Interestingly enough, they put the retail value of the first prize (the actual use of your song, with credits in manual etc) as $1000.
Does this mean any independent band with $1000 could just buy their way into Guitar Hero II and forget about the whole competition process?
I waited 6 months for San Andreas to come out on the PC rather than play it on the PS2, simply because I got to play it with keyboard and mouse. I cannot stand using a controller for GTA games... Aiming with an "analog" stick? You've got to be kidding. Playing on the PC just feels so smooth and so easy.
Sorry, I meant that all the latest incarnations of the game (the single player ones) are PS2 ports. III, VC and SA were all developed for the PS2 where multiplayer is not standard. They were then ported to the Windows environment, but including Muliplayer would have been too much work for a simple port. I'm sure that they'll have to rewrite the engine for the next gen consoles, and when they do that they'll do it with multiplayer in mind.
I'm with you, though. I always wait for the PC version to come out, and sometimes it's agonising (the 8 month wait for San Andreas? Ouch)
When asked about Multiplayer in Vice City (and then San Andreas) Rockstar always said that it would have been a nice idea, but their engine doesn't support it, and it's too much work to rewrite the entire engine to a multiplayer-compatible one, or something. I thought it sounded like a load of crap (because of Multi Theft Auto) but they stuck to their guns.
However, for the first time in a 3D GTA game, Liberty City Stories has multiplayer. Rockstar haven't stated why they included multiplayer in this version. Perhaps it's because multiplayer was a major selling point of the PSP, and they wanted to take advantage of that. Perhaps it's because this time the first platfrom is a multiplayer native one (lets face it, all the other GTAs are PS2 ports. LCS isn't). If their earlier reasoning is to be believed, I think it's because they had to build their engine for a new platform from the ground up, so they decided to design it from a multiplayer perspective.
I'm predictin g the next GTA on a home console will be for XBOX 360 and PS3 and will include Multiplayer... Liberty City Stories is just practice.:)
You can't be serious. Casual gamers shell out ~$200 a year? That's what I call a hardcore gamer. I call myself a casual gamer, and I usually buy a graphics card OR a mobo/CPU upgrade once every 2 years. And it's never top of the line too.
I prefer PC gaming for two reasons. Graphics are always sharper and clearer, and because of the mouse and keyboard interface.
My favourite games are RTSs (AoE) and FPS (Half Life 2). These types of games NEED a truly analog device to play, and there's just no way a controller will suffice. I realise it is slightly more expensive to maintain my computer than buy a PS2 or XBOX up front, but I'm willing to pay that price to be able to accurately control my games.
I've been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since the beginning, loved the style and gameplay of every single game. Watching my mate play World of Warcraft the other day, and I realised how many game mechanics are the same.
I initially noticed it when he entered a new area and it popped up with the "suburb name" and I thought, "Heh, just like in GTA" then I noticed the map, the style, the way people give you quests, and (in San Andreas, anyway) the skill development.
I've played Multi Theft Auto and it's damn cool, but I never thought it would be commercially viable because it seems to be lacking something... somthing to make people come back and play it continuously. But what if they added experience points? Levelling? Character classes? Different people play for different gangs? Gangwars? They'd have to cut out cinematics, obviously, but they could still have quests, and jobs. Goddamned, that would be my favourite game ever. And now it looks like it's possible to get a game like that with a usable ping.
Hot stuff!
...that he's criticising the best selling games of 2004-2005? One slashdotter was correct when he commented above that these industry commentators just want to push gaming back into a niche market. They can't handle the fact that it's grown into the mainstream.
I mean, come on, lets look at what points he really has:
#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores
At least he admits that television and movies have been doing the same for years, but no one has said that those industries should stop it if they want to be "saved". Why is computer gaming any different? Sure, he has a point, but I don't really consider it a problem until all games are treating women like sex objects. There's enough counter-examples out there (Resident Evil, Beyond Good And Evil, Perfect Dark, Final Fantasy X, etc) to not get worried yet.
#2 Your Storylines Suck--Get New Ones
Wait, what? Let me get this straight... He's ciriticising System Shock 2 and Half Life for having derivative storylines? Two of the most highly rated FPSs of all times, both having won many Game Of The Year awards, yet they both have derivative story lines. Oh I'm sorry, Mr "there is only one story in the world" you come up with something better. FPSs are exactly that, First Person Shooters. The story will always revolve around one man (or woman) because it's First Person, and until the technology for realistic squad AI or personal interaction came along, it was decidedly easier to reduce the human interaction. Besides, people who play FPSs don't want to be swamped by character interaction. A little bit, maybe, but mostly they just want to shoot things. So developers write story lines around that. Now, mister smarty pants, you develop an "original" story that involves one person, unravelling a mystery, without any character interaction. Go on, I dare ya! Chances are it's going to involve:
a) Getting transported to an alien planet (Doom)
b) Armageddon (Doom 2)
c) A Killer virus (Pariah)
d) Zombies (Resident Evil)
e) Conspiracy Theory (Max Payne)
If you can come up with a better reason why one man might be alone against the masses then suggest it. Until then, I think your argument is pretty weak. There are only so many story lines out there, especially for one lone soldier.
#3 Enough with the Epics
Oh. Sorry... Yes, you're right, we don't need anymore epic games. We need more mundane games where people do mundane things. Paperboy, anyone?
We need less heroes? We need more "everyday people"? I'm sorry, but I'm an everyday person, and I play games for escapism. I play grand theft auto because I do things there I can't do in real life. I can't shoot cops, I can't fly helicopters, I can't ride bikes ten times faster than the speed limit. The last thing I want to do is play an everyday game with an everyday character. I find The Sims boring, though I understand its appeal. But I also think its a niche and more sim-like games will fail to succeed. Why on earth would I want to play a game about everyday people?
Same as with the first example, if every game in the world were basing themselves on a heroic character that has to save the world, maybe I'd be worried. There are enough counter-examples not to worry.
#4 Stop with the Spectacles
This one's a bit iffy, and I do think some of the games he mentions have problems. Doom 3 is a classic example of too much work on the graphics and the engine and not enough on the gameplay. Sure it looks pretty, but I think the game suffers because of it. Halo 2 I haven't played, so I can't comment on, but in answer to one of the questions he poses on Half Life 2... Yes, I think it is a great game and the physics model complements the game experience rather than dominating it. Spectacles are great to enhance a good game, not to make a bad game into a good game. But that just comes down to basic game design "What makes a good game?" Developers shouldn't stop building spectacles, they should jus
Blizzard threw that "poking" easter egg in wherever they could. My favourite that I found (that I never saw documented anywhere) was in the warcraft II set-up executable.
After you set up your soundcard settings, you could click the 'test' button and a voice said "Your sound card works perfectly". Click it a few more times and it changes to "Enjoying yourself?". Eventually it said "It doesn't get any better than this".
The problem I have with this attitude is that if you don't use correct punctuation and grammar in casual memos to your friends, you will, quite simply, get out of practice.
Whenever I correct someone on an internet forum their response is always "Bah, who gives a shit? It's only an internet forum!" but if 99% of your writing is on an internet forum, the other 1% is going to suffer. When you DO need to write a formal document (job application, business proposal, etc) you're going to struggle, and have to look up every word. Heaven forbid, you might even use Microsoft Word's grammar checker.
It's all about practice. Practice makes perfect, and why not practice your perfect English when you don't need to?
Errr, isn't that exactly what the first commenter is promoting?
Ok, well not exactly, but pretty similar, only not an empty firewire case in the right form-factor but a firewire case WITH drive, and a USB/Firewire hub to boot.
That product sounds pretty cool, I'd by one if I had a macmini, or cared about form factor. But I don't, which is why I've got my chunky ol' eMac.
One issue that hasn't been touched on yet would be the ability simply to communicate with other vehicles around. Studies show that the major cause of Road Rage is that lack of ability to communicate when both parties are driving.
I look forward to the day when I can press a button and talk directly to the driver of another car nearby. It probably wouldn't solve too many accidents, but it would make driving so much nicer.
eg. If you don't see someone in your blind spot, cut in on them, you can then tell someone you're sorry. Leaves them thinking that it was a genuine mistake rather than getting angry about you being a wanker.
The other day I was at an intersection and someone was trying to give way to me, even though he had right of way. To make things worse, I had a cop on my arse, so I wasn't about to break the law just because he wanted me to. Would have been cool if I could actually talk to him and say "No, doofus. You've got right of way here, move it."
I can think of many more cool uses for communicating with other drivers too. (More communicating than a single finger allows for, anyway)
Slashdot Mirror
Interestingly enough, they put the retail value of the first prize (the actual use of your song, with credits in manual etc) as $1000. Does this mean any independent band with $1000 could just buy their way into Guitar Hero II and forget about the whole competition process?
What a load of crap.
I waited 6 months for San Andreas to come out on the PC rather than play it on the PS2, simply because I got to play it with keyboard and mouse. I cannot stand using a controller for GTA games... Aiming with an "analog" stick? You've got to be kidding. Playing on the PC just feels so smooth and so easy.
If I could move my hands that fast I'd never leave the house...
Cause and effect!
I think their hands are that fast BECAUSE they never leave the house!
Sorry, I meant that all the latest incarnations of the game (the single player ones) are PS2 ports.
III, VC and SA were all developed for the PS2 where multiplayer is not standard. They were then ported to the Windows environment, but including Muliplayer would have been too much work for a simple port. I'm sure that they'll have to rewrite the engine for the next gen consoles, and when they do that they'll do it with multiplayer in mind.
I'm with you, though. I always wait for the PC version to come out, and sometimes it's agonising (the 8 month wait for San Andreas? Ouch)
When asked about Multiplayer in Vice City (and then San Andreas) Rockstar always said that it would have been a nice idea, but their engine doesn't support it, and it's too much work to rewrite the entire engine to a multiplayer-compatible one, or something. I thought it sounded like a load of crap (because of Multi Theft Auto) but they stuck to their guns. :)
However, for the first time in a 3D GTA game, Liberty City Stories has multiplayer. Rockstar haven't stated why they included multiplayer in this version. Perhaps it's because multiplayer was a major selling point of the PSP, and they wanted to take advantage of that. Perhaps it's because this time the first platfrom is a multiplayer native one (lets face it, all the other GTAs are PS2 ports. LCS isn't). If their earlier reasoning is to be believed, I think it's because they had to build their engine for a new platform from the ground up, so they decided to design it from a multiplayer perspective.
I'm predictin g the next GTA on a home console will be for XBOX 360 and PS3 and will include Multiplayer... Liberty City Stories is just practice.
You can't be serious. Casual gamers shell out ~$200 a year? That's what I call a hardcore gamer. I call myself a casual gamer, and I usually buy a graphics card OR a mobo/CPU upgrade once every 2 years. And it's never top of the line too.
I prefer PC gaming for two reasons. Graphics are always sharper and clearer, and because of the mouse and keyboard interface.
My favourite games are RTSs (AoE) and FPS (Half Life 2). These types of games NEED a truly analog device to play, and there's just no way a controller will suffice. I realise it is slightly more expensive to maintain my computer than buy a PS2 or XBOX up front, but I'm willing to pay that price to be able to accurately control my games.
I've been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since the beginning, loved the style and gameplay of every single game. Watching my mate play World of Warcraft the other day, and I realised how many game mechanics are the same.
I initially noticed it when he entered a new area and it popped up with the "suburb name" and I thought, "Heh, just like in GTA" then I noticed the map, the style, the way people give you quests, and (in San Andreas, anyway) the skill development.
I've played Multi Theft Auto and it's damn cool, but I never thought it would be commercially viable because it seems to be lacking something... somthing to make people come back and play it continuously. But what if they added experience points? Levelling? Character classes? Different people play for different gangs? Gangwars? They'd have to cut out cinematics, obviously, but they could still have quests, and jobs. Goddamned, that would be my favourite game ever. And now it looks like it's possible to get a game like that with a usable ping. Hot stuff!
...that he's criticising the best selling games of 2004-2005? One slashdotter was correct when he commented above that these industry commentators just want to push gaming back into a niche market. They can't handle the fact that it's grown into the mainstream.
I mean, come on, lets look at what points he really has:
#1 Stop Treating Women Like Whores
At least he admits that television and movies have been doing the same for years, but no one has said that those industries should stop it if they want to be "saved". Why is computer gaming any different? Sure, he has a point, but I don't really consider it a problem until all games are treating women like sex objects. There's enough counter-examples out there (Resident Evil, Beyond Good And Evil, Perfect Dark, Final Fantasy X, etc) to not get worried yet.
#2 Your Storylines Suck--Get New Ones
Wait, what? Let me get this straight... He's ciriticising System Shock 2 and Half Life for having derivative storylines? Two of the most highly rated FPSs of all times, both having won many Game Of The Year awards, yet they both have derivative story lines. Oh I'm sorry, Mr "there is only one story in the world" you come up with something better. FPSs are exactly that, First Person Shooters. The story will always revolve around one man (or woman) because it's First Person, and until the technology for realistic squad AI or personal interaction came along, it was decidedly easier to reduce the human interaction. Besides, people who play FPSs don't want to be swamped by character interaction. A little bit, maybe, but mostly they just want to shoot things. So developers write story lines around that. Now, mister smarty pants, you develop an "original" story that involves one person, unravelling a mystery, without any character interaction. Go on, I dare ya! Chances are it's going to involve:
a) Getting transported to an alien planet (Doom)
b) Armageddon (Doom 2)
c) A Killer virus (Pariah)
d) Zombies (Resident Evil)
e) Conspiracy Theory (Max Payne)
If you can come up with a better reason why one man might be alone against the masses then suggest it. Until then, I think your argument is pretty weak. There are only so many story lines out there, especially for one lone soldier.
#3 Enough with the Epics
Oh. Sorry... Yes, you're right, we don't need anymore epic games. We need more mundane games where people do mundane things. Paperboy, anyone?
We need less heroes? We need more "everyday people"? I'm sorry, but I'm an everyday person, and I play games for escapism. I play grand theft auto because I do things there I can't do in real life. I can't shoot cops, I can't fly helicopters, I can't ride bikes ten times faster than the speed limit. The last thing I want to do is play an everyday game with an everyday character. I find The Sims boring, though I understand its appeal. But I also think its a niche and more sim-like games will fail to succeed. Why on earth would I want to play a game about everyday people?
Same as with the first example, if every game in the world were basing themselves on a heroic character that has to save the world, maybe I'd be worried. There are enough counter-examples not to worry.
#4 Stop with the Spectacles
This one's a bit iffy, and I do think some of the games he mentions have problems. Doom 3 is a classic example of too much work on the graphics and the engine and not enough on the gameplay. Sure it looks pretty, but I think the game suffers because of it. Halo 2 I haven't played, so I can't comment on, but in answer to one of the questions he poses on Half Life 2... Yes, I think it is a great game and the physics model complements the game experience rather than dominating it. Spectacles are great to enhance a good game, not to make a bad game into a good game. But that just comes down to basic game design "What makes a good game?" Developers shouldn't stop building spectacles, they should jus
Blizzard threw that "poking" easter egg in wherever they could. My favourite that I found (that I never saw documented anywhere) was in the warcraft II set-up executable.
After you set up your soundcard settings, you could click the 'test' button and a voice said "Your sound card works perfectly". Click it a few more times and it changes to "Enjoying yourself?". Eventually it said "It doesn't get any better than this".
By the way, I just found this (and all other warcraft quotes) documented here: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Warcraft
The problem I have with this attitude is that if you don't use correct punctuation and grammar in casual memos to your friends, you will, quite simply, get out of practice. Whenever I correct someone on an internet forum their response is always "Bah, who gives a shit? It's only an internet forum!" but if 99% of your writing is on an internet forum, the other 1% is going to suffer. When you DO need to write a formal document (job application, business proposal, etc) you're going to struggle, and have to look up every word. Heaven forbid, you might even use Microsoft Word's grammar checker. It's all about practice. Practice makes perfect, and why not practice your perfect English when you don't need to?
Errr, isn't that exactly what the first commenter is promoting? Ok, well not exactly, but pretty similar, only not an empty firewire case in the right form-factor but a firewire case WITH drive, and a USB/Firewire hub to boot. That product sounds pretty cool, I'd by one if I had a macmini, or cared about form factor. But I don't, which is why I've got my chunky ol' eMac.
One issue that hasn't been touched on yet would be the ability simply to communicate with other vehicles around. Studies show that the major cause of Road Rage is that lack of ability to communicate when both parties are driving. I look forward to the day when I can press a button and talk directly to the driver of another car nearby. It probably wouldn't solve too many accidents, but it would make driving so much nicer. eg. If you don't see someone in your blind spot, cut in on them, you can then tell someone you're sorry. Leaves them thinking that it was a genuine mistake rather than getting angry about you being a wanker. The other day I was at an intersection and someone was trying to give way to me, even though he had right of way. To make things worse, I had a cop on my arse, so I wasn't about to break the law just because he wanted me to. Would have been cool if I could actually talk to him and say "No, doofus. You've got right of way here, move it." I can think of many more cool uses for communicating with other drivers too. (More communicating than a single finger allows for, anyway)