I didn't play Lineage long enough to get a feel for the controls, I can say that FFXI didn't require a mouse at all. Everything you can do with your character, such as targeting, can be accomplished through the use of keys or macros, and as for movement, the number pad works far better and is definitely more intuitive than the mouse.
I'd have to say that if you're having control issues due to the mouse, than that seems to be a more personal issue due to you forcing yourself into using the mouse so you can gripe about it later.
Having grown up military, I can say from a much more personal perspective that while during times of war, the ops tempo of the Armed Forces does indeed mean that you will see your family less, he was doing something wrong. My father was a Navy Officer for 18 years, and while he did indeed have positions where he was deployed up to 8-10 months out of the year, the services themselves provide an outstanding support structure for spouses and families of deployed personnel.
If he was having issues as severe as you make them out to be, then I can really only find the fault to lie with him and his now ex-wife for not making any attempt to solve the issues at hand. In all truth, most enlisted personnel will have a more stable career, with fewer PCS moves over the course of a 20 year career, due to the requirement for longer time spent at a duty station before you are eligible to apply for a new assignment.
While I do agree wholeheartedly that the military is not the answer for everyone, which is why it remains an all volunteer force, and will most likely stay that way for purposes of maintaining morale and espirit de corps, anyone who is consider joining or is the SO of someone who is already enlisted really needs to spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not they can handle this unique and IMO, rewarding style of life.
As a disclaimer, I enlisted 2 years ago, as USAF Comm-Comp Programming. I've never had to pick up butts, do weeds&seeds, or run a buffer. To date I've worked with Oracle Forms/Reports and Java in a J2EE environment. But, as I mentioned earlier, it really isn't for everyone. Seems to me like it wasn't for your current wife.
I know plenty of folks who play console games with a keyboard/mouse combo.. most of them play lying in bed, or in a lazy-boy type recliner. While I can understand the issue with a typing tutor, as you said, with most normal games, such as FFXI or FPS this isn't an issue.
As for comparing Doom3 or HL to to Metroid Prime... I'm not going to say it's not a great game. It is, and I love it to death. However, it's not really a good comparison to other FPS games, as it was designed to be played with the controller, and aiming was trivialized completely with the lock-on feature; because of that, you have no need for the added precision gained from using a KB/M combo over the controller.
Now, Goldeneye, OTOH, would be an excellent example of how to implement a console FPS with twitch reflexes required; IMO, the N64 controller is laid out perfectly for FPS gaming.
I know that this was meant to be absolutely hilarious, and I found it to be exactly that.
However, I found it so because as I was reading through the list, I noticed that many of them apply to me. I've been a C++ programmer, and I really do enjoy a good mystery. I've been a VB programmer, I do wear sensible shoes, and although I currently drive a Ford Ranger, I have owned a Toyota at one point in time. Currently I mainly work in SQL and PL/SQL alongside Oracle Forms/Reports, and it's true; my laugh is absolutely annoying and strange, but everyone says I'm an okay guy.
Odd that you recall it in that fashion. I remember having to put in a 'Blood Code' on my brothers Genesis; no such thing was required on the SNES, and it still had all the finishing moves.
As I told the other moron who replied, I do believe it, whole heartedly. So tell me, do you have anything better to say than the load of bullshit he shoveled my way?
1. Age of the medium. Animation simply hasn't been around as long as literature or cinema. This is a pretty big disadvantage, as anime has had less time to mature. Not even cinema has been around nearly long enough to produce people like Homer or Shakespeare.
Since when does 'Age of the medium' have anything to do with anything? Just because The Iliad or the works of Shakespeare have existed for 500 years or more doesn't make them automatically superior. Also, just because that form of media has existed doesn't mean that anything good will come of it. Shakespeare and Homer could have easily been perceived as hacks.
2. The view that animation is "kiddie." This concept of being for kids tends to keep people from taking it seriously, which in turn tends to keep writers from doing serious work in it. Animation is starting to overcome this view, but it'll probably be a while before it is generally accepted as a legitimate adult artform.
I'll be honest, I really can't argue this one. I'll blame marketing for it, as animation has always been pushed out as something for children, regardless of culture. However, even so, most asian cultures realize that simply because the medium is directed towards a certain demographic, that does not preclude it from being directed towards others at the same time. Not all anime is for kids; Porn is still adults only, regardless of culture.
3. The fans. For every fan who wants to see animation grow into its potential, you have ten who just want to see pantyshots and explosions, and ten others who want to see pretentiousness disguised as depth. There's a reason why those things are known as "fanservice" in anime circles. And as long as the vast majority of fans don't care to see anything serious in animation, you're not going to see much seriousness in animation.
Can't argue this either. As for it being known as fanservice only in circles, that's not true. Fanservice is an industry terminology, and if you follow anime even loosely, you can see that it's not just american fans interested in seeing it. It's targeted at japanese viewers, for their wants and desires; everyone else is just an incidental market.
As for everyone who disagrees with me trying to convert me, I've found that in 24 years of life, that sadly holds true. People are generally unaccepting of anything they don't agree with, or like. I find that it's simply not in human nature to be understanding or accepting of things they don't understand. If you don't believe me, then look at how children with neurological disorders are treated by parents or relatives that are unable to cope with their condition.
No, a few days ago we celebrated our birth as a nation, not our national identity. Get your facts straight before you try that angle. This nation is a melting pot of other cultures, not even three centuries old. Compared to just about any other nation on earth, we're still a child of a nation.
Insofar as me "hating america", that's just you talking out of you fucking ass. 2 years ago, I made a decision to serve this nation, and I would gladly lay my life down in it's defense. Can you say that too?
My parents taught me all that as well, and it seems to me that while you can repeat their lessons back, you took away no understanding of them. You tore down the parent poster for his opinion, and you have proceded to tear me down for mine. As for my 'adding in random Japanese terms when speaking English', onii-san is not at all random when I used it in that context; There simply isn't an English term equivalent of the meaning. Find someone who translates for a living; Ask them what they do in a translation when they come across a term that can't be adequately related in the language that you are translating too.
On the subject of "denying who I am and pretending to be someone else", as you so eloquently put it, consider this, for a moment. I am an American. My country is a melting pot of every nation that has ever had it's people immigrate here. We have no national distinction whatsoever, no national identity that is truly separate from any other. That's what happens when you create a nation that chooses to honor the ideals of all other nations, and intigrate them into a single culture; any ideal you could possibly hold generally ceases to be looked down on outside of people like you and some of the others who have replied here.
I think no less of western culture now than I did 15 years ago, when I was first introduced to Anime. While I do think that a good deal of what's on TV nowadays is crap, That doesn't preclude me from enjoying things of TV that I do like. I watched The
Simpsons, when it was still new and funny, back before everything started to seem uninspired and rehashed. I've watched The Family Guy, and enjoyed the hell out of it up to the point when it was canned, and rejoiced at it being brought back by Cartoon Network.
I'm not saying that anime is the "be all, end all", as you both have put it. What I'm saying is that maybe you shouldn't be a complete fucking asshole and force someone to agree with your point of view.
As for you point to how it's inferior to literature and cinema, how can you possibly back that up? All art and story-telling is different, and simply because it doesn't fit your ideal mode of delivery, doesn't make it inferior by any shape or means. This has nothing to do with what you perceive as being 'The Truth'. This has everything to do with you forcing your perception of it on anyone who disagrees with it.
While you may hate the "Anime is the highest form of art attainable" attitude, there are many who can't stand people such as yourself, who seem to have the singular purpose of bringing up the fact that there is just as much inane BS on Japanese TV as there is on American TV. Here's a news flash, asshole: Those of us who are aware of the fact that there is a lot more out there as far as Anime is concerned aside from what's on CN are aware of this fact.
Getting back to the original point here, the parent poster never said that there isn't a ton of really bizarre hentai dating sims out there; I'm sure he's aware of that fact all on his own. He simply stated that those he considers to be 'really good' have more than just some bizaare nii-san running around trying to get one of a bevy of girls into bed with him.
Well, seeing as this question has been brought up by two people, and I don't feel like posting it twice, I'll give you both a way to check up on it. Go to your local video store, like a suncoast, or something along those lines, and ask about it. I too, was interested in the possiblity of one, but was informed rather recently that he stated that in a recent interview he gave, and IIRC, it was in Entertainment magazine, or something along those lines. I only saw a clipping of it, but long story short, since there's not going to be anything extra added, and never was, due to the cost of what a box of all 3 extended versions would run, on top of whatever else got thrown in, would make it somewhat prohibitive, as it was estimated to be somewhere around $200 for the set. This makes a certain amount of sense to me, seeing as the limited versions of the exteneded edition are running upwards of $80 a piece, and the extended versions themselves MSRP at around $60. I'm not saying that I've paid that much; I bought both Fellowship and Two Towers for under $50 for the pair, and I dont' expect to pay much more than $30 for RoTK, either.
Since you either actually don't know, or just want to bitch about extended editions, here's the real happenings on LoTR. There will be no boxset. Due to the fact that it's going to run for way more than he'd like it to, Peter Jackson canned it. As for different versions of the films aside from what's already out there, that's not going to happen either; the extended versions that have either been released or are in the process of being released will be the longest that they ever get.
True as that is, it has little to do with what you are buying with software. When I go to Best Buy to pick up a copy of Windows, I'm not buying Windows itself. I'm buying a copy of it; not the actual software. Furthermore, I'm only buying one copy of it, and to duplicate it and redistribute it, even among myself, would be a violation of Microsoft's copyright.
Once again, Bullshit on you.
When you go to the store, and buy the box containing the disc with the software on it, you are only buying a license. That's the sheet of paper with your CDKey on it. When you install the software, you'll read a EULA at some point. The way the installer is coded prevents you from completing the install without agreeing to it. When you click "I Agree to these terms", you are digitally signing the license agreement. Digital signatures are quite legal and enforceable.
So, no. When you buy software, you don't own jack. All you get is the right to install and use it under the terms of the owner of the software. You're just a licensee.
Actually, he's right. Everything in the expansion was originally slated to have been in the game at launch, but wound up being pulled out when LucasArts pressed SoE to push the game out as fast as possible.
On a side note, I have played the game, where it seems you have not, and I wholeheartedly agree that it was quite possibly the biggest letdown I've ever experienced. The game has had class balance issues since launch, many of which are still a problem. There are several classes which are still completely non functioning, and PvP is a complete joke. You can become a Jedi, but the only real viable way in which to do this is to grind out all 6 base jobs, as well as every other job which stems from them, totaling 32 jobs.
In short, this isn't a case of what you call the "miserable attitude generally present on Slashdot", it's the plain truth. SWG was a horrible game, and one year after launch, it still is a horrible, broken game.
So, before you get up on your soapbox and start decrying those who have paid $50 for the game, $15 a month in fees for a piece of crap like this, go pay all that yourself and be horribly let down like the rest of us.
The thing about that type of vehicle is that Honda has produced one, on several occasions. Back in the 1980s, there was the Civic CRV, a small, 2 seat hatchback, as some of us recall. It was pretty good on gas mileage, and I know several people who reported averaging 45-50 MPG in them.
More recently, back in 1999 or 2000, they released the Insight, an electric hybrid with an inline, 3 cylinder engine. I don't know if they still make them, as from what I understand they sold abysmally. Kinda sad, since it had a fairly attractive design, was reasonably priced, and averaged 75 MPG between city and highway driving.
Saying that using this might not be practical for stripping paint is like saying a screen door on a submarine isn't a practical exterior hatch. They destroyed a penny with it, among many other things, and in theory they could melt quartz.
Nope, nothing wrong with it at all, as I told the other guy. Bear in mind that you have more horsepower, despite the fact that you're either blowing smoke up my ass about your processor, or are underclocking your system. My Athlon XP1800+ is clocked faster than your 2100+ is, and I'm not overclocking either.
Nope, nothing wrong in the hardware department at all. I'm running an Athlon XP1800+, 640MB PC133, GeForce 4 MX440. My hardware, while somewhat outdated at this point in time, was at the top end of what was out there when I beta'd. I haven't bothered to upgrade yet, as the need is simply not there. Check my stuff vs the minimum specs; I'm way above that curve as well. However, what you fail to take into account is that the PC version isn't nearly as giving as the PS2 version. In an effort to prevent botting, FFXI is run in a masked window, which prevents you from alt-tabbing out. That is what causes some bottlenecking, and can prove to be an issue when you cap out your page file. In an effort to keep it from running up the size on that, I run in lower resolution.
Oh, and as for why page file size is such a concern for me, I only run windows in a partition on a smaller HD. It's really only large enough for an XP Pro install, plus FFXI and a handful of windows tools, plus a 1 GB page file. Even allowing for that much virtual memory, FFXI eats that much, and can still take more. Kinda sad, IMO, but them's the breaks.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd have to say that if you're having control issues due to the mouse, than that seems to be a more personal issue due to you forcing yourself into using the mouse so you can gripe about it later.
If he was having issues as severe as you make them out to be, then I can really only find the fault to lie with him and his now ex-wife for not making any attempt to solve the issues at hand. In all truth, most enlisted personnel will have a more stable career, with fewer PCS moves over the course of a 20 year career, due to the requirement for longer time spent at a duty station before you are eligible to apply for a new assignment.
While I do agree wholeheartedly that the military is not the answer for everyone, which is why it remains an all volunteer force, and will most likely stay that way for purposes of maintaining morale and espirit de corps, anyone who is consider joining or is the SO of someone who is already enlisted really needs to spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not they can handle this unique and IMO, rewarding style of life.
As a disclaimer, I enlisted 2 years ago, as USAF Comm-Comp Programming. I've never had to pick up butts, do weeds&seeds, or run a buffer. To date I've worked with Oracle Forms/Reports and Java in a J2EE environment. But, as I mentioned earlier, it really isn't for everyone. Seems to me like it wasn't for your current wife.
Wrong, it was about a Star Wars book. Gabe sheared Tycho's head in half cramming it down his throat.
That was Groucho Marx, not Sigmund Freud.
As for comparing Doom3 or HL to to Metroid Prime... I'm not going to say it's not a great game. It is, and I love it to death. However, it's not really a good comparison to other FPS games, as it was designed to be played with the controller, and aiming was trivialized completely with the lock-on feature; because of that, you have no need for the added precision gained from using a KB/M combo over the controller. Now, Goldeneye, OTOH, would be an excellent example of how to implement a console FPS with twitch reflexes required; IMO, the N64 controller is laid out perfectly for FPS gaming.
While I see the * there myself, it still comes off as a mistype of what it really should have been to complete the joke; Infin%.
However, I found it so because as I was reading through the list, I noticed that many of them apply to me. I've been a C++ programmer, and I really do enjoy a good mystery. I've been a VB programmer, I do wear sensible shoes, and although I currently drive a Ford Ranger, I have owned a Toyota at one point in time. Currently I mainly work in SQL and PL/SQL alongside Oracle Forms/Reports, and it's true; my laugh is absolutely annoying and strange, but everyone says I'm an okay guy.
Odd that you recall it in that fashion. I remember having to put in a 'Blood Code' on my brothers Genesis; no such thing was required on the SNES, and it still had all the finishing moves.
As I told the other moron who replied, I do believe it, whole heartedly. So tell me, do you have anything better to say than the load of bullshit he shoveled my way?
Since when does 'Age of the medium' have anything to do with anything? Just because The Iliad or the works of Shakespeare have existed for 500 years or more doesn't make them automatically superior. Also, just because that form of media has existed doesn't mean that anything good will come of it. Shakespeare and Homer could have easily been perceived as hacks.
2. The view that animation is "kiddie." This concept of being for kids tends to keep people from taking it seriously, which in turn tends to keep writers from doing serious work in it. Animation is starting to overcome this view, but it'll probably be a while before it is generally accepted as a legitimate adult artform.
I'll be honest, I really can't argue this one. I'll blame marketing for it, as animation has always been pushed out as something for children, regardless of culture. However, even so, most asian cultures realize that simply because the medium is directed towards a certain demographic, that does not preclude it from being directed towards others at the same time. Not all anime is for kids; Porn is still adults only, regardless of culture.
3. The fans. For every fan who wants to see animation grow into its potential, you have ten who just want to see pantyshots and explosions, and ten others who want to see pretentiousness disguised as depth. There's a reason why those things are known as "fanservice" in anime circles. And as long as the vast majority of fans don't care to see anything serious in animation, you're not going to see much seriousness in animation.
Can't argue this either. As for it being known as fanservice only in circles, that's not true. Fanservice is an industry terminology, and if you follow anime even loosely, you can see that it's not just american fans interested in seeing it. It's targeted at japanese viewers, for their wants and desires; everyone else is just an incidental market.
As for everyone who disagrees with me trying to convert me, I've found that in 24 years of life, that sadly holds true. People are generally unaccepting of anything they don't agree with, or like. I find that it's simply not in human nature to be understanding or accepting of things they don't understand. If you don't believe me, then look at how children with neurological disorders are treated by parents or relatives that are unable to cope with their condition.
Insofar as me "hating america", that's just you talking out of you fucking ass. 2 years ago, I made a decision to serve this nation, and I would gladly lay my life down in it's defense. Can you say that too?
On the subject of "denying who I am and pretending to be someone else", as you so eloquently put it, consider this, for a moment. I am an American. My country is a melting pot of every nation that has ever had it's people immigrate here. We have no national distinction whatsoever, no national identity that is truly separate from any other. That's what happens when you create a nation that chooses to honor the ideals of all other nations, and intigrate them into a single culture; any ideal you could possibly hold generally ceases to be looked down on outside of people like you and some of the others who have replied here.
I'm not saying that anime is the "be all, end all", as you both have put it. What I'm saying is that maybe you shouldn't be a complete fucking asshole and force someone to agree with your point of view.
As for you point to how it's inferior to literature and cinema, how can you possibly back that up? All art and story-telling is different, and simply because it doesn't fit your ideal mode of delivery, doesn't make it inferior by any shape or means. This has nothing to do with what you perceive as being 'The Truth'. This has everything to do with you forcing your perception of it on anyone who disagrees with it.
Those who live in a glass house should not throw stones.
On a similar note, this one always comes to mind as well:
The pot should not call the kettle black.
Your parents taught you those too, right?
Getting back to the original point here, the parent poster never said that there isn't a ton of really bizarre hentai dating sims out there; I'm sure he's aware of that fact all on his own. He simply stated that those he considers to be 'really good' have more than just some bizaare nii-san running around trying to get one of a bevy of girls into bed with him.
Well, seeing as this question has been brought up by two people, and I don't feel like posting it twice, I'll give you both a way to check up on it. Go to your local video store, like a suncoast, or something along those lines, and ask about it. I too, was interested in the possiblity of one, but was informed rather recently that he stated that in a recent interview he gave, and IIRC, it was in Entertainment magazine, or something along those lines. I only saw a clipping of it, but long story short, since there's not going to be anything extra added, and never was, due to the cost of what a box of all 3 extended versions would run, on top of whatever else got thrown in, would make it somewhat prohibitive, as it was estimated to be somewhere around $200 for the set. This makes a certain amount of sense to me, seeing as the limited versions of the exteneded edition are running upwards of $80 a piece, and the extended versions themselves MSRP at around $60. I'm not saying that I've paid that much; I bought both Fellowship and Two Towers for under $50 for the pair, and I dont' expect to pay much more than $30 for RoTK, either.
Since you either actually don't know, or just want to bitch about extended editions, here's the real happenings on LoTR. There will be no boxset. Due to the fact that it's going to run for way more than he'd like it to, Peter Jackson canned it. As for different versions of the films aside from what's already out there, that's not going to happen either; the extended versions that have either been released or are in the process of being released will be the longest that they ever get.
True as that is, it has little to do with what you are buying with software. When I go to Best Buy to pick up a copy of Windows, I'm not buying Windows itself. I'm buying a copy of it; not the actual software. Furthermore, I'm only buying one copy of it, and to duplicate it and redistribute it, even among myself, would be a violation of Microsoft's copyright.
Once again, Bullshit on you. When you go to the store, and buy the box containing the disc with the software on it, you are only buying a license. That's the sheet of paper with your CDKey on it. When you install the software, you'll read a EULA at some point. The way the installer is coded prevents you from completing the install without agreeing to it. When you click "I Agree to these terms", you are digitally signing the license agreement. Digital signatures are quite legal and enforceable. So, no. When you buy software, you don't own jack. All you get is the right to install and use it under the terms of the owner of the software. You're just a licensee.
On a side note, I have played the game, where it seems you have not, and I wholeheartedly agree that it was quite possibly the biggest letdown I've ever experienced. The game has had class balance issues since launch, many of which are still a problem. There are several classes which are still completely non functioning, and PvP is a complete joke. You can become a Jedi, but the only real viable way in which to do this is to grind out all 6 base jobs, as well as every other job which stems from them, totaling 32 jobs.
In short, this isn't a case of what you call the "miserable attitude generally present on Slashdot", it's the plain truth. SWG was a horrible game, and one year after launch, it still is a horrible, broken game.
So, before you get up on your soapbox and start decrying those who have paid $50 for the game, $15 a month in fees for a piece of crap like this, go pay all that yourself and be horribly let down like the rest of us.
More recently, back in 1999 or 2000, they released the Insight, an electric hybrid with an inline, 3 cylinder engine. I don't know if they still make them, as from what I understand they sold abysmally. Kinda sad, since it had a fairly attractive design, was reasonably priced, and averaged 75 MPG between city and highway driving.
Saying that using this might not be practical for stripping paint is like saying a screen door on a submarine isn't a practical exterior hatch. They destroyed a penny with it, among many other things, and in theory they could melt quartz.
So that's why it benches way above a GeForce2, right? Go troll elsewhere, AC.
Nope, nothing wrong with it at all, as I told the other guy. Bear in mind that you have more horsepower, despite the fact that you're either blowing smoke up my ass about your processor, or are underclocking your system. My Athlon XP1800+ is clocked faster than your 2100+ is, and I'm not overclocking either.
Oh, and as for why page file size is such a concern for me, I only run windows in a partition on a smaller HD. It's really only large enough for an XP Pro install, plus FFXI and a handful of windows tools, plus a 1 GB page file. Even allowing for that much virtual memory, FFXI eats that much, and can still take more. Kinda sad, IMO, but them's the breaks.