The only game that really needs it(besides some mini-games) is Metroid. I don't own a DS, but I have played a couple of games.
One screen that is a little bit taller 256 x 224 instead of 256x192 would allow easier SNES and N64 ports. Throw in one analog stick, and I think you'd have a better overall package. It would probably be cheaper and have a longer lasting battery.
But only one game was build specificly to take advantage of the tilt control. And I don't think it's a question of going back to the control pad/stick, it is about using tilt in addition to the standard contols.
Before Apple started using the mini hard drive, it was only being sold directly to end users in low quantities at high margins (with little competition).
Flash memory is already a huge market with hundreds of devices using it. I don't see as much room for cutting prices.
When I was canceling my grandmother's AOL service last year, the call started with an automatic voice and voice recognition. But when I couldn't tell the computer the name of my grandmother's favorite movie, I had to talk to a real person for about 30 minutes. She refused to stop telling me about new AOL features and AOL for Broadband... no matter what I said.
The only reason I had to cancel is because it is very easy to start again. I hadn't removed all of the AOL software the last time I canceled. My mother didn't know AOL had been canceled, so she signed onto AOL. She just clicked OK on a message box that popped up, and the $23.95 a month service was restarted.
PS1/n64 to current consoles was a fairly decent jump. The old systems struggled with framerates with very simple graphics... . I can't think of many first party Gamecube games that could be ported to the n64 without horrible results. Pikmin, Metroid Prime, and Mario Sunshine couldn't have been made on a 64 bit system.
The only new gameplay possibility that I see next-generation systems opening up is more complex physics (and I suppose high def can help with some games). I think Nintendo realizes that more powerful systems won't open up gameplay possibilities like they have in the past, so they are focusing more on the interface to the games. (how about using a trackball instead of the second control stick?)
Re:HDTV and Surround Sound aren't Status Symbols
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Xbox 360 for $300
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· Score: 1
I guess "jumping puzzles" wasn't the best description. All the platforming can only be solved by one sequence of moves.
The 3D Mario games have several ways to jump. Long Jump, triple jump, spin jump, backflip, wall jump, jumping from a handstand, jump with a dive, 180 change of direction jump . Sunshine adds even more ways of movement. the Prince guy also has several moves... he can run across a wall then jump away from it, he can do a running jump, then grab a ledge, etc. In Mario, I can use different combinations of moves to get to an objective. In PoP:SoT, the only time I can improvise is when fighting.
Re:HDTV and Surround Sound aren't Status Symbols
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Xbox 360 for $300
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· Score: 1
I've played through the demo, and a couple of levels of the retail game and I found it to be boring. It is strictly linear. All of the jumping puzzles I played had exactly one combination of button presses that would let you get through them. There was a cut scene that took away my control of the character after every room/area.
I like the Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine gameplay better... It gives you a variety of moves in an open world and lets you come up with your own path. I feel like I am controlling the character.. not the programmer or designer of the level.
The gameplay in Zelda III: A Link to the Past is just as 3D as any of the 64 and Gamecube Zeldas... The viewpoint is just fixed. The overworld, and especially the dungeons have multiple levels. In the fully 3D Zelda games, you don't even control the third dimention directly (jumping). The only real big difference between the "2d" and "3d" Zeldas is that some items that use a first person point of view.
One caveat with getting the OEM version is that it is tied to the first computer you install it on.
I bought a new computer with the intention of using my OEM copy of XP from my older PC (and putting Linux or Windows 98 on my older PC). XP wouldn't activate on my new PC... but I was able to find a crack.
The USGS images that Microsoft uses are free (well, paid for by taxes). They cover over 95% of the US in about 1-meter resolution (B&W). There are also many cities in color.
Google maps uses mostly commercial images, and covers about 15-20% of the US... only using color images.
I lived in a city of about 250,000 (Lexington, KY) that Google maps has in 10meter resolution. Microsoft has it covered in 25cm resolution.
My current house is in Google at about 50cm, and on Microsoft's site at 1 meter B&W.
It isn't a bad engine... it's just too specialized. The only reason the Source engine and the Unreal engine don't have 100% dynamic lighting and shadows is that it severely limits the scope of the environment and other graphics features.
The Doom3 engine traded many of the abilities of current generation engines for one next generation feature.
You can't just convert gamecube graphics to HD like that.
But you can... I occasionally play Mario 64 and Zelda 64 at 1600*1200 (I can even play Zelda at 1920*1200 without stretching the graphics) The textures are still just as blurry close up, of course, but all the geometry is sharper, and I can see far away textures clearer. And how about those split-screen games that show you only a quarter of the screen, would they not greatly benefit from HD?
It is not like viewing normal TV on an HD monitor. TV is 100% raster. 3D graphics in video games are raster images mapped onto vector surfaces. Even if close up textures are a bit blurry, the overall picture will be much clearer at a higher definition. Just like PC games that run at multiple resolutions. And with PC games I usually prefer a high resolution to high texture detail.... the resolution is more important to gameplay.
A Gamecube game at displayed in HD will look better on an HD monitor than a 480i/p Gamecube game on an HD monitor.
high definition video was never going to be a selling point of the Revolution anyway
If revolution Were to let me play my Gamecube games in high definition, it would make me get it even if it has a weak launch line-up. It would be like launching with a lot of generation 4.5 games (Gamecube being 4th generation, and Revolution 5th)
I think the next generation of games will be what sell HD. Games solve the "catch 22" problem of the HD hardware selling or HD content coming first, because games can be easily scaled to run at any resolution.
Within a couple of months of the PS3 release there will be millions of Blu-Ray players (the PS3) out there with only a handfull of HD-DVD players. But there may be more HD-DVD movie discs released then Blu-Rays movies discs.(By the end of the Year, that is)
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The only game that really needs it(besides some mini-games) is Metroid. I don't own a DS, but I have played a couple of games.
One screen that is a little bit taller 256 x 224 instead of 256x192 would allow easier SNES and N64 ports. Throw in one analog stick, and I think you'd have a better overall package. It would probably be cheaper and have a longer lasting battery.
But only one game was build specificly to take advantage of the tilt control. And I don't think it's a question of going back to the control pad/stick, it is about using tilt in addition to the standard contols.
Before Apple started using the mini hard drive, it was only being sold directly to end users in low quantities at high margins (with little competition).
Flash memory is already a huge market with hundreds of devices using it. I don't see as much room for cutting prices.
The only reason I had to cancel is because it is very easy to start again. I hadn't removed all of the AOL software the last time I canceled. My mother didn't know AOL had been canceled, so she signed onto AOL. She just clicked OK on a message box that popped up, and the $23.95 a month service was restarted.
PS1/n64 to current consoles was a fairly decent jump. The old systems struggled with framerates with very simple graphics... . I can't think of many first party Gamecube games that could be ported to the n64 without horrible results. Pikmin, Metroid Prime, and Mario Sunshine couldn't have been made on a 64 bit system.
The only new gameplay possibility that I see next-generation systems opening up is more complex physics (and I suppose high def can help with some games). I think Nintendo realizes that more powerful systems won't open up gameplay possibilities like they have in the past, so they are focusing more on the interface to the games. (how about using a trackball instead of the second control stick?)
Speaking of non-photo-realitic and golf, you may want to check this one out to: http://www.golfquestionmark.com/
I guess "jumping puzzles" wasn't the best description. All the platforming can only be solved by one sequence of moves. The 3D Mario games have several ways to jump. Long Jump, triple jump, spin jump, backflip, wall jump, jumping from a handstand, jump with a dive, 180 change of direction jump . Sunshine adds even more ways of movement. the Prince guy also has several moves... he can run across a wall then jump away from it, he can do a running jump, then grab a ledge, etc. In Mario, I can use different combinations of moves to get to an objective. In PoP:SoT, the only time I can improvise is when fighting.
I've played through the demo, and a couple of levels of the retail game and I found it to be boring. It is strictly linear. All of the jumping puzzles I played had exactly one combination of button presses that would let you get through them. There was a cut scene that took away my control of the character after every room/area.
I like the Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine gameplay better... It gives you a variety of moves in an open world and lets you come up with your own path. I feel like I am controlling the character.. not the programmer or designer of the level.
The gameplay in Zelda III: A Link to the Past is just as 3D as any of the 64 and Gamecube Zeldas... The viewpoint is just fixed. The overworld, and especially the dungeons have multiple levels. In the fully 3D Zelda games, you don't even control the third dimention directly (jumping). The only real big difference between the "2d" and "3d" Zeldas is that some items that use a first person point of view.
I just bought a couple of used Gamecube games on Ebay, because I think $50 is too much.
What I did was legal, but Nintendo didn't make any money from me.
That is one of the things driving DRM... making media non-transferable.
One caveat with getting the OEM version is that it is tied to the first computer you install it on.
I bought a new computer with the intention of using my OEM copy of XP from my older PC (and putting Linux or Windows 98 on my older PC). XP wouldn't activate on my new PC... but I was able to find a crack.
The USGS images that Microsoft uses are free (well, paid for by taxes). They cover over 95% of the US in about 1-meter resolution (B&W). There are also many cities in color.
Google maps uses mostly commercial images, and covers about 15-20% of the US... only using color images.
I lived in a city of about 250,000 (Lexington, KY) that Google maps has in 10meter resolution. Microsoft has it covered in 25cm resolution.
My current house is in Google at about 50cm, and on Microsoft's site at 1 meter B&W.
I don't think any PC can play it smoothly.
I have no problems with 1080p WMV though, especially since my video card can now accelerate it. (nVidia 6600GT)
CDs already offer sound definition that is close to what an average human can hear in real life.
DVD video isn't even close to displaying at the definition that the human eye can see. Even HD-DVD is a far way off.
Which do you think the average person would be more likely to want to upgrade?
Thats is one word. That's is a conjunction of two words.
*ZAP*
It isn't a bad engine... it's just too specialized.
The only reason the Source engine and the Unreal engine don't have 100% dynamic lighting and shadows is that it severely limits the scope of the environment and other graphics features.
The Doom3 engine traded many of the abilities of current generation engines for one next generation feature.
Are Deus Ex and System Shock not innovative? Or does their innovation automatically put them into a new category or genre?
I recently got a computer monitor that has component inputs, though, because I can use it as a monitor now, and as an HDTV later.
But you can... I occasionally play Mario 64 and Zelda 64 at 1600*1200 (I can even play Zelda at 1920*1200 without stretching the graphics) The textures are still just as blurry close up, of course, but all the geometry is sharper, and I can see far away textures clearer. And how about those split-screen games that show you only a quarter of the screen, would they not greatly benefit from HD?
It is not like viewing normal TV on an HD monitor. TV is 100% raster. 3D graphics in video games are raster images mapped onto vector surfaces. Even if close up textures are a bit blurry, the overall picture will be much clearer at a higher definition. Just like PC games that run at multiple resolutions. And with PC games I usually prefer a high resolution to high texture detail.... the resolution is more important to gameplay.
A Gamecube game at displayed in HD will look better on an HD monitor than a 480i/p Gamecube game on an HD monitor.
I think the next generation of games will be what sell HD. Games solve the "catch 22" problem of the HD hardware selling or HD content coming first, because games can be easily scaled to run at any resolution.
The top of the White House is not all one shade of brown.
When I used Keyhole a couple of years ago, there were no censored areas.
oooh.... so Dell doesn't make Apple PCs because Microsoft pays them off?
Google Earth is 3D... it just costs $30 a year to access.
http://keyhole.com/
Within a couple of months of the PS3 release there will be millions of Blu-Ray players (the PS3) out there with only a handfull of HD-DVD players. But there may be more HD-DVD movie discs released then Blu-Rays movies discs.(By the end of the Year, that is)