NT 3.51 didn't have the necessary API hooks to allow native defragging.
"Executive Software was forced to purchase a source license for NT and to create and ship custom versions of NTFS and FAT, as well as NT itself, along with their defragmentation code."
"According to Executive Software, they requested specific functionality in NTFS and FAT for cluster reallocation, which Microsoft added for them."
P.S. Does anyone know why/. adds an extra space between the 'M' and 'L' in the above url ? Probably a bug that assumes urls don't contain more then 4 characters after the period.
"If construction workers built buildings the same way programers wrote code, the first time a woodpecker came along it would destroy civilization."
At least we have OOP and Generic Programming to reinforce our "buildings" now.
Getting this back on topic...
Code *can* be art. I've seen some beautifull code: Elegant, and powerfull. It's amazing how the elegant solution is usually smaller and less complicated then code written by someone who doesn't really understand the problem.
If code, or math equations, can invoke an emotional response out of me, I'd say that qualifies it as partially being art.
The unfortunate thing is, that while it seems "M$ software gets hacked every other month", the general consumer isn't making security (or I should the lack of it?:) a big deal.
> This need-to-be-3D is something I have never understood, other than as marketting ploy.
As a 3D programmer it is NOT just a marketing ploy.
4 words: "skeletal animation" and "motion blending"
It is tedious for artists to create EVERY frame of animation for one sequence of motion (i.e. weapon action.) Then they have to create another set for movement (walking,) Now what if we want the char to walk and slash at the same time? All the permuations with sprites QUICKLY chew up memory (CDROM space and RAM.)
Motion blending (usually with a simplified Inverse Kinematics for real-time performance) allows the artist to create a few "base" animations. Then at run-time, players can have their avatar simultaneously perform ANY number of combinations based on those motions !
I agree that it 2D art has a much better "graphical cuteness" compared to the "harsh euclidean edges" of 3D.
Early versions of D3D (pre DX8) integrated better with DD then OpenGL did.
A lot of game developers dropped the ball on this. And it didn't help that M$ shoved D3D down us game programmers throats whether we wanted it or not (shoddy OpenGL MCD support, very bad DD integration, etc)
That's the REAL reason -- commonplacy with developers. Too many didn't care enough about OpenGL.;-(
Want to tell that to these guys ( http://hem.passagen.se/carebear/fragisland.htm )
Their FAQ is here ( http://hem.passagen.se/carebear/faq.htm )
Re:OpenGL Death: This is not such a sad thing
on
OpenGL 1.3 Spec Released
·
· Score: 2, Informative
> This is not a bad thing.
Yes it is. Instead of just writing directly to [OpenGL] api for all 3 platforms (Win32,Mac,Linux), I now have to use a wrapper (assuming you don't support consoles, which not ever game developer can/does.)
Of course most PC game developers are just using DX so this doesn't effect them AT ALL.
> it does mean good things for the majority of the game playing market
Gamers don't care which (graphics) API a game uses.
> However, todays hardware is written with Direct3D in mind,
That's not true. The GeForce cards expose more of their functionality under OpenGL then D3D.
I believe you mean "the majority of today's PC hardware have better support on D3D then OpenGL." And, yes, you are right.
The point is, though, that even if OpenGL was vanquished tomorrow, us game developers STILL have to support at LEAST *3* API's: One on PC (X-Box), PS2, and Gamecube. (X-Box is basically DX8, but I won't know 100% for sure until we get our dev boxes.)
Re:Big Brother Has Been Around for a While
on
Taming the Web
·
· Score: 2
> When I decided I wanted an above-the-board job and was willing to pay taxes I accepted a government-given number.
There is NO law that requires a person to have a SSN/SIN.
2 years is NOT a short dev cycle. We game programmers play the SAME game for over a year. Never mind "crunch" mode aka "hell programming" that usually lasts a few months, working 16x 7 days a week!
> 3. The developers mostly cannot have the same fun playing the game as others
I disagree.
The anology is this: Can the musician who performs the music enjoy the music just as much as the audience?
Both enjoy the music / game, but at a different level. Programmers enjoy the challenge in bulding something. Gamers enjoy the challenge in "relaxing".
i.e. That was a slick algo/hack for X.
> THe very first first-person game I ever played was a Fp version of Pac-Man. It was all vecter lines and it ran on an IBM PC/XT with a GCA card. That was about six years before DOOM came out.
Hey! I remember that too. I can't remember what it was called though:-(
Ever play Sopwith? Shamus was cool too. (Never did the dang thing mapped out. That reminds me, time to finish off GemStone Warrior some day... )
>The main problem is that if a game is goal free, what's the point of being there?
So why do people play sim-style or MMPRGP games then? Both really don't have "goals" aside from the ones the players impose on themselves (collect phat loot, maximize my city income & size, level up, etc)
i.e You don't / can't win these style of games, because they intentional don't have any conditions to "win"
Any examples of games with absolutely 100% no goals?
.. I'd say high end CPU's are certainly worth the money. The company isn't "wasting money" for people down time - I can get back to coding instead of waiting for the compiler.
The CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Eric W. Weisstein
Godel, Escher, Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas R. Hofstadter
The Feynman Lectures on Physics : Commemorative Issue, Richard Phillips Feynman
Enjoy !
~~~~~
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." - Thomas Jefferson
> They used to make the coolest joysticks around, I bought one from them many years ago.
Aye. The F16 with the THQS (sp?) flight yoke ROCKED. The base was a good 8" square and an solid inch tall. It was a "man's" joystick, meaning it had a AWESOME SOLID feel to it, that was SMOOTH to operate.
> the stuff they're producing now is as cheap as anything else.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) peripherals are a "commodity" market.. meaning you get more sales if you sell your product in the $20.. $50 range, then $70 - 140 range, if the quality is "good enough."
> It's a sad day when Microsoft is producing the best joysticks around
I just picked up the Logitech Digital Extreme 3D joystick and it's VERY sweet for only $40 ! I specificially bought it, since it has no force-feedback which is just perfect when playing Mech4 & Mech4X. The BIG problem with force-feedback joysticks is if you turn the force off, you loose the ability to auto-center!
I'd rather take the Logitech mouse, wheel, and joystick any day over the M$ stuff.:)
> If you don't play in the realm for { trading / status }
I play with guild mates on the realm. We tried Open B-net but one of our computers hosts the game then (which was terrible for ping & lag.) B-Net has been very good about no lag this last week, so we switched over to a realm game.
Basically b-net realm games allow a "smooth" game of 8 people.
I was playing last night the instant this first happened. (~ 11:30pm EST) Was playing, lost con, restarted, joined a game, found BOTH my chars completely stripped of ALL items.
I have NEVER traded for ANY items so don't give me that crap about the people complaining are the ones that had duped items.
If you meant, that Blizzard was running a dupe-checker-deleter and it had a BUG that deleted legit items as well, then that is the more likely story.
To all those others saying "what's the big deal":
Yes, it's JUST a game, but when I invest personal HOURS of fun into a (persistant world*) game, I tend to get a annoyed if the game world isn't persistant -- what's EVEN the point of playing then?! (Ask anyone who has experienced timewarps in UO)
Michael your comment about people complaining about items disapppearing would be more accurate if it mentioned "people complaining about virtual items dissappearing."
* Diablo only has persistant characters, the world is semi-persistant.
Slashdot Mirror
You read more at http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/info/defrag.sht
P.S. Does anyone know why
"If construction workers built buildings the same way programers wrote code, the first time a woodpecker came along it would destroy civilization."
...
At least we have OOP and Generic Programming to reinforce our "buildings" now.
Getting this back on topic
Code *can* be art. I've seen some beautifull code: Elegant, and powerfull. It's amazing how the elegant solution is usually smaller and less complicated then code written by someone who doesn't really understand the problem.
If code, or math equations, can invoke an emotional response out of me, I'd say that qualifies it as partially being art.
> AFAIK, it's not illegal in the US not to have a SSN
Correct. There is NO law that REQUIRES a person to have one.
> it's just illegal to attend most schools, serve in the military, or work for taxable wages without one.
Show me the law where this is illegal.
The unfortunate thing is, that while it seems "M$ software gets hacked every other month", the general consumer isn't making security (or I should the lack of it? :) a big deal.
> 3d models won't look like real moving humans until they start modeling elasticity and volume.
That technique is called "skining".
> Now, this would take a ridiculous amount of computational power, but hey... that's what 3d has to do.
It's already being done in today's games.
> The game has 2.7 million subscribers in Asia! It has to be a damn good game.
Popularity doesn't imply greatness !
i.e.
Almost everyone has TV, but most of the shows are still crap.
And it's a bad Diablo clone. Lum the Mad had an old article on it.
> This need-to-be-3D is something I have never understood, other than as marketting ploy.
As a 3D programmer it is NOT just a marketing ploy.
4 words: "skeletal animation" and "motion blending"
It is tedious for artists to create EVERY frame of animation for one sequence of motion (i.e. weapon action.) Then they have to create another set for movement (walking,) Now what if we want the char to walk and slash at the same time? All the permuations with sprites QUICKLY chew up memory (CDROM space and RAM.)
Motion blending (usually with a simplified Inverse Kinematics for real-time performance) allows the artist to create a few "base" animations. Then at run-time, players can have their avatar simultaneously perform ANY number of combinations based on those motions !
I agree that it 2D art has a much better "graphical cuteness" compared to the "harsh euclidean edges" of 3D.
Cheers
> How come we haven't seen quickies in a long time?
/.
Speak for yourself.
Oh wait, you meant on
:)
> The US Constitution prohibits the government from "taking without compensation" in any form.
Can you explain furthere where it says that. I'd like to look into this further.
Thx !
> Just consider RMS as what he really is, a politican.
Q. Does RMS lie when he speaks?
A. No.
R. Then he's not a politician.
Early versions of D3D (pre DX8) integrated better with DD then OpenGL did.
;-(
A lot of game developers dropped the ball on this. And it didn't help that M$ shoved D3D down us game programmers throats whether we wanted it or not (shoddy OpenGL MCD support, very bad DD integration, etc)
That's the REAL reason -- commonplacy with developers. Too many didn't care enough about OpenGL.
> but face it, you cant write an FPS in java,
Want to tell that to these guys
( http://hem.passagen.se/carebear/fragisland.htm )
Their FAQ is here
( http://hem.passagen.se/carebear/faq.htm )
> This is not a bad thing.
Yes it is. Instead of just writing directly to [OpenGL] api for all 3 platforms (Win32,Mac,Linux), I now have to use a wrapper (assuming you don't support consoles, which not ever game developer can/does.)
Of course most PC game developers are just using DX so this doesn't effect them AT ALL.
> it does mean good things for the majority of the game playing market
Gamers don't care which (graphics) API a game uses.
> However, todays hardware is written with Direct3D in mind,
That's not true. The GeForce cards expose more of their functionality under OpenGL then D3D.
I believe you mean "the majority of today's PC hardware have better support on D3D then OpenGL." And, yes, you are right.
The point is, though, that even if OpenGL was vanquished tomorrow, us game developers STILL have to support at LEAST *3* API's: One on PC (X-Box), PS2, and Gamecube. (X-Box is basically DX8, but I won't know 100% for sure until we get our dev boxes.)
> When I decided I wanted an above-the-board job and was willing to pay taxes I accepted a government-given number.
There is NO law that requires a person to have a SSN/SIN.
And yes, you CAN work,live,travel without one.
> 1. Most has short development cycle
2 years is NOT a short dev cycle. We game programmers play the SAME game for over a year. Never mind "crunch" mode aka "hell programming" that usually lasts a few months, working 16x 7 days a week!
> 3. The developers mostly cannot have the same fun playing the game as others
I disagree.
The anology is this: Can the musician who performs the music enjoy the music just as much as the audience?
Both enjoy the music / game, but at a different level. Programmers enjoy the challenge in bulding something. Gamers enjoy the challenge in "relaxing".
i.e. That was a slick algo/hack for X.
Rest of your points are valid.
> THe very first first-person game I ever played was a Fp version of Pac-Man. It was all vecter lines and it ran on an IBM PC/XT with a GCA card. That was about six years before DOOM came out.
:-(
... )
Hey! I remember that too. I can't remember what it was called though
Ever play Sopwith? Shamus was cool too. (Never did the dang thing mapped out. That reminds me, time to finish off GemStone Warrior some day
> Anyone remember MicroProse's F-15 Strike Eagle
> Came out around 1988-89, IIRC. It had EGA graphics
I was playing that on my Apple ][ back in 1985 !
Apple Emulator's Microprose Page
>The main problem is that if a game is goal free, what's the point of being there?
So why do people play sim-style or MMPRGP games then? Both really don't have "goals" aside from the ones the players impose on themselves (collect phat loot, maximize my city income & size, level up, etc)
i.e You don't / can't win these style of games, because they intentional don't have any conditions to "win"
Any examples of games with absolutely 100% no goals?
.. I'd say high end CPU's are certainly worth the money. The company isn't "wasting money" for people down time - I can get back to coding instead of waiting for the compiler.
> Rescue Rangers (that was the choplifter where you built an army, right?),
. htm
On the Apple ][ it was called: Rescue Raiders
Easter eggs can be found here:
http://www.gamewinners.com/apple_ii/RescueRaiders
There's even an open source clone !
http://216.254.0.2/~morse/copter-commander/
Cheers
We've only had professional game developers for at least 10+ years :)
0 1.htm
It reminds of the Journal of MUD Research now Journal of Virtual Environments ( http://www.pennmush.org/~jomr/ )
Maybe we'll see more well written articles like the clasic Bartle's "HEARTS, CLUBS, DIAMONDS, SPADES: PLAYERS WHO SUIT MUDS" ( http://www.pennmush.org/~jomr/v1n1/bartle.html )
Of course we've had Gamasutra hosting articles by Ernest Adams.
i.e. http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010521/adams_
Advanced C++
Graphics
Game Programming
Software Engineering: (these are the BEST ones, not the long boring ones that put you to sleep)
Math:
Enjoy !
~~~~~
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." - Thomas Jefferson
> They used to make the coolest joysticks around, I bought one from them many years ago.
.. meaning you get more sales if you sell your product in the $20 .. $50 range, then $70 - 140 range, if the quality is "good enough."
:)
Aye. The F16 with the THQS (sp?) flight yoke ROCKED. The base was a good 8" square and an solid inch tall. It was a "man's" joystick, meaning it had a AWESOME SOLID feel to it, that was SMOOTH to operate.
> the stuff they're producing now is as cheap as anything else.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) peripherals are a "commodity" market
> It's a sad day when Microsoft is producing the best joysticks around
I just picked up the Logitech Digital Extreme 3D joystick and it's VERY sweet for only $40 ! I specificially bought it, since it has no force-feedback which is just perfect when playing Mech4 & Mech4X. The BIG problem with force-feedback joysticks is if you turn the force off, you loose the ability to auto-center!
I'd rather take the Logitech mouse, wheel, and joystick any day over the M$ stuff.
> If you don't play in the realm for { trading / status }
I play with guild mates on the realm. We tried Open B-net but one of our computers hosts the game then (which was terrible for ping & lag.) B-Net has been very good about no lag this last week, so we switched over to a realm game.
Basically b-net realm games allow a "smooth" game of 8 people.
I was playing last night the instant this first happened. (~ 11:30pm EST) Was playing, lost con, restarted, joined a game, found BOTH my chars completely stripped of ALL items.
I have NEVER traded for ANY items so don't give me that crap about the people complaining are the ones that had duped items.
If you meant, that Blizzard was running a dupe-checker-deleter and it had a BUG that deleted legit items as well, then that is the more likely story.
To all those others saying "what's the big deal":
Yes, it's JUST a game, but when I invest personal HOURS of fun into a (persistant world*) game, I tend to get a annoyed if the game world isn't persistant -- what's EVEN the point of playing then?! (Ask anyone who has experienced timewarps in UO)
Michael your comment about people complaining about items disapppearing would be more accurate if it mentioned "people complaining about virtual items dissappearing."
* Diablo only has persistant characters, the world is semi-persistant.