...as I've never seen any better digital representation of an utterly decayed New England town. I've lived most of my life on the North Shore of MA, and aside from the dam (there aren't a hell of a lot of dams out here) the familliarity of the locations (like the bowling alley and the decrepit museum/old prison *shiver*) Whoever did the art direction for that game deserves a medal.
Sounds really sweet... now what game are you talking about?:)
This game is like that 32 year old guy you knew in college. You know, the one that was still living in a frat house, was still taking basic studies classes and was always certain he was going to graduate even if neither he nor anyone else had any idea when.
Yup. And just like that 32-year-old guy in college, I have to wonder how they're supporting themselves.
I don't get this... I checked out the featured shots, and I honestly couldn't tell any difference. Is that really a "hands down" win?!?
(I'm buying a new pc a week before Half-Life 2 comes out, and whatever's the best equipment on the market at that point, that's what I'm getting. For my money, Nvidia has the edge because of their solid Linux support.)
Hehe. Yup. Right-wing talk-radio host Michael Savage has repeatedly referred to GTA3 as "that game that rewards you for murdering policemen and judges". It's not just the "right", though -- Phil Donahue ran a FUD-filled report on his short-lived show. That's why I mentioned "authoritarian" in my original post. Issues like this are on a different political axis (authoritarian/libertarian) than we're used to hearing about.
Part of what makes the GTA series sell is that there doesn't seem to be a line Rockstar won't cross. The first company who makes a game that crosses a new line is first to market a game with some totally new aspects which makes the game more interesting.
I disagree entirely.
Compare GTA3/VC with Postal 2. If GTA3's sales could be attributed to its pushing the boundaries of good taste, then Postal 2 should be an unprecedented blockbuster. But it's not.
Although it's an arguable point, I'm convinced that GTA3's success stems from its quality as a game, not from being controversial. In fact, if you look at the differences between GTA3 and GTAVC, Rockstar North actually made it *harder* to behave immorally in Vice City, as the police are far more difficult to evade.
Despite what authoritarians might tell you, GTA3/VC didn't reward you for killing innocent people. There are many missions where you must kill, but you're only forced to kill other criminals. (Why is it "okay" to kill criminals? I'm not sure; ask the majority of Americans who support the death penalty.) Sure, you can hire a prostitute. That's legal in many places in the world, including Nevada, U.S.A..
Here's the line that I wouldn't expect Rockstar North to cross: I wouldn't expect them to cast you as a junkie, and to reward you for getting your next fix. I wouldn't expect them to reward, or even allow, rape. I wouldn't expect them to reward (or even fail to punish) the murder of innocents.
I'll re-evaluate my positive assessment of Rockstar North if they prove me wrong on these points, but I don't expect them to do so.
Maybe I'm a little out of touch with gaming these days but is there really so much rape in videogames these days that it deserves it's own category?
Well, maybe not yet, but with GTA III and Vice City (where you can pickup prostitutes, etc.) they may just be preparing for sequels involving more of these story lines.
Are you serious?!?
Are you unable to distinguish between scenarios in which you "pickup prostitutes, etc." and rape? (Or is this just well-disguised flamebait?)
Either way, I suspect the folks at Rockstar North have enough sense not to cross that line.
Huh. Interesting point. I guess it's sort of like that quote I saw in someone's sig, "People who hate Windows switch to Linux; people who love Unix switch to BSD."
...done to Tru64, Irix, HP/UX, AIX and Solaris and emerge as the only viable competitor to Windows on the desktop?
Of course not. Two reasons:
1) Apple's followers are nothing less than fanatical; you will pry their Macs from their cold dead fingers.
2) Apple has seen the light. The costs of embracing Unix underpinnings and âoeMostlyOpenSource,â are going to seriously pay off. Soon, there will be nothing cool that comes out for the Linux Desktop that doesn't soon run on the Mac.
You're missing the point. The Mac users don't need to switch to Linux for Linux to overtake Macs as the second-most-used desktop system. All that's needed is for Windows users to swtich over to Linux.
Since I'm ignorant enough not to know what OSDL stands for, and lazy enough that I don't feel like searching for it, I'm just going to make something up. Here are my top 5 so far:
1. Open Source Developer Land
2. Oprah's Singular Dance Legends
3. Oops, Stallman Dissed Linus
4. O'Reilly Still Dignifies Linux
5. Official Simpsons Disco Library
There's an old puzzle that goes something like this: You are given three radioactive cookies, and told one is an alpha emitter, one is a beta emitter, and one is a gamma emitter. You are told which is which. You are also told that you must hold exactly one of the cookies in your hand, you must put exactly one in your pocket, and you must eat the third cookie.
During the invasion of Iraq, many USians (including myself) started following foreign press to get our news because the native news sources were so unreliable in their war coverage. I suspect we'll see more of this as independent news sources slowly get bought up and assimilated.
C-Span is the only news resource that can actually be called "fair and balanced", because all they do is show you what actually happened. Little to no analysis. It's awesome, and will only become more valuable as media consolidation moves forward.
They have 3 TV channels, a radio station, and streaming web feeds of everything. They even have a video library of notable coverage and events, all available for free.
When the Waste release story ran on./, I just thought, "Huh. Another file-sharing app and protocol."
However, now that there's a big fuss about it, I couldn't help but grab it from a mirror and compile it. Just because it's illegal! Man, I'm livin' on the edge!:D
Maybe if I'm feeling crazy later today, I'll start Waste up and distribute the DeCSS source! Woah, I'm getting light-headed...
Where you have to build bombs with sticks of chewing gum, and solve problems with your head rather than a gun.
After reading some of the other replies, I don't think we're really getting your point. It's not that you want a game where the puzzle is to use these specific elements together in this specific way; it's that you want a world simulator.
I'm a game designer, and that's what I've wanted since I was a child. My earliest memory of this was playing the top-down arcade racing game Turbo. All I could think was, "Yeah, that's the game I want! Except I want to be able to get off the highway, drive into a small town, get out of my car and talk to all the people."
The fact is, we're just not there. We're not ready to make the world simulator. Not there technically, not there economically (the team size would be prohibitive), and not there in terms of the marketplace. We're inching closer, though, always. I loved Grand Theft Auto 3 for its openness. Deus Ex let you express yourself through your solutions to problems. The Sims gives you a sandbox in which you can form and sustain (fictitious) relationships. That's how big the problem is -- a game is considered successful if it accomplishes even a small part of what would be the world simulator.
But we'll get there. I hope it's within my lifetime.
_O__-._O__
_|\___\|__ Dodge this !
_|_____|__
_/\____/\_
Boy, you pirates just keep pushin' the MPAA and RIAA. Why do you feel justified in stealing the hard work of hundreds of gaffers, effects artists, and yes-men?
I tell ya, next thing you know people'll be whistling copyrighted songs in public!
Semi-tangential, magician Ricky Jay isn't just a performer; he's also a devoted student of the history of magic. He often talks about how important this historical knoweledge is to understanding his art, and his own place in the greater timeline of that art.
It's a lesson that could probably be applied to most contemporary professions...
And now we're to believe that a TV show, from the Dubbya-Bee no less, about a teeny bopper girl who hunts boogeymans is somehow the 'best written show' on television?
Saying something like this only reinforces the appearance that you either A)Haven't watched the show or B)Were so prejudiced against it that when you *did* watch, there's nothing the show could've done to change you mind.
(And I'm not even going to ask what "The robots are really people" has to do with Star Trek, Matrix, or Buffy...)
On this topic, how do you find the performance so far compared to the 5500?
Are the new memory adjustments any hindrance with the large processor power increase?
Have you tried real-time video feeds on both?
A little disappointing, really. It seems like DivX movies run a little smoother on the 5600 (with tkcVideo). I was really hoping it would be fast enough to run MAME, but now that I have the 5600 I can't find a version of Zaurus MAME that works with any of the ROMs I have.
The two major hardware improvements don't justify the early adoption price, but they're pretty nice nevertheless -- a fully transparent screen cover and a built-in speaker.
Portland is more international than Georgia. There are many people from all over the world here. We have more than 8,000 Hmong tribespeople from the mountains of Vietnam here in Portland, for example. So, there are often adjustments to the special requirements of people from other cultures. As a volunteer, I've taught English to Iranian women, for example. It was interesting getting to know them; Iranians are far different than you would guess after you have read U.S. government information about Iran. The 100 or more Iranians that I've met are gentle and friendly and concerned about family. The Iranians I've met are light years away from being terrorists.
Just out of curiosity, how much Farsi did you find was necessary to teach the women English? I've always thought that was a volunteer gig I'd be into -- teaching English to non-native speakers -- but I'm terrible at learning languages, and only speak English and a pinch of Spanish. (No, the irony's not lost on me.) I'd always assumed I was ineligible for any such position for this reason, but it really depends on how much of a student's native language you must know to effectively teach them English.
They pay you, rahter than you paying them, and the class sizes are much smaller. What a deal!
Man. "What a deal" indeed. I went to grad school in Fine Arts, where you most definitely pay them. I've always wondered if Ari's Apple IIe hadn't eaten my disk that one day (containing the only copy of the cool RPG I'd written in BASIC), how different things might have been. At the very least, I'd have saved that $30k I paid them for grad school:)
Go to cadr.org. They maintain a list of air purifiers and their performance measurements. I ended up getting a Hamilton Beach model, and have been happy with it, but your needs may vary. (Note on cadr.org that the highly-hyped Sharper Image model actually does a very poor job of cleaning air.)
Party shmarty, lets just grow up and face it. There isn't any Democrats or Republicans on the national level. Just the Hypocrats.
Really? Would we be occupying Iraq right now if Gore were President? Not bloody likely. If you think Democrats and Republicans are the same, just wait and see the damage Bush & Company do if they win again in 2004.
Slashdot Mirror
Sounds really sweet... now what game are you talking about?
This game is like that 32 year old guy you knew in college. You know, the one that was still living in a frat house, was still taking basic studies classes and was always certain he was going to graduate even if neither he nor anyone else had any idea when.
Yup. And just like that 32-year-old guy in college, I have to wonder how they're supporting themselves.
3D Visual Quality - R9800 Pro hands down
I don't get this... I checked out the featured shots, and I honestly couldn't tell any difference. Is that really a "hands down" win?!?
(I'm buying a new pc a week before Half-Life 2 comes out, and whatever's the best equipment on the market at that point, that's what I'm getting. For my money, Nvidia has the edge because of their solid Linux support.)
According to CBN, Vice City is a game that simulates the rape and murder of prostitutes. (Seek to 15:20)
Hehe. Yup. Right-wing talk-radio host Michael Savage has repeatedly referred to GTA3 as "that game that rewards you for murdering policemen and judges". It's not just the "right", though -- Phil Donahue ran a FUD-filled report on his short-lived show. That's why I mentioned "authoritarian" in my original post. Issues like this are on a different political axis (authoritarian/libertarian) than we're used to hearing about.
See my reply to the AC.
Compare GTA3/VC with Postal 2. If GTA3's sales could be attributed to its pushing the boundaries of good taste, then Postal 2 should be an unprecedented blockbuster. But it's not.
Although it's an arguable point, I'm convinced that GTA3's success stems from its quality as a game, not from being controversial. In fact, if you look at the differences between GTA3 and GTAVC, Rockstar North actually made it *harder* to behave immorally in Vice City, as the police are far more difficult to evade.
Despite what authoritarians might tell you, GTA3/VC didn't reward you for killing innocent people. There are many missions where you must kill, but you're only forced to kill other criminals. (Why is it "okay" to kill criminals? I'm not sure; ask the majority of Americans who support the death penalty.) Sure, you can hire a prostitute. That's legal in many places in the world, including Nevada, U.S.A..
Here's the line that I wouldn't expect Rockstar North to cross: I wouldn't expect them to cast you as a junkie, and to reward you for getting your next fix. I wouldn't expect them to reward, or even allow, rape. I wouldn't expect them to reward (or even fail to punish) the murder of innocents.
I'll re-evaluate my positive assessment of Rockstar North if they prove me wrong on these points, but I don't expect them to do so.
Are you serious?!?
Are you unable to distinguish between scenarios in which you "pickup prostitutes, etc." and rape? (Or is this just well-disguised flamebait?)
Either way, I suspect the folks at Rockstar North have enough sense not to cross that line.
Huh. Interesting point. I guess it's sort of like that quote I saw in someone's sig, "People who hate Windows switch to Linux; people who love Unix switch to BSD."
#6. Only SCO Disses Linux.
Beautiful!
Since I'm ignorant enough not to know what OSDL stands for, and lazy enough that I don't feel like searching for it, I'm just going to make something up. Here are my top 5 so far:
1. Open Source Developer Land
2. Oprah's Singular Dance Legends
3. Oops, Stallman Dissed Linus
4. O'Reilly Still Dignifies Linux
5. Official Simpsons Disco Library
(I suspect I'm on to something with #2...)
During the invasion of Iraq, many USians (including myself) started following foreign press to get our news because the native news sources were so unreliable in their war coverage. I suspect we'll see more of this as independent news sources slowly get bought up and assimilated.
C-Span is the only news resource that can actually be called "fair and balanced", because all they do is show you what actually happened. Little to no analysis. It's awesome, and will only become more valuable as media consolidation moves forward.
They have 3 TV channels, a radio station, and streaming web feeds of everything. They even have a video library of notable coverage and events, all available for free.
When the Waste release story ran on ./, I just thought, "Huh. Another file-sharing app and protocol."
:D
However, now that there's a big fuss about it, I couldn't help but grab it from a mirror and compile it. Just because it's illegal! Man, I'm livin' on the edge!
Maybe if I'm feeling crazy later today, I'll start Waste up and distribute the DeCSS source! Woah, I'm getting light-headed...
Where you have to build bombs with sticks of chewing gum, and solve problems with your head rather than a gun.
After reading some of the other replies, I don't think we're really getting your point. It's not that you want a game where the puzzle is to use these specific elements together in this specific way; it's that you want a world simulator.
I'm a game designer, and that's what I've wanted since I was a child. My earliest memory of this was playing the top-down arcade racing game Turbo. All I could think was, "Yeah, that's the game I want! Except I want to be able to get off the highway, drive into a small town, get out of my car and talk to all the people."
The fact is, we're just not there. We're not ready to make the world simulator. Not there technically, not there economically (the team size would be prohibitive), and not there in terms of the marketplace. We're inching closer, though, always. I loved Grand Theft Auto 3 for its openness. Deus Ex let you express yourself through your solutions to problems. The Sims gives you a sandbox in which you can form and sustain (fictitious) relationships. That's how big the problem is -- a game is considered successful if it accomplishes even a small part of what would be the world simulator.
But we'll get there. I hope it's within my lifetime.
I tell ya, next thing you know people'll be whistling copyrighted songs in public!
Semi-tangential, magician Ricky Jay isn't just a performer; he's also a devoted student of the history of magic. He often talks about how important this historical knoweledge is to understanding his art, and his own place in the greater timeline of that art.
It's a lesson that could probably be applied to most contemporary professions...
(And I'm not even going to ask what "The robots are really people" has to do with Star Trek, Matrix, or Buffy...)
The two major hardware improvements don't justify the early adoption price, but they're pretty nice nevertheless -- a fully transparent screen cover and a built-in speaker.
Anyone know if this new 5500 ROM works with the new 5600? (I know, I'm like one of four people who were 5600 early adopters.)
Likewise, has anyone installed OpenZaurus on the 5600?
They pay you, rahter than you paying them, and the class sizes are much smaller. What a deal!
:)
Man. "What a deal" indeed. I went to grad school in Fine Arts, where you most definitely pay them. I've always wondered if Ari's Apple IIe hadn't eaten my disk that one day (containing the only copy of the cool RPG I'd written in BASIC), how different things might have been. At the very least, I'd have saved that $30k I paid them for grad school
Go to cadr.org. They maintain a list of air purifiers and their performance measurements. I ended up getting a Hamilton Beach model, and have been happy with it, but your needs may vary. (Note on cadr.org that the highly-hyped Sharper Image model actually does a very poor job of cleaning air.)
Party shmarty, lets just grow up and face it. There isn't any Democrats or Republicans on the national level. Just the Hypocrats.
Really? Would we be occupying Iraq right now if Gore were President? Not bloody likely. If you think Democrats and Republicans are the same, just wait and see the damage Bush & Company do if they win again in 2004.