In Australian dollars you could buy a 2500+ ($100), mainboard ($100), Radeon 9600XT ($250), case + CD/RW ($100), HDD ($100) and monitor (if you don't already have one ($200). That's about $600 USD for a system that is quite adequate for running any game on the shelves today. And $200 of that is the cost of the monitor, which is a buy-once item much like the more expensive TV set you need to buy for an X-Box.
Actually, according to Carmack, the XBox version of Doom3 will be drastically different because the power just isn't there for Doom3 to work as it is.
They're doing a special re-write just for XBox with overly simplified graphics.
It won't be close because DX8 can't get close to doing any of the lighting or shading features incorporated into Doom3, and the CPU/GPU lineup in the XBox doesn't have the grunt to handle the sheer number of polygons the Doom3 engine pumps out. The absolute best quality you could hope for would be graphics similar to Halo, and they don't come close to touching Doom3.
In other words, it's harder to write for a more flexible platform, which Linux and open source coders could easily attest to I am sure.
Of course, if you don't put in the effort, you won't get the reward. If you're not sure whether it's worth it, watch what happens as Far Cry, Half Life 2 and Doom 3 obliterate the PC gaming market for the rest of the year. Money will talk.
Ahh, but the reason that it's only bad for MS to do this is because MS has a monopoly on the underlying platform and therefore hurts competitors like Real. Apple could bundle anything they like with OS ten and it wouldn't make a lick of difference because there would be absolutely no impact on the market. The only way Apple could influence the market right now is by changing the price or removing the iPod from the market.
Since when is Doom3 being released for XBox exclusively? Answer: It isn't. Ahh, so according to the article, it must therefore be being released *first* on XBox, right? Nope, wrong again.
The article contains false and misleading information attempting to prove a point. If you need to lie to prove a point, that makes you a politician, not a journalist.
Why? So there are more trees to cut down and make into books? So there are more people in homes to buy books, video games and movies? So that people are more educated and can write more books, video games and movies?
Farscape and B5 and Crusades and Mutant X and Andromeda and Enterprise is going down the chute pretty soon I hear (next season is the last bla bla)...
Are they making Sci Fi TV anymore or is this like the moon landing, where they pretend to but they actually did it in a hurry then shut everything down years ago?
Certain conditions of blindness cause increased pressure on the eyeballs, apparently it's really painful for those who suffer from it. What the drug does is cause the eyeball muscles to relax a lot, which does a great job of alleviating the pain in that part of the body.
This is something that a lot of other painkillers can't do or don't do very well by affecting a particular part of the body more than another. You don't see "ankle pain killers" around very often, do you? So anyway, blind people should be allowed to smoke the stuff.
The XBox market share is growing. In fact, the level of growth is remarkable. To get to the #2 console position with only one (1) console generation is phenomenal performance. Microsoft have done this two ways. Firstly, they made a console with superior capability. Nobody who bought an XBox got a bad deal. In fact they got a great deal because of reason two: Microsoft blew a fat wad of cash to get where they are in the console market. Sony makes money on the PS2, Microsoft loses money on XBox.
Now lets look at the present. Sony is number 1, Microsoft #2 in the market. The next round is about to start, and this time, Microsoft will have the head start (by all intents and purposes that's how it's shaping up). Microsoft is still quite happy to lose money on hardware sales in exchange for market share. However, this time around they're licensing hardware and outsourcing manufacture, instead of licensing nothing and buying product from manufacturers. So their model is more similar to Sony now, and they're going to lose a lot less money on hardware. And they'll dump their prices really hard as soon as PS3 shows up, just watch.
So what's the deciding factor? This time it won't be games. Sony has a great lineup, always has. But let's look at what Microsoft have done- they've gotten ID software on side for a remake of DooM3 for XBox, they've just bought Bungee software, and quite a few other gaming houses since they started. So there will be, without fail, several killer games for XBox2 at launch, something they didn't have first time around, and that hurt them.
Whoever gets their console out first will have a very good run. The XBox is old and tired and the PS2 is older and tireder. There's room for a new console in the market, and there's money waiting to be had, too. So the second console out the gates will need to offer more and better games (unlikely given they're looking quite even), better value for money (never immediately after release), and more power for better graphics.
If Sony can't deliver on the last part, the power, then they're going to find themselves switching market share with Microsoft. The only positive thing Sony has is backward compatibility, and that will make a significant boost for their market share, and that's the only thing that will hurt Microsoft this time around.
Amusingly enough, Tolkien was interviewed once on whether they should make movies about his books, and he thought it was a fair enough idea. But he thought they would have to cut a lot of material out. He suggesting cutting out Helms Deep, because that little side-tack had very little to do with the Ring, Sauron, or Gondor. Probably the lighting of the beacons would have been enough of an explanation for Rohan to show up in the nick of time.
We know for a fact that it won't use the D20 system, so there goes your KOTOR wet dream right now. It won't have any of the sophisticated nuances of PC roleplaying.
Given that KOTOR is one of those PC+Console projects it had to include a more intellectual system for the RPG side for the sake of making sales on the more upmarket PC platform. This game (thankfully) isn't going to be released on PC (unless they get some work experience students to port the game like some other godawful ports I've seen), in which case it won't sell much anyway (despite the obvious free sales due to licensing).
But yes, the pantswetting is definately a strong indication of console ownership. You should look at getting yourself a PC if you like roleplaying. Baldurs Gate and NWN are something you really shouldn't miss, and nothing compares to KOTOR at 1600x1200x32.
I don't believe there were any earth-made automatons like golems in LOTR. There were trolls, made of stone by Melkor in the second age, and dwarves, made by Aule I think in the first age (also made of earth), but no golems.
I appreciate good craftsmanship on something I can own and use. I have little or no use for pure art.
Being married to one of the SCA seneschals has exposed me to a lot of very nice craftsmanship, from the clothing, leatherwork, sword makers, potters and most importantly of all, brewers of ales.
Likewise modern craftsmen have all turned into case modders, and although I've seen some boring ones, I've seen some really nice work. And the craftsmen, not the artists, are steering the PC gaming industry in ways that the industry couldn't easily predict. Now you have companies like Lian-Li and Alienware and just about every-one else selling pre-modded cases because people do respect the craftsmanship.
I'm a gamer, so my list is really geared towards getting good FPS and a stable, long lasting build.
I install from a slipstreamed SP1a CD, so I don't need to include SP1a on my list. Here goes:
1) Autopatcher XP (March is the latest) 2) Drivers (Detonator, Catalyst, 4in1's, Nforce drivers, whatever is appropriate) 3) Opera (Still the fastest) 4) Trillian 5) Mailwarrior (No HTML mail => No HTML mail exploits) 6) Ad-Aware (I keep this because other people use my PC sometimes, although I do have a domain policy that prevents iexplore.exe from running)
Actually that's all there is. I have a server to handle firewall, NAT, file downloads and other security stuff.
If I might recommend Autopatcher from the Neowin guys, it installs the Windows power tools and tweaks (including TweakUIXP) as well as some useful third party ones, and allows you to knock off windows media player and so on, as well as installing up to date patches. It's the absolute first thing that needs to go on a windows box before it gets connected to a network.
How did you manage to completely remove Internet Explorer from Windows? There are millions and millions of IT professionals who would love to know what you can do that they haven't figured out.
I can see why you would want to uninstall games from Windows, if you're not really interested in gaming. But seriously, the only reason I run Windows is because I need that DirectX for all the sweet sweet games!
The QOS packet scheduler service, much like MSIE, can't be removed, but it can (and should) be disabled on any network connections you have. Realistically it won't make a noticeable difference unless you intend to run your local network connection at 100% 24/7/365. What it does is reserve up to 20% of bandwidth (in reality never this much) for network monitoring and quality (error) control, basically prioritising traffic between Windows hosts to ensure smooth network management no matter what the network conditions are like.
KOTOR2, because it's being written for XBox, doesn't give the developers any time to improve the engine, add DX9 shaders or anything "contemporary" to the game. So really, it shouldn't be called KOTOR2, it should be a "mission pack". The game engine will very likely look, feel and play just like KOTOR, with perhaps a few UI tweaks.
The minor bit of good news is that because this is a mission pack, the game should be out rather quickly because there's less bug checking needed than when breaking in a new engine.
Oh, like when a couple of years ago when 3.5 came out and added a saving throw to the Harm spell?
Please keep up with the rules and updates (SRD and updates to manuals are available for free in text or PDF formats in the case of published documents from www.wotc.com).
Complaining about old rules without checking for updates is a lot like complaining about 2nd Ed D&D being a cludge when WoTC have already fixed it by releasing D20 instead.
Having said that, I agree wholeheartedly with the actual meaning of your post. DM's need to proactively alter rules that cause nerfing.
A proper example of something that needs to be fixed is the way you can create a permanently enchanted animated shield for a couple hundred GP's and gain shield protection without the need to lose your spare hand, enabling two handed weapon use or spellcasting or anything else you like whilst allowing a shield bonus to AC.
I fully expect the XBox 2 will be on-par with midrange PC games of the same time.
I remember when the XBox itself was announced, sporting the new DX8 compliant predecessor to the GF3. Way in advance of the GF2 boards that were in the top of the range PC's.
By the time the XBox hit the shelves, however, the top of the line PC's were all using GF3 Ti500's which were significantly faster than the XBox's embedded solution.
In parallel, the XBox 2, in it's unannounced form, is shaping up to be faster than the current PC's on the market. When it's on shelves, it will be just behind the pack as usual.
What I'm more interested in is the much less predictable Sony Cell processor(s). Unfortunately all we've had from Sony about these is the magical cancer curing properties from the marketing department. 10 times faster than a contemporary desktop CPU, was it?
The Cell will make or break Sony. And in order to break Sony, it just has to be that little bit slower or more awkward than the XBox's processing solution.
Slashdot Mirror
I can just imagine the board meeting:
"If it doesn't say 'Star Wars' in the title it won't make cash. Sack everyone who's not working on a Star Wars console game."
That's overkill!
In Australian dollars you could buy a 2500+ ($100), mainboard ($100), Radeon 9600XT ($250), case + CD/RW ($100), HDD ($100) and monitor (if you don't already have one ($200). That's about $600 USD for a system that is quite adequate for running any game on the shelves today. And $200 of that is the cost of the monitor, which is a buy-once item much like the more expensive TV set you need to buy for an X-Box.
Actually, according to Carmack, the XBox version of Doom3 will be drastically different because the power just isn't there for Doom3 to work as it is.
They're doing a special re-write just for XBox with overly simplified graphics.
It won't be close because DX8 can't get close to doing any of the lighting or shading features incorporated into Doom3, and the CPU/GPU lineup in the XBox doesn't have the grunt to handle the sheer number of polygons the Doom3 engine pumps out. The absolute best quality you could hope for would be graphics similar to Halo, and they don't come close to touching Doom3.
In other words, it's harder to write for a more flexible platform, which Linux and open source coders could easily attest to I am sure.
Of course, if you don't put in the effort, you won't get the reward. If you're not sure whether it's worth it, watch what happens as Far Cry, Half Life 2 and Doom 3 obliterate the PC gaming market for the rest of the year. Money will talk.
Ahh, but the reason that it's only bad for MS to do this is because MS has a monopoly on the underlying platform and therefore hurts competitors like Real. Apple could bundle anything they like with OS ten and it wouldn't make a lick of difference because there would be absolutely no impact on the market. The only way Apple could influence the market right now is by changing the price or removing the iPod from the market.
Since when is Doom3 being released for XBox exclusively? Answer: It isn't. Ahh, so according to the article, it must therefore be being released *first* on XBox, right? Nope, wrong again.
The article contains false and misleading information attempting to prove a point. If you need to lie to prove a point, that makes you a politician, not a journalist.
Why? So there are more trees to cut down and make into books? So there are more people in homes to buy books, video games and movies? So that people are more educated and can write more books, video games and movies?
Fool!
Farscape and B5 and Crusades and Mutant X and Andromeda and Enterprise is going down the chute pretty soon I hear (next season is the last bla bla)...
Are they making Sci Fi TV anymore or is this like the moon landing, where they pretend to but they actually did it in a hurry then shut everything down years ago?
Certain conditions of blindness cause increased pressure on the eyeballs, apparently it's really painful for those who suffer from it. What the drug does is cause the eyeball muscles to relax a lot, which does a great job of alleviating the pain in that part of the body.
This is something that a lot of other painkillers can't do or don't do very well by affecting a particular part of the body more than another. You don't see "ankle pain killers" around very often, do you? So anyway, blind people should be allowed to smoke the stuff.
The XBox market share is growing. In fact, the level of growth is remarkable. To get to the #2 console position with only one (1) console generation is phenomenal performance. Microsoft have done this two ways. Firstly, they made a console with superior capability. Nobody who bought an XBox got a bad deal. In fact they got a great deal because of reason two: Microsoft blew a fat wad of cash to get where they are in the console market. Sony makes money on the PS2, Microsoft loses money on XBox.
Now lets look at the present. Sony is number 1, Microsoft #2 in the market. The next round is about to start, and this time, Microsoft will have the head start (by all intents and purposes that's how it's shaping up). Microsoft is still quite happy to lose money on hardware sales in exchange for market share. However, this time around they're licensing hardware and outsourcing manufacture, instead of licensing nothing and buying product from manufacturers. So their model is more similar to Sony now, and they're going to lose a lot less money on hardware. And they'll dump their prices really hard as soon as PS3 shows up, just watch.
So what's the deciding factor? This time it won't be games. Sony has a great lineup, always has. But let's look at what Microsoft have done- they've gotten ID software on side for a remake of DooM3 for XBox, they've just bought Bungee software, and quite a few other gaming houses since they started. So there will be, without fail, several killer games for XBox2 at launch, something they didn't have first time around, and that hurt them.
Whoever gets their console out first will have a very good run. The XBox is old and tired and the PS2 is older and tireder. There's room for a new console in the market, and there's money waiting to be had, too. So the second console out the gates will need to offer more and better games (unlikely given they're looking quite even), better value for money (never immediately after release), and more power for better graphics.
If Sony can't deliver on the last part, the power, then they're going to find themselves switching market share with Microsoft. The only positive thing Sony has is backward compatibility, and that will make a significant boost for their market share, and that's the only thing that will hurt Microsoft this time around.
Amusingly enough, Tolkien was interviewed once on whether they should make movies about his books, and he thought it was a fair enough idea. But he thought they would have to cut a lot of material out. He suggesting cutting out Helms Deep, because that little side-tack had very little to do with the Ring, Sauron, or Gondor. Probably the lighting of the beacons would have been enough of an explanation for Rohan to show up in the nick of time.
We know for a fact that it won't use the D20 system, so there goes your KOTOR wet dream right now. It won't have any of the sophisticated nuances of PC roleplaying.
Given that KOTOR is one of those PC+Console projects it had to include a more intellectual system for the RPG side for the sake of making sales on the more upmarket PC platform. This game (thankfully) isn't going to be released on PC (unless they get some work experience students to port the game like some other godawful ports I've seen), in which case it won't sell much anyway (despite the obvious free sales due to licensing).
But yes, the pantswetting is definately a strong indication of console ownership. You should look at getting yourself a PC if you like roleplaying. Baldurs Gate and NWN are something you really shouldn't miss, and nothing compares to KOTOR at 1600x1200x32.
I don't believe there were any earth-made automatons like golems in LOTR. There were trolls, made of stone by Melkor in the second age, and dwarves, made by Aule I think in the first age (also made of earth), but no golems.
I can imagine him spinning away at the mention of "LOTR" "Console" and "RPG" in the same sentence.
That's like offering Shakespeare to the Dale Earnheardt mourning crowd. Wrong target audience, anyone?
To an extent they can be differentiated easily.
Craft is generally always useful, from tea cosies to quilts to case mods to furniture, aesthetically pleasing but also intrinsically functional.
Art is generally always useless, from statues to paintings to interpretive dance and performance art.
So the best way to tell is that the artists are the ones being loaded onto the "B" ark.
I appreciate good craftsmanship on something I can own and use. I have little or no use for pure art.
Being married to one of the SCA seneschals has exposed me to a lot of very nice craftsmanship, from the clothing, leatherwork, sword makers, potters and most importantly of all, brewers of ales.
Likewise modern craftsmen have all turned into case modders, and although I've seen some boring ones, I've seen some really nice work. And the craftsmen, not the artists, are steering the PC gaming industry in ways that the industry couldn't easily predict. Now you have companies like Lian-Li and Alienware and just about every-one else selling pre-modded cases because people do respect the craftsmanship.
I'm a gamer, so my list is really geared towards getting good FPS and a stable, long lasting build.
I install from a slipstreamed SP1a CD, so I don't need to include SP1a on my list. Here goes:
1) Autopatcher XP (March is the latest)
2) Drivers (Detonator, Catalyst, 4in1's, Nforce drivers, whatever is appropriate)
3) Opera (Still the fastest)
4) Trillian
5) Mailwarrior (No HTML mail => No HTML mail exploits)
6) Ad-Aware (I keep this because other people use my PC sometimes, although I do have a domain policy that prevents iexplore.exe from running)
Actually that's all there is. I have a server to handle firewall, NAT, file downloads and other security stuff.
All the rest is games, games, games.
If I might recommend Autopatcher from the Neowin guys, it installs the Windows power tools and tweaks (including TweakUIXP) as well as some useful third party ones, and allows you to knock off windows media player and so on, as well as installing up to date patches. It's the absolute first thing that needs to go on a windows box before it gets connected to a network.
How did you manage to completely remove Internet Explorer from Windows? There are millions and millions of IT professionals who would love to know what you can do that they haven't figured out.
I can see why you would want to uninstall games from Windows, if you're not really interested in gaming. But seriously, the only reason I run Windows is because I need that DirectX for all the sweet sweet games!
The QOS packet scheduler service, much like MSIE, can't be removed, but it can (and should) be disabled on any network connections you have. Realistically it won't make a noticeable difference unless you intend to run your local network connection at 100% 24/7/365. What it does is reserve up to 20% of bandwidth (in reality never this much) for network monitoring and quality (error) control, basically prioritising traffic between Windows hosts to ensure smooth network management no matter what the network conditions are like.
Good news and bad news of course
KOTOR2, because it's being written for XBox, doesn't give the developers any time to improve the engine, add DX9 shaders or anything "contemporary" to the game. So really, it shouldn't be called KOTOR2, it should be a "mission pack". The game engine will very likely look, feel and play just like KOTOR, with perhaps a few UI tweaks.
The minor bit of good news is that because this is a mission pack, the game should be out rather quickly because there's less bug checking needed than when breaking in a new engine.
Oh, like when a couple of years ago when 3.5 came out and added a saving throw to the Harm spell?
Please keep up with the rules and updates (SRD and updates to manuals are available for free in text or PDF formats in the case of published documents from www.wotc.com).
Complaining about old rules without checking for updates is a lot like complaining about 2nd Ed D&D being a cludge when WoTC have already fixed it by releasing D20 instead.
Having said that, I agree wholeheartedly with the actual meaning of your post. DM's need to proactively alter rules that cause nerfing.
A proper example of something that needs to be fixed is the way you can create a permanently enchanted animated shield for a couple hundred GP's and gain shield protection without the need to lose your spare hand, enabling two handed weapon use or spellcasting or anything else you like whilst allowing a shield bonus to AC.
Bah, you can never destroy a good DM's storyline. A good DM knows that what the players do is how it's meant to happen! And adjusts accordingly.
I fully expect the XBox 2 will be on-par with midrange PC games of the same time.
I remember when the XBox itself was announced, sporting the new DX8 compliant predecessor to the GF3. Way in advance of the GF2 boards that were in the top of the range PC's.
By the time the XBox hit the shelves, however, the top of the line PC's were all using GF3 Ti500's which were significantly faster than the XBox's embedded solution.
In parallel, the XBox 2, in it's unannounced form, is shaping up to be faster than the current PC's on the market. When it's on shelves, it will be just behind the pack as usual.
What I'm more interested in is the much less predictable Sony Cell processor(s). Unfortunately all we've had from Sony about these is the magical cancer curing properties from the marketing department. 10 times faster than a contemporary desktop CPU, was it?
The Cell will make or break Sony. And in order to break Sony, it just has to be that little bit slower or more awkward than the XBox's processing solution.
Much easier to pirate games if you can mod your X-box and copy the games right to your HDD. Try doing that with 10MB of flash memory instead.
Tetris? It's been said before. Tetris is a totally unrealistic game.