Microsoft purchased the Gears of War IP from Epic in 2014. The game is being developed by an in-house Microsoft studio, now called The Coalition. So yeah, super surprising that Microsoft are only releasing it on platforms they control.
It's accurate. The GPUs in the discrete Maxwell family are, from lowest to highest performing; GM107, GM206, GM204 and GM200. The GTX 980 uses the GM204 part.
Nope. The design of the door lock switch precludes its accidental activation in the manner you suggest. You must lift the switch and move it to the desired position.
Your other suggestion that he tried to manipulate the switch while passing out and locked the door accidentally also is so unlikely that it borders on fantastical delusion. The default setting for the switch is a mode that magnetically locks the door when it closes, just like a door on a latch. In this mode, anyone entering their valid access code from outside, will gain entry in a few seconds if no action is taken from inside the cockpit. In other words, the default setting of the switch would have been enough to allow the pilot or crew to gain access in plenty of time to save the plane.
If that weren't enough, ADS-B data shows the co-pilot also reset the auto-pilot to 100 feet. An action that requires several very deliberate steps. It's very much looking like this guy just wanted to crash the plane.
This game has almost nothing to do with id. It's developed by Machine Games. Even with Steam being available on Linux, the terrible state of Linux GPU drivers and small audience mean porting would not be worth the time for most developers.
Haha, you Slashdot freedom fighters are so funny. Do you have any idea why Valve was so popular in the first place? It's because they could sell games on Windows, and the games just magically keep on working through the years, from XP => Vista => 7 => 8. And all this thanks to Microsoft, not Valve.
What drivel. No wonder you ACd. Microsoft sell a platform, Valve had a enterprising idea 10 years ago that used the platform and it's been a success. Now Microsoft want to get into Appstores, in typical "me too" Microsoft fashion. This is a threat to Valve's business and so like a responsible company head, Newell is working on a plan B, in case MS decide to make it much harder for Steam to exist on Windows.
And how much did Valve pay Microsoft for all those sold games on Microsoft's platform? Not a goddamn cent. There's no appstore.
Microsoft got paid through Windows sales, it is in their interests to make that platform appealing. They even took the piss by forcing newer Windows releases on gamers using arbitrary restrictions. Do Adobe pay Microsoft every time someone buys Photoshop?
And the REAL irony? Now Valve wants to sell their own app store to Linux gamers
I don't think you know what irony means. And what's the RRP on SteamOS?
Xscope is a surprisingly great Android browser, considering I never hear anyone mention it. It has a great feature that renders all white page space in black and text in grey to prolong your battery life.
Supports flash, if that's your sort of thing (with push to load), adblock and has an incognito mode.
It wipes the floor with chrome, Firefox and opera for gestures and full-screen browsing. Really, do we have to stare at an address bar all the time on a mobile device?
And there is another interesting feature that I've found, only my PS3 can play and handle1080p / 60fps high-bitrate footage plus Dolby Digital without any problem, even my Sandy Bridge laptop can't really play that without frame drops full screen.
Then you have a problem with the configuration of your laptop. I play back 20-50Mbps 1080p video everyday, on a system with an Atom CPU and ION 2 GPU. I've thrown a few 60fps files at it too and it never drops frames.
The PS3 is nothing special in this regards and it's actually a terrible choice as a general video player because Sony have abitrarily limited its container and codec support.
Is this a joke post?
We have just changed it. We got a conservative government in all but name, even though only 36% of voters wanted them.
Before that we had a Prime Minister that no-one voted for and before that, well, Tony Blair.
Voting doesn't matter now. All you have to do is make sure all your pals in corporatown, your lackies and whatever poor saps who believe what they hear in an election campaign, vote your way.
Then it's 4 years of pretending you give a shit, while changing the legal landscape in favour of said private business pals, then off to your cushy consultancy job and your multi-million pound homes in Surrey.
Correct. The copyright holders do not want this to happen, or precedent will be set and the law will be reviewed. Far better to scare the common folk into compliance with "You wouldn't steal a car" and important-sounding legalese messages every 30 seconds, reminding you you're probably a criminal for ripping that Pingu DVD.
I posted this above, but depending on your requirements, Blu-Ray on Linux may not be that tedious.
MakeMKV will take care of ripping the stream for you and Handbrake will transcode from the mkv.
Personally, I prefer to not transcode, which means I have the Blu-Ray title in my XBMC library and ready to watch in 30 mins or so.
I don't have a huge Blu-Ray library, but I've yet to come across a title it cannot decrypt.
Mostly, I don't need subs, but if you want to transcode and need subtitles, there are methods that aren't painful.
Because XBMC is so flexible, it can support a myriad of subtitle formats. If the subtitles add-on for XBMC cannot locate a suitable
sub from one of the many online sources (which is rare in my experience), there are several tools that can export the subtitle stream
from the mkv into a format XBMC is happy with. Basically, there are no barriers for me now and although it's not perfect (I'd prefer
to be able to buy my media in an open format to begin with), at least I can now enjoy the brilliant high-bitrate video streams of Blu-Ray
format in a way that's extremely convenient to me.
I would happily purchase content but I cannot bear the optical media format - mainly due to the fact that I have a centralised media centre with XBMC running on several devices. If I could purchase a disk, rip it straight to the server and never touch it again that would be great. So far, I can handle DVDs to but the anti-ripping measures of BluRay have so far stopped me from upgrading my viewing experience to HD.
I use the same setup and until fairly recently was in the same boat regarding Blu-Ray. Have you tried MakeMKV? Granted you'll have to invest in a BR drive for your PC, but they are not expensive. Now I can enjoy the product I want (the content), in an un-encumbered, transferrable format that's a bit-perfect reproduction of the feature. Also, if I want, I can transcode it to whatever format I feel like.
When I see news about services like Paramount's new online store, I have to shake my head and wonder what on earth the content providers are smoking.
PC gamer here, I'm ready for it, as is my modest-spec PC.
100GB of storage has an equivalent cost of, what, 5 dollars/pounds/euros? Please stop shafting the customers that have been your bread and butter for over a decade.
Your point is valid for the other examples you give, but someone should point out that Apple does not DRM its AAC files in the ITMS and hasn't for years.
They wont care about this at all. They are not going after Geohot because he used his PS3 as a paperweight, they are going after him because they claim he altered the embedded software running on the PS3 and redistributed it illegally.
This is my understanding, so add a pinch of salt to taste.
As you point out, this happens all the time and not always to the detriment of gameplay.
One super-famous example is the quake series. For some reason (perhaps to allow more effective dodging), characters can move more quickly side-to-side than they can forwards and backwards. An unintended consequence of this was strafe jumping, one of the game's most fun features.
Good developers recognise what their playerbase enjoys and what makes a game fun. The rumour is that John Carmack even tried to remove strafe jumping from quake, because players looked stupid, jumping around like rabbits.
I want a game for life, not for the life of the company authorising my use.
This will be made a moot point by the forced obsolescence practiced since forever by the industry. They want, and have always wanted to exact precise control over the entire channel end-to-end.
It's a wet dream for these businesses to be able to almost completely guarantee that no consumer can buy or sell games second-hand. It's only because they had no other viable method of distribution that you've been permitted to take home a physical product up till now. Those in charge of these businesses absolutely want you to only be able to play old games by their gracious say-so and through their marvellous Virtual Portal®. At a price, of course and only as long as they deem it profitable. It's software as a service and it's horrid.
Even PCs are not immune from this. It is not easy to play DirectX games from the 90s on current platforms and it's not going to get any easier with all the dialing home and DRM employed in modern games.
They are closing a loop-hole and they can't wait.
Same here. People that grow up playing and enjoying games do not become top-level executives for giant game publishers like EA.
These are business men. This guy's title is 'Label President', which should tell you all you need to know. The majority of people in those roles arrive there from similar positions in other industries, like entertainment.
What they know about actual games is mostly provided to them by consumer research reports, questionnaires and marketing analysts. There are exceptions, but I am generalising.
The result? Ridiculous statements like these in TFA, DRM up the wazzoo and hilariously bad shitware repeated ad nauseum every 12-18 months.
Lt. Frank Drebin: Hector Savage. From Detroit. Ex-boxer. His real name was Joey Chicago. Ed Hocken: Oh, yeah. He fought under the name of Kid Minneapolis. Nordberg: I saw Kid Minneapolis fight once. In Cincinnati. Lt. Frank Drebin: No you're thinking of Kid New York. He fought out of Philly. Ed Hocken: He was killed in the ring in Houston. By Tex Colorado. You know, the Arizona Assassin. Nordberg: Yeah, from Dakota. I don't remember it was North or South. Lt. Frank Drebin: North! South Dakota was his brother. From West Virginia. Ed Hocken: You sure know your boxing. Lt. Frank Drebin: Well, all I know is never bet on the white guy.
Subscribers can set up private games. Sure, you don't host the server from your computer, but who cares? You're getting the benefits of proper server infrastructure hosting your game.
No mod support or custom maps?
If you want obscure maps and mods, no-one is stopping you playing Q3. Or QW or Q2 for that matter. Some people just want a level playing field and lots of opponents. id have already ported many top maps from Q3A, CPMA, Threewave and RA3 on top of the QL ones. There's Freezetag, Instagib and CA in place of RA3; by far the most popular mods.
Furthermore, a proper remake of Quake III Arena would also be very fitting. Not much would need to change gameplay wise, but the graphics could benefit from an overhaul... perhaps do it more in the style of the old Generations Arena mod?:)
This is never going to happen whilst Quake Live is around. Frankly, it would tank horribly because most of the community wouldn't want it. Who plays Q3 for the graphics?
id already put in the effort bringing QL visuals up to snuff with modern shader support and post processing effects and most players switch it all off.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft purchased the Gears of War IP from Epic in 2014. The game is being developed by an in-house Microsoft studio, now called The Coalition. So yeah, super surprising that Microsoft are only releasing it on platforms they control.
It's accurate. The GPUs in the discrete Maxwell family are, from lowest to highest performing; GM107, GM206, GM204 and GM200. The GTX 980 uses the GM204 part.
Nope. The design of the door lock switch precludes its accidental activation in the manner you suggest. You must lift the switch and move it to the desired position.
Your other suggestion that he tried to manipulate the switch while passing out and locked the door accidentally also is so unlikely that it borders on fantastical delusion. The default setting for the switch is a mode that magnetically locks the door when it closes, just like a door on a latch. In this mode, anyone entering their valid access code from outside, will gain entry in a few seconds if no action is taken from inside the cockpit. In other words, the default setting of the switch would have been enough to allow the pilot or crew to gain access in plenty of time to save the plane.
If that weren't enough, ADS-B data shows the co-pilot also reset the auto-pilot to 100 feet. An action that requires several very deliberate steps. It's very much looking like this guy just wanted to crash the plane.
You only don't know what the fuss is about because you've not tried to develop a game for the platform. There was even a post about it on /. last week.
This game has almost nothing to do with id. It's developed by Machine Games. Even with Steam being available on Linux, the terrible state of Linux GPU drivers and small audience mean porting would not be worth the time for most developers.
Haha, you Slashdot freedom fighters are so funny. Do you have any idea why Valve was so popular in the first place? It's because they could sell games on Windows, and the games just magically keep on working through the years, from XP => Vista => 7 => 8. And all this thanks to Microsoft, not Valve.
What drivel. No wonder you ACd. Microsoft sell a platform, Valve had a enterprising idea 10 years ago that used the platform and it's been a success. Now Microsoft want to get into Appstores, in typical "me too" Microsoft fashion. This is a threat to Valve's business and so like a responsible company head, Newell is working on a plan B, in case MS decide to make it much harder for Steam to exist on Windows.
And how much did Valve pay Microsoft for all those sold games on Microsoft's platform? Not a goddamn cent. There's no appstore.
Microsoft got paid through Windows sales, it is in their interests to make that platform appealing. They even took the piss by forcing newer Windows releases on gamers using arbitrary restrictions. Do Adobe pay Microsoft every time someone buys Photoshop?
And the REAL irony? Now Valve wants to sell their own app store to Linux gamers
I don't think you know what irony means. And what's the RRP on SteamOS?
It's not necessarily in the company's best interest to rush such a platform to market, even if billions of dollars potentially hang in the balance
Rush? You've had an SDK for "iOS" since 2008. If a version of MS Office ever appeared, I think you could call MS' reaction positively glacial.
Supports flash, if that's your sort of thing (with push to load), adblock and has an incognito mode.
It wipes the floor with chrome, Firefox and opera for gestures and full-screen browsing. Really, do we have to stare at an address bar all the time on a mobile device?
Union flag, unless Apple's web server is hosted in a floating datacentre somewhere in the Atlantic.
And there is another interesting feature that I've found, only my PS3 can play and handle1080p / 60fps high-bitrate footage plus Dolby Digital without any problem, even my Sandy Bridge laptop can't really play that without frame drops full screen.
Then you have a problem with the configuration of your laptop. I play back 20-50Mbps 1080p video everyday, on a system with an Atom CPU and ION 2 GPU. I've thrown a few 60fps files at it too and it never drops frames.
The PS3 is nothing special in this regards and it's actually a terrible choice as a general video player because Sony have abitrarily limited its container and codec support.
Is this a joke post?
We have just changed it. We got a conservative government in all but name, even though only 36% of voters wanted them.
Before that we had a Prime Minister that no-one voted for and before that, well, Tony Blair.
Voting doesn't matter now. All you have to do is make sure all your pals in corporatown, your lackies and whatever poor saps who believe what they hear in an election campaign, vote your way.
Then it's 4 years of pretending you give a shit, while changing the legal landscape in favour of said private business pals, then off to your cushy consultancy job and your multi-million pound homes in Surrey.
Correct. The copyright holders do not want this to happen, or precedent will be set and the law will be reviewed. Far better to scare the common folk into compliance with "You wouldn't steal a car" and important-sounding legalese messages every 30 seconds, reminding you you're probably a criminal for ripping that Pingu DVD.
I posted this above, but depending on your requirements, Blu-Ray on Linux may not be that tedious.
MakeMKV will take care of ripping the stream for you and Handbrake will transcode from the mkv. Personally, I prefer to not transcode, which means I have the Blu-Ray title in my XBMC library and ready to watch in 30 mins or so. I don't have a huge Blu-Ray library, but I've yet to come across a title it cannot decrypt.
Mostly, I don't need subs, but if you want to transcode and need subtitles, there are methods that aren't painful. Because XBMC is so flexible, it can support a myriad of subtitle formats. If the subtitles add-on for XBMC cannot locate a suitable sub from one of the many online sources (which is rare in my experience), there are several tools that can export the subtitle stream from the mkv into a format XBMC is happy with.
Basically, there are no barriers for me now and although it's not perfect (I'd prefer to be able to buy my media in an open format to begin with), at least I can now enjoy the brilliant high-bitrate video streams of Blu-Ray format in a way that's extremely convenient to me.
I would happily purchase content but I cannot bear the optical media format - mainly due to the fact that I have a centralised media centre with XBMC running on several devices. If I could purchase a disk, rip it straight to the server and never touch it again that would be great. So far, I can handle DVDs to but the anti-ripping measures of BluRay have so far stopped me from upgrading my viewing experience to HD.
I use the same setup and until fairly recently was in the same boat regarding Blu-Ray. Have you tried MakeMKV? Granted you'll have to invest in a BR drive for your PC, but they are not expensive. Now I can enjoy the product I want (the content), in an un-encumbered, transferrable format that's a bit-perfect reproduction of the feature. Also, if I want, I can transcode it to whatever format I feel like.
When I see news about services like Paramount's new online store, I have to shake my head and wonder what on earth the content providers are smoking.
PC gamer here, I'm ready for it, as is my modest-spec PC.
100GB of storage has an equivalent cost of, what, 5 dollars/pounds/euros?
Please stop shafting the customers that have been your bread and butter for over a decade.
Your point is valid for the other examples you give, but someone should point out that Apple does not DRM its AAC files in the ITMS and hasn't for years.
They wont care about this at all. They are not going after Geohot because he used his PS3 as a paperweight, they are going after him because they claim he altered the embedded software running on the PS3 and redistributed it illegally. This is my understanding, so add a pinch of salt to taste.
As you point out, this happens all the time and not always to the detriment of gameplay.
One super-famous example is the quake series. For some reason (perhaps to allow more effective dodging), characters can move more quickly side-to-side than they can forwards and backwards. An unintended consequence of this was strafe jumping, one of the game's most fun features.
Good developers recognise what their playerbase enjoys and what makes a game fun. The rumour is that John Carmack even tried to remove strafe jumping from quake, because players looked stupid, jumping around like rabbits.
Whoosh
I want a game for life, not for the life of the company authorising my use.
This will be made a moot point by the forced obsolescence practiced since forever by the industry. They want, and have always wanted to exact precise control over the entire channel end-to-end.
It's a wet dream for these businesses to be able to almost completely guarantee that no consumer can buy or sell games second-hand. It's only because they had no other viable method of distribution that you've been permitted to take home a physical product up till now.
Those in charge of these businesses absolutely want you to only be able to play old games by their gracious say-so and through their marvellous Virtual Portal®. At a price, of course and only as long as they deem it profitable. It's software as a service and it's horrid.
Even PCs are not immune from this. It is not easy to play DirectX games from the 90s on current platforms and it's not going to get any easier with all the dialing home and DRM employed in modern games.
They are closing a loop-hole and they can't wait.
Same here. People that grow up playing and enjoying games do not become top-level executives for giant game publishers like EA.
These are business men. This guy's title is 'Label President', which should tell you all you need to know. The majority of people in those roles arrive there from similar positions in other industries, like entertainment.
What they know about actual games is mostly provided to them by consumer research reports, questionnaires and marketing analysts. There are exceptions, but I am generalising.
The result? Ridiculous statements like these in TFA, DRM up the wazzoo and hilariously bad shitware repeated ad nauseum every 12-18 months.
I've not used Numlock or Pause/Break for ages, though.
If you work in Microsoft-world, Win+Pause/Break is shortcut for System Properties. Quite handy.
Lt. Frank Drebin: Hector Savage. From Detroit. Ex-boxer. His real name was Joey Chicago.
Ed Hocken: Oh, yeah. He fought under the name of Kid Minneapolis.
Nordberg: I saw Kid Minneapolis fight once. In Cincinnati.
Lt. Frank Drebin: No you're thinking of Kid New York. He fought out of Philly.
Ed Hocken: He was killed in the ring in Houston. By Tex Colorado. You know, the Arizona Assassin.
Nordberg: Yeah, from Dakota. I don't remember it was North or South.
Lt. Frank Drebin: North! South Dakota was his brother. From West Virginia.
Ed Hocken: You sure know your boxing.
Lt. Frank Drebin: Well, all I know is never bet on the white guy.
No voice chat
Q3 had/has no voice chat. What's your point?
no option to privately host a game?
Subscribers can set up private games. Sure, you don't host the server from your computer, but who cares? You're getting the benefits of proper server infrastructure hosting your game.
No mod support or custom maps?
If you want obscure maps and mods, no-one is stopping you playing Q3. Or QW or Q2 for that matter. Some people just want a level playing field and lots of opponents. id have already ported many top maps from Q3A, CPMA, Threewave and RA3 on top of the QL ones. There's Freezetag, Instagib and CA in place of RA3; by far the most popular mods.
No gore?!
Oh noes! Really, all I hear is bellyaching.
Furthermore, a proper remake of Quake III Arena would also be very fitting. Not much would need to change gameplay wise, but the graphics could benefit from an overhaul... perhaps do it more in the style of the old Generations Arena mod? :)
This is never going to happen whilst Quake Live is around. Frankly, it would tank horribly because most of the community wouldn't want it. Who plays Q3 for the graphics?
id already put in the effort bringing QL visuals up to snuff with modern shader support and post processing effects and most players switch it all off.