It's a castle, right? It must have been built to defend against aggressors. So buy the castle and declare it an independant state. All the benefits of Sealand (except fishing), but with better views and less rusting.
They tried that. They got annoyed that none of their industry partners could make hardware for their software that could successfully compete with Apple. So now they're trying a more direct approach.
The nvidia chip is responsible for drawing the graphics, not controlling and generating the geometry. The Emotion Engine used the same system and it works very well.
What I find interesting about the question of "What can I do with 8 threads?" is that most people seem to assume that you can only have one graphics thread. Why not have 2? Or 3? Or 6? The Emotion Engine's core design is based around having two parallel programmable units handling graphics at the same time, for example one animates the surface of a lake while the other makes the pretty refracted light patterns on the bottom. Yes, it's nastier to program than standard single-thread-for-each-task programming, but it makes for a very powerful architecture when used properly. Similar things can be done with other parts of a game, and if you design your data layout and flow correctly you minimise the need for synchronisation. You could draw your frame with 7 parallel threads, then flip all the SPEs over to handle the physics, input, etc update for the next frame. It's all just a matter of thinking about how you design your game.
Yes, the HL method is fairly basic, but it's the effect that's important as to whether the idea is new, not the technique.:)
I'm assuming some kind of tile-based approach (or room based?) would work well with threaded loading in an FPS. Probably using multi-level-of-detail for things you see out the window depending on how far away they are or something. It would be difficult to design map data for but is doable when you can dedicate an entire processor to loading data. I don't really care about console FPS games but I look forward to seeing how they do continuous play, none the less. I am an engineer, after all.:)
Shadow of the Colossus, as far as I can tell, (and probably many others that have continuous wide open outdoor environments - I doubt this is a new idea) uses the ultimate in LoD: the far distance is actually pre-rendered. Examine the really long bridge closely and you can see the transition point, for example. Then just switch in 3D models when the player gets close enough at the necessary level of detail, and standard increases in detail from then on. The big advantage of this is that you don't need to have a fog at 100m from the player (as in Morrowind, for example). But this still requires loading on the fly as the player moves around; the new map and landscape data must be moved into the PS2's very limited memory. In SotC's case the fact that there are relatively few textures probably helps considerably in that regard. If you chucked a town into that landscape with complex textures things would get rather difficult, I suspect.
This is all supposition, of course. But it makes sense.
Perhaps they've never played Half-Life, which uses a near-continual progression (it only leaps when the story requires it, i.e. when you get captured and knocked out and when you go to Xen). It may have loading screens, but only due to limitations of the technology of the time. From the sounds of it, these people are doing exactly the same thing, only they're making use of threading to load on the fly instead of at specific points. Loading on the fly occurs in quite a few PS2 games I can think of (Shadow of the Colossus would be the most recent one I've played; you can roam around a very large outdoor world without a loading break). So it's not really a new idea. Nice to see it get some attention though.
I've had one of their fanless 6600GTs for a few months now, and it's an amazing piece of work. The heat sink (my one has a less elaborate and more chunky looking one) does its job wonderfully. No need for weird looking heatsinks like that Asus one, unless your case has some serious airflow problems. I can get full performance out of the card without any heat problems at all. Naturally, I couldn't overclock it, but that's fine by me because I'm not into overclocking. I love the fact that my system's performance went up while its noise level plummeted (previous card had two little whiny 4cm fans).
Oh, I absolutely agree. I wasn't arguing for dubs (although reading my post now it seems that way). Having both is essential. I personally think it's better to watch with subtitles whether you understand the language or not, because there are also things that the director and original actors convey through their use of things like tone that transcend language.
Being a Japanese speaker myself, I experienced the same thing of picking up all the little nuances (and getting annoyed when the subtitles are just plain wrong), while my friends just had the subtitles to rely on and missed quite a few things. For example, little jokes in the way choice of words characters used, or the tone of one person talking to another being incorrect (lack of keigo for example) and thus rude for that situation, something that there isn't even a concept of in English.
1) Because not everyone can read, or at least read fast enough to keep up with a spoken conversation. 2) Because reading subtitles is a lot more tiring than listening and not everyone wants to put in the effort.
Despite all the fuss about dubbing removing much of things such as nuances that the original voice track has, most people who argue that point forget that if you don't actually understand the spoken language, you're still getting it through a (translated) filter and so you're missing most of those nuances anyway.
Should companies like Apple take the initiative and add functionality to music players that assess the safety of output sound levels? Given the wide-variety of headphone options and quality, is it even possible?
Sony's portable audio players have had a system to limit the volume for quite a long time now (many years at least), the Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS). A quick search with google reveals that it was/is quite wide-spread amongst their devices. Even their PDAs feature it.
Actually if you use portage I think it probably would be counted, since the ebuild downloads it from Mozilla (that being the standard way to get source/binary packages in an ebuild - from the maker). However, with such systems such as apt and rpm-based ones, you are almost certainly correct.
If you look in the joints you can see they are standard servos, probably Hitec ones (they make really good, small servos). They are pretty common and used in a lot of RC craft (eg mini-electric helicopters for controlling the swashplate).
You're right, though. It is cool to see how small an actuator can be these days.:)
or finish another RPG of a different name (Xenogears)
Most of the people who came up with Xenogears ran off and made Xenosaga Eps I and II, which, while not being in an identical universe, are essentially the story they wanted to tell with Xenogears and its expected sequels (well, they will be when the other 4 episodes are done).
Slashdot Mirror
Probably nothing directly, but he did build a sub-orbital space ship out of composites.
So... replaygain?
The ad received 60 or so complaints in NZ, and wasn't pulled. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid =000019F4-D247-15DE-ADCE83027AF10110
Contrary to popular opinion across the ditch, Australian law doesn't hold in NZ just yet.
It's a castle, right? It must have been built to defend against aggressors. So buy the castle and declare it an independant state. All the benefits of Sealand (except fishing), but with better views and less rusting.
The top 5 dams of all time: 1. Hoover Dam 2. Benmore Dam 3. Grande Dixence Dam 4. Keban Dam 5. Verzasca dam.
They tried that. They got annoyed that none of their industry partners could make hardware for their software that could successfully compete with Apple. So now they're trying a more direct approach.
That's a common practice, and it can lead to some amusing events. One (sort of) lucky census collector got to briefly ride on one of the world's biggest cruise liners during NZ's census earlier this year.
The nvidia chip is responsible for drawing the graphics, not controlling and generating the geometry. The Emotion Engine used the same system and it works very well.
What I find interesting about the question of "What can I do with 8 threads?" is that most people seem to assume that you can only have one graphics thread. Why not have 2? Or 3? Or 6? The Emotion Engine's core design is based around having two parallel programmable units handling graphics at the same time, for example one animates the surface of a lake while the other makes the pretty refracted light patterns on the bottom. Yes, it's nastier to program than standard single-thread-for-each-task programming, but it makes for a very powerful architecture when used properly. Similar things can be done with other parts of a game, and if you design your data layout and flow correctly you minimise the need for synchronisation. You could draw your frame with 7 parallel threads, then flip all the SPEs over to handle the physics, input, etc update for the next frame. It's all just a matter of thinking about how you design your game.
Yes, the HL method is fairly basic, but it's the effect that's important as to whether the idea is new, not the technique. :)
I'm assuming some kind of tile-based approach (or room based?) would work well with threaded loading in an FPS. Probably using multi-level-of-detail for things you see out the window depending on how far away they are or something. It would be difficult to design map data for but is doable when you can dedicate an entire processor to loading data. I don't really care about console FPS games but I look forward to seeing how they do continuous play, none the less. I am an engineer, after all. :)
Shadow of the Colossus, as far as I can tell, (and probably many others that have continuous wide open outdoor environments - I doubt this is a new idea) uses the ultimate in LoD: the far distance is actually pre-rendered. Examine the really long bridge closely and you can see the transition point, for example. Then just switch in 3D models when the player gets close enough at the necessary level of detail, and standard increases in detail from then on. The big advantage of this is that you don't need to have a fog at 100m from the player (as in Morrowind, for example). But this still requires loading on the fly as the player moves around; the new map and landscape data must be moved into the PS2's very limited memory. In SotC's case the fact that there are relatively few textures probably helps considerably in that regard. If you chucked a town into that landscape with complex textures things would get rather difficult, I suspect.
This is all supposition, of course. But it makes sense.
Perhaps they've never played Half-Life, which uses a near-continual progression (it only leaps when the story requires it, i.e. when you get captured and knocked out and when you go to Xen). It may have loading screens, but only due to limitations of the technology of the time. From the sounds of it, these people are doing exactly the same thing, only they're making use of threading to load on the fly instead of at specific points. Loading on the fly occurs in quite a few PS2 games I can think of (Shadow of the Colossus would be the most recent one I've played; you can roam around a very large outdoor world without a loading break). So it's not really a new idea. Nice to see it get some attention though.
Only Australians who wish they live in NZ say that.
Wait... what Raiders of the Lost Ark remake?
I've had one of their fanless 6600GTs for a few months now, and it's an amazing piece of work. The heat sink (my one has a less elaborate and more chunky looking one) does its job wonderfully. No need for weird looking heatsinks like that Asus one, unless your case has some serious airflow problems. I can get full performance out of the card without any heat problems at all. Naturally, I couldn't overclock it, but that's fine by me because I'm not into overclocking. I love the fact that my system's performance went up while its noise level plummeted (previous card had two little whiny 4cm fans).
Oh, I absolutely agree. I wasn't arguing for dubs (although reading my post now it seems that way). Having both is essential. I personally think it's better to watch with subtitles whether you understand the language or not, because there are also things that the director and original actors convey through their use of things like tone that transcend language.
Being a Japanese speaker myself, I experienced the same thing of picking up all the little nuances (and getting annoyed when the subtitles are just plain wrong), while my friends just had the subtitles to rely on and missed quite a few things. For example, little jokes in the way choice of words characters used, or the tone of one person talking to another being incorrect (lack of keigo for example) and thus rude for that situation, something that there isn't even a concept of in English.
1) Because not everyone can read, or at least read fast enough to keep up with a spoken conversation.
2) Because reading subtitles is a lot more tiring than listening and not everyone wants to put in the effort.
Despite all the fuss about dubbing removing much of things such as nuances that the original voice track has, most people who argue that point forget that if you don't actually understand the spoken language, you're still getting it through a (translated) filter and so you're missing most of those nuances anyway.
Do you think you could convince them to start offering services in NZ?
Should companies like Apple take the initiative and add functionality to music players that assess the safety of output sound levels? Given the wide-variety of headphone options and quality, is it even possible?
Sony's portable audio players have had a system to limit the volume for quite a long time now (many years at least), the Automatic Volume Limiter System (AVLS). A quick search with google reveals that it was/is quite wide-spread amongst their devices. Even their PDAs feature it.
Actually if you use portage I think it probably would be counted, since the ebuild downloads it from Mozilla (that being the standard way to get source/binary packages in an ebuild - from the maker). However, with such systems such as apt and rpm-based ones, you are almost certainly correct.
If you look in the joints you can see they are standard servos, probably Hitec ones (they make really good, small servos). They are pretty common and used in a lot of RC craft (eg mini-electric helicopters for controlling the swashplate). You're right, though. It is cool to see how small an actuator can be these days. :)
Come on, it's Telecom! What were you expecting? Them to treat you well? They haven't exactly got a good track record with being fair.
I think my brain just exploded.
Really? We have internet here in The Rest of the World? Thanks for noticing!
Most of the people who came up with Xenogears ran off and made Xenosaga Eps I and II, which, while not being in an identical universe, are essentially the story they wanted to tell with Xenogears and its expected sequels (well, they will be when the other 4 episodes are done).