What is surprising is how so few companies appear to "get it". You want to make an MMORPG that can survive in the Age of WoW? Simple. Do everything that WoW does first, then build on that (e.g. player built content, dynamic content, etc.).
We saw the same thing with the FPS genre where tons of games were released that actually moved the field *backward* (e.g. games with no AI players in multiplayer mode, games that featured no -- or restricted -- controller customization(!), etc.)
The state of the gaming industry is unbearable to watch nowadays. It's like everyone is rushing to push out garbage, relying on IP laws and Digital Restrictions Management software to secure income.
And, dammit, when is someone gonna make a new, *good*, squad-based, tactical turn-based game like X-COM or Jagged Alliance again?
The problem with Marxism is that it only work if everyone participating voluntarily submits to it.
Interestingly enough, Capitalism has the exact same problem. In reality, emotions like envy and greed make that impracticable and unlikely over the long run. It also required people to do more then they think they need to which means you will need some central power controlling people.
Suppose there is a book that you want to read on your ebook reader, but it is out of print and the publisher has refused to make it available as an ebook.
In cases like this, the correct thing to do would have the book in question fall immediately into the Public Domain.
That is, if we had IP laws that were set up to promote the progress of the useful arts as opposed to being set up in a way so as to make a few wealthy companies even wealthier.
What is 'semi legitimate' about AnyDVD or Daemon tools?
Hey, stop picking on the guy -- who may or may not be a pedophile -- because he used the word "semi-legitimate" to describe something that does things he doesn't like.
American Democracy: where over dozens of people run for the office of the President of the United States, and the Media only ever tells you about two of them.
(That's because they're the only ones with a chance of winning. That's because they're the only ones whom the voters are told about. etc.)
Piracy is reinventing Capitalism? Piracy is capitalism. Copyrights -- those limited monopolies whose usefulness is quite debatable nowadays -- are the antithesis of capitalism and have been "reinventing" it for a while now.
We have spreadsheets -- huge ones. We have values for characters in greens and raid buffed with epic gear. We have estimates of mob damage and health, character downtime, the benefits from enchants, gems and glyphs. We have conversion rates of mana to runic power to energy to rage. We look at damage per second, efficiency, button presses per second, typical rotations, movement vs. standing still, mobs vs. players and every other variable we can think of (and there are a LOT of them).
In the end we come up with an estimate for what an attack should do. We come up with a budget for talents and spells just like we have a budget for items at a given level. Sometimes those estimates are wrong because we forgot to take something into account, or because there's a bug in a talent or spell somewhere that messes up the calculation.
And then we do lots of testing, and to get a reality check on our tests, we compare them to the numbers people are reporting from the beta. Repeat as necessary.
I've said this in a few posts: that our numbers can sometimes be wrong (as is the case almost any time you deal with numbers), but the methods we use to arrive at them are absolutely not sloppy.
...a free-for-all, every man for himself. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes to maintain your grasp on the teat of the American public tax pool...
This is not so much a problem with American politicians as it is with Americans themselves. You've basically described The American Way(TM): screw over every one else to get a bigger piece of the pie for yourself.
And as for the "fake fireworks", I have another revelation for everyone - did you see that man who ran in the air all around the stadium? See him? Well, prepare to have your mind blown. Are you ready? Sure you're really ready? OK, get this:
He wasn't really flying!
You do realize that fireworks are real and flying people aren't, right? There's a difference in faking one over the other because of that fact.
Yes, just like how those earliest black and white silent movies, with simple concepts like a lovable tramp, are still being remade wheras more modern movies like "Waterworld," with huge budgets and "realism" are forgotten in a week.
I was not aware that society's subjective judgment of whether someone has made "enough" money from one's intellectual property was a factor in copyright law.
Slashdot Mirror
What is surprising is how so few companies appear to "get it". You want to make an MMORPG that can survive in the Age of WoW? Simple. Do everything that WoW does first, then build on that (e.g. player built content, dynamic content, etc.).
We saw the same thing with the FPS genre where tons of games were released that actually moved the field *backward* (e.g. games with no AI players in multiplayer mode, games that featured no -- or restricted -- controller customization(!), etc.)
The state of the gaming industry is unbearable to watch nowadays. It's like everyone is rushing to push out garbage, relying on IP laws and Digital Restrictions Management software to secure income.
And, dammit, when is someone gonna make a new, *good*, squad-based, tactical turn-based game like X-COM or Jagged Alliance again?
Interestingly enough, Capitalism has the exact same problem. In reality, emotions like envy and greed make that impracticable and unlikely over the long run. It also required people to do more then they think they need to which means you will need some central power controlling people.
In cases like this, the correct thing to do would have the book in question fall immediately into the Public Domain.
That is, if we had IP laws that were set up to promote the progress of the useful arts as opposed to being set up in a way so as to make a few wealthy companies even wealthier.
McDonalds is now serving their food in a trough?
I see they have finally acknowledged their food is swill.
"obstructionofjustice" tag? Really?? This is getting people to slow down...
It wouldn't be hard with Book Five. Just toss out all the "Harumph! Men!" parts that repeatedly describe Nynaeve's sexism.
Damn, this one is getting a bit tough to slog through. Of course, most men would think that about Book Five..
Gah! Now I'm doing it!
Business 101 (and 201, and 301, etc.) is only concerned with the short term these days.
Hey, stop picking on the guy -- who may or may not be a pedophile -- because he used the word "semi-legitimate" to describe something that does things he doesn't like.
Six.
And, no, I will not tell you why.
American Democracy: where over dozens of people run for the office of the President of the United States, and the Media only ever tells you about two of them.
(That's because they're the only ones with a chance of winning. That's because they're the only ones whom the voters are told about. etc.)
How does splitting your email in two help?
Does it, like, give you twice as much protection or something?
Piracy is reinventing Capitalism? Piracy is capitalism. Copyrights -- those limited monopolies whose usefulness is quite debatable nowadays -- are the antithesis of capitalism and have been "reinventing" it for a while now.
600 x $0 = $200? Gee, math is hard...
Since when is it the FBI's mandate to protect online sex chatting?
It goes away by itself? Why the hell am I wasting my money on this cream!?
gg, Blizz. You've pissed off the caveman demographic.
In the digital age, is it really practical to charge for songs, TV shows, and movies?
Is it really practical if we, as a society, have to continually waste an incredible amount of time, money, and resources on copyright enforcement?
This question has pretty much been answered publicly already. To quote one of the developers:
This is not so much a problem with American politicians as it is with Americans themselves. You've basically described The American Way(TM): screw over every one else to get a bigger piece of the pie for yourself.
I could...eat them??
You do realize that fireworks are real and flying people aren't, right? There's a difference in faking one over the other because of that fact.
Yes, just like how those earliest black and white silent movies, with simple concepts like a lovable tramp, are still being remade wheras more modern movies like "Waterworld," with huge budgets and "realism" are forgotten in a week.
Hmmm... I should get my cherry picker fixed. :-P
Unfortunately, it's not.
The one time I have mod points and there's no +1 Giggitty option. :-(
Keep on promoting those arts and sciences, Copyright Law!