I agree with you in re:Valve. Epic is the shining model, as far as I'm concerned.
Also in support of my original argument, I'm not saying all DLC is valueless or should be free. If this guy is able to find some way to truly expand the Bioshock experience in a way Diablo2's expansion did to it's first four acts, then yea put it out there for a modest fee. But if it's just shoving a couple new plasmids in the game, that just feels greedy.
In order for a process to be patentably eligible subject matter it has to produce a tangible result. What this really means in cases like Amazon's gets confusing as hell, because while reading 35 U.S.C. 101 and it's various court interpretations over the years it becomes obvious that computers operate in a way completely unimagined by those who drafted the Constitution.
Oh god, I'm sorry for that. Reformatted below...
Child Continuity Data
09/151,617 filed on 09-11-1998 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951 09/318,447 filed on 05-25-1999 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
10/194,602 filed on 07-12-2002 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/410,998 filed on 04-25-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/610,619 filed on 12-14-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/618,452 filed on 12-29-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/751,483 filed on 05-21-2007 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
90/007,946 filed on 02-16-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
PCT/US98/18926 filed on 09-10-1998 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
I bolded the application the article you linked refers to. Also read about continuing patent applications which this history represents.
Child Continuity Data
09/151,617 filed on 09-11-1998 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951
09/318,447 filed on 05-25-1999 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
10/194,602 filed on 07-12-2002 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/410,998 filed on 04-25-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/610,619 filed on 12-14-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/618,452 filed on 12-29-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/751,483 filed on 05-21-2007 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
90/007,946 filed on 02-16-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
PCT/US98/18926 filed on 09-10-1998 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
The wonder that is CIPs (continuation in part).
There was a non-final rejection mailed on October 9. There is still at least one more round of prosecution before Amazon's lawyers decide to choose any number of paths to continue prosecution beyond a final rejection.
from reading the rather pathetic "article", is that they're looking for someway to get you to pay more but they aren't really sure what yet. From all accounts, it's a good game on its own that simply doesn't lend to an expansion. It's pretty pathetic when they feel like they have to muck it up with crap like this.
And as a quick aside rant, downloadable content, the newest buzzword for hacks, maps and mods, is getting a bit out of hand. I understand Microsoft's desire to give all content value, because they make money off every sale. At a more base level, even as a traditional PC gamer who is used to a decade of free downloads for my games I can certainly concede that some addon content is worth paying for. But when developers start stretching for ways to sell you trivial additions to a game it's getting a bit out of hand. What happened to the philosophy of giving a game and its community longevity through developer support?
You are arguing against the facts, I imagine that is why you insist on resorting to sarcasm and bad jokes rather than addressing the issue at hand. Or, you know, he was just making a bad joke.
Definitely not a native Linux client. As for WINE/Cadega, if Half Life 2 or other Source engine games will run in the environment, I see no reason why Portal should not.
The bronzes are going to be pretty easy for anyone who can clear the story mode but silvers are quite a lot harder and some of the golds I can't even conceive solutions for. The challenges definitely force you to think differently with each type. For instance, you play through on story mode or even the advances versions of the maps and the goal is simple and your options limitless. Now play least steps. You are forced to relearn what you know about using portals in order to complete the challenge. All of a sudden that one part of that one level that you could barely get through normally seems insurmountable. It does a marvelous job at recycling the old content into something completely new.
The thing I hate to see is that most review sites are docking points off their arbitrary number scales for its length. I normally wouldn't care how someone "scores" a game (and I rarely read reviews to begin with), but I fear it is indicative of a group of people who just don't get it. I've seen similar thinking kill games and good franchises in the past. Luckily it seems most people do see the genius at work and we'll be seeing more from the Portal universe.
I don't know that is the issue. My CoreDuo Macbook came with 512mb or ram and it worked perfectly for general web browsing, movie watching, SSH sessions, text editing, etc. I did eventually upgrade to 2gb, but only because the cost dropped to $80.
I would say software more closely resembles "intelligent" design. Unless you are talking about my software, in which case it could best be described as "I hope no one sees this" design.
Regardless, I don't think it's the case here. I stumbled upon the rally as I was showing a couple friends the DC sites and we ended up staying and taking in the scene for over an hour. There were nutjobs at every turn so I'd be very unlikely to be believe any sporadic claims from anyone involved in that crowd. And for the record, DC is built on a marsh, so insects on a summer day aren't exactly rare.
Better yet, a 360 with integrated wireless. It's probably the only electric powered device released in the last 5 years that doesn't have wifi standard.
Sure, there are many games on Windows, but the performance on some is horrible compared to the performance of the same games on Linux or Macintosh platforms.
You've got my attention, but have you got any examples?
Your post is kind of all over the place, but I think you are bit too worked up over this and may be reading too much into the interview answers. They are very light on details and could be indicative of a whole host of issues (the most likely of which are hardware options, not hardware cost, and marketing initiatives, IMO). He mentions developers asking for "things", but since I have no graphics programming experience and am by no means an OS X expert, I have no idea what this could mean. I sincerely doubt it is due to developers who are "incompetent and can't figure out the APIs."
You certainly are correct that this is ultimately Valve's decision. I just get the feeling that Gabe is expressing his frustration over Apple's apparent lack of sincerity about the matter. I think it's pretty reasonable that if he were to decide his company would take the financial risk in opening up this market that he would like a certain degree of support from the vendor of those customers they would be exclusively catering too.
Before you point to Blizzard as a shining example of platform support, note that their games tend to have relatively weak hardware requirements and therefore are rendered nearly immune to what I consider the Mac's greatest weakness as a viable gaming computer.
The crux of the situation is that there is exactly one Mac with upgradeable graphics. The most obscenely expensive one. The rest come with discrete solutions that are half a step above the integrated offerings from Intel at best. So if you wanted to play, say, Crysis on your iMac you're simply out of luck. Yes, you may be able to get brand new games to run, but you will be missing out on the vast majority of graphical enhancement they are packing into the newest games. While I'm not advocating playing games simply because of graphics, I will point out that if you are going to be playing the newest games your investment in a Mac is probably a poor one.
Calling it the same engine is a MAJOR stretch. There are many, many engine improvements and optimizations going into the engine with the launch of EP2. Among the list is improved facial animations, improvements for multiprocessor-eqiupped systems, a new dynamic lighting and shadow mapping system, an upgraded render path including support for DX10 as well as improvements to large-scale outdoor environments. Also Portal looks to be one of the more original games I've seen in quite a few years. Dismissing TF2 and Portal as a "side game" or "mini-game" is also kind of naive considering Valve's history and continued pledge of support for additional content in these types of games.
Re:And yet, it is being held back for North Americ
on
Orange Box Turns Gold
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It would've been cheaper to just buy a Cray.
*ducks*
I agree with you in re:Valve. Epic is the shining model, as far as I'm concerned.
Also in support of my original argument, I'm not saying all DLC is valueless or should be free. If this guy is able to find some way to truly expand the Bioshock experience in a way Diablo2's expansion did to it's first four acts, then yea put it out there for a modest fee. But if it's just shoving a couple new plasmids in the game, that just feels greedy.
In order for a process to be patentably eligible subject matter it has to produce a tangible result. What this really means in cases like Amazon's gets confusing as hell, because while reading 35 U.S.C. 101 and it's various court interpretations over the years it becomes obvious that computers operate in a way completely unimagined by those who drafted the Constitution.
Child Continuity Data
09/151,617 filed on 09-11-1998 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951
09/318,447 filed on 05-25-1999 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
10/194,602 filed on 07-12-2002 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/410,998 filed on 04-25-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/610,619 filed on 12-14-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/618,452 filed on 12-29-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
11/751,483 filed on 05-21-2007 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
90/007,946 filed on 02-16-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
PCT/US98/18926 filed on 09-10-1998 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951
I bolded the application the article you linked refers to. Also read about continuing patent applications which this history represents.
Child Continuity Data 09/151,617 filed on 09-11-1998 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951 09/318,447 filed on 05-25-1999 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951 10/194,602 filed on 07-12-2002 which is Patented claims the benefit of 08/928,951 11/410,998 filed on 04-25-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951 11/610,619 filed on 12-14-2006 which is Abandoned claims the benefit of 08/928,951 11/618,452 filed on 12-29-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951 11/751,483 filed on 05-21-2007 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951 90/007,946 filed on 02-16-2006 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951 PCT/US98/18926 filed on 09-10-1998 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951 The wonder that is CIPs (continuation in part).
There was a non-final rejection mailed on October 9. There is still at least one more round of prosecution before Amazon's lawyers decide to choose any number of paths to continue prosecution beyond a final rejection.
from reading the rather pathetic "article", is that they're looking for someway to get you to pay more but they aren't really sure what yet. From all accounts, it's a good game on its own that simply doesn't lend to an expansion. It's pretty pathetic when they feel like they have to muck it up with crap like this.
And as a quick aside rant, downloadable content, the newest buzzword for hacks, maps and mods, is getting a bit out of hand. I understand Microsoft's desire to give all content value, because they make money off every sale. At a more base level, even as a traditional PC gamer who is used to a decade of free downloads for my games I can certainly concede that some addon content is worth paying for. But when developers start stretching for ways to sell you trivial additions to a game it's getting a bit out of hand. What happened to the philosophy of giving a game and its community longevity through developer support?
I hope the asshole in TFA runs you over someday. How would you feel when irony hit you at 120mph?
Definitely not a native Linux client. As for WINE/Cadega, if Half Life 2 or other Source engine games will run in the environment, I see no reason why Portal should not.
The thing I hate to see is that most review sites are docking points off their arbitrary number scales for its length. I normally wouldn't care how someone "scores" a game (and I rarely read reviews to begin with), but I fear it is indicative of a group of people who just don't get it. I've seen similar thinking kill games and good franchises in the past. Luckily it seems most people do see the genius at work and we'll be seeing more from the Portal universe.
I don't know that is the issue. My CoreDuo Macbook came with 512mb or ram and it worked perfectly for general web browsing, movie watching, SSH sessions, text editing, etc. I did eventually upgrade to 2gb, but only because the cost dropped to $80.
I would say software more closely resembles "intelligent" design. Unless you are talking about my software, in which case it could best be described as "I hope no one sees this" design.
Regardless, I don't think it's the case here. I stumbled upon the rally as I was showing a couple friends the DC sites and we ended up staying and taking in the scene for over an hour. There were nutjobs at every turn so I'd be very unlikely to be believe any sporadic claims from anyone involved in that crowd. And for the record, DC is built on a marsh, so insects on a summer day aren't exactly rare.
Who let John Romero at the research budget?
Better yet, a 360 with integrated wireless. It's probably the only electric powered device released in the last 5 years that doesn't have wifi standard.
Next thing we'll hear is him offering to sell for $20,000,000,000!!!
You've got my attention, but have you got any examples?
Your post is kind of all over the place, but I think you are bit too worked up over this and may be reading too much into the interview answers. They are very light on details and could be indicative of a whole host of issues (the most likely of which are hardware options, not hardware cost, and marketing initiatives, IMO). He mentions developers asking for "things", but since I have no graphics programming experience and am by no means an OS X expert, I have no idea what this could mean. I sincerely doubt it is due to developers who are "incompetent and can't figure out the APIs."
You certainly are correct that this is ultimately Valve's decision. I just get the feeling that Gabe is expressing his frustration over Apple's apparent lack of sincerity about the matter. I think it's pretty reasonable that if he were to decide his company would take the financial risk in opening up this market that he would like a certain degree of support from the vendor of those customers they would be exclusively catering too.
Before you point to Blizzard as a shining example of platform support, note that their games tend to have relatively weak hardware requirements and therefore are rendered nearly immune to what I consider the Mac's greatest weakness as a viable gaming computer.
The crux of the situation is that there is exactly one Mac with upgradeable graphics. The most obscenely expensive one. The rest come with discrete solutions that are half a step above the integrated offerings from Intel at best. So if you wanted to play, say, Crysis on your iMac you're simply out of luck. Yes, you may be able to get brand new games to run, but you will be missing out on the vast majority of graphical enhancement they are packing into the newest games. While I'm not advocating playing games simply because of graphics, I will point out that if you are going to be playing the newest games your investment in a Mac is probably a poor one.
This is true, I use a Logitech mx510 on my Macbook, but you have to install third party software to make it useful for most involved tasks.
Apparently the word "overturn" isn't in the submitter's vocabulary.
Calling it the same engine is a MAJOR stretch. There are many, many engine improvements and optimizations going into the engine with the launch of EP2. Among the list is improved facial animations, improvements for multiprocessor-eqiupped systems, a new dynamic lighting and shadow mapping system, an upgraded render path including support for DX10 as well as improvements to large-scale outdoor environments. Also Portal looks to be one of the more original games I've seen in quite a few years. Dismissing TF2 and Portal as a "side game" or "mini-game" is also kind of naive considering Valve's history and continued pledge of support for additional content in these types of games.
http://www.vivendi.com/corp/en/home/index.php