Unless, of course, user is a member of a class or a global variable. Which would make sense, since the GP didn't need to declare it... </counter-nit-pick >
This really bugged me, too. If you've gotten to the quest where you have to get help from all the cities, I thought it was very unrealistic that the fires were all still lit in Kvatch. And when I went to talk to the Captain of the Guard, he was still standing in the exact same place in the castle hall, and he was still wearing his brown shirt and NO PANTS. I believe they were one of the many casualties in the "When you're level 25" version of Seige of Kvatch that involved alot of him falling unconcious.
On a more hopeful note, this WIP mod may interest you...
I'd just like to point out that they did take a big step that may have been enough (on its own) to make stealing hard enough that you wouldn't end up with the kind of situation that you had in Morrowind. They made it so that if you wander out of the "show room" area of a store, or into any area you aren't supposed to be (some of the guard barracks, pretty much any private home during the night, restricted parts of a castle, ect) and the AI sees you then there is nothing you can do short of leaving the area (or killing you.. but I thought the point here was to not get caught doing something illegal) to get them to stop following you. My character has a sneak of 100 and speed/agi to match and I've tried running into a seperate room and closing the door while in sneak mode, they still know where you are. You can try it by going up the stairs in one of the shops in the Imperial City and standing next to the door to the store owners private room. The owner will walk over and look at you, then follow you around the store until you leave.
Better yet, tommorrow all the easter candy goes on sale. I know I plan to take a trip to the store to pick up a few packs of Cadburry Eggs for about half off. The easter candy section usually looks like it's been hit by no less then three simultanious natural disasters, though, and it can make actually finding the eggs a bit difficult.
My personal favorites so far from looking at the list (favoritism being a function of how obvious it is that they're duplicates) are the "Domain Robot * Ltd" and the big block of "* LLC" registered to someone in New York (what? isn't this supposed to be the EU domain?). The last half is mostly from New York, too. I can't figure out if this is because alot of companies decided to register from New York (any reason for this?) or one guy just randomly generated alot of information (many of them have different addresses/phone numbers).
Can't they at least try to make it a little less obvious, though?
Is this in any way related to the signals that make those blinky cell-phone attatchments that light up when someone calls work? Maybe a stronger signal, since those seem to work with just about every phone and this only happens to a few.
(as for some slightly useful information:) This doesnt happen to me (Samsung SCH-A650 - 2 or 3 year old filp phone - on Verizon) but happens all the time to my friends who use Cingular (and the phones it has happened to: Another Samsung flip, LG flip, Treo III, low-end Nokia) both on their home systems and in the car, although in the car it can serve as a big bonus where you might not hear the ring/feel the vibration because of music/motion from driving. Probably varies by a mix of phone, provider, and speakers.
Since none of the posters that have replied to this seem to be aware of the fact:
Nationstates is a game where you play as a government, or a head of state, or maybe just the whole nation (it's not really specified). You are given 'issues' once or twice a day, and depending on the choice you make, you change the way you're nation is described. Also, it takes a very satirical view of just about everything.
Re:How does the Windows version work?
on
More iTunes Math
·
· Score: 1
I've looked at the iTunes Library xml file in Windows before (usually My Docs/My Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml) and it does store the rating values as 0-100 integers. I've never tried to modify them, though.
I do believe Warriors get 5 attribs, too.
I do believe you're right. I don't play warrior very often, so I'd forgotten:P
GW should not be seen as a MMORPG...
I definetly agree there, although I don't think it's that much like UT. I see it more like Diablo, except with a focus on PvP, and much better done.
Sorry to be nitpicky but, a few corrections about the guildwars bit (And I love Guildwars, it's a great game that I've spent far to much time playing).
First off, there are 6 classes (Warrior, Ranger, Necromancer, Mesmer, Elementalist, Monk).
Second, if by "specializations" you are refering to atributes, each class has 4 (or in the elementalist's case, 5) attributes, one of which you only get when you have that class as your primary class (So characters have 4 primary + 3 secondary attributes, + 1 to one of those if they are an elementalist primary or secondary).
And finally, each class has ~75-80 skills the effect of which is based on your attributes. And there aren't any "primary class only" skills.
Also, the way I see guildwars is as basically two almost entirely seperate games you can play, PvM and PvP Guildwars. A quick explanation for anyone interested! (Everything after this is a plug for what is IMO a great game, not intended as a reply to the parent)
The PvP half of the game can be played entirely without the PvM and quest/story. PvP only occurs in one of the games arenas (4v4 Random Teams, 4v4 Arranged Teams, 8v8 Arranged Teams, 8v8 Guild Ladder). Also, players can make pre-leveled PvP characters using any skills and weapon/armor mods they've "unlocked" by either finding them in the PvM parts of the game, or unlocking them through the "faction" system (think XP, except global for your account and gained for PvP kills). That aspect of PvP is great because it means you can test out character builds (granted, not for PvM) without having to spend hours/days leveling only to find out your idea won't work. PvP on the whole is very self-contained (although going straight to PvP with a new account means you don't have much unlocked) and the random-matching means you can always get a quick game in if you don't have much time.
On the other hand, the PvM half of the game is also very well self-contained. Players level like in a normal RPG (althoug, max level is 20 and you usually hit that anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through the game). As you progress, you find better equipment, new skills, get more attribute points, ect. However, the kinds of things that constitute "phat loot" in Guildwars do so mainly because they make your character look better (atleast in theory). It's not immune to grinding, but atleast all the grinders get is cooler looking armor and maybe an extra +1 or 2% damage/armor (where as in the SWG story above, where grinding is the only way to compete [note: token on-topic sentance]). The story is decent enough, and most of the quests are interesting. PvM definetly a great way to play if you love exploring, collecting things, or the social aspects of MMOs
It's no different from Ford designing a car and forgetting to put the fucking wheels on it!
I'd say it's more like Ford making a new car, putting standard tires on it, and telling buyers not to go trying any offroading in them. Most people will use the car just fine for normal street driving, however the few people who do decide to go offroading despite the warning and end up breaking their car shouldn't be alowed to hold the manufacturer responsible. Products, especially delicate machinery, can't always opperate in whatever environment the consumer thinks it can. That's the point of a manual, to tell the owner what conditions the product can operate in and how to operate it.
They could redesign the product so that it functions properly and can withstand the environment it's expected to be used in
Personally, all my consoles go on shelves in the cabinet that the TV sits on. Consumers can't just expect to remain completely ignorant of the way things work forever and expect them to keep working the same as always while getting more and more sophisticated. Just like car owners know they need to get the oil changed, refill the coolant, keep gas in the tank, ect if they want a working car, people are going to have to understand that electronics, especially high end electronics, need to keep cool and playing them on your shag carpet may produce less then desirable results.
Unless, of course, you happen to be using a next gen system with a centeral internet service like.. say.. Microsofts X-Box Live on the 360.
Although it's true that Console games in general are still held to a higher standard before being released, there have been plenty of patches to XBox games in this generation (the big live games get a patch or two at some point in their life-cycle).
Besides, it isn't like the coding for patches is done by volunteers. I'm sure compainies build the estimated cost of continued development into their price, and a team of programmers probably costs more then a few game testers.
I made the same "mistake." I almost marked a few of the other legit emails frauds. I'm not sure whether to give credit to the phisers or blame to the companies that their special deals and confirmations look so similar. Only the fact that they used legitimate domain names (or in Bank of Americas case, didn't ask for any info) saved them.
I'm also with you about the way the test was handled. A well designed legitimate email should rely on some outside shared info (the last-4-digits in the email we marked as a fraud, for example) to prove to the recipient that you are who you claim. Just given the emails "as is" it can be hard to tell if they are legitimate or not.
For that matter... they say "only 4 percent of users can spot a phished e-mail 100 percent of the time." I wonuld bet this includes people like us, who failed for being overly cautious and marking the ones they even say they would have been suspicious of. </disapointed I didn't get to be in the top 4%:P>
Sorry to nitpick, but as a fan of the series for a long time...
Oblivion is TES IV. TES I was Arena (released in the early 90s, now available for download from behtsofts website), II was Daggerfall, the first one I played and an awesome and mindblowingly huge game for the time (later in the 90s, first one I played). Finally, III was Morrowind, which you're probably familiar with.
I didn't find the license tests too annoying in general (atleast to get bronzes), though there were a few that were pains in the ass to be sure. Having to earn 1mil in order to reach level 25 so I can play in the next level of race that I actually want to was more annoying for me. Still, thats personal preference.
Don't get me wrong, Forza is a great game. But GT4 is also great in different ways. And for the record, I've put to much time in on both (30-some% in GT4 and level 30-some in Forza, with plenty of multiplayer in both)
They both look spectacular (Forza does a better job on tracks, while GT4 does a better job on cars). However, as far as single player goes, GT4 is better any day. One of the best things about GT4 is that something from just about every level from "junker car that I wouldn't drive IRL" (and the car I drive was only worth 2k when I bought it a few years ago) to Racing class car. Once you've dont the license tests, which you can take at any time and weren't that hard (except the last one) if you just go for passing (bronze), you can do any race you want if you have a good enough car. Compared to the "unlock shit" that forza does, it's a much better system. I hate not being able to buy basically any super-car until I've gotten to "level 20" or play in the endurance races until "level 30"... it's an un-needed slowdown for the game.
That said, GT4 completely botched the multiplayer aspect of the game. They essentially made it so you can't use a custom-made car (because driving aids and tires are screwed up), and it looks like something for the PSX. Multiplayer, on the other hand, is where Forza shines. It looks and feels just about as good as the single-player game, and racing against friends is definetly more fun then racing against the computer-bots.
So! Lesson learned (hopefully): even among very similar games, there are differences enough for different people to like different games. Maybe the GP doesn't play multiplayer much because none of their friends like racing games, in which case I would take GT4 any day. (Of course, just as likely its just a little troll at the end of a good point.) And now that I've said to much about not enough.. time to move on.
Even though gigaertz actually is the singular and plural form*, the article still gets it wrong. They should say it will require "several gigahertz," to distinguish between the singular and plural.
*We would say "I have a 2 gigahertz processor" / "My processor runs at 2 gigahertz" and the same for a 1 GHz processor. (Or maybe you would say your processor is 2 gigahertzes? I hope not..)
Don't forget that their is a fairly substantial cost difference, too.
Around here a movie is $8-10 (matinee vs. full price), and I hope it's stayed slightly more sane elsewhere (Southern California isn't very good at pricing sainly). But even at that rate, you could go to 5 or 6 movies for the price of one new game (10*5 = $50, 8*6 = $48). Even if one of the new releases is as a budget title, that's probably two movies.
They did, but it wasn't just put out there. The place I remember hearing it (and there could have been another I just don't remember) is from someone in the background (of the movie) near the beggining (when Sophie is leaving the hat shop for good, I think). Bad sound quality definetly could have made you miss that line.
There are full and quick format options available in the setup process.
Except in 2000. It doesn't give you a format type option, and always performs a full disk format. The quick format option was introduced in XP (and maybe some later 2000 install disks? Mine certainly doesn't have that option).
Let me just quote the post you were responding too then.
"$99 for a 20 gig hard disk? You can get a 250 gig hard disk for less than that!"
I must have missed the part where either you or the parent said it had to be a lap top drive. Yes I know the 360 uses them, but if you're going to argue that don't just say, "No you can't." Instead say something like "I'm sorry, you must not know that the XBox 360 uses 2.5 inch laptop hard-drives. Though you may be right that a 250gig hard drive can cost less then $100, the kind the 360 uses have not yet dropped that low."
Linking to something more then just the index of newegg would help your argument a bit too. Like maybe an actuall listing of a low-end 250 gig drive (of any sort). If you are going to respond with only three words and a link, at least make it a good link.
That said, I don't have anything against the 360. I have a Xbox, and it's the current-gen console I like the most of the 3. The 360 is turning out to be a bit pricy, but that combined with all the weirdness of multiple hardware versions just means I probably won't get one for a little while after it launches. Don't assume that just because someone doesn't agree completely with your 3 word complaint that they must be some sort of MS basher who hates the 360 for no reason. (Or anything else for that matter.)
Slashdot Mirror
But... if the players are the hookers then who do you beat to death with a baseball bat? Such an MMO would need all the servers to be PvP.
Battlefield (insert random number)
.... 2142.
And the random number is
Unless, of course, user is a member of a class or a global variable. Which would make sense, since the GP didn't need to declare it...
</counter-nit-pick >
This really bugged me, too. If you've gotten to the quest where you have to get help from all the cities, I thought it was very unrealistic that the fires were all still lit in Kvatch. And when I went to talk to the Captain of the Guard, he was still standing in the exact same place in the castle hall, and he was still wearing his brown shirt and NO PANTS. I believe they were one of the many casualties in the "When you're level 25" version of Seige of Kvatch that involved alot of him falling unconcious.
On a more hopeful note, this WIP mod may interest you...
I'd just like to point out that they did take a big step that may have been enough (on its own) to make stealing hard enough that you wouldn't end up with the kind of situation that you had in Morrowind. They made it so that if you wander out of the "show room" area of a store, or into any area you aren't supposed to be (some of the guard barracks, pretty much any private home during the night, restricted parts of a castle, ect) and the AI sees you then there is nothing you can do short of leaving the area (or killing you .. but I thought the point here was to not get caught doing something illegal) to get them to stop following you. My character has a sneak of 100 and speed/agi to match and I've tried running into a seperate room and closing the door while in sneak mode, they still know where you are. You can try it by going up the stairs in one of the shops in the Imperial City and standing next to the door to the store owners private room. The owner will walk over and look at you, then follow you around the store until you leave.
Better yet, tommorrow all the easter candy goes on sale. I know I plan to take a trip to the store to pick up a few packs of Cadburry Eggs for about half off. The easter candy section usually looks like it's been hit by no less then three simultanious natural disasters, though, and it can make actually finding the eggs a bit difficult.
My personal favorites so far from looking at the list (favoritism being a function of how obvious it is that they're duplicates) are the "Domain Robot * Ltd" and the big block of "* LLC" registered to someone in New York (what? isn't this supposed to be the EU domain?). The last half is mostly from New York, too. I can't figure out if this is because alot of companies decided to register from New York (any reason for this?) or one guy just randomly generated alot of information (many of them have different addresses/phone numbers).
Can't they at least try to make it a little less obvious, though?
Is this in any way related to the signals that make those blinky cell-phone attatchments that light up when someone calls work? Maybe a stronger signal, since those seem to work with just about every phone and this only happens to a few.
(as for some slightly useful information:)
This doesnt happen to me (Samsung SCH-A650 - 2 or 3 year old filp phone - on Verizon) but happens all the time to my friends who use Cingular (and the phones it has happened to: Another Samsung flip, LG flip, Treo III, low-end Nokia) both on their home systems and in the car, although in the car it can serve as a big bonus where you might not hear the ring/feel the vibration because of music/motion from driving. Probably varies by a mix of phone, provider, and speakers.
Since none of the posters that have replied to this seem to be aware of the fact:
Nationstates is a game where you play as a government, or a head of state, or maybe just the whole nation (it's not really specified). You are given 'issues' once or twice a day, and depending on the choice you make, you change the way you're nation is described. Also, it takes a very satirical view of just about everything.
I've looked at the iTunes Library xml file in Windows before (usually My Docs/My Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml) and it does store the rating values as 0-100 integers. I've never tried to modify them, though.
I do believe Warriors get 5 attribs, too. :P
I do believe you're right. I don't play warrior very often, so I'd forgotten
GW should not be seen as a MMORPG...
I definetly agree there, although I don't think it's that much like UT. I see it more like Diablo, except with a focus on PvP, and much better done.
Sorry to be nitpicky but, a few corrections about the guildwars bit (And I love Guildwars, it's a great game that I've spent far to much time playing).
First off, there are 6 classes (Warrior, Ranger, Necromancer, Mesmer, Elementalist, Monk).
Second, if by "specializations" you are refering to atributes, each class has 4 (or in the elementalist's case, 5) attributes, one of which you only get when you have that class as your primary class (So characters have 4 primary + 3 secondary attributes, + 1 to one of those if they are an elementalist primary or secondary).
And finally, each class has ~75-80 skills the effect of which is based on your attributes. And there aren't any "primary class only" skills.
Also, the way I see guildwars is as basically two almost entirely seperate games you can play, PvM and PvP Guildwars. A quick explanation for anyone interested! (Everything after this is a plug for what is IMO a great game, not intended as a reply to the parent)
The PvP half of the game can be played entirely without the PvM and quest/story. PvP only occurs in one of the games arenas (4v4 Random Teams, 4v4 Arranged Teams, 8v8 Arranged Teams, 8v8 Guild Ladder). Also, players can make pre-leveled PvP characters using any skills and weapon/armor mods they've "unlocked" by either finding them in the PvM parts of the game, or unlocking them through the "faction" system (think XP, except global for your account and gained for PvP kills). That aspect of PvP is great because it means you can test out character builds (granted, not for PvM) without having to spend hours/days leveling only to find out your idea won't work. PvP on the whole is very self-contained (although going straight to PvP with a new account means you don't have much unlocked) and the random-matching means you can always get a quick game in if you don't have much time.
On the other hand, the PvM half of the game is also very well self-contained. Players level like in a normal RPG (althoug, max level is 20 and you usually hit that anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through the game). As you progress, you find better equipment, new skills, get more attribute points, ect. However, the kinds of things that constitute "phat loot" in Guildwars do so mainly because they make your character look better (atleast in theory). It's not immune to grinding, but atleast all the grinders get is cooler looking armor and maybe an extra +1 or 2% damage/armor (where as in the SWG story above, where grinding is the only way to compete [note: token on-topic sentance]). The story is decent enough, and most of the quests are interesting. PvM definetly a great way to play if you love exploring, collecting things, or the social aspects of MMOs
I'd say it's more like Ford making a new car, putting standard tires on it, and telling buyers not to go trying any offroading in them. Most people will use the car just fine for normal street driving, however the few people who do decide to go offroading despite the warning and end up breaking their car shouldn't be alowed to hold the manufacturer responsible. Products, especially delicate machinery, can't always opperate in whatever environment the consumer thinks it can. That's the point of a manual, to tell the owner what conditions the product can operate in and how to operate it.
Personally, all my consoles go on shelves in the cabinet that the TV sits on. Consumers can't just expect to remain completely ignorant of the way things work forever and expect them to keep working the same as always while getting more and more sophisticated. Just like car owners know they need to get the oil changed, refill the coolant, keep gas in the tank, ect if they want a working car, people are going to have to understand that electronics, especially high end electronics, need to keep cool and playing them on your shag carpet may produce less then desirable results.
Why is everyone so goddam punny today? (I wan't to hit myself for that one)
Unless, of course, you happen to be using a next gen system with a centeral internet service like .. say .. Microsofts X-Box Live on the 360.
Although it's true that Console games in general are still held to a higher standard before being released, there have been plenty of patches to XBox games in this generation (the big live games get a patch or two at some point in their life-cycle).
Besides, it isn't like the coding for patches is done by volunteers. I'm sure compainies build the estimated cost of continued development into their price, and a team of programmers probably costs more then a few game testers.
I made the same "mistake." I almost marked a few of the other legit emails frauds. I'm not sure whether to give credit to the phisers or blame to the companies that their special deals and confirmations look so similar. Only the fact that they used legitimate domain names (or in Bank of Americas case, didn't ask for any info) saved them.
:P>
I'm also with you about the way the test was handled. A well designed legitimate email should rely on some outside shared info (the last-4-digits in the email we marked as a fraud, for example) to prove to the recipient that you are who you claim. Just given the emails "as is" it can be hard to tell if they are legitimate or not.
For that matter... they say "only 4 percent of users can spot a phished e-mail 100 percent of the time." I wonuld bet this includes people like us, who failed for being overly cautious and marking the ones they even say they would have been suspicious of.
</disapointed I didn't get to be in the top 4%
Sorry to nitpick, but as a fan of the series for a long time...
Oblivion is TES IV. TES I was Arena (released in the early 90s, now available for download from behtsofts website), II was Daggerfall, the first one I played and an awesome and mindblowingly huge game for the time (later in the 90s, first one I played). Finally, III was Morrowind, which you're probably familiar with.
[/fanboy nitpicks]
Fair enough.
I didn't find the license tests too annoying in general (atleast to get bronzes), though there were a few that were pains in the ass to be sure. Having to earn 1mil in order to reach level 25 so I can play in the next level of race that I actually want to was more annoying for me. Still, thats personal preference.
Don't get me wrong, Forza is a great game. But GT4 is also great in different ways. And for the record, I've put to much time in on both (30-some% in GT4 and level 30-some in Forza, with plenty of multiplayer in both)
... it's an un-needed slowdown for the game.
They both look spectacular (Forza does a better job on tracks, while GT4 does a better job on cars). However, as far as single player goes, GT4 is better any day. One of the best things about GT4 is that something from just about every level from "junker car that I wouldn't drive IRL" (and the car I drive was only worth 2k when I bought it a few years ago) to Racing class car. Once you've dont the license tests, which you can take at any time and weren't that hard (except the last one) if you just go for passing (bronze), you can do any race you want if you have a good enough car. Compared to the "unlock shit" that forza does, it's a much better system. I hate not being able to buy basically any super-car until I've gotten to "level 20" or play in the endurance races until "level 30"
That said, GT4 completely botched the multiplayer aspect of the game. They essentially made it so you can't use a custom-made car (because driving aids and tires are screwed up), and it looks like something for the PSX. Multiplayer, on the other hand, is where Forza shines. It looks and feels just about as good as the single-player game, and racing against friends is definetly more fun then racing against the computer-bots.
So! Lesson learned (hopefully): even among very similar games, there are differences enough for different people to like different games. Maybe the GP doesn't play multiplayer much because none of their friends like racing games, in which case I would take GT4 any day. (Of course, just as likely its just a little troll at the end of a good point.) And now that I've said to much about not enough.. time to move on.
Even though gigaertz actually is the singular and plural form*, the article still gets it wrong. They should say it will require "several gigahertz," to distinguish between the singular and plural.
..)
*We would say "I have a 2 gigahertz processor" / "My processor runs at 2 gigahertz" and the same for a 1 GHz processor. (Or maybe you would say your processor is 2 gigahertzes? I hope not
but good when a public university screens people based on their political views?
'Scuse me, but when did anyone say this was the case?
Don't forget that their is a fairly substantial cost difference, too.
Around here a movie is $8-10 (matinee vs. full price), and I hope it's stayed slightly more sane elsewhere (Southern California isn't very good at pricing sainly). But even at that rate, you could go to 5 or 6 movies for the price of one new game (10*5 = $50, 8*6 = $48). Even if one of the new releases is as a budget title, that's probably two movies.
They did, but it wasn't just put out there. The place I remember hearing it (and there could have been another I just don't remember) is from someone in the background (of the movie) near the beggining (when Sophie is leaving the hat shop for good, I think). Bad sound quality definetly could have made you miss that line.
There are full and quick format options available in the setup process.
Except in 2000. It doesn't give you a format type option, and always performs a full disk format. The quick format option was introduced in XP (and maybe some later 2000 install disks? Mine certainly doesn't have that option).
Let me just quote the post you were responding too then.
"$99 for a 20 gig hard disk? You can get a 250 gig hard disk for less than that!"
I must have missed the part where either you or the parent said it had to be a lap top drive. Yes I know the 360 uses them, but if you're going to argue that don't just say, "No you can't." Instead say something like "I'm sorry, you must not know that the XBox 360 uses 2.5 inch laptop hard-drives. Though you may be right that a 250gig hard drive can cost less then $100, the kind the 360 uses have not yet dropped that low."
Linking to something more then just the index of newegg would help your argument a bit too. Like maybe an actuall listing of a low-end 250 gig drive (of any sort). If you are going to respond with only three words and a link, at least make it a good link.
That said, I don't have anything against the 360. I have a Xbox, and it's the current-gen console I like the most of the 3. The 360 is turning out to be a bit pricy, but that combined with all the weirdness of multiple hardware versions just means I probably won't get one for a little while after it launches. Don't assume that just because someone doesn't agree completely with your 3 word complaint that they must be some sort of MS basher who hates the 360 for no reason. (Or anything else for that matter.)