As for MS, both C# and the Common Language Runtime have published specifications, and MS's implementation is not the only one (see also: Mono Project). Granted, I don't think Mono has released a version of.NET Compact Edition.
If you can't create "WoW, just better" from release, then stop trying. Create something different, cater to a different audience, create distinguishing features. WoW is good, but it's not the be all end all of the genre. I can imagine games with more interesting combat mechanics, or more interesting class systems, or a better PvP, or a richer crafting/trading experience than WoW. But whatever you do, remember to lauch good enough to be worth "not plaing WoW".
I've seen plenty of games with better PvP than WoW or richer crafting/trading experience than WoW.
The problem is, if you don't cater to the lowest common denominator, you'll never gain a large player base... this is something that WoW excels at.
Also: PvE servers in WoW outweigh PvP servers by a large margin... to the point that WoW recently turned a PvP server to a PvE realm (don't remember which one... De[something] I think), allowing free server transfers to three other PvP realms for the players that wanted to stay PvP.
Why bring that up? Well, it's an example of how the majority of people don't want PvP, and forcing PvP in your game is intentionally limiting your target market. Example: EVE Online.
If I think back before WoW to my first MMO which was Star Wars Galaxies, I can recall the complete lack of a tutorial, the completely unpolished game play and the glitches right off the bat. But I stuck with it for a long time right up until the combat upgrade because I didn't know that there was a World of Warcraft.
I can't fault the ideas behind Star Wars Galaxies, but its execution was just terrible. It turned out to be a lot of pretty graphics (for its time) and very little substance.
So, of course, SOE patched out the old gameplay mechanics rather than adding substance...
I don't go back to WoW until an expansion comes out and then I just level max my characters and drop it after a month.
At least with the next expansion, the old world is changing, too. I'm thinking about returning to WoW for a month just to level up a new character from scratch (likely a Troll or Gnome just to see their new starting area). Preferably by having a friend that still plays WoW use a Scroll of Resurrection on me.
Speaking of WoW, patch 4.0.1 goes live today. It's a 4.8GB patch that appears to have updated a lot of the games sounds and graphics, as well as changed some class and game mechanics.
Such as: There now being 3 types of Glyphs rather than 2. Talent points are awarded every other level, so that at level 70, you only have 31 talent points at level 70 and 41 at level 85. You must choose a class specialization at level 10, then spend 31 talent points in that talent tree before you can spend any of the remaining 10 in either of the other trees. This means you are restricted to one talent tree until level 70. Hunters now have 5 pets with them at a time, with storage for 20 in the Stable. Hunters no longer need to find/buy/craft ammo. Instead, they have an unlimited supply that they get from... well, somewhere. HammerSpace maybe? Warlocks no longer need to carry around Soul Shards, as they're no longer used in most spells... instead, you have 3 that work like DK Runes. Soul Shards are used for the spell Soul Burn, which modifies the spell cast immediately afterwards. DKs Blood talent tree is now their tanking talent tree.
and a bunch of other changes I can't recall right now. I was reading over all these yesterday, but of course, the WoW site is blocked where I work.
Actually, now that I mention it, the new WoW expansion sounds like it's seriously going to limit customization, particularly on the talents front.
P.S. If you want to experience the new version of the old world, it'll be released in another huge patch: patch 4.0.3.
'-webkit-xxx' is already practically identical to '-moz-xxx' and as soon as W3C stop admiring their bellies, will simply become synonyms to... 'xxx'.
Except that, last I checked, Apple is telling people developing iPhone webapps to use -webkit-xxx, not xxx.
There is potential for a slight problem, sure. So the cost/benefit analysis is:
"Potential for a slight maintenance issue for the next two/three years"...against... "Lots of excellent features"
No brainer.
You're understating that problem. The problem isn't "Potential for a slight maintenance issue for the next two/three years" but instead "Doesn't work properly on non-webkit browsers"
You're right, it is a no brainer: Don't do it unless you want to go back to the bad old days where everything only worked on one browser (well... two browers, assuming Chrome supports it)... you're simply shifting which browser that is.
can anyone even think of a 32x game without Googling a list of them
Yes, specifically Knuckles Chaotix and Doom 32x... although the latter is really easy to remember.
And even then how many of them were considered "classics" like Perfect Dark or Majora's Mask is considered today?
The 32x didn't have classics, but there are some addons that did have classics.
Sonic CD for the Sega CD is considered a classic, and has spawned both a PC version, and Gamecube and PS2 re-releases (as part of Sonic Gems; Sonic CD was widely considered the reason to get Sonic Gems).
The Turbo-Grafx 16 CD addon had both what is considered the best release of Ys so far in North America (Ys Eternal for PC in Japan in better) and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, which is considered by many to be a classic Castlevania game, despite not being released in North America for the first time until 2007.
The game was remade as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP and had a re-release on the Wii Virtual Console as Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
And yes, I wasn't really even thinking about the PS1 (by the time I got a PlayStation I figured that the Dual-Shock controllers were the standard since the beginning) but that did help the PS1.
It was... interesting when you picked up a game that didn't have DualShock support, and you had to turn off the analog feature on the control pad. For example, neither Megaman Legends (the first, that is) or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had DualShock support.
Here's a bit of unrelated trivia: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. I wouldn't have even thought of Rondo of Blood for the previous entry had I not used SotN as an example here.
At least Sony is reusing components; The PlayStation Eye is one of two required* pieces in the Sony Move system.
Plus, attempts to "revitalize" a console midway through its lifespan have historically failed, the only "success" would be the expansion pack for the N64 the rest (SegaCD, Sega 32x, etc.) have all spectacularly failed.
I can only think of 3 games that used the N64 memory expansion: Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Having said that, there are other things I can think of that revitalized a console partway through its lifespan, such as the PlayStation 1's DualShock controller. However, that was because it shipped with every new PS from 1998 until Sony stopped selling the system (which was sometime after the PS2 launch in 2000).
* Only the PS Eye and Move Wand are required; the Move Navigation controller is optional.
With this scenario, you turn on your PS3, it says, "Hey, there's an update! Want to install it (yes/no)?" When you hit "yes", it downloads, installs, and you're done. It might take you 30 minutes depending on the size of the firmware and the speed of your internet connection, so go take a long shit or post to slashdot or something while it's downloading.
No it doesn't, at least not on the PS3 (60GB) I have. It replaces the normal sales message in the PSN notice area (upper-right corner) that says something like "System update available, seleect System Update from the menu to install."
Yes, it's still easy to do, but this isn't the Xbox 360 where it pops up and asks you if you want to install it.
If APIs change, then they change but a lot of developers would probably rather opt for that than something a lot more proprietary and complicated.
If APIs change, then you're stuck with a lose-lose situation.
Either 1. The browser makers have to support these non-standard (we could even say "proprietary") APIs, or 2. People who designed their sites for draft HTML5 and don't update them may partially work and fail in unexpected ways that the fallback doesn't cover.
We've already had a major electronics corporation telling people to use vendor extensions (specifically Apple with webkit extensions) instead of waiting for the finalized versions. We don't need HTML5 being diluted any further,
Actually, I got my current model as part of a NewEgg deal several years ago... buy the computer*, get the monitor for free. I had a nice CRT at the time that, as far as I know, still works... but is only kept around in case a monitor fails (after all, who wants to lug around a heavy CRT?)
* Yes, I didn't build my current computer... but I did upgrade the RAM and video card on it. I probably have slow HDDs, but meh... I'm due for a new desktop in a few years anyway.
5. The Community of South Fulton, who's fire department responded, is located in Kentucky. So not only do you have a city fire department responding out of their protection area, they are responding into another STATE.
This is an artificial problem created by arbitrary lines on a map. The problems are real and have to be dealt with, but not really an excuse in this matter.
This "lines on a map" thing affects government on 3 levels: local, county, and state.
Although they still have the same Federal government, and said government is more cohesive than the EU, it would still be similar to the guy living in Viana de Castelo, Portugal and the fire department being in Galicia, Spain.
I played TF in various incarnations for 7 years. I tried to get into TF2 but I guess I just got as tired of the genre as the originator of this thread got tired of MMO's. Not being able to put the time in to get good enough to play in a competitive clan, and the general lack of a strong clan scene to begin with, probably didn't help. Valve chose to balance the game around public servers rather than clan matches, to the detriment of clan matches. Granted, it makes good business and gameplay sense, since no matter what pubbies were going to account for 90%+ of their users.
Valve does do some things with competitions in mind... the Scout's Sandman weapon lost its ability to stun ubered players based on complaints from the competitive side.
Having said that, pubbies (me included) are where there money is, both with new game sales and now the in-game item store.
I must admit the Mann Co. Supply Crates were an interesting addition to the game. Since they came at the same time as crafting, and you must buy a key for $2.49 to open it (and can only add $5 or more to your Steam wallet), if you don't want to spend the money to buy a key, you can just trade the crate to someone else for something you need.
Of course, since the only apparent way to get the new non-set hats is these crates, you take your chances on missing what is currently a rare hat.
Or I could just play Team Fortress 2, which I got as part of a 5-game pack for $50 that has no monthly fee*.
I'm not allowed to play both?
You could, but it really depends on how much free time you have.
Valve has the disturbing tendency to reward people who play more often, although they did put a cap on how many items drop for a person in a week.
WoW also tends to have large time commitments.
My decision was easier, as my friends started dropping out of WoW following a series of "lets start over, but on a (Normal, PvP, or RP) server as (Alliance or Horde)!" bits.
TF2 has 9 classes to choose from! And quests ("push the cart!", "go get the flag!", "defend the point!"). You gain new loot by playing. You can get achievements. You group with other players and kill enemies. It's basically the best online RPG ever.
You forgot to mention the awesome PvP play in TF2! And you can trade the items you pick up, but some are soulbound/non-tradeable. You can craft new items.
As for classes, they both have: Tanking classes (WoW Warrior - TF2 Heavy) Close range DPS (WoW Rogue - TF2 Spy, Scout) Ranged DPS (WoW Mage - TF2 Soldier) Ranged Specialist (WoW Hunter - TF2 Sniper) Healers (WoW Priest - TF2 Medic) Hybrid DPS/Healer (WoW Shaman, Paladin, Druid - TF2 Engineer) DoT Specialists (WoW Warlock - TF2 Pyro) Cheesy, overpowered classes* (WoW Death Knight - TF2 Demoman)
I would have to kill seventy trillion boars instead of forty trillion?
I'm sorry Cartman, but that's just how long it's going to take.
On a more serious note, the game doesn't actually work like that... you should use a more credible source than South Park if you really want to know how the game works.
They announced a PLAN to make RealID required to post on the official forums (an activity that only a small percentage of players even participate in anyways). After community backlash they NEVER IMPLEMENTED that plan.
If you check, I believe that they stated that they're choosing not to implement that plan YET and refused to comment on what they'll do in the future.
Have you ever thought that someone who might like an Action-Adventure-RPG such as WoW wouldn't like a twitch First Person Shooter like TF2?
Maybe I should have clarified that.
I could renew my WoW WotLK account and pay $15/month to play WoW or I could pay nothing and play TF2. I clearly can't make your decisions for you, but for me it was easy.
P.S. The two groups do overlap. The group of friends I used to play WoW with are the same group of friends that I played FPS and RTS games with in the past.
And Valve really seems bent on eventually turning TF2 into an RPG. Hell, the game just added item sets of all things, and equipping all 3-4 items in a set gives you bonuses.
I have my Tier 1 Spy set equipped right now!
P.P.S. I'll likely renew my WoW account for a month once the old world changes hit just to see what changed.
Even if you pay 15/mo in the US, it still works out to a few cents per hour (I play alot in a month). Even if you play for 2 hours a month it's cheaper than going to a movie.
Or I could just play Team Fortress 2, which I got as part of a 5-game pack for $50 that has no monthly fee*.
Since my community runs it own servers, we turn AllTalk on, although that does make it harder to coordinate things as a team.
* However, since I've clocked over 800 hours (prolly over 900 by now, over 1800/1900 if you count idle time for items back when that worked), I did spend the $50 on the item pack Valve recently added. I can afford to give then some money to continue adding new things to the game.
Now, if Valve would only give me a Mann Co. Supply Crate, I'd give them even more money! (They cost $2.49 for the key to open one.)
Slashdot Mirror
What language does RIM use again?
Oh right, Java.
As for MS, both C# and the Common Language Runtime have published specifications, and MS's implementation is not the only one (see also: Mono Project). Granted, I don't think Mono has released a version of .NET Compact Edition.
Those "stock fundamental classes" were either taken or adapted from Apache Harmony, which is the point of this article.
Well, DUH.
I have auto-login turned on and now I can't remember what I set my ******** to. I think I made it something easy for me to remember, though.
I've seen plenty of games with better PvP than WoW or richer crafting/trading experience than WoW.
The problem is, if you don't cater to the lowest common denominator, you'll never gain a large player base... this is something that WoW excels at.
Also: PvE servers in WoW outweigh PvP servers by a large margin... to the point that WoW recently turned a PvP server to a PvE realm (don't remember which one... De[something] I think), allowing free server transfers to three other PvP realms for the players that wanted to stay PvP.
Why bring that up? Well, it's an example of how the majority of people don't want PvP, and forcing PvP in your game is intentionally limiting your target market. Example: EVE Online.
If it's really as bad as people say, I don't think the 8 weeks until December 7th is enough time to fix it.
I can't fault the ideas behind Star Wars Galaxies, but its execution was just terrible. It turned out to be a lot of pretty graphics (for its time) and very little substance.
So, of course, SOE patched out the old gameplay mechanics rather than adding substance...
At least with the next expansion, the old world is changing, too. I'm thinking about returning to WoW for a month just to level up a new character from scratch (likely a Troll or Gnome just to see their new starting area). Preferably by having a friend that still plays WoW use a Scroll of Resurrection on me.
Speaking of WoW, patch 4.0.1 goes live today. It's a 4.8GB patch that appears to have updated a lot of the games sounds and graphics, as well as changed some class and game mechanics.
Such as:
There now being 3 types of Glyphs rather than 2.
Talent points are awarded every other level, so that at level 70, you only have 31 talent points at level 70 and 41 at level 85.
You must choose a class specialization at level 10, then spend 31 talent points in that talent tree before you can spend any of the remaining 10 in either of the other trees. This means you are restricted to one talent tree until level 70.
Hunters now have 5 pets with them at a time, with storage for 20 in the Stable.
Hunters no longer need to find/buy/craft ammo. Instead, they have an unlimited supply that they get from... well, somewhere. HammerSpace maybe?
Warlocks no longer need to carry around Soul Shards, as they're no longer used in most spells... instead, you have 3 that work like DK Runes.
Soul Shards are used for the spell Soul Burn, which modifies the spell cast immediately afterwards.
DKs Blood talent tree is now their tanking talent tree.
and a bunch of other changes I can't recall right now. I was reading over all these yesterday, but of course, the WoW site is blocked where I work.
Actually, now that I mention it, the new WoW expansion sounds like it's seriously going to limit customization, particularly on the talents front.
P.S. If you want to experience the new version of the old world, it'll be released in another huge patch: patch 4.0.3.
Except that, last I checked, Apple is telling people developing iPhone webapps to use -webkit-xxx, not xxx.
You're understating that problem. The problem isn't
"Potential for a slight maintenance issue for the next two/three years"
but instead "Doesn't work properly on non-webkit browsers"
You're right, it is a no brainer: Don't do it unless you want to go back to the bad old days where everything only worked on one browser (well... two browers, assuming Chrome supports it)... you're simply shifting which browser that is.
0118-999-881-999-119-7253
-- Emergency Services number.
Yes, specifically Knuckles Chaotix and Doom 32x... although the latter is really easy to remember.
The 32x didn't have classics, but there are some addons that did have classics.
Sonic CD for the Sega CD is considered a classic, and has spawned both a PC version, and Gamecube and PS2 re-releases (as part of Sonic Gems; Sonic CD was widely considered the reason to get Sonic Gems).
The Turbo-Grafx 16 CD addon had both what is considered the best release of Ys so far in North America (Ys Eternal for PC in Japan in better) and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, which is considered by many to be a classic Castlevania game, despite not being released in North America for the first time until 2007.
The game was remade as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP and had a re-release on the Wii Virtual Console as Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
It was... interesting when you picked up a game that didn't have DualShock support, and you had to turn off the analog feature on the control pad. For example, neither Megaman Legends (the first, that is) or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had DualShock support.
Here's a bit of unrelated trivia: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. I wouldn't have even thought of Rondo of Blood for the previous entry had I not used SotN as an example here.
At least Sony is reusing components; The PlayStation Eye is one of two required* pieces in the Sony Move system.
I can only think of 3 games that used the N64 memory expansion: Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Having said that, there are other things I can think of that revitalized a console partway through its lifespan, such as the PlayStation 1's DualShock controller. However, that was because it shipped with every new PS from 1998 until Sony stopped selling the system (which was sometime after the PS2 launch in 2000).
* Only the PS Eye and Move Wand are required; the Move Navigation controller is optional.
No it doesn't, at least not on the PS3 (60GB) I have. It replaces the normal sales message in the PSN notice area (upper-right corner) that says something like "System update available, seleect System Update from the menu to install."
Yes, it's still easy to do, but this isn't the Xbox 360 where it pops up and asks you if you want to install it.
1600x1200 was a CRT, 1920x1200 is an LCD.
Having said that, it was part of a 2008 NewEgg promotion where, when I bought a new computer, I got the monitor for free.
If APIs change, then you're stuck with a lose-lose situation.
Either
1. The browser makers have to support these non-standard (we could even say "proprietary") APIs, or
2. People who designed their sites for draft HTML5 and don't update them may partially work and fail in unexpected ways that the fallback doesn't cover.
We've already had a major electronics corporation telling people to use vendor extensions (specifically Apple with webkit extensions) instead of waiting for the finalized versions. We don't need HTML5 being diluted any further,
Actually, I got my current model as part of a NewEgg deal several years ago... buy the computer*, get the monitor for free. I had a nice CRT at the time that, as far as I know, still works... but is only kept around in case a monitor fails (after all, who wants to lug around a heavy CRT?)
* Yes, I didn't build my current computer... but I did upgrade the RAM and video card on it. I probably have slow HDDs, but meh... I'm due for a new desktop in a few years anyway.
We didn't start the fire.
Oh, wait...
This "lines on a map" thing affects government on 3 levels: local, county, and state.
Although they still have the same Federal government, and said government is more cohesive than the EU, it would still be similar to the guy living in Viana de Castelo, Portugal and the fire department being in Galicia, Spain.
This depends entirely on the monitor you buy.
I went from a 1600x1200 CRT to 1920x1200 LCD. In other words, I lost no vertical resolution.
Valve does do some things with competitions in mind... the Scout's Sandman weapon lost its ability to stun ubered players based on complaints from the competitive side.
Having said that, pubbies (me included) are where there money is, both with new game sales and now the in-game item store.
I must admit the Mann Co. Supply Crates were an interesting addition to the game. Since they came at the same time as crafting, and you must buy a key for $2.49 to open it (and can only add $5 or more to your Steam wallet), if you don't want to spend the money to buy a key, you can just trade the crate to someone else for something you need.
Of course, since the only apparent way to get the new non-set hats is these crates, you take your chances on missing what is currently a rare hat.
You could, but it really depends on how much free time you have.
Valve has the disturbing tendency to reward people who play more often, although they did put a cap on how many items drop for a person in a week.
WoW also tends to have large time commitments.
My decision was easier, as my friends started dropping out of WoW following a series of "lets start over, but on a (Normal, PvP, or RP) server as (Alliance or Horde)!" bits.
You forgot to mention the awesome PvP play in TF2! And you can trade the items you pick up, but some are soulbound/non-tradeable. You can craft new items.
As for classes, they both have:
Tanking classes (WoW Warrior - TF2 Heavy)
Close range DPS (WoW Rogue - TF2 Spy, Scout)
Ranged DPS (WoW Mage - TF2 Soldier)
Ranged Specialist (WoW Hunter - TF2 Sniper)
Healers (WoW Priest - TF2 Medic)
Hybrid DPS/Healer (WoW Shaman, Paladin, Druid - TF2 Engineer)
DoT Specialists (WoW Warlock - TF2 Pyro)
Cheesy, overpowered classes* (WoW Death Knight - TF2 Demoman)
*except ones already on the list, like Rogue.
I'm sorry Cartman, but that's just how long it's going to take.
On a more serious note, the game doesn't actually work like that... you should use a more credible source than South Park if you really want to know how the game works.
Unless they lowered flying mounts from level 60 while I've been gone, you would have already been guided to Outlands by the time you gain them.
If you check, I believe that they stated that they're choosing not to implement that plan YET and refused to comment on what they'll do in the future.
Maybe I should have clarified that.
I could renew my WoW WotLK account and pay $15/month to play WoW or I could pay nothing and play TF2. I clearly can't make your decisions for you, but for me it was easy.
P.S. The two groups do overlap. The group of friends I used to play WoW with are the same group of friends that I played FPS and RTS games with in the past.
And Valve really seems bent on eventually turning TF2 into an RPG. Hell, the game just added item sets of all things, and equipping all 3-4 items in a set gives you bonuses.
I have my Tier 1 Spy set equipped right now!
P.P.S. I'll likely renew my WoW account for a month once the old world changes hit just to see what changed.
Or I could just play Team Fortress 2, which I got as part of a 5-game pack for $50 that has no monthly fee*.
Since my community runs it own servers, we turn AllTalk on, although that does make it harder to coordinate things as a team.
* However, since I've clocked over 800 hours (prolly over 900 by now, over 1800/1900 if you count idle time for items back when that worked), I did spend the $50 on the item pack Valve recently added. I can afford to give then some money to continue adding new things to the game.
Now, if Valve would only give me a Mann Co. Supply Crate, I'd give them even more money! (They cost $2.49 for the key to open one.)