Under the same concept, couldn't SCO be considered to be violating these gang laws? Their demands of people licensing Linux to them before the lawsuit is complete ammounts to extortion.
True, but the episodic content released in most MMPORPG only consists of updating with new areas, new classes or abilities. There is usually not that strong of a plot, with real world changing events (except, i've been told, asheron's call recently).
A very good article on the gripping way to implement a story in a massively multiplayer game is found over on Gamasutra. Free registration required, but there's a wealth of information there for free.. so if you're interested in game design, it's well worth it.
Except, of course, MMPORPG worlds generally don't change that much (besides new areas every 6-8 months). There are no earth shattering events. There may be a plot, but it does not have a climax or resolution.
Primarily, of course, because MMPORPG worlds are generally static - not dynamic. Which is a Bad Thing.
This is an issue with american television and mentality.
The Japanese mentality is, "We want to make something that people will like, will buy merchandise from, and won't get tired of."
Because of this, a majority of television series (both animated and non) are limited to one to two seasons. Not because they didn't do well (on the contrary, look at Last Exile - easily one of the better series' released in Japan recently), but because the story ended. The story then does not get driven into the ground, and when people look back on it in their memory they say "Hey.. I liked that" - instead of "Hey.. it was good, but they made it suck."
It's the traditional greedy suits who don't understand this concept that can ruin a perfectly good television series, and in the long run decrease the value of the franchise.
I seriously think the only place episodic content should be absolutely adapted is in the MMPORPG genre. But that's a topic for a different post..
Too bad the installment and free downloadable extra content part for Uru was never existant in a free downloadable form (it was a monthly fee), and they scrapped that bit because not enough people signed up for it.
Re:Not only cost, but what about security?
on
WiFi Free-For-All
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· Score: 1
Who flushes with their elbow?
I use my FOOT.
Especially since part of my job is going through the bathrooms at my workplace and making sure our customers have been good little boys and flushed after themselves;) Which, of course, is rarely the case.
x86 is extremely bloated when compared to MIPS processors.
What they need to do is make a RISC or MIPS based processor with x86 backwards compatability, and slowly phase over.
Maybe start building motherboard specs with a chip on them that converts x86 instruction to the new instruction set as it's being passed from hdd to ram.
They don't pay for x86, x86 is an open archetecture (as opposed to power pc, which isn't)
MMX and SSE are instruction sets that intel uses, and afaik amd does not. amd has its own special instruction set extensions, like 3dnow.
Wireless you could do with it in your car in your garage.
Firewire it needs to be closer.
Wireless you could do from your living room, while your computer is across the house.
And seriously, with only 1.5gb of data. If you're copying an entire 1.5gb of data to the thing, it'll only take (by my calculations) about 20 minutes at 11 Mbit/s. And that would only be the first time - who regularly copies 1.5gb of data to their mp3 player?
Firewire is a lot faster, sure, but you still have to have a wire for it. The whole point of this, is that it's wireless.
Simple answer: require a desposit, and have a logon for an account with the hardware enabled on it (other accounts have it disabled.. they can touch it, but it wouldn't work.. so what's the point? I don't think you'd want to go through the trouble of 'checking' the controls out to people). If they destroy it, they lose the deposit. You could even charge a premium to use the machines with the special hardware on it.
I personally use Daemon Tools to avoid swapping cds out for games. It's nice, just sits in your system tray, and you mount cd images (much like you would in linux, except without a command line)... *shrug* I've never used Alcohol, but Daemon Tools works pretty well for me.
Have a promotional thing with a nearby school, or community college that has a draconian computer lab, and get people in to "beta" the store for you. That'll spread word of mouth, and you're set after that.
Maybe sell student passes; College students especially tend to be on the poor side. Giving a slight discount to students with valid photo IDs is -always- a good idea. Season passes, memberships, and the like are also very good ideas. Maybe require a membership (to make sure they're a return customer) before you'll let someone play with some of the more expensive toys (like a set of four or six stations with flight yokes).
Give these season passes and memberships adequet return for their increased spend ammount. Maybe allow them their own log-ins to the machines, allow them to choose a background image for it. While writing, I've been trying to think of some method of setting things so other people can -tell- that someone is a member, by things they're able to accomplish in the games and on the computers, not necessarily personally. Things they can do, without giving them an unfair advantage, to let other people know they're a member. I don't know if you can restrict skins in games like UT2k3 or Q3, but if you can make it so they can load a custom skin - one that nobody else will have - that would be awesome for a lot of people.
Forget about joysticks, they are mostly obsolete, and were a huge expense back in the day.
Err, it depends on what kind of games you're going to have, whether or not you want joysticks included. Now, for you high-end flight sim junkies, I know flight yokes are the way to go. However, most of these are 80+ dollars, and ergo are not ideal for the described setting.
Joysticks, on the other hand, can be cheap (10-20 bucks a pop), take a bunch of abuse, and are invaluble if you are going to have ANY game other than the staple RTS/shooter. I doubt you'd get many return customers if you had flight combat games, but only mice to play them with. Or, if they went thinking you'd -have- flight combat games, and found out you neither had them nor the hardware necessary to make playing them a decently fun venture.
In short, you have to decide whether 10-20 bucks per machine is worth the extra customers it might bring in, or whether driving away the relatively small (but fervent) group of (combat) flight-sim fans. Catering to the flight-sim and combat flight-sim type gamers will also tend to land you a little bit older part of the demographic, who tend to treat your hardware a little more maturely.
If I wanted a laptop (And I do, simply because I go lots of places and want to have a laptop with me for simple things like internet and word processing), I'd want the smallest, most comfortable, stylish, and lightest one available. I have a PC at home to play games on. The laptop, for me, would be for things I need to do while mobile: write (I'm an aspiring author), read slashdot, etc. Maybe plug my tablet in and sketch some.
I don't want to carry around a seven pound monster, if that's all I'm going to be doing. It's the same situation if all I was using a computer at home for, was word processing and the like: I wouldn't put a 3ghz processor in, nor would I put a 300 dollar video card; I'd put it together cheap and from high quality - and older - parts. Tricking out a simple word processing and internet machine is akin to ricing a minivan. You could do it, if you really wanted.. but what's the point?
They're still fighting for space in order to be exposed to potential customers. From everything I've read, there will not be a user-rated best pick, only spots that developers pay for. I would post a link to where the CEO and folks said this, but I'm too lazy to look through the penny-arcade archives to find it.
Of course, from everything I've read about indie deveopers and the Phantom, they'll still be shut out. Because the more the developer (or publisher) pays, the more exposure the game will have to the audience; meaning high-ranking slots will be reserved for high-paying developers and publishers, instead of high-quality indie games. So really, it does nothing for the indie developer besides waste their money.
Let people download software for free after paying for a serial number to register it with. If the game involves online play, only allow a certain number of serial numbers acive simultaniusly - like neverwinter nights or diablo. Use file-swarming, like BitTorrent, to keep costs of serving the large files down. You could even incorporate file-swarming into the application - if it has online play - so that users with broadband connections act as low (1-2kbytes/sec) seeds.
Most of this, of course, depends on the game being partially or completely multiplayer. But what kind of game is it now-a-days, if it isn't multiplayer?
I work at a theater, and it really is a big issue. People won't stop carrying them if it's a law. If we confiscate what they've recorded, they can take legal action - if it wasn't a law.
In fact, we rent police officers from the city for busy nights (Weekends), for security purposes. Seeing a real cop standing there is a much bigger deterrent than a rent-a-cop with some pepper spray.
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Under the same concept, couldn't SCO be considered to be violating these gang laws? Their demands of people licensing Linux to them before the lawsuit is complete ammounts to extortion.
True, but the episodic content released in most MMPORPG only consists of updating with new areas, new classes or abilities. There is usually not that strong of a plot, with real world changing events (except, i've been told, asheron's call recently).
A very good article on the gripping way to implement a story in a massively multiplayer game is found over on Gamasutra. Free registration required, but there's a wealth of information there for free.. so if you're interested in game design, it's well worth it.
Except, of course, MMPORPG worlds generally don't change that much (besides new areas every 6-8 months). There are no earth shattering events. There may be a plot, but it does not have a climax or resolution.
Primarily, of course, because MMPORPG worlds are generally static - not dynamic. Which is a Bad Thing.
This is an issue with american television and mentality. The Japanese mentality is, "We want to make something that people will like, will buy merchandise from, and won't get tired of." Because of this, a majority of television series (both animated and non) are limited to one to two seasons. Not because they didn't do well (on the contrary, look at Last Exile - easily one of the better series' released in Japan recently), but because the story ended. The story then does not get driven into the ground, and when people look back on it in their memory they say "Hey.. I liked that" - instead of "Hey.. it was good, but they made it suck." It's the traditional greedy suits who don't understand this concept that can ruin a perfectly good television series, and in the long run decrease the value of the franchise. I seriously think the only place episodic content should be absolutely adapted is in the MMPORPG genre. But that's a topic for a different post..
Too bad the installment and free downloadable extra content part for Uru was never existant in a free downloadable form (it was a monthly fee), and they scrapped that bit because not enough people signed up for it.
Who flushes with their elbow? I use my FOOT. Especially since part of my job is going through the bathrooms at my workplace and making sure our customers have been good little boys and flushed after themselves ;) Which, of course, is rarely the case.
x86 is extremely bloated when compared to MIPS processors. What they need to do is make a RISC or MIPS based processor with x86 backwards compatability, and slowly phase over. Maybe start building motherboard specs with a chip on them that converts x86 instruction to the new instruction set as it's being passed from hdd to ram.
They don't pay for x86, x86 is an open archetecture (as opposed to power pc, which isn't) MMX and SSE are instruction sets that intel uses, and afaik amd does not. amd has its own special instruction set extensions, like 3dnow.
You can get a Neuros 20gig for $200. That's an upgradable 20gig player with built in FM transmitter.
And open source firmware / software.
So in fact you can get a 'much larger capacity' for $50 less.
Not to mention when the Li-Ion battery dies, it's $12 to replace, as opposed to the iPod, which costs about $106 to replace.
You must be one of the lucky ones, then. Horror stories abound about the battery dying..
Long battery life? What is it, 16 months before you need to pay 200 dollars for apple to replace the battery?
"It's so bad!"
You know. E.T. For Atari.
Wireless you could do with it in your car in your garage.
Firewire it needs to be closer.
Wireless you could do from your living room, while your computer is across the house.
And seriously, with only 1.5gb of data. If you're copying an entire 1.5gb of data to the thing, it'll only take (by my calculations) about 20 minutes at 11 Mbit/s. And that would only be the first time - who regularly copies 1.5gb of data to their mp3 player?
Firewire is a lot faster, sure, but you still have to have a wire for it. The whole point of this, is that it's wireless.
Simple answer: require a desposit, and have a logon for an account with the hardware enabled on it (other accounts have it disabled.. they can touch it, but it wouldn't work.. so what's the point? I don't think you'd want to go through the trouble of 'checking' the controls out to people). If they destroy it, they lose the deposit. You could even charge a premium to use the machines with the special hardware on it.
I personally use Daemon Tools to avoid swapping cds out for games. It's nice, just sits in your system tray, and you mount cd images (much like you would in linux, except without a command line)... *shrug* I've never used Alcohol, but Daemon Tools works pretty well for me.
Have a promotional thing with a nearby school, or community college that has a draconian computer lab, and get people in to "beta" the store for you. That'll spread word of mouth, and you're set after that.
Maybe sell student passes; College students especially tend to be on the poor side. Giving a slight discount to students with valid photo IDs is -always- a good idea. Season passes, memberships, and the like are also very good ideas. Maybe require a membership (to make sure they're a return customer) before you'll let someone play with some of the more expensive toys (like a set of four or six stations with flight yokes).
Give these season passes and memberships adequet return for their increased spend ammount. Maybe allow them their own log-ins to the machines, allow them to choose a background image for it. While writing, I've been trying to think of some method of setting things so other people can -tell- that someone is a member, by things they're able to accomplish in the games and on the computers, not necessarily personally. Things they can do, without giving them an unfair advantage, to let other people know they're a member. I don't know if you can restrict skins in games like UT2k3 or Q3, but if you can make it so they can load a custom skin - one that nobody else will have - that would be awesome for a lot of people.
Forget about joysticks, they are mostly obsolete, and were a huge expense back in the day.
Err, it depends on what kind of games you're going to have, whether or not you want joysticks included. Now, for you high-end flight sim junkies, I know flight yokes are the way to go. However, most of these are 80+ dollars, and ergo are not ideal for the described setting.
Joysticks, on the other hand, can be cheap (10-20 bucks a pop), take a bunch of abuse, and are invaluble if you are going to have ANY game other than the staple RTS/shooter. I doubt you'd get many return customers if you had flight combat games, but only mice to play them with. Or, if they went thinking you'd -have- flight combat games, and found out you neither had them nor the hardware necessary to make playing them a decently fun venture.
In short, you have to decide whether 10-20 bucks per machine is worth the extra customers it might bring in, or whether driving away the relatively small (but fervent) group of (combat) flight-sim fans. Catering to the flight-sim and combat flight-sim type gamers will also tend to land you a little bit older part of the demographic, who tend to treat your hardware a little more maturely.
who signs off on their Ph. Ds?
One of those prestigious, non-accredited colleges you get spam from so often, of course.
Yet it comes with a wireless PCMCIA card.. and a standard ethernet jack is taller than the notebook.
If I wanted a laptop (And I do, simply because I go lots of places and want to have a laptop with me for simple things like internet and word processing), I'd want the smallest, most comfortable, stylish, and lightest one available. I have a PC at home to play games on. The laptop, for me, would be for things I need to do while mobile: write (I'm an aspiring author), read slashdot, etc. Maybe plug my tablet in and sketch some.
I don't want to carry around a seven pound monster, if that's all I'm going to be doing. It's the same situation if all I was using a computer at home for, was word processing and the like: I wouldn't put a 3ghz processor in, nor would I put a 300 dollar video card; I'd put it together cheap and from high quality - and older - parts. Tricking out a simple word processing and internet machine is akin to ricing a minivan. You could do it, if you really wanted.. but what's the point?
They're still fighting for space in order to be exposed to potential customers. From everything I've read, there will not be a user-rated best pick, only spots that developers pay for. I would post a link to where the CEO and folks said this, but I'm too lazy to look through the penny-arcade archives to find it.
Of course, from everything I've read about indie deveopers and the Phantom, they'll still be shut out. Because the more the developer (or publisher) pays, the more exposure the game will have to the audience; meaning high-ranking slots will be reserved for high-paying developers and publishers, instead of high-quality indie games. So really, it does nothing for the indie developer besides waste their money.
Let people download software for free after paying for a serial number to register it with. If the game involves online play, only allow a certain number of serial numbers acive simultaniusly - like neverwinter nights or diablo. Use file-swarming, like BitTorrent, to keep costs of serving the large files down. You could even incorporate file-swarming into the application - if it has online play - so that users with broadband connections act as low (1-2kbytes/sec) seeds. Most of this, of course, depends on the game being partially or completely multiplayer. But what kind of game is it now-a-days, if it isn't multiplayer?
I work at a theater, and it really is a big issue. People won't stop carrying them if it's a law. If we confiscate what they've recorded, they can take legal action - if it wasn't a law.
In fact, we rent police officers from the city for busy nights (Weekends), for security purposes. Seeing a real cop standing there is a much bigger deterrent than a rent-a-cop with some pepper spray.