Slashdot Mirror


User: Rallion

Rallion's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
1,312
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 1,312

  1. Re:System Shock 2 on Videogames Make Better Horror Than Movies? · · Score: 1

    Bioshock isn't as Scary as SS2. I would argue that it's better as a shooter, and the improved tech is used to incredible effect at producing a better overall atmosphere. However, it's worse as an RPG, and I'd say the atmosphere it creates is more 'creepy' than System Shock's flat-out 'scary'.

    Still, Bioshock certainly has it's moments. (Dentist.)

  2. Re:Wheel of Time on Videogames Make Better Horror Than Movies? · · Score: 1

    Second game that ever scared me was the FEAR demo. The glimpses of the little girl were already freaking me out, and then at one point I backtracked a bit, climbed a ladder, and she was STANDING RIGHT THERE!


    Yes. That was the most awesome moment in the whole game.

    There's a very similar part in Bioshock. Works every time!
  3. Re:Semantics seem a tad irrelevant here on BioShock Installs a Rootkit · · Score: 1

    The widescreen thing is a complete and utter non-issue. Here's the full sequence of events.

    The game was designed in 16:9. The way widescreen looks right now is how the game was meant to be played. Put a 16:9 image on a 4:3 screen, and you get black bars. Your options for that is to either render what goes in the bars, or zoom the image. They chose to render what's in the bars. That's honestly what makes the most sense to do.

    As for them responding to it badly, I don't know what you're talking about. They're going to make a patch that changes it to what people are clamoring for anyway. (Then, maybe, people with 4:3 can complain that their screen is zoomed in too much in comparison, and we can get an infinite loop going!)

  4. Re:Shame on /. for linking to this on BioShock Installs a Rootkit · · Score: 1

    Ken Levine (man in charge of the game) has stated that the internet activation is temporary, and at some undefined point in the future it will be removed.

  5. Re:Don't know, or don't care? on Gamers Don't Know Their Own Consoles · · Score: 1

    I feel exactly the same as you.

    In fact, I really, really want a 360. I want to own some 360 exclusives (and some games that are only for 360 and PS3) terribly badly. But I have a tiny TV! The premium wouldn't really cost me a mere $350 + tax (after price cut), but also the additional $700 (that's minimum) screen I'd need to be able to read the menu text.

    Now, with the Elite (and possibly future revisions of the other packages as well) sporting HDMI, I have a reasonable way to hook it up to my DVI hi-res computer monitor, so grabbing one is becoming an affordable option. But, funny thing, I bought the Wii specifically because I AM aware of the technical issues surrounding current-gen consoles.

  6. Re:One question still unanswered on Behind the Scenes with Harmonix and Rockband · · Score: 1

    With the karaoke-style gameplay that Rock Band is adding to the formula, how are they going to handle a similar situation, but where many die-hard fans are going to want to scream the work "fuck" as loud as possible during that moment? Will they edit the word out and count off your points for saying it since it would be akin to a missed note?


    Well, I don't know the answer, but I have heard that there are to be 'fill' sections where you can just do your own thing. Maybe they could just make all the 'naughty' parts quick fill spots, so you get points no matter what you say.
  7. Re:$260 + tax on Behind the Scenes with Harmonix and Rockband · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but, Gamestop's numbers are actually less reliable than actual random numbers.

    Random numbers are right SOMETIMES.

  8. Re:Hah. on Intelligent Design Ruled "Not Science" · · Score: 4, Insightful


    In my book, that makes us "better" than animals. I know that I, for one, would be bored out of my mind picking bugs off of others in my "group" and throwing poo.


    I'm going to quote Douglas Adams now.

    "For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons."

    As a species, we value the things that we have. We value self-improvement, because we can do it. We value culture, because we have it.

    However, monkeys probably think out inability to properly groom each other is somewhat silly.

    It's a problem of bias to an incredible degree. You must admit that it's a bit suspicious that every single way in which some animal is clearly superior to humans is viewed by humanity as utterly unimportant.
  9. Re:Cool. on Quantum Dots Might Be Key For Teleportation · · Score: 4, Funny

    And, I've found, a good place to stop understanding quantum mechanics is looking into more advanced variations of the experiment.

  10. Re:OS? on Assassin's Creed Slated for November Release · · Score: 1

    So, 'as far as you can tell' doesn't even include reading the summary?

    Anyway, they said it would be coming out for PC about 10 months ago.

  11. Re:I hate Jack Thompson... but on Thompson Declines PAX Debate, Blames Penny Arcade · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why would you say that? They haven't even mentioned it. Anywhere. Not a single word. All information about this occurrence is from JT.

  12. Re:Sys admin not always the best to assess softwar on After Ubuntu, Windows Looks Increasingly Bad · · Score: 1

    I wholeheartedly agree. When I read that statement, I laughed out loud.

    Being knowledgeable about a system that interacts with a user generally puts you in a WORSE position to evaluate it. The perfect tester is a person with no familiarity whatsoever.

  13. Re:Shred of hope on Fallout 3 Trailer Available Online · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I know what you mean. It's obvious that the sole purpose of the trailer was to say, 'Look, we get it, we know what Fallout is supposed to be.' And they convinced me. And I truly did almost shed a tear of happiness.

    I'm a little uncomfortable with the realization that it means that much to me, but it does. I wouldn't say that either Fallout 1 or 2 is my favorite game ever, but there is absolutely no series that I would be sadder to see messed up. (Tactics wasn't a super-great game, but I didn't feel like it 'corrupted' the series in any way. Just a sub-par entry.)

  14. Re: Here's hoping... on Fallout 3 Trailer Available Online · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Considering the company that's making it, I would definitely say that limited freedom should be the least of your worries.

  15. Re:Bad PR move: Never whine on EVE Online Scandal Deliberate Frame-Job? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Make strong statements of integrity. Fire someone. Institute a new policy or two.
    Devise a system of compensating those wronged.


    If the complaint isn't true, though, the only one wronged would be the person you fired.
  16. Re:fascinating and troubling problem on Holocaust Dropped From Some UK Schools · · Score: 1

    Evolution is the foundation of modern biology, but how many teachers have to tiptoe around it, along with the age of the Earth and who knows how many other subjects, because they might "offend" a subset of the religious among them?


    I'm so glad I had the biology teacher that I did in high school. Once we got to the point where the stuff we were learning REALLY depended on evolution, she started a class by saying something very close to this: "Evolution is. It's a fact and it's the basis for everything we've learned so far and everything we will learn. You can disagree with me, but I'll say it one more time: evolution is."

    There was no further discussion along those lines, much to the relief of most of the class...
  17. Re:Idiots on What is the Best Console Controller of All Time? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think people who haven't used the controller at length underestimate how nice the separation of the hands is. It makes it much more comfortable.

    I don't know about the number of buttons, though. Twilight Princess uses each and every button on that controller, including the four D-Pad directions, and it comes out to 12. On the plus side, the buttons ARE all very distinct. I do see people confusing B and Z at times, however.

    My only real problem with the controller is that with my setup, I pretty much have to sit quite close to the TV -- too close for the pointer to function if I'm holding my hands out. Unfortunately there's just not that much I can do about it.

  18. Re:In a word... no on Does Zelda Need an Overhaul? · · Score: 1

    Oh, yeah, after E3 I read a ton of posts and articles by people who said it was the best thing at the show. They meant it, too. Not sarcastic or anything. I couldn't understand it then, I still can't now.

  19. Re:Sprite Graphics? on Blizzard Announces StarCraft 2 · · Score: 1

    It's definitely full 3D. The camera can even be rotated.

  20. Re:What is the justification for this fee? on Stanford To Charge Reconnect Fee For DMCA Notices · · Score: 1

    They come right out and say it's a deterrent, and that the money (at least at first) will go to a particular fund. They're not lying and calling it a cost. (At least, not this fee.)

  21. Re:WoW on The Elevator Effect In Second Life · · Score: 1

    Actually, when playing WoW, I did actually tend to feel a little uncomfortable when another character was standing too close to mine in an open space, third-person camera or not. I could be a rare case, but seeing people move to put a little 'personal space' between themselves and others was not uncommon -- unless that was just my own perception of some mostly random shifting.

  22. Re:Yeah, not in public. on Is Virtual Rape a Crime? · · Score: 1

    That actually happened to me once. My library card was stolen, and someone borrowed books about child abuse on it. The sickening part of it was that this was a library at a teacher's college. I didn't feel virtually raped, but felt someone else might get raped fo' real.


    Er, unless we're talking about how-to guides, I think you're jumping to some illogical conclusions, there.
  23. Re:Well... on Busting the MythBusters' Yawn Experiment · · Score: 1

    I don't know. The bottom line is that you have two main options here.

    You can have a show like Mythbusters, where they DO try to make the science as good as they can, but ultimately and in all cases side with entertainment. People will (and do) watch this show. They will probably, or hopefully, take away from it a sense of curiosity, and may be less likely to blindly accept what they're told. Some people might think that the show is an example of rigorous science. However, any passable middle or junior-high school should be teaching about the scientific method, and that is the best place for it. If a person watches the show and gets the wrong idea, frankly, that person is probably and idiot. There was little hope for them anyway.

    Or you could have a show that does everything perfectly. They'll set up control groups, they'll take precise measurements, they'll work out all the math and examine all the chemistry and physics. Nobody will watch this show -- not even the people complaining that it isn't like that. The show would be one more example showing that 'science is boring.'

  24. Re:What this comes down to is trusting the client. on Blizzard Seeks to Block User Rights, Privacy · · Score: 1

    AFAIK, the WoW servers DON'T trust the client. This isn't about fraudulent data being sent. It's just about what exactly is controlling the client, which is, both in practice and in theory, impossible to determine. You might be able to write advanced analysis software that could guess, but it really would only be guessing.

  25. Re:FLAK on Serenity Trounces Star Wars · · Score: 1

    Like it's really hard to remember what happens in each of a stunning 14 episodes.

    I know I can.