Stallman basically told the the president of India that they could have and distribute programmers for free, rather than have to pay for some evil, greedy programmers who won't even show you their goods. Stallman's programmers come from all around the world and are completely open. His only requirement is that the terms of their release and distribution be kept in their chest pocket, and that the president give them credit if he modifies them in any way.
Exactly. Who the hell would know about these licenses other than gamers? Money could have been saved by not purchasing them.
My guess is that this douche actually thinks gamers want to see these movies because of their license, hoping to score better on DVD sales. If that's the case, he should at least shoot for some popular video game licenses.
Or, maybe he's just trying to piss gamers off, something that he does very well.
Exactly. Even the best beta testers can't save an incompetant development team. It's funny to watch game developers do whatever the gamers wish, no matter how detrimental. Sometimes the changes happen in beta, sometimes they happen after the game is released. Either way, the results make me chuckle.
Well, a good development team would provide a clear outline of exactly how they want a bug reported. If a report didn't adhere to those guidelines close enough, they could just keep it in a rumor area for potential reference and to see if there are any rumors that seem to be similar. Any reports that are pretty bad could just be deleted with a message being sent out to the tester. I also had an idea for handing out demerits for duplicate reports in my reply to JavaLord, that way the tester would want to make sure that they keep track of the process.
A separate area should be made for criticism with clear guidelines of how it should be reported There also should be an explanation of what is considered a bug and what is considered criticism.
Because you likely won't have the same type of quality people testing your game that you have working on projects like open source software, I think that a private beta would be much more fitting. That way, you'll have much less bad feedback because you'll have a limited number of people sending you feedback. In a public beta, you can't control the amount of feedback that you receive. Thus, ou're very likely to have a great amount of poor quality feedback because you can't control the quality of the tester. In a private beta, if a tester does a bad job or barely contributes, you just delete their account and grab another tester.
Not for the final version, because then people who aren't in the beta will think they are at a disadvantage.
That's what I meant. The testing period should last a while so therefore those incentives would still mean something.
But, maybe you could keep those in the final version with some restrictions. It would be nice to give the good beta testers (the top x) their own special area within the game after it launches where those incentives could still be used. As soon as you leave, those extras would be removed. Of course, this would be heavily dependent on the resources and the experience of the development team, but I could imagine potential testers applying in droves if they could have something within the final game that nobody could get.
As far as the game companies not wanting tons of bug reports, perhaps they could have demerits for duplicate reports. A simplified, private Bugzilla-like database could be used to help out the process. That way, the testers would have to really keep track of what's going on, otherwise there could be consequences.
When a player successfully finds and reports a problem in the game, they could be awarded with extra stats, items, in-game money, etc. In fact, maybe real prizes like exclusive clothing, figurines, developer autographs, cash credit at an affiliate site, or just plain old cash would help out too.
The prizes probably should be rated by severity of the issue that they brought to light. As they find more problems, they would get more prizes.
It probably wouldn't hurt to give a special thanks page, possibly even a rankings page so that it could be turned into a true competition. The testers could receive a special title for when the game is officially released, too.
Gamers tend to like free stuff that nobody else can get and respect within the game that they're playing. Any one of these ideas should be able to feed both needs.
Yes, what's often considered flamebait on Slashdot is indeed the truth. To me, this sounds more like a really spoiled kid who wasn't given his way than a true addict.
Really, anybody who does something in excess could be called an addict nowadays. If overdoing something leads to you causing trouble for somebody else, then you should be held fully accountable for it, just like drunk drivers are for killing somebody with their vehicle.
What should not be done is banning certain things because they could cause an "addiction" that leads to trouble. People shouldn't be forced into treatment either because it will be useless if they don't want it.
And, please, don't force taxpayers to pony up for somebody else's mistake. It wasn't their fault. Private treatment (as in no government funding) should be made available for those who couldn't afford it. But, if it is not available the addict, will just have to deal with it. No matter how callous it may seem, nobody else caused the addiction.
People should be able to make their own decisions, no matter how stupid. But, addicts should be held accountable for what they do. Society doesn't owe them anything.
No, actually that's not the way it went. I noticed him on my foe's list before I made my comment, so he actually seemed serious but was just modded as funny.
Had he not made me a foe, I probably wouldn't have replied at all.
I'm having fun with it. At least I know that they archive threads after a while, so it can't go on forever. That gives me some relief. Anyways, on to answering.
What does that mean?
It means that playing video games when you're older isn't anything to brag about.
Sounds like you are in High School and these are the things that matter the most.
Nope, I'm out and about to head off to the wonderful world of college.
News Flash: These things don't mean a thing after college (well, maybe the laid part, but we've already had a good run with that).
Actually, they very well could. If you aren't popular, nobody will want to know you enough to give you some! And, if you don't get any respect... nobody will want to give you some! That's a rough life. Being popular and having respect certainly do help in getting laid.
Your original post sounded like it was aimed mainly at those that don't play games after 30...like they grew out of it or something and games are for kids.
Many indeed do, they end up getting a job and having kids so they don't have time for it. But, when I mentioned not being able to handle a 3D title, I meant that the modern games are too hard to handle in terms of manipulation, controlling what you're doing, not as if it was too much for them to absorb. It's funny to watch people that age controlling their left thumbstick with their right hand or having to resort to the directional pad and still have a hard time maneuvering.
Instead, I got a bunch of angry older people who took it the wrong way.
Regardless, I wasn't even trying to imply that getting laid, popularity, and respect were that important. I was just trying to say that bragging won't do anything for you (I Be Hatin'), so shut up about it. For the Slashdot crowd, I could've very well said that it won't get you a raise from your boss or that it won't get you a pat on the back from Stallman or Torvalds.
Maybe getting laid, being respected and popular is too far of a stretch around here. Oh snap! Here we go again... (I don't use smilies, but you can picture one here with a big, shit-eating grin.)
"Extreme pride"? Where the hell did you dream that up from? All I said was that we could "handle" 3D games, not that I'm a fucking Quake-master.
I didn't need to dream it up, you implied it in your parent post: Shit, some of us were playing 3D games while you were still crapping in your diapers, punk.
Oh wow. You played 3D games in the 80s. You really wanted to drive the point home by giving me that page about SubRoc-3D.
You were exactly right, some of you played 3D games in the 80s. Some of you, not all. And the number of 30 something Slashdot reading video game players must be huge, right? I could hardly see how you are the prime example of your demographic. Why do you bother acting like you are? And why would you want to at your age? It won't get you laid, it won't make you more popular, and it sure as hell won't give you any respect from anyone regardless what you think of me.
And believe me, sonny, not having the respect of an insignificant twirp such as yourself really doesn't keep me up at night.
Yes, so insignificant that you keep posting here with angry responses. You know, you could've just stated that you disagreed with me in a nice manner rather than getting worked up and adding me as a foe over a comment about video games. Your responses make me think that you really do care, and I thank you for caring.
Is this the big one, Fred? Christ, you seemed really upset about that, as if you were somehow having a hard time coming to terms with your age.
Not everybody your age was able to make the transition to current games. Most modern games are much more involved nowadays and require precise control. I've seen many people that age have a terrible time trying to control what they were doing within the game.
Well, thanks for giving me the tough talk, you sure did show a "punk" like me the ropes. Now that I know that you're a middle aged man who takes extreme pride in their video game prowess, I have a great deal of respect for you...
Damn, my rhumatoid is flaring up, and my brain is frying from typing this.
Good, maybe it'll keep you from posting smart ass responses here.
Just because you are almost thirty and play video games doesn't make you representative of your demographic. Besides, you are posting on Slashdot, too. If I were to say that most people your age weren't that heavily involved in tech, would give me another snotty response like the one you've given here?
Don't take what I said out of context, as if it was a scientific law applicable to each and every 30 year old.
Well, pending that you're not too busy playing video games or being a prick here, you'll probably want to go out and do what most people in their 30s do... buy a Ferrari and try to pick up chicks 10 years younger than they are. It's called going through your midlife crisis. Make sure that you live it up, it won't be too much longer before your pooper starts going, too.
Well, I'm going to try finding the actual ESA study to see how it was conducted and what questions were asked in the study. But, I have a feeling that this might not be too accurate of a study.
Now, let's first assume that when the ESA uses the categories computer games and video games, that video games means console games.
When the ESA did the age divisions, they lumped 18-35 in one category and 35+ in another. I would be very curious to see how the 18-35 category breaks down.
Despite that, here's where I think that the most error could have come from. Notice how the 35+ demographic is much larger in the computer gaming category. Then, in the article that you provided, look both of the top gaming sites statistics. Notice how many are gaming networks like Yahoo!, MSN, AOL? Even sites like Neo Pets and Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball are included. These people could hardly be considered "gamers".
My guess is that the ESA included the type of games offered by some of those sites (chess, checkers, card games, fantasy games, etc) in their study, hence having a larger amount of older people written off as gamers. The other statisticians did it, so it wouldn't surprise me that a group representing the game industry included them either.
If the Vivendi is going to use licenses, why are they using such outdated licenses? The fans of those shows are mostly in their 30s. Considering that people that age grew up playing simple arcade games, I doubt that they're going to be able to handle a 3D title. Not to mention, I would highly doubt that there's very many people that age playing video games at all.
Before I get an argument about how Vice City was successful while being influenced by Miami Vice, take this into consideration. For one, Vice City gained a lot of its popularity just because it was a sequel to GTA III, not to mention it was just a good game in its own right. Also, Vice City had huge amounts of influence from Scarface, which is much more popular with young people than Miami Vice. Scarface is violent and widely popular amongst people's favorite rappers.
Not to mention, Scarface had pastel colored clothing, just like Miami Vice.
It's still possible, you just need to find the proper location. Just make sure the area you want to service isn't likely to have cheap broadband and has little competition from other ISPs.
And, just for the record, I'm not one of those "keep businesses small" zealots either. I'm a fan of free enterprise.
Hmm, somebody modded this post as a troll. Albeit this post was meant to be a joke, it's also the truth.
Sir Mix-A-Lot hasn't had a hit in years. In fact, aside from a few minor successes, he only had one major hit... in 1992. Regardless of his distribution method, he is highly unlikely to gain widespread popularity.
Weed will need artists with much more popularity to become successful, not just a fad like Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Slashdot Mirror
Stallman basically told the the president of India that they could have and distribute programmers for free, rather than have to pay for some evil, greedy programmers who won't even show you their goods. Stallman's programmers come from all around the world and are completely open. His only requirement is that the terms of their release and distribution be kept in their chest pocket, and that the president give them credit if he modifies them in any way.
Exactly. Who the hell would know about these licenses other than gamers? Money could have been saved by not purchasing them.
My guess is that this douche actually thinks gamers want to see these movies because of their license, hoping to score better on DVD sales. If that's the case, he should at least shoot for some popular video game licenses.
Or, maybe he's just trying to piss gamers off, something that he does very well.
Hey, it's not all that bad. At least porn directors gain a little more respect each time a Uwe Boll movie comes out.
Don't forget, he has the rights to Bloodrayne as well. I hope that made your day!
Load up your favorite P2P program and do a search for this file!
US SEN NORM COLEMAN P2P DISCUSSION -- SAYS P2P IS GOOD -- MUST READ.txt.exe
Exactly. Even the best beta testers can't save an incompetant development team. It's funny to watch game developers do whatever the gamers wish, no matter how detrimental. Sometimes the changes happen in beta, sometimes they happen after the game is released. Either way, the results make me chuckle.
...and the Canuck joke was great, dammit.
Well, a good development team would provide a clear outline of exactly how they want a bug reported. If a report didn't adhere to those guidelines close enough, they could just keep it in a rumor area for potential reference and to see if there are any rumors that seem to be similar. Any reports that are pretty bad could just be deleted with a message being sent out to the tester. I also had an idea for handing out demerits for duplicate reports in my reply to JavaLord, that way the tester would want to make sure that they keep track of the process.
A separate area should be made for criticism with clear guidelines of how it should be reported There also should be an explanation of what is considered a bug and what is considered criticism.
Because you likely won't have the same type of quality people testing your game that you have working on projects like open source software, I think that a private beta would be much more fitting. That way, you'll have much less bad feedback because you'll have a limited number of people sending you feedback. In a public beta, you can't control the amount of feedback that you receive. Thus, ou're very likely to have a great amount of poor quality feedback because you can't control the quality of the tester. In a private beta, if a tester does a bad job or barely contributes, you just delete their account and grab another tester.
Not for the final version, because then people who aren't in the beta will think they are at a disadvantage.
That's what I meant. The testing period should last a while so therefore those incentives would still mean something.
But, maybe you could keep those in the final version with some restrictions. It would be nice to give the good beta testers (the top x) their own special area within the game after it launches where those incentives could still be used. As soon as you leave, those extras would be removed. Of course, this would be heavily dependent on the resources and the experience of the development team, but I could imagine potential testers applying in droves if they could have something within the final game that nobody could get.
As far as the game companies not wanting tons of bug reports, perhaps they could have demerits for duplicate reports. A simplified, private Bugzilla-like database could be used to help out the process. That way, the testers would have to really keep track of what's going on, otherwise there could be consequences.
When a player successfully finds and reports a problem in the game, they could be awarded with extra stats, items, in-game money, etc. In fact, maybe real prizes like exclusive clothing, figurines, developer autographs, cash credit at an affiliate site, or just plain old cash would help out too.
The prizes probably should be rated by severity of the issue that they brought to light. As they find more problems, they would get more prizes.
It probably wouldn't hurt to give a special thanks page, possibly even a rankings page so that it could be turned into a true competition. The testers could receive a special title for when the game is officially released, too.
Gamers tend to like free stuff that nobody else can get and respect within the game that they're playing. Any one of these ideas should be able to feed both needs.
Yes, what's often considered flamebait on Slashdot is indeed the truth. To me, this sounds more like a really spoiled kid who wasn't given his way than a true addict.
Really, anybody who does something in excess could be called an addict nowadays. If overdoing something leads to you causing trouble for somebody else, then you should be held fully accountable for it, just like drunk drivers are for killing somebody with their vehicle.
What should not be done is banning certain things because they could cause an "addiction" that leads to trouble. People shouldn't be forced into treatment either because it will be useless if they don't want it.
And, please, don't force taxpayers to pony up for somebody else's mistake. It wasn't their fault. Private treatment (as in no government funding) should be made available for those who couldn't afford it. But, if it is not available the addict, will just have to deal with it. No matter how callous it may seem, nobody else caused the addiction.
People should be able to make their own decisions, no matter how stupid. But, addicts should be held accountable for what they do. Society doesn't owe them anything.
Excuse me, I meant to say my freaks list. And, for the grammar whores, there was no need for the apostrophe either. This thread just doesn't die.
No, actually that's not the way it went. I noticed him on my foe's list before I made my comment, so he actually seemed serious but was just modded as funny.
Had he not made me a foe, I probably wouldn't have replied at all.
Sorry, this is funny...gotta keep it going :)
I'm having fun with it. At least I know that they archive threads after a while, so it can't go on forever. That gives me some relief. Anyways, on to answering.
What does that mean?
It means that playing video games when you're older isn't anything to brag about.
Sounds like you are in High School and these are the things that matter the most.
Nope, I'm out and about to head off to the wonderful world of college.
News Flash: These things don't mean a thing after college (well, maybe the laid part, but we've already had a good run with that).
Actually, they very well could. If you aren't popular, nobody will want to know you enough to give you some! And, if you don't get any respect... nobody will want to give you some! That's a rough life. Being popular and having respect certainly do help in getting laid.
Your original post sounded like it was aimed mainly at those that don't play games after 30...like they grew out of it or something and games are for kids.
Many indeed do, they end up getting a job and having kids so they don't have time for it. But, when I mentioned not being able to handle a 3D title, I meant that the modern games are too hard to handle in terms of manipulation, controlling what you're doing, not as if it was too much for them to absorb. It's funny to watch people that age controlling their left thumbstick with their right hand or having to resort to the directional pad and still have a hard time maneuvering.
Instead, I got a bunch of angry older people who took it the wrong way.
Regardless, I wasn't even trying to imply that getting laid, popularity, and respect were that important. I was just trying to say that bragging won't do anything for you (I Be Hatin'), so shut up about it. For the Slashdot crowd, I could've very well said that it won't get you a raise from your boss or that it won't get you a pat on the back from Stallman or Torvalds.
Maybe getting laid, being respected and popular is too far of a stretch around here. Oh snap! Here we go again... (I don't use smilies, but you can picture one here with a big, shit-eating grin.)
"Extreme pride"? Where the hell did you dream that up from? All I said was that we could "handle" 3D games, not that I'm a fucking Quake-master.
I didn't need to dream it up, you implied it in your parent post:
Shit, some of us were playing 3D games while you were still crapping in your diapers, punk.
Oh wow. You played 3D games in the 80s. You really wanted to drive the point home by giving me that page about SubRoc-3D.
You were exactly right, some of you played 3D games in the 80s. Some of you, not all. And the number of 30 something Slashdot reading video game players must be huge, right? I could hardly see how you are the prime example of your demographic. Why do you bother acting like you are? And why would you want to at your age? It won't get you laid, it won't make you more popular, and it sure as hell won't give you any respect from anyone regardless what you think of me.
And believe me, sonny, not having the respect of an insignificant twirp such as yourself really doesn't keep me up at night.
Yes, so insignificant that you keep posting here with angry responses. You know, you could've just stated that you disagreed with me in a nice manner rather than getting worked up and adding me as a foe over a comment about video games. Your responses make me think that you really do care, and I thank you for caring.
Looks like Canadian wireless subscribers have been getting hosed when looking to get new hardware.
I don't know what you mean by subscribers, but ham equipment is still a little bit expensive no matter where you're at.
...and fuck closing your tags!
Is this the big one, Fred? Christ, you seemed really upset about that, as if you were somehow having a hard time coming to terms with your age.
Not everybody your age was able to make the transition to current games. Most modern games are much more involved nowadays and require precise control. I've seen many people that age have a terrible time trying to control what they were doing within the game.
But, considering that you are a man of genius, perhaps you were just out of touch with people your age.
Well, thanks for giving me the tough talk, you sure did show a "punk" like me the ropes. Now that I know that you're a middle aged man who takes extreme pride in their video game prowess, I have a great deal of respect for you...
Damn, my rhumatoid is flaring up, and my brain is frying from typing this.
Good, maybe it'll keep you from posting smart ass responses here.
Just because you are almost thirty and play video games doesn't make you representative of your demographic. Besides, you are posting on Slashdot, too. If I were to say that most people your age weren't that heavily involved in tech, would give me another snotty response like the one you've given here?
Don't take what I said out of context, as if it was a scientific law applicable to each and every 30 year old.
Well, pending that you're not too busy playing video games or being a prick here, you'll probably want to go out and do what most people in their 30s do... buy a Ferrari and try to pick up chicks 10 years younger than they are. It's called going through your midlife crisis. Make sure that you live it up, it won't be too much longer before your pooper starts going, too.
Well, I'm going to try finding the actual ESA study to see how it was conducted and what questions were asked in the study. But, I have a feeling that this might not be too accurate of a study.
Now, let's first assume that when the ESA uses the categories computer games and video games, that video games means console games.
When the ESA did the age divisions, they lumped 18-35 in one category and 35+ in another. I would be very curious to see how the 18-35 category breaks down.
Despite that, here's where I think that the most error could have come from. Notice how the 35+ demographic is much larger in the computer gaming category. Then, in the article that you provided, look both of the top gaming sites statistics. Notice how many are gaming networks like Yahoo!, MSN, AOL? Even sites like Neo Pets and Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball are included. These people could hardly be considered "gamers".
My guess is that the ESA included the type of games offered by some of those sites (chess, checkers, card games, fantasy games, etc) in their study, hence having a larger amount of older people written off as gamers. The other statisticians did it, so it wouldn't surprise me that a group representing the game industry included them either.
If the Vivendi is going to use licenses, why are they using such outdated licenses? The fans of those shows are mostly in their 30s. Considering that people that age grew up playing simple arcade games, I doubt that they're going to be able to handle a 3D title. Not to mention, I would highly doubt that there's very many people that age playing video games at all.
Before I get an argument about how Vice City was successful while being influenced by Miami Vice, take this into consideration. For one, Vice City gained a lot of its popularity just because it was a sequel to GTA III, not to mention it was just a good game in its own right. Also, Vice City had huge amounts of influence from Scarface, which is much more popular with young people than Miami Vice. Scarface is violent and widely popular amongst people's favorite rappers.
Not to mention, Scarface had pastel colored clothing, just like Miami Vice.
Charles Schultz is dead dammit! Unless you caught a reprint, there's no way you could've seen Linus!
And what the fuck does this have to do with penguins?
Aww... god dammit. Somebody posted that very same joke just two posts up from mine, only seriously. This really pisses me off...
we can give 'em another led too light there place up... teh activity light on there routr
kekekekeke
There, I did the shitty "we Slashdotted their site" joke already, so don't post another! Again!
God, I hate those posts.
It's still possible, you just need to find the proper location. Just make sure the area you want to service isn't likely to have cheap broadband and has little competition from other ISPs.
And, just for the record, I'm not one of those "keep businesses small" zealots either. I'm a fan of free enterprise.
Hmm, somebody modded this post as a troll. Albeit this post was meant to be a joke, it's also the truth.
Sir Mix-A-Lot hasn't had a hit in years. In fact, aside from a few minor successes, he only had one major hit... in 1992. Regardless of his distribution method, he is highly unlikely to gain widespread popularity.
Weed will need artists with much more popularity to become successful, not just a fad like Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Now he just has to find somebody who would actually want his music, or shall I say, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it.
I think his best bet to sell music would be inventing a time machine taking him back to the early 1990s.