Is that it kinda flies in the face of everything that I see in the liberal grassroots, for the most part. I think on the right, it's a bit different as Bush is a personalization of the conservative movement right now (kinda sucks for them that he's not really conservative).
But on the left, on most of the liberal blog sites (Probably as partisan as you can get?) There's still fact based discussions on individuals issues. In fact, some people do have conservative stances on various things. In fact, quite a few people do. They've made up their own mind to a potential solution. And often case, NEITHER party is advocating said solution.
No, the problem in American politics isn't too much emotion, it's that there's not enough emotion. Washington DC is a frat house for greedmongers. Getting along is more important than making America a more popular place. Incumbants don't have to worry, because with gerrymandering, their seats are safe.
And because of that, people feel detatched from the democratic process. They don't vote. They don't care because to them, they're all the same.
I say fuck this shit.
DC needs to realize,that AT ANY MOMENT, we can destroy them. We, for lack of a better word, can totally 0wnerize them. All it takes is for people to stop putting party over country, and decide to destroy one of the two parties.
Put a bullet in their head.
Right now, the best party to do that would be the GOP. Mainly because they control pretty much everything (Killing the Democrats would entrench the status quo), but also because they walk in lockstep a WHOLE lot more than the Democrats. (In fact, the biggest problem with the Dems right now is that they don't stick together enough to be an opposition for the GOP).
What do you think would happen if the GOP lost 20-30 seats in the Senate, and several hundred seats in the House? The story would be a voting revolution. People demand new government. The Democrats would be terrified, because we could get the message out..YOU COULD BE NEXT. Get your ass in gear, get out of DC, and focus on fixing things. That would be a message that no party could ever forget.
Actually, as being an active member of the liberal political blog community, quite a few people had problems with some of Kerry's ideas. Most if not all did. Now, because they disagreed with Kerry did NOT mean that they agreed with Bush. Mostly they independantly thought some third idea was better.
Unfortunatly, at this point the Republican party is motivated less by ideology, and more by pissing liberals off, and the feelings of winning.
From what I see on the right grassroots level, there's some disagreement about immigration, but pretty much all of politics has been personalized into Bush itself. Which is probably the ultimate in an emotional response.
Launching as part of the Battle Isle add-on (which actually was released this morning, at about 10 AM EST), is a fully training mode that will get you up to speed with the game, and will allow you to move to more advanced gameplay types as you're ready to play them.
I spent about 2 hours touring it, and it's a great way for new players to get up to speed. It's a small download, so I would suggest that all people who are looking for something different try it out this weekend.
The Mac OS does various graphical elements at a more core level. It means that fonts and colors look more accurate and consistant from program to program, and even computer to computer. It's much easier to set up graphic profiles to ensure a consistant workflow.
I'm not a graphical designer, this is just what I've been told, and what I've seen.
You don't have to have the original GW in order to play Factions. Factions is a stand-alone game on its own, and includes the original 6 classes as well. (Not all of the skills, but enough of them to make them playable, as well as the new Factions skills for them, 25 a piece).
I actually was kinda blah on the expansion, I really expected a quick knock-off like most expansions are. But from all the information, as well as seeing some of the new skills, ArenaNet really have their act together and Guild Wars probably will be around for quite a while. Factions probably will be more popular than the orignal.
It was the massive inflation in arcade game prices that is at the cause of the problem.
Nobody's going to play a quarter muncher when they're throwing in a loonie every 4 minutes.
The idea that because a game is a sequel, that it has less innovation than one that isn't, to be honest, is hogwash. Innovation in the game community has nothing to do with characters or story. Innovation has everything to do with GAMEPLAY. And it's an evolutionary stance. Progressive increases and advances in the gameplay is what innovation is.
Oh, and by the way. The Final Fantasy and Zelda series have very few actual sequels. Especially the Final Fantasy series, where a majority of the games in the series are stand-alone efforts.
Actually there's a lot of doubt regarding XII. Quite a few people have serious reservations about the battle system.
Myself, after playing the demo, I have to say that the battle system is a load of fun. The game needs the customization system to fill it out, of course, but it's very promising.
#1. I'm not talking about graphical detail. I'm talking about level detail. Being able to render outside of the main course, allowing for multiple ways down the course, getting the feeling of weaving between trees...how possible would have this stuff been done before this gen?
#2. You're right. That's why I ratchet down the graphics in those type of games until I get fluid 60 FPS gameplay. It's THAT important to me. And if my computer can't render it? I don't play it.
Actually I'm looking at a list of PS2 launch titles, and I pull a few out.
The big one, the one I say really is this generation, is Dynasty Warriors 2. WTF? you may say. Think of all the games out there featuring massive melee style battles. This is something that was only really possible with this generation. From Spartan:Total Warrior, to Shining Force Neo.
SSX:The level of detail in the levels...which yes, does affect gameplay a whole lot is only possible on the current gen, I believe.
As well, the jump from 30-FPS to 60FPS is a huge difference IMO when it comes to gameplay. Smoother gameplay makes timings more accurate, and movement less distracting.
"Yahoo news is reporting that the great works of literature often read and discussed by the brighter of our up-and-comers"
Why does it always have to be the same books that are read by people? I mean..we're just limiting our range of expression here. Maybe our society would be a bit better off instead of mentally choking the chicken the brightest of our bright discussed things that matter..like say coming up with alternative fuel sources or fixing the economy.
Wow do I sound like one of those anti-TV coots there:). But I do believe that. We put far too much devotion into the "classics' and developing our "canon recognition", and not enough time into actual thinking up new and interesting ideas.
Which nobody has answered yet, even though it's in the open.
Prepping a game for HD, means way more detailed models/backgrounds/whatever. Easy. Nintendo is rejecting this for several reasons, 2 reasons are public, and one reason is my personal speculation.
Confirmed ones first. #1. Not needing the ultra detailed models will keep development costs down, keeping prices lower and profits higher. Seems reasonable for a business. #2. The HD models will require additional loading time. Nintendo is trying to keep loading time at a minimum. Again, very reasonable. Now, how much of an advantage this will be, we'll need to see next-gen loading times of course. But it's a wait and see thing.
And my speculation, considering the Ars Technica article on potential Revolution specs.
#3. Using system memory in resources for HD, the Revolution just isn't designed for. The system is designed to maximize non-graphical computations, making for better AI and physics. Personally, when it comes to gaming I'm more than willing to take a graphics hit for better AI and physics.
That's how I'd mod his statements. They make no sense whatsoever. Well they do...if you've not really played any of the games in question here. But if you've actually played the games, and think about it for a few minutes..you'd be thinking whaa?
See..what Spector is saying, is that the gameplay of GTA is great...pity about the content however. What Spector SHOULD realize, but doesn't, is that without the content of GTA, the gameplay would either be nosensical, or wouldn't exist in the first place. What Spector is talking about, the greatest part of GTA, is the "sandbox" appeal of it. But in order to remove the content, and really most of the controversy, you remove the sandbox element FIRST.
I would go a step further, and argue that ALL sandbox games fall into the same trap, and if people were really concerned about the content of video games, and not just about suing for money/scoring cheap and easy political and moral points, then we'd be talking about a much broader swath of gaming.
Because is the real controversy about GTA is that you're driving around a city, whacking mobsters and the like? Uhhh. No. The real controversy is that GTA gives you a living city that you can drive around in, and do basically whatever you want in. The gameplay that Spector lauds IS the controversy.
How ironic.
How quaint.
How dumb.
I would argue that any sufficently designed sandbox game comes with some potentially contraversial content. Be it the ability to be a facsist in the Civ games, to have gay relationships in the Sims games, or to create slums in the SimCity games, as a few examples. Spector himself, helped create a game where you can act like a pirate...hardly a socially redeemable activity.
Either be for or against these games. Period. But to try and play both sides, because playing the side you WANT to play limits your creative options in the future..well tough. Because when you're playing censorship, it usually boomerangs back to hit you in the head.
It's not the movies. Well, maybe it is, but it's not JUST the movies.
It's the fact that there's more competition right now for the entertainment dollar then ever before, and it's going to get worse for them. Put on top of that the negative cultural ideal of the movie theatre right now (talking+cell phones..not my experience but I'm sure this thread will be full of the stories.)
So what's the solution? I suspect cut the theatres loose. 0-day DVD/PVP-Online AND theatre releases. Allow the theatres to show more movies more often. So if you rally like The Empire Strikes Back, for example, then maybe next Tuesday evening there's going to be a screening. Digital distribution makes this possible
The old movie greats would never get made today, mainly because the dialog would be seen as too stilted and artifical. The acting would be laughed at as Showgirls quality, and the writing would be that of your brainless blockbuster.
Because that's what those movies WERE. They were star vehicles, created in a time where people wanted to go to the movies to see the stars. Acting, scriptwriting, cinematography (This is why Citizen Kane/Metropolis/Doctor Zviago were so great. They basically INVENTED cinematography). These things just wern't focused on for most movies back then.
They were..well..crap.
There always is about an equal number of good stuff that comes out. I read an interview with someone lately..Ah right. Jon Stewart. There's a constant supply of good, worthwhile stuff that comes out, and the ratio remains constant. He pegged it at 12%, but I think the number differs via the medium.
Music, less than 5%. Easy. Movies, I would say about 20% or so. (I would say that every year there are a few movies that are just not good, but are damn great.) Video Games, well over a third. (Which is why I spend so much time playing them).
The problem, as the article pointed out, is on the lower end. Less people are willing to put up with crap. They just don't have the market for the crap movie anymore. It's something they're going to have to deal with in the uber-connected world.
If investments worked properly, then yeah this would be fine. Because a company would be paying a decent dividend, (say about 1/20th of what you paid for the stock), on an annual basis.
But what it is right now is a ponzi scheme relying on retirement plans to funnel blind money into the stock market so the prices go up, making actual investment impossible. Everything is speculation.
Actually, in a game such as Mars Matrix, you're never caught without any hope. If you're shot, you see the bullet onscreen, and to be honest, your hitbox is so small (This is by design), that you can get out of ANY situation. If you can't, use a bomb, and be more careful in the future. Run out of bombs? Well it's your own damn fault for using them.
"HDTV (a feature Nintendo ended up dropping because of cost)"
Nintendo dropped the HDTV because of costs to the developers. Supporting HDTV, well..in the other two cases mandating it, forces companies, who want to make more gameplay focused games on throwing resources (i.e.$$$) that so that they make the graphics quality not look like ass on HDTV.
Slashdot Mirror
Is that it kinda flies in the face of everything that I see in the liberal grassroots, for the most part. I think on the right, it's a bit different as Bush is a personalization of the conservative movement right now (kinda sucks for them that he's not really conservative).
But on the left, on most of the liberal blog sites (Probably as partisan as you can get?) There's still fact based discussions on individuals issues. In fact, some people do have conservative stances on various things. In fact, quite a few people do. They've made up their own mind to a potential solution. And often case, NEITHER party is advocating said solution.
No, the problem in American politics isn't too much emotion, it's that there's not enough emotion. Washington DC is a frat house for greedmongers. Getting along is more important than making America a more popular place. Incumbants don't have to worry, because with gerrymandering, their seats are safe.
And because of that, people feel detatched from the democratic process. They don't vote. They don't care because to them, they're all the same.
I say fuck this shit.
DC needs to realize,that AT ANY MOMENT, we can destroy them. We, for lack of a better word, can totally 0wnerize them. All it takes is for people to stop putting party over country, and decide to destroy one of the two parties.
Put a bullet in their head.
Right now, the best party to do that would be the GOP. Mainly because they control pretty much everything (Killing the Democrats would entrench the status quo), but also because they walk in lockstep a WHOLE lot more than the Democrats. (In fact, the biggest problem with the Dems right now is that they don't stick together enough to be an opposition for the GOP).
What do you think would happen if the GOP lost 20-30 seats in the Senate, and several hundred seats in the House? The story would be a voting revolution. People demand new government. The Democrats would be terrified, because we could get the message out..YOU COULD BE NEXT. Get your ass in gear, get out of DC, and focus on fixing things. That would be a message that no party could ever forget.
Ditto.
Actually, as being an active member of the liberal political blog community, quite a few people had problems with some of Kerry's ideas. Most if not all did. Now, because they disagreed with Kerry did NOT mean that they agreed with Bush. Mostly they independantly thought some third idea was better.
Unfortunatly, at this point the Republican party is motivated less by ideology, and more by pissing liberals off, and the feelings of winning.
From what I see on the right grassroots level, there's some disagreement about immigration, but pretty much all of politics has been personalized into Bush itself. Which is probably the ultimate in an emotional response.
Actually you have to have a first and a last name. It won't let you move past the character creation screen if you don't :p
Launching as part of the Battle Isle add-on (which actually was released this morning, at about 10 AM EST), is a fully training mode that will get you up to speed with the game, and will allow you to move to more advanced gameplay types as you're ready to play them. I spent about 2 hours touring it, and it's a great way for new players to get up to speed. It's a small download, so I would suggest that all people who are looking for something different try it out this weekend.
The Mac OS does various graphical elements at a more core level. It means that fonts and colors look more accurate and consistant from program to program, and even computer to computer. It's much easier to set up graphic profiles to ensure a consistant workflow.
I'm not a graphical designer, this is just what I've been told, and what I've seen.
You don't have to have the original GW in order to play Factions. Factions is a stand-alone game on its own, and includes the original 6 classes as well. (Not all of the skills, but enough of them to make them playable, as well as the new Factions skills for them, 25 a piece).
I actually was kinda blah on the expansion, I really expected a quick knock-off like most expansions are. But from all the information, as well as seeing some of the new skills, ArenaNet really have their act together and Guild Wars probably will be around for quite a while. Factions probably will be more popular than the orignal.
It was the massive inflation in arcade game prices that is at the cause of the problem. Nobody's going to play a quarter muncher when they're throwing in a loonie every 4 minutes.
The idea that because a game is a sequel, that it has less innovation than one that isn't, to be honest, is hogwash. Innovation in the game community has nothing to do with characters or story. Innovation has everything to do with GAMEPLAY. And it's an evolutionary stance. Progressive increases and advances in the gameplay is what innovation is.
Oh, and by the way. The Final Fantasy and Zelda series have very few actual sequels. Especially the Final Fantasy series, where a majority of the games in the series are stand-alone efforts.
Actually there's a lot of doubt regarding XII. Quite a few people have serious reservations about the battle system.
Myself, after playing the demo, I have to say that the battle system is a load of fun. The game needs the customization system to fill it out, of course, but it's very promising.
#1. I'm not talking about graphical detail. I'm talking about level detail. Being able to render outside of the main course, allowing for multiple ways down the course, getting the feeling of weaving between trees...how possible would have this stuff been done before this gen? #2. You're right. That's why I ratchet down the graphics in those type of games until I get fluid 60 FPS gameplay. It's THAT important to me. And if my computer can't render it? I don't play it.
Off-hand?
Actually I'm looking at a list of PS2 launch titles, and I pull a few out.
The big one, the one I say really is this generation, is Dynasty Warriors 2. WTF? you may say. Think of all the games out there featuring massive melee style battles. This is something that was only really possible with this generation. From Spartan:Total Warrior, to Shining Force Neo.
SSX:The level of detail in the levels...which yes, does affect gameplay a whole lot is only possible on the current gen, I believe.
As well, the jump from 30-FPS to 60FPS is a huge difference IMO when it comes to gameplay. Smoother gameplay makes timings more accurate, and movement less distracting.
Methinks you mean WETA.
"Yahoo news is reporting that the great works of literature often read and discussed by the brighter of our up-and-comers"
:). But I do believe that. We put far too much devotion into the "classics' and developing our "canon recognition", and not enough time into actual thinking up new and interesting ideas.
Why does it always have to be the same books that are read by people? I mean..we're just limiting our range of expression here. Maybe our society would be a bit better off instead of mentally choking the chicken the brightest of our bright discussed things that matter..like say coming up with alternative fuel sources or fixing the economy.
Wow do I sound like one of those anti-TV coots there
In a proper legal system, them trying this sort of BS would result in the entire package..copyright to the music and all..null and void.
Which nobody has answered yet, even though it's in the open.
Prepping a game for HD, means way more detailed models/backgrounds/whatever. Easy. Nintendo is rejecting this for several reasons, 2 reasons are public, and one reason is my personal speculation.
Confirmed ones first.
#1. Not needing the ultra detailed models will keep development costs down, keeping prices lower and profits higher. Seems reasonable for a business.
#2. The HD models will require additional loading time. Nintendo is trying to keep loading time at a minimum. Again, very reasonable. Now, how much of an advantage this will be, we'll need to see next-gen loading times of course. But it's a wait and see thing.
And my speculation, considering the Ars Technica article on potential Revolution specs.
#3. Using system memory in resources for HD, the Revolution just isn't designed for. The system is designed to maximize non-graphical computations, making for better AI and physics. Personally, when it comes to gaming I'm more than willing to take a graphics hit for better AI and physics.
That's how I'd mod his statements. They make no sense whatsoever. Well they do...if you've not really played any of the games in question here. But if you've actually played the games, and think about it for a few minutes..you'd be thinking whaa?
See..what Spector is saying, is that the gameplay of GTA is great...pity about the content however. What Spector SHOULD realize, but doesn't, is that without the content of GTA, the gameplay would either be nosensical, or wouldn't exist in the first place. What Spector is talking about, the greatest part of GTA, is the "sandbox" appeal of it. But in order to remove the content, and really most of the controversy, you remove the sandbox element FIRST.
I would go a step further, and argue that ALL sandbox games fall into the same trap, and if people were really concerned about the content of video games, and not just about suing for money/scoring cheap and easy political and moral points, then we'd be talking about a much broader swath of gaming.
Because is the real controversy about GTA is that you're driving around a city, whacking mobsters and the like? Uhhh. No. The real controversy is that GTA gives you a living city that you can drive around in, and do basically whatever you want in. The gameplay that Spector lauds IS the controversy.
How ironic.
How quaint.
How dumb.
I would argue that any sufficently designed sandbox game comes with some potentially contraversial content. Be it the ability to be a facsist in the Civ games, to have gay relationships in the Sims games, or to create slums in the SimCity games, as a few examples. Spector himself, helped create a game where you can act like a pirate...hardly a socially redeemable activity.
Either be for or against these games. Period. But to try and play both sides, because playing the side you WANT to play limits your creative options in the future..well tough. Because when you're playing censorship, it usually boomerangs back to hit you in the head.
Am I the only one who thinks DDR?
"Do we require that damages have been incurred (e.g. loss of revenue) due to a competing product?"
That one. And that should go for all patent and copyright law. If you're not using it, then you should lose it. Period.
It's not the movies. Well, maybe it is, but it's not JUST the movies. It's the fact that there's more competition right now for the entertainment dollar then ever before, and it's going to get worse for them. Put on top of that the negative cultural ideal of the movie theatre right now (talking+cell phones..not my experience but I'm sure this thread will be full of the stories.) So what's the solution? I suspect cut the theatres loose. 0-day DVD/PVP-Online AND theatre releases. Allow the theatres to show more movies more often. So if you rally like The Empire Strikes Back, for example, then maybe next Tuesday evening there's going to be a screening. Digital distribution makes this possible
Actually it's because 1up.com actually has a lot of interesting content in it. Probably more than the other big 3 gaming sites combined.
The old movie greats would never get made today, mainly because the dialog would be seen as too stilted and artifical. The acting would be laughed at as Showgirls quality, and the writing would be that of your brainless blockbuster.
Because that's what those movies WERE. They were star vehicles, created in a time where people wanted to go to the movies to see the stars. Acting, scriptwriting, cinematography (This is why Citizen Kane/Metropolis/Doctor Zviago were so great. They basically INVENTED cinematography). These things just wern't focused on for most movies back then.
They were..well..crap.
There always is about an equal number of good stuff that comes out. I read an interview with someone lately..Ah right. Jon Stewart. There's a constant supply of good, worthwhile stuff that comes out, and the ratio remains constant. He pegged it at 12%, but I think the number differs via the medium.
Music, less than 5%. Easy. Movies, I would say about 20% or so. (I would say that every year there are a few movies that are just not good, but are damn great.) Video Games, well over a third. (Which is why I spend so much time playing them).
The problem, as the article pointed out, is on the lower end. Less people are willing to put up with crap. They just don't have the market for the crap movie anymore. It's something they're going to have to deal with in the uber-connected world.
If investments worked properly, then yeah this would be fine. Because a company would be paying a decent dividend, (say about 1/20th of what you paid for the stock), on an annual basis.
But what it is right now is a ponzi scheme relying on retirement plans to funnel blind money into the stock market so the prices go up, making actual investment impossible. Everything is speculation.
Actually, in a game such as Mars Matrix, you're never caught without any hope. If you're shot, you see the bullet onscreen, and to be honest, your hitbox is so small (This is by design), that you can get out of ANY situation. If you can't, use a bomb, and be more careful in the future. Run out of bombs? Well it's your own damn fault for using them.
Too bad making HDTV compatibility is going to basically end that for Sony.
Jump Ball!
"HDTV (a feature Nintendo ended up dropping because of cost)"
Nintendo dropped the HDTV because of costs to the developers. Supporting HDTV, well..in the other two cases mandating it, forces companies, who want to make more gameplay focused games on throwing resources (i.e.$$$) that so that they make the graphics quality not look like ass on HDTV.