, yet has been out in Japan for a year and a half. I get a modchip (or better yet one of the new plug-in deals that doesn't require invasive hardware surgery), and use it on my own PS2. I buy a legal (Japanese) copy of Xenosaga. I play the game I legally bought, on hardware I legally bought. Morally, I see no questionable material there. I haven't stolen anything. I have, in fact, given *more* money to Sony (as they get a cut of game sales). In addition, since English is my native language, when/if Xenosaga sees US release, I'll most likely buy it too - thereby giving Sony *twice* as much money.
Yet, they say this is wrong.
If you took your PS2 and destroyed it with a hammer you wouldn't be breaking the law, so opening it to tinker with the insides isn't illegal either.
Completely agree.
And, of course, taking this out 7 levels deep will make sure you catch all those darned terrorists...as well as Kevin Bacon...;P
Every other game released today is (except maybe Blizzard's).
;P
You haven't been hanging out in the Open Support forum over at Blizzard's Battle.net site...War3 is (quite literally) unplayable on many systems out there due to a number of fairly nasty crash bugs.
In comparison, the few bugs in NWN seem insignifigant
So, let's review:
You obviously dont work with customers :) EVERY SINGLE ONE IS STUPID. At least the ones that call me are.
LOL! Actually, I don't think all of them are stupid (some are, don't get me wrong) - but most are what I'd like to call "Aggressively Ignorant".
They don't want to know how to do something - they don't want to learn how to do it - but yet, they still want to do it. They will go to great lengths to avoid learning how to do it. Even when presented with a simple sequence of steps that will accomplish what they want to do, they complain that "It shouldn't be hard", when it's not hard, it just takes time to learn.
These same people will buy into whatever marketing literature is put in front of them -- AOL is "the easiest", XP is "easy to use", Laundry detergent A is better than laundry detergent X. They do this because they don't want to think for themselves.
See, thinking takes effort, and they've been conditioned that effort is bad. It's sooo much better to pay a monthly fee to have something done for you, than to take a few minutes a week and do it yourself. It's better to let AOL handle your security and personal information, than to take matters into your own hands, and care about your own security. It's better to hate those dang Arab terrorists, then to take a critical view of your government, which is getting out of control. Thinking is bad. That's what these people believe - and they will fight for that belief to the death.
In one word: Manos
;P
More properly: Manos: The Hands of Fate
Worst movie ever made...and yes, I've seen the non-MST3K version. Well...most of it...I think...what I didn't sleep through, anyway.