In BeOS, _every_ application had a _minimum_ of 2 threads. One for the UI, one for the processing. Multi-threading was forced upon apps. Threading in Windows sticks. Ever try to put in a bad CD-ROM and have all your apps just _STALL_ is just bad design.
* Can you just drag your favorite folders to the common open/save dialog box like OSX ?
* Can you add the option to Right-Click on a folder and "Command Prompt Here" without hacking the registry. Gee, thx for removing File Types "Folder / Directory" customization in Vista, MS.
* Can you over-ride or add your own custom Windows- shortcuts without using AutoHotKey ? i.e. Win-C Run Calculator, Win-Z Run Cmd. http://www.autohotkey.com/
It only took MS _how_ long to standardize on the C:\Users\ folder, when before it kept changing almost every Windows version?
* Why the hell does an Admin need to use something like Unlocker to copy/delete tmp files used by another process or even to kill _any_ process?? http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
* I still have to make a batch file called x.bat that contains "@start explorer/e,." in every version of windows just because MS doesn't care to teach people how to seemlessly go back and forth between explorer and the command line.
But yeah, Windows is slowly getting usable.
-- Awesome Steam games!: Braid, Darwinia, Light of Altair, Osmos, Trine World of Goo
If you're single, then more then 32 hrs is hard-core (I've had up to 72 hrs in 2 weeks for Steam.) If you're married, then more then 8 hrs is hard-core.... hence the graduated scale.
* < 1 hr/week of gaming: casual gamer * < 2 hrs/week of gaming: The addiction is starting... * > 4 hrs/week of gaming: average gamer * > 8 hrs/week of gaming: hard-core gamer * > 32 hrs/week of gaming: I can stop any time...
But it can be "good enough", and does what it was designed to do. That is the context for fully functional. Not some nebulous wish-washy wishlist of every feature including the kitchen sink definition.
> As far as I'm concerned, it starts at 1.0, not 0.1 or 0.0.0.1 or whatever else.
The confusion arises from trying to do 2 orthogonal things with a version control number.
a) The version number represents the _percentage_ of functionality. Thus 1.0 is _wrong_.
b) The version number represents the _numbers_ of times you have made _changes_ (bugfixes). Think of it like the revision # on a book. Thus 1.0 is _correct_.
Version numbers mean different things, depending who you are talking to:
a) The Developer the day and the revision numer
b) A simple number to the user so he is reminded what year he last bought the software (Like a Car)
c) Something sexy for marketing. Hence the completely non-linear sequence of: Ver 1, 2, 3, Version Gold, Year, Version GT, Version XP, Version#, etc.. version naming schemes.
> zero-based arrays are no excuse for now starting every numbering sequence with a zero
Zero is _relative_. Version 0 is _in_ your _head_. Revision 1 is the first version typed up on the computer. Version 0.5 is 50% towards being fully functional.
-- This isn't Rocket Science, only Computer Science !:-)
> The traditional example is yelling fire in a crowded theater.
That is _not_ a free speech issue. It is a property rights issue. You are not allowed to cause a disruption (leading people to believe one thing) that could end up potentially damage the property.
If there _really_ is a fire in the theater, you _are_ allowed to yell it (because the intention is to notify others of their potential danger / safety.)
That meme / myth needs to die already.
-- I support the human race, not some artificial color of white, black, yellow, etc.
Having seen & used the Gamebryo source back in 2003 (right when it got renamed from Netimmerse to Gamebryo) I wasn't too impressed. It uses its own version of RTTI, along with auto_ptr, and custom un/serializers. The PS2 version was decent though -- major optimizations using the VUs for skinning.
It was used on Elder Scrolls 3, which explain the horribly broken physics of getting stuck in geometry.
> A good combination of a storyline and graphics is important in any game.
Oh please.
0. You can always tell who the kids are, thinking graphics are necessary having never played classic Text Adventures like Zork, Rogue or Nethack. (I refuse to label them with the lame "Interactive Fiction." designation.)
1. The reason games like Chess and Go have been around for over a thousand years isn't because of some story. Tetris, Tony Hawk (original), Quake (Deathmatch), etc are not great games because of story, but precisely because of great gameplay. Let me know when someone designs a computer game that lasts _that_ long. (The closest would be MUDs because of the community -- player driven story.)
Story is completely orthogonal to great gameplay. It may help. It may hinder. Its sufficient, but not necessary. Usually not required in multi-player competition games, ala Warcraft 3.
Too often story gets in the _way_ of gameplay. i.e. unskippable cutscenes or JRPG. A well done story supports gameplay.
The same is true in movies (granted much, much harder to pull off). Baraka has no character development, plot, or dialog, but it's one of the great movies. Documentaries come a close second.
That said, I appreciate a well done story. Currently playing "The Dig" -- I'm impressed with the nice blend of gameplay and story -- has a good balance of what an interactive movie should be, IMHO.
-- Having shipped games on PC, PS2, PSX, DS and Wii, I think I might know just a little about game programming & design.
And we all "KNOW" that banning words (books), or pictures (child porn), or things (alcohol) is the solution and will stop men from doing these "bad" things .
In some places of the world, genital mutilation is perceived as "normal." You have NO right to tell others what is immoral or illegal then anyone else, because _every_ law is relative to the culture & society in which passes them. The only true _objective_ way to look at morality is to determine if the parties
a) consented, and
b) understand the consequences of that consent.
To coin a new para-phrase: "One man's erection is another man's disgust."
There will come a day when computers can render people in an ultra photo-realistic sexual manner. Will these computer generated images be deemed "illegal" and "immoral"? QUICK, they are such a threat to society! Men act out their fantasies and we can't have that! Let's ignore why they want to do that in the first place -- and tempt them with the real thing since the virtual thing is "illegal."
I agree it does sound like a good idea. i.e. The whole bit about having the flashlight and being able to shoot mutually exclusive in Doom 3 just wasn't a very good design decision.
Unfortunately, that's not to happen. I had dinner with Romero at E3 - he's busy doing 5 (!) MMOs. I actually asked about Daikatana.:-) I didn't realize it sold 200,000 and broke even for Eidos. He admitted that one of the mistakes made was hiring inexperienced people. One of the lesson learnt was "Hire the most experienced people first, the least experienced people last" which sounds pretty reasonable.
Slashdot Mirror
> It takes about two weeks to master
Two weeks? My god man, what are you, an English major? :-)
--
"No, I don't watch Tell-a-Vision. I don't want to be told-a-vision of someone else's propaganda."
> (aspire one) I must say that an eight-hour standard is optimistic beyond belief
It depends on the _battery_. With my 9-cell battery, my aspire one gets 8 hours of continuous usage.
http://www.amazon.com/HQRP-Replacement-Lithium-Ion-AOA150-1777-AOA150-1840/dp/B001OXRTVU/
> Visual Studio Express has everything you need that comes with Visual Studio
No it doesn't. No resource editor for one.
This example, while funny, perfectly demonstrates that marketing just doesn't have a fucking clue...
* And Yahoo wonders how Google beat them
* History of Yahoo Home Page
History of Google Home Page
--
Quantity != Quality. Proof: McDonalds ®, WoW ®, TV
Don't forget they _removed_ the ability to Move, or Resize the bookmarks dialog box ?! wtf!?
> the system you could think of more, but those are the only ones I ever saw that looked worth playing.
Uhm, hello - did you even check any of the titles that were being sold at the time?
Tony Hawk Pro Skater (I hate sports games, but this was fun!)
Soul Caliber
Worms
Spider-Man
Shenmue
Yes, I know Trine is 3D. That's why I but "2D" in quotes.
Trine is a "2d" side-scroller, but makes beautiful use of pixel & vertex shaders, along with fun gameplay.
I haven't remembered a SEGA game being fun in ages (aka Dreamcast days)
Couldn't agree with you more!
In BeOS, _every_ application had a _minimum_ of 2 threads. One for the UI, one for the processing. Multi-threading was forced upon apps. Threading in Windows sticks. Ever try to put in a bad CD-ROM and have all your apps just _STALL_ is just bad design.
"Thread level parallelism of desktop applications"
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~tnm/papers/threads.ps
Windows still sucks for customization:
* Can you just drag your favorite folders to the common open/save dialog box like OSX ?
* Can you add the option to Right-Click on a folder and "Command Prompt Here" without hacking the registry. Gee, thx for removing File Types "Folder / Directory" customization in Vista, MS.
* Can you over-ride or add your own custom Windows- shortcuts without using AutoHotKey ? i.e. Win-C Run Calculator, Win-Z Run Cmd. http://www.autohotkey.com/
* Can you re-order the taskbar tabs without using Taskbar Shuffle, XNeat Window Manager, or Taskbar Manager ? http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-9937700-12.html
It only took MS _how_ long to standardize on the C:\Users\ folder, when before it kept changing almost every Windows version?
* Why the hell does an Admin need to use something like Unlocker to copy/delete tmp files used by another process or even to kill _any_ process?? http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
* I still have to make a batch file called x.bat that contains "@start explorer /e,." in every version of windows just because MS doesn't care to teach people how to seemlessly go back and forth between explorer and the command line.
But yeah, Windows is slowly getting usable.
--
Awesome Steam games!: Braid, Darwinia, Light of Altair, Osmos, Trine World of Goo
> We don't hear about good lawyers ever.
So you never heard about Gandhi ?
Highly recommend reading "The Story of my Experiments with Truth"
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Autobiography_or_The_Story_of_my_Experiments_with_Truth
> That said, I wish they would stop selling 32bit desktop OS's.
Seconded, but (crappy*) netbooks are one of the reasons they can't.
* Disclaimer: i love my acer aspire one for basic web surfing and development on the go
> Framemaker is the way to go for tech doc, IMO.
How does it compare to InDesign (which is pretty damn slick I might add!)
Agreed. I've mentioned this before and got some great replies...
* http://books.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1272029&cid=28364671
Interesting insight about Guy Kawasaki -- brilliant practicality !
It depends on your situatation ...
If you're single, then more then 32 hrs is hard-core (I've had up to 72 hrs in 2 weeks for Steam.) ... hence the graduated scale.
If you're married, then more then 8 hrs is hard-core.
It's real easy to define on a sliding scale...
* < 1 hr/week of gaming: casual gamer
* < 2 hrs/week of gaming: The addiction is starting...
* > 4 hrs/week of gaming: average gamer
* > 8 hrs/week of gaming: hard-core gamer
* > 32 hrs/week of gaming: I can stop any time...
--
WoW (TM) is the McDonalds (TM) of MMOs
A program is _never_ done.
But it can be "good enough", and does what it was designed to do. That is the context for fully functional. Not some nebulous wish-washy wishlist of every feature including the kitchen sink definition.
Actually August of 1980. From 13 sector to 16 sectors/track.
http://apple2history.org/history/ah15.html
Anyways, check out :-)
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.emulators.apple2/topics
> As far as I'm concerned, it starts at 1.0, not 0.1 or 0.0.0.1 or whatever else.
The confusion arises from trying to do 2 orthogonal things with a version control number.
a) The version number represents the _percentage_ of functionality. Thus 1.0 is _wrong_.
b) The version number represents the _numbers_ of times you have made _changes_ (bugfixes). Think of it like the revision # on a book. Thus 1.0 is _correct_.
Version numbers mean different things, depending who you are talking to:
a) The Developer the day and the revision numer
b) A simple number to the user so he is reminded what year he last bought the software (Like a Car)
c) Something sexy for marketing. Hence the completely non-linear sequence of: Ver 1, 2, 3, Version Gold, Year, Version GT, Version XP, Version#, etc.. version naming schemes.
> zero-based arrays are no excuse for now starting every numbering sequence with a zero
Zero is _relative_. Version 0 is _in_ your _head_. Revision 1 is the first version typed up on the computer. Version 0.5 is 50% towards being fully functional.
-- :-)
This isn't Rocket Science, only Computer Science !
> The traditional example is yelling fire in a crowded theater.
That is _not_ a free speech issue. It is a property rights issue. You are not allowed to cause a disruption (leading people to believe one thing) that could end up potentially damage the property.
If there _really_ is a fire in the theater, you _are_ allowed to yell it (because the intention is to notify others of their potential danger / safety.)
That meme / myth needs to die already.
--
I support the human race, not some artificial color of white, black, yellow, etc.
Having seen & used the Gamebryo source back in 2003 (right when it got renamed from Netimmerse to Gamebryo) I wasn't too impressed. It uses its own version of RTTI, along with auto_ptr, and custom un/serializers. The PS2 version was decent though -- major optimizations using the VUs for skinning.
It was used on Elder Scrolls 3, which explain the horribly broken physics of getting stuck in geometry.
> I wonder if the stand-alone Mercenaries spin-off (which I preferred) is also included (I note the expansions are)?
Cyberlore did The Black Knight and 2 mech packs. Since they are no longer in business there might be some legal issues (hopefully not.)
They never did fix that no heatsink bug... :-(
--
WoW (TM) is the McDonalds (TM) of MMORPGs.
> A good combination of a storyline and graphics is important in any game.
Oh please.
0. You can always tell who the kids are, thinking graphics are necessary having never played classic Text Adventures like Zork, Rogue or Nethack. (I refuse to label them with the lame "Interactive Fiction." designation.)
1. The reason games like Chess and Go have been around for over a thousand years isn't because of some story. Tetris, Tony Hawk (original), Quake (Deathmatch), etc are not great games because of story, but precisely because of great gameplay. Let me know when someone designs a computer game that lasts _that_ long. (The closest would be MUDs because of the community -- player driven story.)
Story is completely orthogonal to great gameplay. It may help. It may hinder. Its sufficient, but not necessary. Usually not required in multi-player competition games, ala Warcraft 3.
Too often story gets in the _way_ of gameplay. i.e. unskippable cutscenes or JRPG. A well done story supports gameplay.
The same is true in movies (granted much, much harder to pull off). Baraka has no character development, plot, or dialog, but it's one of the great movies. Documentaries come a close second.
That said, I appreciate a well done story. Currently playing "The Dig" -- I'm impressed with the nice blend of gameplay and story -- has a good balance of what an interactive movie should be, IMHO.
--
Having shipped games on PC, PS2, PSX, DS and Wii, I think I might know just a little about game programming & design.
And we all "KNOW" that banning words (books), or pictures (child porn), or things (alcohol) is the solution and will stop men from doing these "bad" things .
In some places of the world, genital mutilation is perceived as "normal." You have NO right to tell others what is immoral or illegal then anyone else, because _every_ law is relative to the culture & society in which passes them. The only true _objective_ way to look at morality is to determine if the parties
a) consented, and
b) understand the consequences of that consent.
To coin a new para-phrase: "One man's erection is another man's disgust."
There will come a day when computers can render people in an ultra photo-realistic sexual manner. Will these computer generated images be deemed "illegal" and "immoral"? QUICK, they are such a threat to society! Men act out their fantasies and we can't have that! Let's ignore why they want to do that in the first place -- and tempt them with the real thing since the virtual thing is "illegal."
Stop treating the symptom, and address the cause.
I agree it does sound like a good idea. i.e. The whole bit about having the flashlight and being able to shoot mutually exclusive in Doom 3 just wasn't a very good design decision.
Unfortunately, that's not to happen. I had dinner with Romero at E3 - he's busy doing 5 (!) MMOs. I actually asked about Daikatana. :-) I didn't realize it sold 200,000 and broke even for Eidos. He admitted that one of the mistakes made was hiring inexperienced people. One of the lesson learnt was "Hire the most experienced people first, the least experienced people last" which sounds pretty reasonable.