That sounds like a good course for anyone to take. How to write a paper effectively. There's definitely a science to creating great works. Not necessarily the creative content but there are archetypes for a reason.
If you're doing so with the aim of improving your computer-generated score, you might as well call it "How to Write Boilerplate Drivel". By grading with an algorithm Qualrus dissuades students from developing their own writing style since, as the grandparent said, there's a certain mix that'll get you a perfect score every time. What you get is a mad dash to appease the program rather than any sort of actual skill or artistry with the English language.
If I wind up getting one, I'm waiting until at least the first or second hardware revision. I've seen way too many friends get burned (literally in the case of the PS;p) by crappy first-gen SCE hardware. I'm especially nervous about the drives. The PS2 isn't even portable, and the first generation of drives had tons of problems with laser focus. Of all the people I know with first-gen machines (quite a few), almost all of them have had to have theirs fixed/replaced. The one who hasn't complains about skipping and stuttering. Knowing this, it doesn't take much imagination to come up with serious doubts/concerns about the PSP's robustness.
With the launch slated to happen within the next year or two, I don't think "already" is the correct choice of word. Hell, considering what development times are now, I'd almost say they're a bit late.
I think Eidos had a lot to do with Deus Ex: Invisible War's problems. If I recall correctly, he wasn't even the project head. He was given a co-leader (probably a plant from corporate headquarters) to work with. Warren wasn't given the free reign he wanted/needed, and the product suffered. Considering the low percentage of bad titles under his belt (and I wouldn't even necessarily say IW was bad, just not what it should've been), I'd still be willing to give him another chance.
I still don't get why everyone acts like Invisible War ran over their dog
It wasn't a horrible game, and was certainly worth playing. But it certainly wasn't the great game everyone was expecting. My laundry list of problems with Deus Ex: Invisible War:
1) The shadows were a gimmick: Dynamic shadows had massive potential for inventiveness in stealth gameplay (shooting out the lights a-la Riddick for example), and they were squandered. Essentially they hugely raised the system requirements for nothing except a bit of eye candy.
2) The textures: You could tell that DX:IW was a console port by the textures. No matter what resolution you ran at, they just looked awful on a PC. This was fixed by a group of fans who made their own (excellent) high-res texture pack, but it shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. The later European and DVD versions of the game came with official high-res textures, but they didn't offer them to anyone who had previously bought the game.
3) The great ballooning UI monster: Without tweaking, the game's HUDs and menus were huge and clunky. This is obviously yet another concession to the Xbox port, as a nice compact HUD would've been hard to read on a TV. Once again fixable on the user's side, but not something you should have to deal with.
4) Chairs on Ice!: The physics of the game were sorta entertaining, but way unrealistic. It really breaks the immersion of the game when you bump into a chair and it slides like it's on greased ice.
5) No more skill points: Half of the joy of the original was gaining skill points, and using them to tailor your character to your approach to the game. It just added an extra element of freedom that was missing from the sequel.
6) No exploration bonuses: This goes along with the previous complaint, but I thought it deserved its own heading. The original game provided a real incentive for you to poke around every nook and cranny of the level if possible. In the sequel you can still explore as thoroughly as you like, but you're not gonna get much for it except maybe some ammo or money.
7) Stupid AI tricks: Let's face it, the AI in DX:IW is dumb as paint. And while I admit that the original AI that was just as stupid, wasn't that one of the things they promised to fix in the sequel?
8) Choices? We don't need no steenking choices!: Despite the promise of a branching storyline and tough choices to make, DX:IW does not give you much of anything in the way of choice. Yeah you can choose to do or not do a mission, but that doesn't really matter. I was able to complete every single mission thrown my way with no consequences whatsoever to the plot. In fact, no matter what path you take, it's still possible to get all of the possible endings when you reach the last level.
9) Universal ammo: The one that pissed people off the most. Not only does it make no sense (carbon doesnn't make particularly good projectiles, it's too brittle), but it rips tons of strategy from the game, and has other obnoxious gameplay repurcussions (see #10 for what I mean). Ammo management was one of the most important parts of the first game. If you ran around sniping everyone with the rifle, you were going to run out. So you needed to pick and choose when to use what. It also allowed for cool stuff like multiple ammo types for the same weapon (mmmm... white phospherous rockets...). This was sorely missed in IW.
10) Retarded damage modeling: Walk up to a guy point blank, place a pistol straight to his head, and fire. Is he dead? Nope, he's running around barking the in-game equivalent to "Ow! Quit it!" To balance out the universal ammo, the developers made different weapons cost more based on their power (which, once again, doesn't make much sense - does a pistol round take all that much more to make than a sniper round?). Unfortunately, there's a wrench thrown in this when people keep picking enemies off with cheap pistol ammo. The solution? Make the pistol weaker than a Darringer. This means you can say goodbye to the efficient stealt
I just loaded up the precompiled build they offered on my MPx200 upgraded to Smartphone 2003. Actually, I lied. It's STILL loading after a solid two or three minutes... Make that five minutes. Or maybe si... oh it's loaded now. Jesus Christ guys I know it's an alpha build, but is this what you call compact?
oops, typo correction time: I meant to say "These X (where X is a number of 3 or greater) people are the only ones capable of saving the world/universe/creation at large" plot structure we've become so used to."
Uh, if you compare the Gamecube and the Playstation 2 in graphical capabilities, the GC beats the pants off of it. Sony is the one lagging on the power front of the current generation. As for plot, I for one am growing weary of your typical over-wrought video game plot. My friends and I have been having a lot of discussions lately of how sick of the "These X (where X is a number of 3 or greater) people are the only ones capable of saving the world/universe/creation at large" plot structure we've become. I'm not saying that a good game plot isn't possible, just that a bad one can be a significant impediment to enjoyment. If you don't have a grandiose plot in mind, and your game doesn't need it, don't try and shoehorn one in.
The lack of voice acting.
With the low quality typical of today's video game voiceovers, I personally take this as a blessing. Even some of my absolute favorite games ever have problems with voice acting quality (some of the NPCs in Deus Ex... *shudder*). If they can afford quality voice talent and direction, I'm all for it. But if they can't, I'm more than happy to let my imagination do the job.
Young was also quoted as saying "The first step is to rebalance the team. This has required us to let go 60 people -- from many different teams. There is no focus on any one team or any one class of individuals. It's a studio-wide thing to reset the business fundamentals and get the studio to the next level."
I don't know about you, but to me this statement has more spin that a top. Instead of coming off as cynical attempt to maximize profits despite increased revenue, they make it sound like something that's better for everyone. They're not culling developers now that they're not needed anymore, they're "taking it to the next level!" Yeah, right.
ZSNES handles all of its sound, video, and input without a third-party cross-platform library.
Actually, that's not totally correct. The Linux port uses SDL, and the Windows port uses DirectX (not cross-platform, but its a 3rd party library nonetheless). I do believe that you're correct in that the DOS version handles/handled things on its own, though.
Back when, ZSNES was fast, because it was written in ASM. SNES9x was more compatable, because it was easier to tweak. And there was much boasting and bickering and it was basically an e-Penis contest between the two emus.
Eh, that was mostly Jeremy Koot of Snes9x (example: Jeremy made the totally unfounded accusation that zsnes used source stolen from Snes9x). I know zsKnight (creator/former lead coder of zsnes) personally, and he's nice to a fault. He doesn't have it in him to get into a contest of egos.
Snes9x was originally developed for Linux. Then some people came along and added MS-DOS support and the project snowballed.
My memory's a bit rusty, but I'm absolutely sure that's not true. Snes9x started as two projects, Snes96 and Snes97. Eventually they merged their code bases, hence the "9x" in the name. Both emulators were for DOS, so the concept of Snes9x starting as a Linux project is pretty much preposterous.
they have ported snes9x to; Solaris, OpenBSD, Irix, N64, FreeBSD, AmigaOS, BeOS, RiscOS, SunOS, MS-DOS, HP-UX, MacOS, Linux and Windows.
You'll never see zsnes ports for most of those systems because large chunks of zsnes are written in x86 assembly. To me that's a plus, because its hard for a higher-level language to beat assembly in terms of speed. zsnes is much faster than Snes9x, and therefore I can run it on older systems. Its true that it does suck if you don't run an x86-based box, but that doesn't make it inferior, just different.
Slashdot Mirror
That sounds like a good course for anyone to take. How to write a paper effectively. There's definitely a science to creating great works. Not necessarily the creative content but there are archetypes for a reason. If you're doing so with the aim of improving your computer-generated score, you might as well call it "How to Write Boilerplate Drivel". By grading with an algorithm Qualrus dissuades students from developing their own writing style since, as the grandparent said, there's a certain mix that'll get you a perfect score every time. What you get is a mad dash to appease the program rather than any sort of actual skill or artistry with the English language.
If I wind up getting one, I'm waiting until at least the first or second hardware revision. I've seen way too many friends get burned (literally in the case of the PS ;p) by crappy first-gen SCE hardware. I'm especially nervous about the drives. The PS2 isn't even portable, and the first generation of drives had tons of problems with laser focus. Of all the people I know with first-gen machines (quite a few), almost all of them have had to have theirs fixed/replaced. The one who hasn't complains about skipping and stuttering. Knowing this, it doesn't take much imagination to come up with serious doubts/concerns about the PSP's robustness.
I'd assume this concept goes along the same lines as "KOMPRESSOR does not dance", except it doesn't break your glowstick.
With the launch slated to happen within the next year or two, I don't think "already" is the correct choice of word. Hell, considering what development times are now, I'd almost say they're a bit late.
How do you roll up the universe when your drunken bastard of a father has destroyed everything?
And let's not forget that Final Fantasy started on a Nintendo console, and Metal Gear on Nintendo/Microsoft hardware (NES and MSX).
I think Eidos had a lot to do with Deus Ex: Invisible War's problems. If I recall correctly, he wasn't even the project head. He was given a co-leader (probably a plant from corporate headquarters) to work with. Warren wasn't given the free reign he wanted/needed, and the product suffered. Considering the low percentage of bad titles under his belt (and I wouldn't even necessarily say IW was bad, just not what it should've been), I'd still be willing to give him another chance.
I still don't get why everyone acts like Invisible War ran over their dog
It wasn't a horrible game, and was certainly worth playing. But it certainly wasn't the great game everyone was expecting. My laundry list of problems with Deus Ex: Invisible War:
1) The shadows were a gimmick: Dynamic shadows had massive potential for inventiveness in stealth gameplay (shooting out the lights a-la Riddick for example), and they were squandered. Essentially they hugely raised the system requirements for nothing except a bit of eye candy.
2) The textures: You could tell that DX:IW was a console port by the textures. No matter what resolution you ran at, they just looked awful on a PC. This was fixed by a group of fans who made their own (excellent) high-res texture pack, but it shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. The later European and DVD versions of the game came with official high-res textures, but they didn't offer them to anyone who had previously bought the game.
3) The great ballooning UI monster: Without tweaking, the game's HUDs and menus were huge and clunky. This is obviously yet another concession to the Xbox port, as a nice compact HUD would've been hard to read on a TV. Once again fixable on the user's side, but not something you should have to deal with.
4) Chairs on Ice!: The physics of the game were sorta entertaining, but way unrealistic. It really breaks the immersion of the game when you bump into a chair and it slides like it's on greased ice.
5) No more skill points: Half of the joy of the original was gaining skill points, and using them to tailor your character to your approach to the game. It just added an extra element of freedom that was missing from the sequel.
6) No exploration bonuses: This goes along with the previous complaint, but I thought it deserved its own heading. The original game provided a real incentive for you to poke around every nook and cranny of the level if possible. In the sequel you can still explore as thoroughly as you like, but you're not gonna get much for it except maybe some ammo or money.
7) Stupid AI tricks: Let's face it, the AI in DX:IW is dumb as paint. And while I admit that the original AI that was just as stupid, wasn't that one of the things they promised to fix in the sequel?
8) Choices? We don't need no steenking choices!: Despite the promise of a branching storyline and tough choices to make, DX:IW does not give you much of anything in the way of choice. Yeah you can choose to do or not do a mission, but that doesn't really matter. I was able to complete every single mission thrown my way with no consequences whatsoever to the plot. In fact, no matter what path you take, it's still possible to get all of the possible endings when you reach the last level.
9) Universal ammo: The one that pissed people off the most. Not only does it make no sense (carbon doesnn't make particularly good projectiles, it's too brittle), but it rips tons of strategy from the game, and has other obnoxious gameplay repurcussions (see #10 for what I mean). Ammo management was one of the most important parts of the first game. If you ran around sniping everyone with the rifle, you were going to run out. So you needed to pick and choose when to use what. It also allowed for cool stuff like multiple ammo types for the same weapon (mmmm... white phospherous rockets...). This was sorely missed in IW.
10) Retarded damage modeling: Walk up to a guy point blank, place a pistol straight to his head, and fire. Is he dead? Nope, he's running around barking the in-game equivalent to "Ow! Quit it!" To balance out the universal ammo, the developers made different weapons cost more based on their power (which, once again, doesn't make much sense - does a pistol round take all that much more to make than a sniper round?). Unfortunately, there's a wrench thrown in this when people keep picking enemies off with cheap pistol ammo. The solution? Make the pistol weaker than a Darringer. This means you can say goodbye to the efficient stealt
I just loaded up the precompiled build they offered on my MPx200 upgraded to Smartphone 2003. Actually, I lied. It's STILL loading after a solid two or three minutes... Make that five minutes. Or maybe si... oh it's loaded now. Jesus Christ guys I know it's an alpha build, but is this what you call compact?
My signs point to yes.
oops, typo correction time: I meant to say "These X (where X is a number of 3 or greater) people are the only ones capable of saving the world/universe/creation at large" plot structure we've become so used to."
The, gamers dont want graphics or plot stance.
Uh, if you compare the Gamecube and the Playstation 2 in graphical capabilities, the GC beats the pants off of it. Sony is the one lagging on the power front of the current generation. As for plot, I for one am growing weary of your typical over-wrought video game plot. My friends and I have been having a lot of discussions lately of how sick of the "These X (where X is a number of 3 or greater) people are the only ones capable of saving the world/universe/creation at large" plot structure we've become. I'm not saying that a good game plot isn't possible, just that a bad one can be a significant impediment to enjoyment. If you don't have a grandiose plot in mind, and your game doesn't need it, don't try and shoehorn one in.
The lack of voice acting.
With the low quality typical of today's video game voiceovers, I personally take this as a blessing. Even some of my absolute favorite games ever have problems with voice acting quality (some of the NPCs in Deus Ex... *shudder*). If they can afford quality voice talent and direction, I'm all for it. But if they can't, I'm more than happy to let my imagination do the job.
Pitt != CMU. I should know, I'm attending the former.
Actually I read about it on Bad Brain's official site, but it doesn't appear to be there any more.
"Who Censored Roger Rabbit"
Not the animators, that's for sure.
I meant DiscT@2 technology, which uses a special version of nero to burn pictures onto a CD.
That's the tech where you can burn an image into the data side of the CD. This is different.
Young was also quoted as saying "The first step is to rebalance the team. This has required us to let go 60 people -- from many different teams. There is no focus on any one team or any one class of individuals. It's a studio-wide thing to reset the business fundamentals and get the studio to the next level."
I don't know about you, but to me this statement has more spin that a top. Instead of coming off as cynical attempt to maximize profits despite increased revenue, they make it sound like something that's better for everyone. They're not culling developers now that they're not needed anymore, they're "taking it to the next level!" Yeah, right.
I say we officially revoke their Web Comic of the Year status. ;)
Now if only the robots could help perverse Japanese culture. They've got entirely too much of that.
In Soviet Russia, copyrights control YOU!
ZSNES handles all of its sound, video, and input without a third-party cross-platform library.
Actually, that's not totally correct. The Linux port uses SDL, and the Windows port uses DirectX (not cross-platform, but its a 3rd party library nonetheless). I do believe that you're correct in that the DOS version handles/handled things on its own, though.
Back when, ZSNES was fast, because it was written in ASM. SNES9x was more compatable, because it was easier to tweak. And there was much boasting and bickering and it was basically an e-Penis contest between the two emus.
Eh, that was mostly Jeremy Koot of Snes9x (example: Jeremy made the totally unfounded accusation that zsnes used source stolen from Snes9x). I know zsKnight (creator/former lead coder of zsnes) personally, and he's nice to a fault. He doesn't have it in him to get into a contest of egos.
Snes9x was originally developed for Linux. Then some people came along and added MS-DOS support and the project snowballed.
My memory's a bit rusty, but I'm absolutely sure that's not true. Snes9x started as two projects, Snes96 and Snes97. Eventually they merged their code bases, hence the "9x" in the name. Both emulators were for DOS, so the concept of Snes9x starting as a Linux project is pretty much preposterous.
they have ported snes9x to; Solaris, OpenBSD, Irix, N64, FreeBSD, AmigaOS, BeOS, RiscOS, SunOS, MS-DOS, HP-UX, MacOS, Linux and Windows.
You'll never see zsnes ports for most of those systems because large chunks of zsnes are written in x86 assembly. To me that's a plus, because its hard for a higher-level language to beat assembly in terms of speed. zsnes is much faster than Snes9x, and therefore I can run it on older systems. Its true that it does suck if you don't run an x86-based box, but that doesn't make it inferior, just different.