"Hyperrealistic"? In my view, "realistic" is the goal in many games and has yet to be seriously approached. I've been seeing the "hyper-" prefix showing up more and more frequently in game news and it's getting annoying. I can only hope that it gets relegated to the scrapheap of game journalism words, joining the scourge of 90's game hyperbole: "photorealistic".
That said, Mass Effect looks intriguing. Not hyperintriguing, but intriguing nonetheless!
Of note, capsaicin is also used in "pepper spray" self-defense products advertised to women in particular. I wonder if one could become numb to this after repeated sprayings. Hmmm, anybody on slashdot may be able to answer this from experience?:) Speaking as an ex-law enforcement officer, I can say that there are numerous reports of frequent fliers (if you get my meaning) being relatively insensitive to the effects of being sprayed. Although I can't cite personal experience with such a phenomenon, that it was included in official training sessions suggests at least a modicum of truth. Rather more anecdotally, I've heard some officers claim that individuals who habitually consume large quantities of spicy foods are also less susceptible to the effects of OC spray, although the blinding/irritation effect seemed unchanged. I'm not sure I give much credence to the latter notion, however.
They've overcome amazing obstacles and they show no signs of shutting down any time soon. Oh, nice work! That's a sentence that's all but guaranteed to result in a story next week about both rovers spontaneously combusting! Remember, Zonk, loose lips cause catastrophic technical failures!
There are only a few differences between TFC and TF2... I'm curious why people are so amazed at TF2 when it is a dumbed down version of TFC.
Not to say I don't like TF2, it's just that as a TFC addict for 8 years it's amazing that people didn't know about this game... See, I can appreciate your sentiments, but I really hate to hear people use the phrase "dumbed-down" with respect to games (that said, it is certainly applicable in some cases). In my view, TF2 is a distillation of all that is good about team-based shooters, with very little of the annoying crap. Perhaps TF2 is "dumbed-down" in the same way that WoW is "dumbed-down" in many people's eyes, but in both instances I think these games have tried to simply get rid of a lot of the annoying crap seen in their respective genres. WoW has been mind-boggling successful because of this, and I believe that TF2 will enjoy the same sort of success (although obviously on a much smaller level numbers-wise).
I suppose the question you might ask yourself is not why people didn't know about TFC (which presumably most of us did), but why TF2 is enjoying such a positive response. While you note that there are only a few differences between TF2 and TFC, I put it to you that those differences are fundamental to this positive response.
I loved the original UT, but didn't like the addition of vehicles in 2k3. Assuming they are similar, it isn't really a plus in my eyes. Presumably there will be maps on which vehicles are unavailable, so hopefully the back-to-basics deathmatch will be an option on at least some UT3 maps. That said, I was actually intrigued to read about a map in the demo that sounds to be almost entirely vehicle-based. I must confess that flying around in FPS games is loads of fun to me, but I don't much care for ground-based vehicles. That map definitely sounded intriguing though.
They both appeal to different sub-genres of FPS games. TF2 is class based multiplayer, UT3 is more "old-skool" style DM, CTF and other game modes. Apples to Orange mainly. I rather suspected that this would be the case. It's actually nice to have the option, now that I think about it. I've been a huge fan of class-based shooters for a long time now and arguably haven't played "old school" deathmatch play since Quake. Perhaps I'll pick up UT3 to back that old feeling of only giving a crap about me!;)
There are only a couple minor complaints about game-balance swirling around (Scouts shooter is a little over the top), but it's a real blast. To get this kind of online experience without having to do any kind of recurring payments is really a nice change from the trend of online-only gaming. Personally, I'm extremely impressed that they managed to create so fine a balance with so many classes. I also thoroughly enjoy the fact that it's flatly impossible to win without teamwork against opponents of any real skill. I'm hoping that a lot of game companies take note of the graphics too, in the sense that there is a large contingent of gamers out there (I believe) who don't want to have "realistic" graphics, but prefer more stylised visuals. I absolutely love the fact that I can instantly identify someone's class in TF2 purely from their silhouette.
So yes, in my mind TF2 has set the standard for graphical and audio style, exquisite gameplay, and a spot-on sense of humour. It will be interested to see if TF2 has staying power against the likes of UT3. Time will tell!
Brilliant. One of the few posts that I wish I could mod up over five. The zombie analogy is spot-on! When I read this, I had a vision of a giant Borg cube that was slowly assimilating all of the great game devs in the world and turning them into bean-counters.
Looks good, and I'll definitely be checking it out. However, I wonder how much of UT3's thunder will be stolen by the gem of pure awesomeness that is TF2? For myself, TF2 is the only game in town for FPS action at the moment. The vehicles in UT3 might be a definite point in its favour, though, so I'm looking forward to the demo that's dropping later today.
I'm really quite flabbergasted by stories such as these. It increasingly seems that being bat-shit insane is a prerequisite to do business in the entertainment industry. I can accept this for artists, but such a characteristic in the paper-pushers has become rather annoying of late. I can only wish that they are soon visited by the ghosts of Music -Past, -Present, and -Future respectively, and instructed on the error of their ways.
That is totally a web 1.0 solution. What we are looking for is a web 2.0 solution - we need to harness the dynamics of social groups to create solutions for the 21 century. Either that or just waste time. Is that the part where we leverage a synergy, or is that Web 1.0?
I lost all interest the second I watched a gameplay vid where the losing team becomes unable to attack before the next round starts, allowing the winning team to frag them without resistance. DoD did the same thing, and it's one of the reasons why I don't play it anymore. I'll maybe try TF2 when Valve stops annoying the player for shits and giggles. TF2 could have been a good game but this is more than enough to convince me that Fortress Forever is the way to go. Fair enough, although I'm curious as to why this bothers you so much. If, as you state, you don't care about losing, then why is it such a game-killer? I suppose one could view it as Valve deliberately being juvenile, but in all fairness the free-frags fit quite well into the sense of humour that permeates the game. I was roaring with laughter the other evening as the last surviving member of my team during free-frag (we lost, obviously) was a scout, squeaking "don't kill me! don't kill me!" over voice-chat as the entire winning team chased him around the map. I would certainly encourage you to try to get past your annoyance with the feature, however, as you're missing out on some absolutely fantastic game-play. TF2 is a superb title and it's a shame that one thing is enough for you to decline to play it.
Speaking generally, I think the key to enjoying TF2 is to really approach it with a sense of humour at the ready. People who are super competitive--and I have no doubt servers will be full of them on release--really miss a lot of the flavour of the game, IMO, and might indeed do better with a more serious FPS title. People who are just as ready to laugh at their own ridiculous death as someone elses, however, will enjoy TF2 immensely.
Going for a walk after eating is really good, as it is working off what you just shoved down your throat and speeds up your metabolism. It helps the environment too. Digestion being the domain of the parasympathetic nervous system, and exercise being the domain of the opposed sympathetic nervous system, I'm not sure I'd advise a strenuous walk immediately after eating. Waiting a reasonable period to digest food is probably appropriate to avoid...er, digestive problems we'll say.:) A walk is certainly a good idea though.
- Moderation is the key to food consumption. I don't advocate dropping all the good stuff, that gets too boring and you will likely not stick with it. Have your favorites, but get smaller portions and go for a walk afterwards. Best advice going and would put the diet industry out of business if people were smart enough to follow it.
You're right, but what makes TF2 different than, say, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory or the Battlefield series of games? Those all had class-based play, also... and it doesn't look like TF2 is offering anything new here. TF2 isn't really offering anything new here. What it is offering is possibly the most polished, well-balanced, and thoroughly enjoyable example of the genre. It's similar to Blizzard's strategy with WoW: people have bitched non-stop that WoW isn't innovative, but the game is so successful because it dropped most of the annoying crap and polished the remainder to a high shine. TF2 does precisely the same thing for team-based shooters. I've been playing shooters since Wolfenstein 3D and I'm a huge fan of Enemy Territory. Take it from me: if you like team-based shooters and haven't played the TF2 beta, you're missing out in a big way. TF2 is worth the price of the Orange Box alone.
Ah yes, but you know, when I go into a store now, there's only like six games for the PC too. Everything is for consoles now days. Gaming on the PC seems to be dying.:( Could have fooled me. There are so many games out right now that I simply don't have time to play through them all. Granted, I'm a pretty busy guy, but I still spend what is probably considered a greater-than-average amount of gaming and I simply don't have a hope of finishing all of my games. On top of this, there are some incredible gaming experiences on the PC that one simply doesn't really ever finish, such as WoW (and of course other MMORPGs), Civilisation IV, and bundles of pure awesomeness such as TF2.
Personally, I think console gamers as a group are somewhat prone to fanboyism and thus are extraordinarily vocal in terms of attacking anything that isn't related to the console of their choice. The obvious attack against PC gaming is that it's "dying", even as console companies are working feverishly to turn their consoles into an almost PC-like experience with hard-drives, networked and online gaming, and improved pointing devices like the Wiimote.
To be honest, I'm not sure why so many people feel the need to slag other people's gaming systems. We're all gamers, and we all benefit from the various innovations that come from the various forms of gaming. If one of the consoles makers manages to come up with a system that provides a definitive gaming experience, I won't cling to my PC stubbornly. Conversely, if gaming on the PC offers up something that consoles simply can't supply, console gamers would do well to pay attention and applaud, rather than slag it.
Now, innovation in gaming just needs to continue until I can retire in, say thirty or forty years, having buckets of cash to spend on the new systems and all the time in the world to play!
I'm going to have to agree with the parent here and not with the many people here comparing it to a Battlefield clone. If you want to compare it to anything it's more like the Assault game type from the original UT. The tragedy is that it's not really comparable with the original ET, which in my opinion is one of the best multiplayer FPS games ever made and free to boot. ET just has a solid feel and gameplay that's plain fun, while the (admittedly demo) gameplay I've experienced in ET:QW just completely lacks that feel. I definitely thought ET:QW was closer to BF2 than to ET.
On topic, however, I have to say that the TF2 beta has been nothing less than superb. I haven't enjoyed a game this much in many years and I've found myself roaring with laughter while playing. The art direction is superb, the sound excellent, the maps well-balanced, the humour spot-on, and every class is eminently playable. While my personal penchant is to play the medic, I've played every class (actually, except for the sniper) and have found something to enjoy in each one. TF2 is just pure, laugh-out-loud fun and that's probably the best compliment I can give a game.
...a doctor with lots of disposable income and spare time to spend with his family... Most doctors would argue that these two things are mutually exclusive. I've heard tales of some departments of surgery boasting a 100% divorce rate.
While the change (or absence) of the RIAA's boilerplate argument is certainly notable, I'd suggest that a far more weighty indication of their losing position is Amazon's new DRM-free music service. The pace of the publishers' relatively tentative movement into DRM-free distribution (i.e. one in which the customer is shown a reasonable amount of trust and respect) seems to stem from a strange combination of lingering distrust and a desire to save face on the part of the record execs. Hopefully we'll see a rather more enthusiastic embracing of DRM-free digital distribution as time goes on.
That said, many thanks to the folks who have been fighting the good fight against the RIAA and their attack dogs. There's no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't been seeing Amazonmp3 or iTunes Plus without their efforts.
I have to say I wasn't very impressed with Team Fortress 2. It plays ok, the graphics are great, but it seems a bit simplistic...
I've been playing the Enemy Territory:Quake Wars demo and even with only one level, it seems much better. And it also has acceptable (at least to me) bots... Interesting. I've been thoroughly enjoying the TF2 beta as a game that is sufficiently simple to jump into immediately, but with enough subtlety to fuel long-term strategies. ET:QW, on the other hand, really disappointed me. I'm a huge fan of ET and was hoping for essentially an updated version of it, with new maps and better production values. ET:QW just doesn't feel right: the weapons lack punch and players seem to die faster. In truth, it strikes me as something very much closer in feel to BF2, which I didn't really care for.
I'll certainly be keeping an eye on ET:QW, in the hopes that I'm wrong about it and that it will develop into the excellent multiplayer experience that ET was. But until then, TF2 will be claiming the lion's share of my FPS gaming time.
For all intensive purposes your wright. Its to bad I don't have no mod point's but if I did I would of. Irregardless, you'r point is much more affective then the usual drivel around hear. My God, your post made me want to claw my eyes out. Thanks for that!
Fields? Huh. I remember when this was all molten rock and hadn't even finished cooling yet! Now you kids get off of my lawn! Molten rock? Luxury! We used to have to bring our own interstellar dust in a bucket and hope that we could pile up enough to have it hold together under its own gravity!
Once someone has stepped off into "berserker" mode, like this idiot did, the police have two options: Immobilize him or kill him. "Berserker mode"? Please, this was a college kid waving a book and ranting about politics in the style normal to college-level political passions. Short of producing a weapon, he was at worst guilty of extreme rudeness, the sort of thing that can be quite easily be dealt with using basic social disapproval. I think a lot of people underestimate the effect of having one's peers react badly to one's actions.
What I find abhorrent is the idea that physically removing someone from a microphone is somehow a reasonable response in a civilised country. What's so bad about refusing to proceed until he yields the floor? Is "fairness" to other speakers really a justification for the application of force?
This was a complete over-reaction, and my viewing of the video did not make evident any tangible threat to the speaker or audience that would justify an escalation to force. And, unlike most of the people posting to this topic, I say that as a person with real-world law enforcement experience.
What actually happens when a dead plant receives energy from the Sun? The internal organization in the plant decreases; it tends to decay and break apart into its simplest components. The heat of the Sun only speeds the disorganization process. Ah. Delightful. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go drink heavily. Don't wait up, as I may be some time.
I feel that I should post to this post from Fundies say the Darndest Things in this debate. It's amazing how people can parrot the same things over and over, without ever realising what it is they're saying:
One of the most basic laws in the universe is the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This states that as time goes by, entropy in an environment will increase. Evolution argues differently against a law that is accepted EVERYWHERE BY EVERYONE. Evolution says that we started out simple, and over time became more complex. That just isn't possible: UNLESS there is a giant outside source of energy supplying the Earth with huge amounts of energy. If there were such a source, scientists would certainly know about it. There's simply no way that's a real post. Someone that stupid would clearly forget to breathe. Personally, I try my very best to be reasonable and polite to religious folks, on the principle that their right to wave their beliefs is fine, but ends at my brain. But that post....that abomination against the human brain...well, if real it's truly terrifying.
Unfortunately, isn't there an internet law floating around stating that it's impossible to tell the difference between a real fundamentalist and a parody in an online posting?
Slashdot Mirror
"Hyperrealistic"? In my view, "realistic" is the goal in many games and has yet to be seriously approached. I've been seeing the "hyper-" prefix showing up more and more frequently in game news and it's getting annoying. I can only hope that it gets relegated to the scrapheap of game journalism words, joining the scourge of 90's game hyperbole: "photorealistic".
That said, Mass Effect looks intriguing. Not hyperintriguing, but intriguing nonetheless!
cheers.
sheesh.
I suppose the question you might ask yourself is not why people didn't know about TFC (which presumably most of us did), but why TF2 is enjoying such a positive response. While you note that there are only a few differences between TF2 and TFC, I put it to you that those differences are fundamental to this positive response.
cheers.
So yes, in my mind TF2 has set the standard for graphical and audio style, exquisite gameplay, and a spot-on sense of humour. It will be interested to see if TF2 has staying power against the likes of UT3. Time will tell!
Brilliant. One of the few posts that I wish I could mod up over five. The zombie analogy is spot-on! When I read this, I had a vision of a giant Borg cube that was slowly assimilating all of the great game devs in the world and turning them into bean-counters.
But the zombie thing? Me likey.
Looks good, and I'll definitely be checking it out. However, I wonder how much of UT3's thunder will be stolen by the gem of pure awesomeness that is TF2? For myself, TF2 is the only game in town for FPS action at the moment. The vehicles in UT3 might be a definite point in its favour, though, so I'm looking forward to the demo that's dropping later today.
I'm really quite flabbergasted by stories such as these. It increasingly seems that being bat-shit insane is a prerequisite to do business in the entertainment industry. I can accept this for artists, but such a characteristic in the paper-pushers has become rather annoying of late. I can only wish that they are soon visited by the ghosts of Music -Past, -Present, and -Future respectively, and instructed on the error of their ways.
Speaking generally, I think the key to enjoying TF2 is to really approach it with a sense of humour at the ready. People who are super competitive--and I have no doubt servers will be full of them on release--really miss a lot of the flavour of the game, IMO, and might indeed do better with a more serious FPS title. People who are just as ready to laugh at their own ridiculous death as someone elses, however, will enjoy TF2 immensely.
cheers.
- Moderation is the key to food consumption. I don't advocate dropping all the good stuff, that gets too boring and you will likely not stick with it. Have your favorites, but get smaller portions and go for a walk afterwards. Best advice going and would put the diet industry out of business if people were smart enough to follow it.
cheers
cheers.
Personally, I think console gamers as a group are somewhat prone to fanboyism and thus are extraordinarily vocal in terms of attacking anything that isn't related to the console of their choice. The obvious attack against PC gaming is that it's "dying", even as console companies are working feverishly to turn their consoles into an almost PC-like experience with hard-drives, networked and online gaming, and improved pointing devices like the Wiimote.
To be honest, I'm not sure why so many people feel the need to slag other people's gaming systems. We're all gamers, and we all benefit from the various innovations that come from the various forms of gaming. If one of the consoles makers manages to come up with a system that provides a definitive gaming experience, I won't cling to my PC stubbornly. Conversely, if gaming on the PC offers up something that consoles simply can't supply, console gamers would do well to pay attention and applaud, rather than slag it.
Now, innovation in gaming just needs to continue until I can retire in, say thirty or forty years, having buckets of cash to spend on the new systems and all the time in the world to play!
I'm going to have to agree with the parent here and not with the many people here comparing it to a Battlefield clone. If you want to compare it to anything it's more like the Assault game type from the original UT. The tragedy is that it's not really comparable with the original ET, which in my opinion is one of the best multiplayer FPS games ever made and free to boot. ET just has a solid feel and gameplay that's plain fun, while the (admittedly demo) gameplay I've experienced in ET:QW just completely lacks that feel. I definitely thought ET:QW was closer to BF2 than to ET.
On topic, however, I have to say that the TF2 beta has been nothing less than superb. I haven't enjoyed a game this much in many years and I've found myself roaring with laughter while playing. The art direction is superb, the sound excellent, the maps well-balanced, the humour spot-on, and every class is eminently playable. While my personal penchant is to play the medic, I've played every class (actually, except for the sniper) and have found something to enjoy in each one. TF2 is just pure, laugh-out-loud fun and that's probably the best compliment I can give a game.
cheers.
...a doctor with lots of disposable income and spare time to spend with his family... Most doctors would argue that these two things are mutually exclusive. I've heard tales of some departments of surgery boasting a 100% divorce rate.I feel sorry for anyone who thought that was a reasonable analogy. Of course it wasn't a reasonable analogy. There wasn't a single car in it!
While the change (or absence) of the RIAA's boilerplate argument is certainly notable, I'd suggest that a far more weighty indication of their losing position is Amazon's new DRM-free music service. The pace of the publishers' relatively tentative movement into DRM-free distribution (i.e. one in which the customer is shown a reasonable amount of trust and respect) seems to stem from a strange combination of lingering distrust and a desire to save face on the part of the record execs. Hopefully we'll see a rather more enthusiastic embracing of DRM-free digital distribution as time goes on.
That said, many thanks to the folks who have been fighting the good fight against the RIAA and their attack dogs. There's no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't been seeing Amazonmp3 or iTunes Plus without their efforts.
cheers.
I've been playing the Enemy Territory:Quake Wars demo and even with only one level, it seems much better. And it also has acceptable (at least to me) bots... Interesting. I've been thoroughly enjoying the TF2 beta as a game that is sufficiently simple to jump into immediately, but with enough subtlety to fuel long-term strategies. ET:QW, on the other hand, really disappointed me. I'm a huge fan of ET and was hoping for essentially an updated version of it, with new maps and better production values. ET:QW just doesn't feel right: the weapons lack punch and players seem to die faster. In truth, it strikes me as something very much closer in feel to BF2, which I didn't really care for.
I'll certainly be keeping an eye on ET:QW, in the hopes that I'm wrong about it and that it will develop into the excellent multiplayer experience that ET was. But until then, TF2 will be claiming the lion's share of my FPS gaming time.
cheers.
Molten rock? Luxury! We used to have to bring our own interstellar dust in a bucket and hope that we could pile up enough to have it hold together under its own gravity!
What I find abhorrent is the idea that physically removing someone from a microphone is somehow a reasonable response in a civilised country. What's so bad about refusing to proceed until he yields the floor? Is "fairness" to other speakers really a justification for the application of force?
This was a complete over-reaction, and my viewing of the video did not make evident any tangible threat to the speaker or audience that would justify an escalation to force. And, unlike most of the people posting to this topic, I say that as a person with real-world law enforcement experience.
Shameful.
Unfortunately, isn't there an internet law floating around stating that it's impossible to tell the difference between a real fundamentalist and a parody in an online posting?