Seriously, I love it. Yes, I understand that you can never have an accurate map of Springfield (there are contradictions across episodes) but this is about as good as you can get.
BTW, wasn't the Michael Jackson Expressway (formerly the Dali Lama expressway) renamed to the Matlock Expressway ?
Some newer card printers will actually write the magstripe as they print the card. The problem is that they're not too informative as to how you get the magstripe data into the printer to encode.
Usually this is achieved by a setting within the printer driver which defines which stripe (of the three) to write to and how to get the data out of the printing data. The sequence is usually marked out with start and stop character sequences (on Javelin printers these are usually "${n" and "}$" for start and stop, where n is the track number.)
This saves people the trouble of printing the cards and then writing them seperately.
When the release time comes around, don't wait 2 frelling weeks between the US and the UK release. Sooo many people I know are just downloading this game rather than enduring the release-lag .
A simultaneous release would earn HL2 so much more money.
Why are all the prime releases still slated for christmas? It's this "Computer Games == Toys" attitude that the industry caught back in the 8 bit days when , yes , a large part of their market was still under 18.
These days a Xmas release of a game (especially an over 18 rated one) might actually HURT sales. I'm thinking of the players with children here who won't want to blow 30-50 notes on a game at such a crucial time of year.
The problem is this game is cycle is self-sustaining. A lot of games are sold just before xmas because a lot of games are released just before xmas, thus december see's a revenue spike, so publishers try to get games out in time for xmas.
A good game release in February can often exceed the revenues of a good game released in December.
1. Splash screens. One of them I could deal with, but one for the publisher, the developers and one for the 3D engine? Enough already, I just want to play the game!
2. CD Checks . Yes, developers want to protect themselves against piracy, but name me one game where a no-cd executable isn't easily found? All this does is make me keep hunting for game discs when I want to play, taking away precious minutes of playtime. If you have a significant other who "tidies" your home then sometimes you can't even find the disc.
3. Cut-scenes you can skip. OK, first time you play a game you need to know the plot intro, but the 7th time you don't. Let me skip it.
4. Invisible forcefields. Things that stop you going where you want. This is especially evident in games where the level design has to look bigger than it actually is. The taller buildings in CityOfHeroes do this. ARGHH!
5. Stuck in the scenery. We've had home video gaming now for over 20 years and I can't believe I'm still seeing games where you can get stuck in the scenery.
6. Having to buy the physical disk in a shop. What? Its 2004 ! Why can't I just use my credit card and download a game? Because A: They have to have the easy to defeat cd-checking code and B: The high-street retailers are scared. Planetside, for instance , had a seven day demo which, when expired , required a disk to continue playing. We'll never know how many subscriptions they lost because people couldn't find the CD for sale, or changed their minds when they got to Amazon.
7. Launch dates. Linked to #6 slighty. For instace Black & White. Why could I not go into a games shop in Guildford UK, (minutes away from the developers offices) and buy when it was for sale in US game stores? Thats one GOOD consequence of game piracy - its reducing transatlantic game release lag (Doom3 is only going to lag by 24 hrs).
8. In game music formats . When you purchase Need For Speed Underground you've already purchased the music (the copyright effectively notice says so). So why is it not in mp3 so you can listen to the tracks you like outside of the game?
If people have already decided to go for a linux OS then finding a good open source office suite to go with it is no problem at all.
I think the time for MS to try to gain a foothold in the linux application market was about 2 years ago and they missed it.
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Seriously, I love it. Yes, I understand that you can never have an accurate map of Springfield (there are contradictions across episodes) but this is about as good as you can get. BTW, wasn't the Michael Jackson Expressway (formerly the Dali Lama expressway) renamed to the Matlock Expressway ?
Some newer card printers will actually write the magstripe as they print the card. The problem is that they're not too informative as to how you get the magstripe data into the printer to encode.
Usually this is achieved by a setting within the printer driver which defines which stripe (of the three) to write to and how to get the data out of the printing data. The sequence is usually marked out with start and stop character sequences (on Javelin printers these are usually "${n" and "}$" for start and stop, where n is the track number.)
This saves people the trouble of printing the cards and then writing them seperately.
When the release time comes around, don't wait 2 frelling weeks between the US and the UK release. Sooo many people I know are just downloading this game rather than enduring the release-lag . A simultaneous release would earn HL2 so much more money.
That most of the code was written in Europe BEFORE we had software patents.
Why are all the prime releases still slated for christmas? It's this "Computer Games == Toys" attitude that the industry caught back in the 8 bit days when , yes , a large part of their market was still under 18.
These days a Xmas release of a game (especially an over 18 rated one) might actually HURT sales. I'm thinking of the players with children here who won't want to blow 30-50 notes on a game at such a crucial time of year.
The problem is this game is cycle is self-sustaining. A lot of games are sold just before xmas because a lot of games are released just before xmas, thus december see's a revenue spike, so publishers try to get games out in time for xmas.
A good game release in February can often exceed the revenues of a good game released in December.
1. Splash screens. One of them I could deal with, but one for the publisher, the developers and one for the 3D engine? Enough already, I just want to play the game!
2. CD Checks . Yes, developers want to protect themselves against piracy, but name me one game where a no-cd executable isn't easily found? All this does is make me keep hunting for game discs when I want to play, taking away precious minutes of playtime. If you have a significant other who "tidies" your home then sometimes you can't even find the disc.
3. Cut-scenes you can skip. OK, first time you play a game you need to know the plot intro, but the 7th time you don't. Let me skip it.
4. Invisible forcefields. Things that stop you going where you want. This is especially evident in games where the level design has to look bigger than it actually is. The taller buildings in CityOfHeroes do this. ARGHH!
5. Stuck in the scenery. We've had home video gaming now for over 20 years and I can't believe I'm still seeing games where you can get stuck in the scenery.
6. Having to buy the physical disk in a shop. What? Its 2004 ! Why can't I just use my credit card and download a game? Because A: They have to have the easy to defeat cd-checking code and B: The high-street retailers are scared. Planetside, for instance , had a seven day demo which, when expired , required a disk to continue playing. We'll never know how many subscriptions they lost because people couldn't find the CD for sale, or changed their minds when they got to Amazon.
7. Launch dates. Linked to #6 slighty. For instace Black & White. Why could I not go into a games shop in Guildford UK, (minutes away from the developers offices) and buy when it was for sale in US game stores? Thats one GOOD consequence of game piracy - its reducing transatlantic game release lag (Doom3 is only going to lag by 24 hrs).
8. In game music formats . When you purchase Need For Speed Underground you've already purchased the music (the copyright effectively notice says so). So why is it not in mp3 so you can listen to the tracks you like outside of the game?
If people have already decided to go for a linux OS then finding a good open source office suite to go with it is no problem at all. I think the time for MS to try to gain a foothold in the linux application market was about 2 years ago and they missed it.