Steam is pretty bad, but at least it works. 2K, and most publishers, have been going with Games for Windows Live, and that's an even bigger mess. GfWL lets you play single-player offline, but puts on an activation limit. Also, the peer-to-peer networking in GfWL doesn't work unless you either DMZ the system running it or forward a whole bunch of ports. If your ISP has an upstream firewall, it probably won't work at all. Strategy games generally use P2P and host migration for multiplayer, so you can see where GfWL would create issues.
Generally, the "only activate once" checks your activation code (serial number, etc.), downloads some portion of the game off a server somewhere, and then marks it as activated. Should that server go down, you may not be able to install the game any longer. At the same time, there are usually hidden activation limits (3 to 5 installs) before a game will shut down and require a phone call to tech support to up the limit.
Is Steam better than this? That's a matter of personal preference. Is it as good as no DRM? Hell no.
Steam has design problems, but the bigger issue is your ISP maintaining a proper connection. Check your contract -- they may be liable if they're not meeting a standard of service (residential contracts may not have such a standard, and if they do its generally lower than a commercial connection. Also, let your ISP know when you're having issues. I had relatively frequent dropouts until I explicitly informed my ISP; after I told them about it, they fixed it, and it stopped.
rather than pirate (or even threaten to pirate) the game.
Don't pirate. Publishers count each case of piracy as a lost sale. That may be a flawed method, but its how they do it. Instead, take your money and buy a game that is roughly the same but doesn't have DRM (i.e.: Galactic Civilizations). Make sure you buy it from a shop that reports to NPD Group (they track video game sales) so the purchase gets properly represented. That sends a much harsher message than piracy: your policies drove my willing dollars elsewhere.
You mean, they'll be able to view "touch" interfaces of websites, because they'll never be able to share applications? That's already possible, as long as web devs aren't idiots when they set up their sites (see also: Facebook redirecting Android phones to the regular mobile site instead of the "touch" mobile site for many months).
When Epic Games is nice enough to release the source code to the earlier versions of the Unreal Engine. They released the source for the renderer (which people have ported to DX 9, and DX 10), but not the full engine. id Software is courteous enough to release their old engines under the GPL, so ports like this happen fairly regularly.
Poor example. BF2142 wasn't a very good game (its a glorified mod of BF2) to start with, and the community largely abandoned it and either went to CoD4 (came out a few months later) or back to BF2.
The X series is a very simmy space game. Also, if you're running a Mac, you should check out Boxer; its pretty much DosBox with better OS X integration.
On your last point: Asus, Acer, and Dell are pretty smart not to try to be a major player in the game console market. The market is crowded as hell (3 huge competitors with a several-year lead in install base and minimum 8/9 year lead in mindshare for Xbox, decade and a half for PlayStation, and decades for Nintendo), their competitors have a pretty big back library, and you're talking about hardware companies that don't generally develop software (and when they do, it tends to suck). Licensing an engine isn't cheap, and building a good game around it isn't any easier: there are a bunch of UE3 licensees that put out crap games, including Too Human, Stranglehold, Area 51, etc. The best these guys could do is to pay id to have Rage on their systems day-and-date, and then pick up on the scraps of gaming on Linux (and as a Linux fan, I know how scrap the games tend to be). Remember: game consoles aren't bought based on the hardware or OS inside them, they're bought on whether or not there is a big library good games for it.
TL;DR version: crowded, competitive market won't be overtaken by the likes of Frozen Bubble and Warsow.
Did you *gasp* read the article? It doesn't talk about now, its mainly about whether or not the current cycle of console hardware refreshes every X years will last, and if something like OnLive (streaming games over the net to a dumb interface, and letting the actual hardware sit in a data center) will take its place. MW2's launch says that consoles are good now, but says nothing about consoles beyond the X360/PS3 generation.
Games for Windows is a scourge. I don't know anyone who actually likes it. Games that use it typically are ports from the 360 (Fallout 3, Dirt 2, Gears of War to name a few). It only runs when the game is running (a blessing or a curse, depending on your point of view). Steam is far more popular in my circle of friends because you can just hop in to a TF2 server or get invited to a L4D game without having the game running already. Also, Steam DRM tends to suck less than the GfW DRM.
The aim bots could be MW2's excessively iffy lag code. I've seen quite a few reviews that mention unbelievable kills, and one that explicitly mentions banana bullets like this.
MAG is a different beast altogether. Unlike something like PlanetSide (which was a slower-paced FPS with a lot of background, engineer-type roles making substantial portions of gameplay), MAG is a twitch shooter based on the style of the SOCOM games. NovaLogic did 256 players 5 years ago, and nobody noticed, when they released Joint Operations. It supported 256 players, and until EVE came along, had the world record for most players. The issue with 256 players isn't lag or processing power (anymore, at least). Its a difficult task for the players to keep everything straight when you have that many on a single server.
I completely disagree with you on your point about OnLive and Gakai being useless. For existing PC gamers, yes, they are entirely useless. But existing PC gamers aren't the target audience of those services. Instead, those services are designed for those who either (a) can't afford or (b) aren't interested in maintaining hardware.
It speaks volumes that their demos so far centered around putting their tech in cable boxes (something usually made as cheaply as possible) or as client software for thin & light laptops (I think the exact demo unit was a MacBook Air). The devices are far outside of the usual "gaming hardware" group.
Also, its not so much DRM on an item you own as a monthly service. Slashdot, in general, needs to realize when things aren't necessarily DRM. You enter into the agreement knowing that you're paying for a limited time use of their system, which they maintain, and are limited to the titles they offer. You enter the agreement knowing that you haven't bought the game and therefore aren't allowed the usual rights that come with owning a product. Such services can exist without DRM as we know it (software or hardware copy protection) because the actual software is running remotely and they serve a stream -- and if you don't pay, they just simply kill the stream. Its roughly equivalent to your local power station killing your service if you don't pay your electricity bill.
AFAIK, this isn't quite true. They make the NCAA football games because nobody else wants to (and theirs doesn't sell particularly well anyway). 2K is still making the NHL2k series, but has lost the mark and hasn't done a good job since the X360 launched. Konami is still working on the Pro Evo series for soccer, and has the FIFA license.
Well, the European Community has existed since the 50s; this one's more of a technicality.
The formal body of the European Union (not the general European community) was formed in 1993.
Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
I imagine this has been true since the 60s, at least.
As someone only a few years younger (mid-'80s birth), CC got a good rap in grammar school, but got progressively worse as I got older.
There have always been flat screen televisions.
I don't think there were any flat-screen TVs in 1991 - unless you count those flat-glass CRTs, which don't really count.
The first HDTVs and plasmas started coming out in the late 1990s (1997 IIRC). They were "flat", but I still remember my family's first TV set.
Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
Hah! I doubt that happens very often.
*shudder* I'm with you on that.
Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
Quayle had power? Biden has power?
The VP has the tiebreaking vote in the Senate; although, I'm not sure if thats in an amendment or in the Constitution.
Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
That only became blase in the late 90s, as far as I'm concerned
Media didn't really start to go online until 1997, or at around age 6 for this group. They might have recognized a computer, but not that their news was online (if they were even old enough to comprehend the news).
Here's a big one to add: For this age group, Bill Clinton always had an unfortunate dry-cleaning incident with a Gap dress.
Slashdot Mirror
Steam is pretty bad, but at least it works. 2K, and most publishers, have been going with Games for Windows Live, and that's an even bigger mess. GfWL lets you play single-player offline, but puts on an activation limit. Also, the peer-to-peer networking in GfWL doesn't work unless you either DMZ the system running it or forward a whole bunch of ports. If your ISP has an upstream firewall, it probably won't work at all. Strategy games generally use P2P and host migration for multiplayer, so you can see where GfWL would create issues.
Generally, the "only activate once" checks your activation code (serial number, etc.), downloads some portion of the game off a server somewhere, and then marks it as activated. Should that server go down, you may not be able to install the game any longer. At the same time, there are usually hidden activation limits (3 to 5 installs) before a game will shut down and require a phone call to tech support to up the limit.
Is Steam better than this? That's a matter of personal preference. Is it as good as no DRM? Hell no.
Steam has design problems, but the bigger issue is your ISP maintaining a proper connection. Check your contract -- they may be liable if they're not meeting a standard of service (residential contracts may not have such a standard, and if they do its generally lower than a commercial connection. Also, let your ISP know when you're having issues. I had relatively frequent dropouts until I explicitly informed my ISP; after I told them about it, they fixed it, and it stopped.
Civ IV eventually came out in a DRM-free version.
It did? Do you have any information on that?
rather than pirate (or even threaten to pirate) the game.
Don't pirate. Publishers count each case of piracy as a lost sale. That may be a flawed method, but its how they do it. Instead, take your money and buy a game that is roughly the same but doesn't have DRM (i.e.: Galactic Civilizations). Make sure you buy it from a shop that reports to NPD Group (they track video game sales) so the purchase gets properly represented. That sends a much harsher message than piracy: your policies drove my willing dollars elsewhere.
You mean, they'll be able to view "touch" interfaces of websites, because they'll never be able to share applications? That's already possible, as long as web devs aren't idiots when they set up their sites (see also: Facebook redirecting Android phones to the regular mobile site instead of the "touch" mobile site for many months).
When Epic Games is nice enough to release the source code to the earlier versions of the Unreal Engine. They released the source for the renderer (which people have ported to DX 9, and DX 10), but not the full engine. id Software is courteous enough to release their old engines under the GPL, so ports like this happen fairly regularly.
Poor example. BF2142 wasn't a very good game (its a glorified mod of BF2) to start with, and the community largely abandoned it and either went to CoD4 (came out a few months later) or back to BF2.
As for joysticks, you ever tried to play a flight sim without one (of course it was your smart ass answer, so I'll let it slide).
Freelancer.
The X series is a very simmy space game. Also, if you're running a Mac, you should check out Boxer; its pretty much DosBox with better OS X integration.
On your last point: Asus, Acer, and Dell are pretty smart not to try to be a major player in the game console market. The market is crowded as hell (3 huge competitors with a several-year lead in install base and minimum 8/9 year lead in mindshare for Xbox, decade and a half for PlayStation, and decades for Nintendo), their competitors have a pretty big back library, and you're talking about hardware companies that don't generally develop software (and when they do, it tends to suck). Licensing an engine isn't cheap, and building a good game around it isn't any easier: there are a bunch of UE3 licensees that put out crap games, including Too Human, Stranglehold, Area 51, etc. The best these guys could do is to pay id to have Rage on their systems day-and-date, and then pick up on the scraps of gaming on Linux (and as a Linux fan, I know how scrap the games tend to be). Remember: game consoles aren't bought based on the hardware or OS inside them, they're bought on whether or not there is a big library good games for it.
TL;DR version: crowded, competitive market won't be overtaken by the likes of Frozen Bubble and Warsow.
Did you *gasp* read the article? It doesn't talk about now, its mainly about whether or not the current cycle of console hardware refreshes every X years will last, and if something like OnLive (streaming games over the net to a dumb interface, and letting the actual hardware sit in a data center) will take its place. MW2's launch says that consoles are good now, but says nothing about consoles beyond the X360/PS3 generation.
Games for Windows is a scourge. I don't know anyone who actually likes it. Games that use it typically are ports from the 360 (Fallout 3, Dirt 2, Gears of War to name a few). It only runs when the game is running (a blessing or a curse, depending on your point of view). Steam is far more popular in my circle of friends because you can just hop in to a TF2 server or get invited to a L4D game without having the game running already. Also, Steam DRM tends to suck less than the GfW DRM.
The aim bots could be MW2's excessively iffy lag code. I've seen quite a few reviews that mention unbelievable kills, and one that explicitly mentions banana bullets like this.
Verizon has the Int'l Blackberry, which has a SIM card. They don't subsidize it, and their price is astronomically high (~$700 last time I looked).
Whenever I see that, I always try to explain LaTeX (even as a CS major, not all of the profs know what it is) and just end up submitting a PDF.
IDCHOPPERS -- GM sucks, doesn't it? IDSPISPOPD -- Smashing Pumpkins Into Small Piles Of Putrid Debris
They're made by 2K games, and EA Sports took the "2008" and "2010" style of naming.
The first half of HL2 dragged (specifically, the hovercraft section). That was the only complaint I ever heard.
MAG is a different beast altogether. Unlike something like PlanetSide (which was a slower-paced FPS with a lot of background, engineer-type roles making substantial portions of gameplay), MAG is a twitch shooter based on the style of the SOCOM games. NovaLogic did 256 players 5 years ago, and nobody noticed, when they released Joint Operations. It supported 256 players, and until EVE came along, had the world record for most players. The issue with 256 players isn't lag or processing power (anymore, at least). Its a difficult task for the players to keep everything straight when you have that many on a single server.
Not true -- the lower end MacBooks (I'm writing this on the white plastic one) only have Intel graphics -- not discrete at all.
I completely disagree with you on your point about OnLive and Gakai being useless. For existing PC gamers, yes, they are entirely useless. But existing PC gamers aren't the target audience of those services. Instead, those services are designed for those who either (a) can't afford or (b) aren't interested in maintaining hardware.
It speaks volumes that their demos so far centered around putting their tech in cable boxes (something usually made as cheaply as possible) or as client software for thin & light laptops (I think the exact demo unit was a MacBook Air). The devices are far outside of the usual "gaming hardware" group.
Also, its not so much DRM on an item you own as a monthly service. Slashdot, in general, needs to realize when things aren't necessarily DRM. You enter into the agreement knowing that you're paying for a limited time use of their system, which they maintain, and are limited to the titles they offer. You enter the agreement knowing that you haven't bought the game and therefore aren't allowed the usual rights that come with owning a product. Such services can exist without DRM as we know it (software or hardware copy protection) because the actual software is running remotely and they serve a stream -- and if you don't pay, they just simply kill the stream. Its roughly equivalent to your local power station killing your service if you don't pay your electricity bill.
AFAIK, this isn't quite true. They make the NCAA football games because nobody else wants to (and theirs doesn't sell particularly well anyway). 2K is still making the NHL2k series, but has lost the mark and hasn't done a good job since the X360 launched. Konami is still working on the Pro Evo series for soccer, and has the FIFA license.
The European Union has always existed.
Well, the European Community has existed since the 50s; this one's more of a technicality.
The formal body of the European Union (not the general European community) was formed in 1993.
Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
I imagine this has been true since the 60s, at least.
As someone only a few years younger (mid-'80s birth), CC got a good rap in grammar school, but got progressively worse as I got older.
There have always been flat screen televisions.
I don't think there were any flat-screen TVs in 1991 - unless you count those flat-glass CRTs, which don't really count.
The first HDTVs and plasmas started coming out in the late 1990s (1997 IIRC). They were "flat", but I still remember my family's first TV set.
Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
Hah! I doubt that happens very often.
*shudder* I'm with you on that.
Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
Quayle had power? Biden has power?
The VP has the tiebreaking vote in the Senate; although, I'm not sure if thats in an amendment or in the Constitution.
Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
That only became blase in the late 90s, as far as I'm concerned
Media didn't really start to go online until 1997, or at around age 6 for this group. They might have recognized a computer, but not that their news was online (if they were even old enough to comprehend the news).
Here's a big one to add: For this age group, Bill Clinton always had an unfortunate dry-cleaning incident with a Gap dress.
... and that would have explained so much about the current global banking crisis.