I played Doom 3 through to the end. The game itself wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but they did an amazing job setting the mood in the game. The game creeped you the hell out. (Even without the repeated jack-in-a box scares) After that, you would think that making a movie with the same feel would be a cakewalk. It's all already there, handed to the director on a silver platter! Add a couple marines for dialogue opportunities, and you're set!
Somehow, the movie completely failed to capture any of the atmosphere that the game did so damn well.
I say give ID a guy to write some sort of story/dialogue and a render farm. Then you'll have a kickass Doom movie.
Hell, you can even have a running gag where the marines can't find any duct tape...
There was one thing in the article I disagreed with. (And yes, I agree that the Matrix sequels didn't live up to the first)
After Neo leaves, neither of those two things are ever mentioned again. He saves Trinity, the Matrix doesn't destruct. Neo being just the latest in a long line of "ones" to come along has no effect on anything. In the A - B - C of a storyline, that whole chain of events amounted to one of the hyphens between letters.
Umm, the Matrix did go kerblooie. Agent Smith is the result of that. Notice that by the end of the 3rd movie you don't see a single person in the matrix, it's all Smith. The system has broken down.
The one thing that I commend the entire trilogy on is this: Everything that is predicted to happen, does happen. Just never in the way the characters (Or the viewer) expects.
Too bad that such interesting plot twists got obscured by special effects.
The amazing art design saved that game from the limitations of the hardware. I can't imagine how good that game would look on a modern system. There are times where you look at a scene and think: "This looks like absolute crap, but it's still beautiful" The textures are just too detailed for the PS2 I think.
The reason Microsoft is so successful is NOT because they 'just sell operating systems'. It is because they have control over what operating system is bundled with a vast majority of the x86 computers sold on the retail market. A normal consumer has absolutely no choice in their operating system when buying an OEM PC.
Drop in Halo 2 and hop on Xbox Live. You'll HEAR the little bastards. (It's evil)
Remember, these are basically kids who have very little financial responsibility (High school, still live at home) but probably have some income from a part time job. They have money to burn, and an excess of time. It's a ripe demographic, but I think it's being saturated.
Also, I think the industry is partially to blame for the excess of 'Adult' titles out there. There is still a general assumption that video games are a kids thing, and the developers want to change that. They want the shake the 'kiddie' label, and the easiest way to make something 'adult' is to add graphic violence and/or boobies. (Keep in mind that this doesn't apply to all developers, it's just a generalization)
I think he is referring to the 'adult gamer' demographic that require sex and/or gratuitous violence for a game to be good. The kind of teenagers who feel playing a Mario game would bring their heterosexuality into question.
The rest of us (who are actually adults) are an entirely different category.
How many console staples were first implimented by Nintendo? Just in control schemes: Directional Pad, shoulder buttons, rumble packs, analog sticks, touch screens, and soon motion sensors. Yup, they're a follower all right.
As for being the 'kiddy console' you can't be further from reality. Nintendo appears to be looking at the big picture, and offering stuff for everyone. Including the 'adult' demographic. Or is Resident Evil as kiddy game? Seems to me that MS and Sony have a bit of tunnel vision on their market. They're aiming at a very specific demographic: The adolescent male. (These are the kids who are old enough to have some income, and young enough to consider 'kiddy' games a threat to their masculinity)
The rest of us are quite excited to try something new that isn't another WW2 FPS.
They have a very good reason: Not undermining their own platform. There's a reason you don't see Mario games on the PS2. Yes, MS doesn't make money on their console, but they make money on games. If you don't sell consoles, you don't sell games. Thats the whole point of exclusives.
More than likely, Nintendo has all kinds of rights to games where their IP is involved. (Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, etc) However, they may not have as much control over other Rare projects. Conkers and Perfect Dark are good examples of that. I seriously doubt these will show up on the Rev in any shape or form.
Depends on who owns the rights to what. If Nintendo worked their original deal with Rare right, they have the ability to re-release the back catalogue no matter what MS wants.
I wouldn't trust a person's demenanour in a video game any more than I'd trust it from an e-mail.
I'd disagree. I think you get a better idea of what someones true personality is when interacting online. The percieved anonymity causes this. When people don't see any consequences, they stop acting the way they should act, and start acting the way they want to act.
The real trick though, is being able to spot the assholes when they're trying their hardest not to be.
The Baron is the end boss of one of the higher dungeons of the game. (Stratholme, actually) 5-man refers to the size of the group used to take on the Baron. (Most 10-man the Baron for reference)
Should make a line of exercise equipment that tracks your activity and applies it to an avatar. THen make the avatar usable in an arcade game or something.
I can just see the gamers dying from exhaustion trying to powerlevel their ExerFighter...
As for 1 and 2, I'm really not too sure what to tell you. I primarily fly Amarr ships, so I'm not the best person to ask about Caldari tech. Some things that will help with any ship you fly are the basic skills. By basic, I mean the Engineering, Electronics, and Mechanic skills that give you more grid, cpu, shield armor, cap, and cap recharge. You will never be able to fit everything you want on a ship, and there are many directions you can take your fitting successfully. This is what makes working out a fitting such a challenge, and quite a bit of fun. I recommend you check the Ships and Modules section of the Eve Forums for specifics on the ships you want to fly.
Now for question 3. Balanced fights are hard to come by anywhere you go. Don't expect anyone to give you a fair fight willingly given how much a loss can hurt. Learning how to survive is really your first step. Get used to using the map, which is one of your most powerful tools. Take a look at what areas show regular ship/pod kills. Look at the areas that are high traffic. Do some scouting, venture out and just kill rats while you get a feel for the area. (No easy target mining ship at first) If you think an area is too hot to handle, move on. When you do start to settle down in an area, pay attention to the regular visitors. Especially the hostiles. If the same guy attacks you regularly, try to determine what he's using on you. ship type, weapons, EW, etc. Knowledge is power, and everything has a counter. Ex: Does the guy always use a certain races ships? Stack up on the corresponding racial jammers to give him a suprise.
If you find yourself in your pod, there are two things you should NOT do.
1. Try and Dock
2. Try and jump out of system
This is what your opponent will expect you to do as you already discovered. Nothing in the game gets into warp as fast as a pod does, so they're actually very hard to kill when the pilot knows what they're doing. Warp to at least 3 celestial objects consecutively. (planets, moons) You'll get some breathing room because your persuer will lose track of you. Now you can try and leave/dock if you're feeling lucky, but if you get to the station/gate and see the hostile warp the hell out. If you don't think you can make it to either safe haven, make a quick deadspace Bookmark, and you'll have a decent temporary sanctuary. (While in midwarp between two objects create a bookmark, then warp to it) More than likely, the persuer will need to use scan probes to flush you out, and most are not going to go to this trouble.
Oh, one other tip. Make friends. There is safety and strength in numbers. Don't doubt the importance of social networking in this game. Good luck!
Just my personal opinion, but I never had as much fun in that game as I did flying my Crusader interceptor. (interceptors are not a significant time investment compared to some ships in the game) Yes, if you want to be the guy piloting a Titan, you've got your work cut out for you. But frankly, I think those ships are high on logistics and low on fun.
Also in Eve, Resources and playerskill are far more important than character skillpoints.
I'll admit, I'm not on nearly as much as I used to be, so my assessment of forum activity is not as thorough as it used to be.
Thats actually one of the high points of Eve. The forums are much more interesting to read than other MMO's. Still a fair share of flaming and such, but even that is more intelligent than you'd expect. (Corporations and Alliances anyone?)
While she mines in her huge, freakin' mining ship (lotsa shields, not much in offense) I guard with my cruiser/frigate/destroyer and whack the NPC pirates and ensure the real-life pilots mind their manners (we stay in 0.5 systems still, but that will change when I get everything to tech level 2).
You've got the right idea here, but some friendly advice: Don't think that some shiny Tech II gear will save your butt in a fight. Yes, tech II is better, but proper fitting and tactics are what will make or break you. If you're going to venture into hostile territory, (which I recommend because it's fun!) Do it in gear you can afford to lose. The fights are not always fair, and you will take losses. But what you learn will be infinitely more valuable than any expensive mods you might be able to fit. Cheaper gear means you get back out there faster, and get more experience.
Just remember: Don't fly it if you can't afford to lose it.
Agreed. It doesn't matter how much hardware you throw at something if the design doesn't scale or is flawed.
It would appear that Blizzard was beat pretty hard by their own unexpected success. I don't think they ever anticipated the load they now have to deal with.
I played TW2002, and I played Eve. The comparison is quite accurate. However, the trading is much more complex as it's a player driven market, and NPC supply and demand is VERY secondary.
I played Eve for about 2 years. Now I play WoW. Honestly, Eve is the better game, but you can only stay in the thick of alliance politics, wars, etc for so long before going slightly insane. It's nice to just log on and kill orcs for an hour or two without having to worry about anything.
Re:Nintendo is in trouble with the Revolution
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Nintendo's New Look
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· Score: 5, Insightful
An amazing hardware and software platform get you nothing if you don't have the software to back it up. I've played most of the Xbox 360 titles that have been released so far, and nothing has really made me want to drop the $400 on the console. Honestly, the multimedia features are the biggest draw, but that's not saying much for a game console.
The PSP vs the DS is another excellent comparison. There is no question that the PSP is the superior piece of hardware. What does it have to offer? PS2 ports and clones, games that really aren't made to be portable. The offerings on the DS are MUCH more suited to the system and it's intended use. Hence, it is quite successful.
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Agreed on the Starship Troopers lines.
I played Doom 3 through to the end. The game itself wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but they did an amazing job setting the mood in the game. The game creeped you the hell out. (Even without the repeated jack-in-a box scares) After that, you would think that making a movie with the same feel would be a cakewalk. It's all already there, handed to the director on a silver platter! Add a couple marines for dialogue opportunities, and you're set!
Somehow, the movie completely failed to capture any of the atmosphere that the game did so damn well.
I say give ID a guy to write some sort of story/dialogue and a render farm. Then you'll have a kickass Doom movie.
Hell, you can even have a running gag where the marines can't find any duct tape...
Umm, the Matrix did go kerblooie. Agent Smith is the result of that. Notice that by the end of the 3rd movie you don't see a single person in the matrix, it's all Smith. The system has broken down.
The one thing that I commend the entire trilogy on is this: Everything that is predicted to happen, does happen. Just never in the way the characters (Or the viewer) expects.
Too bad that such interesting plot twists got obscured by special effects.
The opening scene of Shaun of the Dead is pretty much the opening scene of HHGTTG. Just replace bulldozers with zombies.
Great movie.
The amazing art design saved that game from the limitations of the hardware. I can't imagine how good that game would look on a modern system. There are times where you look at a scene and think: "This looks like absolute crap, but it's still beautiful" The textures are just too detailed for the PS2 I think.
Shadow of the Colossus was awe insipring. Go buy it and see for yourself. It's been out for a while now.
The reason Microsoft is so successful is NOT because they 'just sell operating systems'. It is because they have control over what operating system is bundled with a vast majority of the x86 computers sold on the retail market. A normal consumer has absolutely no choice in their operating system when buying an OEM PC.
How is Apple's business model any less ethical?
Drop in Halo 2 and hop on Xbox Live. You'll HEAR the little bastards. (It's evil)
Remember, these are basically kids who have very little financial responsibility (High school, still live at home) but probably have some income from a part time job. They have money to burn, and an excess of time. It's a ripe demographic, but I think it's being saturated.
Also, I think the industry is partially to blame for the excess of 'Adult' titles out there. There is still a general assumption that video games are a kids thing, and the developers want to change that. They want the shake the 'kiddie' label, and the easiest way to make something 'adult' is to add graphic violence and/or boobies. (Keep in mind that this doesn't apply to all developers, it's just a generalization)
I think he is referring to the 'adult gamer' demographic that require sex and/or gratuitous violence for a game to be good. The kind of teenagers who feel playing a Mario game would bring their heterosexuality into question.
The rest of us (who are actually adults) are an entirely different category.
Nintendo is behind the times... Right...
How many console staples were first implimented by Nintendo? Just in control schemes: Directional Pad, shoulder buttons, rumble packs, analog sticks, touch screens, and soon motion sensors. Yup, they're a follower all right.
As for being the 'kiddy console' you can't be further from reality. Nintendo appears to be looking at the big picture, and offering stuff for everyone. Including the 'adult' demographic. Or is Resident Evil as kiddy game? Seems to me that MS and Sony have a bit of tunnel vision on their market. They're aiming at a very specific demographic: The adolescent male. (These are the kids who are old enough to have some income, and young enough to consider 'kiddy' games a threat to their masculinity)
The rest of us are quite excited to try something new that isn't another WW2 FPS.
They have a very good reason: Not undermining their own platform. There's a reason you don't see Mario games on the PS2. Yes, MS doesn't make money on their console, but they make money on games. If you don't sell consoles, you don't sell games. Thats the whole point of exclusives.
More than likely, Nintendo has all kinds of rights to games where their IP is involved. (Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, etc) However, they may not have as much control over other Rare projects. Conkers and Perfect Dark are good examples of that. I seriously doubt these will show up on the Rev in any shape or form.
Depends on who owns the rights to what. If Nintendo worked their original deal with Rare right, they have the ability to re-release the back catalogue no matter what MS wants.
The real trick though, is being able to spot the assholes when they're trying their hardest not to be.
The Baron is the end boss of one of the higher dungeons of the game. (Stratholme, actually) 5-man refers to the size of the group used to take on the Baron. (Most 10-man the Baron for reference)
The port of Halo was a big deal. It was also a badly done port. Expect consumers to be a bit skeptical of the quality of Halo 2's port after that...
Halo 2 coming to PC does not even remotely compare to the significance that Doom 3 and HL2 had on the PC gaming community.
Halo 2 is already old. By the time it is actually released on PC (relatively) few people will care.
Should make a line of exercise equipment that tracks your activity and applies it to an avatar. THen make the avatar usable in an arcade game or something.
I can just see the gamers dying from exhaustion trying to powerlevel their ExerFighter...
As for 1 and 2, I'm really not too sure what to tell you. I primarily fly Amarr ships, so I'm not the best person to ask about Caldari tech. Some things that will help with any ship you fly are the basic skills. By basic, I mean the Engineering, Electronics, and Mechanic skills that give you more grid, cpu, shield armor, cap, and cap recharge. You will never be able to fit everything you want on a ship, and there are many directions you can take your fitting successfully. This is what makes working out a fitting such a challenge, and quite a bit of fun. I recommend you check the Ships and Modules section of the Eve Forums for specifics on the ships you want to fly.
Now for question 3. Balanced fights are hard to come by anywhere you go. Don't expect anyone to give you a fair fight willingly given how much a loss can hurt. Learning how to survive is really your first step. Get used to using the map, which is one of your most powerful tools. Take a look at what areas show regular ship/pod kills. Look at the areas that are high traffic. Do some scouting, venture out and just kill rats while you get a feel for the area. (No easy target mining ship at first) If you think an area is too hot to handle, move on. When you do start to settle down in an area, pay attention to the regular visitors. Especially the hostiles. If the same guy attacks you regularly, try to determine what he's using on you. ship type, weapons, EW, etc. Knowledge is power, and everything has a counter. Ex: Does the guy always use a certain races ships? Stack up on the corresponding racial jammers to give him a suprise.
If you find yourself in your pod, there are two things you should NOT do.
1. Try and Dock
2. Try and jump out of system
This is what your opponent will expect you to do as you already discovered. Nothing in the game gets into warp as fast as a pod does, so they're actually very hard to kill when the pilot knows what they're doing. Warp to at least 3 celestial objects consecutively. (planets, moons) You'll get some breathing room because your persuer will lose track of you. Now you can try and leave/dock if you're feeling lucky, but if you get to the station/gate and see the hostile warp the hell out. If you don't think you can make it to either safe haven, make a quick deadspace Bookmark, and you'll have a decent temporary sanctuary. (While in midwarp between two objects create a bookmark, then warp to it) More than likely, the persuer will need to use scan probes to flush you out, and most are not going to go to this trouble.
Oh, one other tip. Make friends. There is safety and strength in numbers. Don't doubt the importance of social networking in this game. Good luck!
Just my personal opinion, but I never had as much fun in that game as I did flying my Crusader interceptor. (interceptors are not a significant time investment compared to some ships in the game) Yes, if you want to be the guy piloting a Titan, you've got your work cut out for you. But frankly, I think those ships are high on logistics and low on fun.
Also in Eve, Resources and playerskill are far more important than character skillpoints.
I'll admit, I'm not on nearly as much as I used to be, so my assessment of forum activity is not as thorough as it used to be.
Thats actually one of the high points of Eve. The forums are much more interesting to read than other MMO's. Still a fair share of flaming and such, but even that is more intelligent than you'd expect. (Corporations and Alliances anyone?)
(FYI me = Aitrus, retired pilot and forum whore)
You're pretty active on those forums, last time I checked. ;)
Love your comic BTW.
Just remember: Don't fly it if you can't afford to lose it.
Agreed. It doesn't matter how much hardware you throw at something if the design doesn't scale or is flawed.
It would appear that Blizzard was beat pretty hard by their own unexpected success. I don't think they ever anticipated the load they now have to deal with.
I played TW2002, and I played Eve. The comparison is quite accurate. However, the trading is much more complex as it's a player driven market, and NPC supply and demand is VERY secondary.
I played Eve for about 2 years. Now I play WoW. Honestly, Eve is the better game, but you can only stay in the thick of alliance politics, wars, etc for so long before going slightly insane. It's nice to just log on and kill orcs for an hour or two without having to worry about anything.
An amazing hardware and software platform get you nothing if you don't have the software to back it up. I've played most of the Xbox 360 titles that have been released so far, and nothing has really made me want to drop the $400 on the console. Honestly, the multimedia features are the biggest draw, but that's not saying much for a game console.
The PSP vs the DS is another excellent comparison. There is no question that the PSP is the superior piece of hardware. What does it have to offer? PS2 ports and clones, games that really aren't made to be portable. The offerings on the DS are MUCH more suited to the system and it's intended use. Hence, it is quite successful.
Damn overpowered Hunters just kite the car while changing the oil. Talk about easymode.