Whether or not this MMORPG is successful, it marks the end of Final Fantasy as we know it. The main series (1-10) has always been single-player with predefined characters and a linear story with an end. An MMORPG is none of that.
Problem is, a lot of people probably want yet another traditional Final Fantasy game - I know my fiance does. It boggles the mind why they named this spinoff game Final Fantasy XI. They should have named it "Final Fantasy Online" or something, so they could pick up the main series again, if they wanted to.
Capcom is a good act to follow in this case, especially with the Mega Man franchise. The original series is still intact, with the spinoffs relegated to their own series' (i.e. Mega Man X, Legends, etc). What if Mega Man 9 was a platformer, while 10 was an RPG, and eleven was real-time strategy? Nonsense.
It seemed you were making a valid point, until I hit this part:
"...instead of insightful knowledge about this increasingly impersonal, computerized world that we all blithely accept and even embrace."
Seems somebody has an AllThisTechnologyIsMakingUsLessHuman point of view, despite the fact that he codes for a living. I can't imagine the amount of self-loathing he must go through in a single day. No wonder he's posting angsty comments to Slashdot!
Maybe Slashdot shouldn't do any more stories on the new Star Wars movies. After all, this is "News for Nerds", not "News for Teeny-boppers". Can we think of any other traditionally geek things that have 'sold out' recently?
The general public knows the word "Napster", and that name alone could carry it to success. Yeah, the FastTrack network has gotten huge, and Napster hasn't even been up for a long time, but Napster still has some big name recognition with Joe Public.
I mean, can't anyone think of other cases where people chose an expensive product over a free one? I can think of one or two off the top of my head.
I know I'm going to get modded down for this, but what's use of having a free(as in beer) OS when you then have to buy all these little $19.99 packages to do something as mundane as print?
Yeah yeah, I know it's because lazy companies don't want to release Linux drivers, but it doesn't change the situation. How many little software programs must we buy to get basic functionality?
On second thought, I don't mind being modded down. I'd been months since I've been modded at all.
The Gamecube is "built to enable Nintendo style games to be written easily"? What exactly is a Nintendo-style game and how does the Gamecube hardware make it easier to make this specific type of game?
This is a bit off-topic, but what a console controller really needs is a small, built-in trackball. Maybe off to the right, it would be a godsend to FPS players. Freelook with the trackball on the right, move/strafe with the d-pad on the left, and use the triggers for shooting and/or jumping. Finally, console players could hold their own against the PC elite in Quake!
Maybe you should have taken advantage of an existing codebase for your game? For my game-related Major Qualifying Project, I'm using code from several GPL'ed programs. Programming from scratch is hard, and there is no point in re-inventing the wheel. Cheers.
Blast it, why must this issue be about individual liberties vs. public safety? Can't we use technology to make us safer without becoming a police state? There are several options to make planes un-hijackable (cockpit sealing, panic buttons w/auto-pilot, etc.) and many other practical options available to us.
Trying to prevent people from talking about terrorism isn't going to get us anywhere. We should make it illegal to think about terrorism for all the good it will do. I say let them talk - if hijacking a plane is impossible, they might as well be talking about the weather.
Obviously they can't check through all the mail, so anyone know what kind of keywords they're searching on? There are a lot of people exchanging e-mails about the recent terrorism, so I'd imagine they'd get a lot of hits.
Or maybe they're just searching for messages in Arabic? Or singling out encrypted ones?
"Substantially less than major news sites?"
on
Handling the Loads
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Wired had an article about tech news sites picking up the slack, and mentioned that Slashdot was getting up to 60 hits per second. The next part confused me, though:
"That is substantially less than major news sites. The Lycos news network -- of which Wired News is a part -- receives about 115 page views per second each day."
I can see how the entire Lycos news network can get that much traffic, but did any one site get hit that much? I haven't heard any other news site statistics.
And how is this supposed to stop Bin Ladin from encrypting his communications? Seems like the only people that would end up with these helpful 'backdoors' would be us citizens.
I keep on hearing people say over and over how these big content companies need to find a "new business model" that will work on the Internet. That may well be true, but can YOU think of a business model that'll work for books, music, and movies on the 'net? One that will last? I'm drawing a blank.
I envision a future where you Can't Sell things like books, music, or movies. Books can be on the web with advertisements, music bands can tour or get played on net radio, and movies can have commercials. The "problem" with advertising on the net is that advertisers finally found out how much we ignore ads in general, especially dinky little ones at the top of web pages. Ad revenues will come back eventually.
For this to generate money, you have to cut out the middlemen - Sony, Universal, Time Warner, Random House, etc.. Too bad for them.
...the classic Lucasarts adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis?
I hope so. I loved the part where Indy dug out of that cave he was trapped in using only a hard plank. In fact, he got a lot of usage out of that plank, if I remember correctly.
>Enix would not put DQ8 on a console that is doomed in Japan (Xbox).
Don't play chicken-and-egg. If DQ8 came out for Xbox, then it wouldn't be doomed in Japan.
The simple fact that they haven't made an announcement means they are still doing the wait-and-see approach. They might go with Nintendo, though I can't see Nintendo lifting a finger to entice them to do so. I guess they'll go with Sony, unless large amounts of money convince them to go with MS.
Slashdot Mirror
... wow, I want a PC that looks just like that! ;)
> That's a big lift to the little guys!
Little guys like Nintendo and Sony?
Whether or not this MMORPG is successful, it marks the end of Final Fantasy as we know it. The main series (1-10) has always been single-player with predefined characters and a linear story with an end. An MMORPG is none of that.
Problem is, a lot of people probably want yet another traditional Final Fantasy game - I know my fiance does. It boggles the mind why they named this spinoff game Final Fantasy XI. They should have named it "Final Fantasy Online" or something, so they could pick up the main series again, if they wanted to.
Capcom is a good act to follow in this case, especially with the Mega Man franchise. The original series is still intact, with the spinoffs relegated to their own series' (i.e. Mega Man X, Legends, etc). What if Mega Man 9 was a platformer, while 10 was an RPG, and eleven was real-time strategy? Nonsense.
It seemed you were making a valid point, until I hit this part:
"...instead of insightful knowledge about this increasingly impersonal, computerized world that we all blithely accept and even embrace."
Seems somebody has an AllThisTechnologyIsMakingUsLessHuman point of view, despite the fact that he codes for a living. I can't imagine the amount of self-loathing he must go through in a single day. No wonder he's posting angsty comments to Slashdot!
Maybe Slashdot shouldn't do any more stories on the new Star Wars movies. After all, this is "News for Nerds", not "News for Teeny-boppers". Can we think of any other traditionally geek things that have 'sold out' recently?
The general public knows the word "Napster", and that name alone could carry it to success. Yeah, the FastTrack network has gotten huge, and Napster hasn't even been up for a long time, but Napster still has some big name recognition with Joe Public.
I mean, can't anyone think of other cases where people chose an expensive product over a free one? I can think of one or two off the top of my head.
Any way to just soundproof my PC case?
I know I'm going to get modded down for this, but what's use of having a free(as in beer) OS when you then have to buy all these little $19.99 packages to do something as mundane as print?
Yeah yeah, I know it's because lazy companies don't want to release Linux drivers, but it doesn't change the situation. How many little software programs must we buy to get basic functionality?
On second thought, I don't mind being modded down. I'd been months since I've been modded at all.
Does that mean we all have to learn Elvish?
The Gamecube is "built to enable Nintendo style games to be written easily"? What exactly is a Nintendo-style game and how does the Gamecube hardware make it easier to make this specific type of game?
Wait, lemme guess: if(hero==plumber) {texture_mapping=TRUE};
This is the single dumbest thing I've read all day.
This is a bit off-topic, but what a console controller really needs is a small, built-in trackball. Maybe off to the right, it would be a godsend to FPS players. Freelook with the trackball on the right, move/strafe with the d-pad on the left, and use the triggers for shooting and/or jumping. Finally, console players could hold their own against the PC elite in Quake!
> So much potential if they don't screw it up.
And even if they do screw it up, it'll still be on the air for at least five years.
> What I'm concerned about is my competitor, enemy, or boss having access to my personal communications.
Aren't those three the same person?
> We still wear Nikes, we still use Microsoft, and (some of us, I would imagine) still listen to Michael Jackson.
Any since when do we pay for any of these?
Maybe you should have taken advantage of an existing codebase for your game? For my game-related Major Qualifying Project, I'm using code from several GPL'ed programs. Programming from scratch is hard, and there is no point in re-inventing the wheel. Cheers.
Blast it, why must this issue be about individual liberties vs. public safety? Can't we use technology to make us safer without becoming a police state? There are several options to make planes un-hijackable (cockpit sealing, panic buttons w/auto-pilot, etc.) and many other practical options available to us.
Trying to prevent people from talking about terrorism isn't going to get us anywhere. We should make it illegal to think about terrorism for all the good it will do. I say let them talk - if hijacking a plane is impossible, they might as well be talking about the weather.
Obviously they can't check through all the mail, so anyone know what kind of keywords they're searching on? There are a lot of people exchanging e-mails about the recent terrorism, so I'd imagine they'd get a lot of hits.
Or maybe they're just searching for messages in Arabic? Or singling out encrypted ones?
Wired had an article about tech news sites picking up the slack, and mentioned that Slashdot was getting up to 60 hits per second. The next part confused me, though:
"That is substantially less than major news sites. The Lycos news network -- of which Wired News is a part -- receives about 115 page views per second each day."
I can see how the entire Lycos news network can get that much traffic, but did any one site get hit that much? I haven't heard any other news site statistics.
The next thing you know the RIAA and MPAA will want us to use some kind of inferior crypto too!
I'll just stick my with ROT-13 thanks - it's safer!
And how is this supposed to stop Bin Ladin from encrypting his communications? Seems like the only people that would end up with these helpful 'backdoors' would be us citizens.
That should satisfy your no-violins-in-games policy!
I keep on hearing people say over and over how these big content companies need to find a "new business model" that will work on the Internet. That may well be true, but can YOU think of a business model that'll work for books, music, and movies on the 'net? One that will last? I'm drawing a blank.
I envision a future where you Can't Sell things like books, music, or movies. Books can be on the web with advertisements, music bands can tour or get played on net radio, and movies can have commercials. The "problem" with advertising on the net is that advertisers finally found out how much we ignore ads in general, especially dinky little ones at the top of web pages. Ad revenues will come back eventually.
For this to generate money, you have to cut out the middlemen - Sony, Universal, Time Warner, Random House, etc.. Too bad for them.
...the classic Lucasarts adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis?
I hope so. I loved the part where Indy dug out of that cave he was trapped in using only a hard plank. In fact, he got a lot of usage out of that plank, if I remember correctly.
...and if so, is it really as bloated as people say? Also, is it all programmed in COBOL, or is there some Fortran thrown in too?
The simple fact that they haven't made an announcement means they are still doing the wait-and-see approach. They might go with Nintendo, though I can't see Nintendo lifting a finger to entice them to do so. I guess they'll go with Sony, unless large amounts of money convince them to go with MS.