Please tell me which of these two possibilities is simpler:
A) Microsoft concocted a deceptive marketing plan that involved creating a shortage and increasing demand, in which they needed to walk the thin line between generating future sales through increased demand and losing sales due to supply shortage.
They enacted this strategy in the North American market with more or less successful results that remain to be seen and did likewise in the Japanese market with the result of failure.
B) Microsoft had an overarching plan to supply all the global markets, allocating 360's to each according to the demand they'd estimated. They had to determine their market allocations sometime in August or October so that they could begin packaging the boxes with the correct language and localization settings. They overestimated Japanese demand and underestimated North American demand.
I don't think the science of estimating demand is that accurate. Knowing how incredibly important it is to get a product on a shelf before Christmas doesn't give you a number.
A game released in 1985 had an algorithm for world-loading that was very similar to what you describe. It was called Super Mario Bros., and it was developed for the NES.
To provide more context for the Todd Hollenshead quote in the/. post:
For example, for our next generation Wolfenstein game, which uses the Xbox 360 as it's primary development platform, we are developing technology that will change the way people play First Person games by doing away with the whole concept of "levels", which has been the primary progression mechanic every first person game has used. The Wolfenstein game world will be one large environment that you can move freely about and explore without ever having to "load" the next area or map. In that way, you're never pulled out of the game environment because of a level change, and the game is presented to you as one seamless experience.
Sure, technically, this has never been done before. The transitions between Half-Life's "levels" froze the action for a few moments at the conclusion of a level and presented the player with the overlay text "L O A D I N G . .." which was quickly followed by a similarly non-intrusive introduction of the name of the level they just walked into.
Sure, this will increase immersion at the cost of robbing the player of the sense of accomplishment and reward he/she feels at the completion of a level.
But there is something Hollenshead doesn't mention in the admittedly small space he is given to talk about the admittedly sensitive topic of forthcoming features in his company's future product.
Is it going to be one long linear roller-coaster ride to the end of the game, or is the Wolfenstein world going to feature multiple paths to victory, increase replay value, show signs of innovative thought, and possibly broaden this well-worn genre?
Return to Castle Wolfenstein was great, but Quake 3, Doom 3, Quake 4? Hollenshead may be right: he's going to change the way I play First Person games. At the current rate.. I'm not going to play them anymore.
Oh Good! This will give me time to play through the immense backlog of games that I've bought and never played over the past 5 years. Let it rest, I say, let it rest.
The first time I ever loaded up Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow on XBox Live was also the first time I'd ever voice chatted with a complete stranger online. It was a defining moment in my 20+ years of video gaming. It went something like this:
YOYOSON : Hey guys.
KILLERDUDE : What the fuck? Level 1? Yoyoson, suck my cock.
Through some level of miscommunication, you have gotten the wrong idea about this game. I just beat it, and I highly recommend it. Nearly everything you are asking for is actually present in this game, to some extent.
Unfortunately...I hate boss fights. Hate hate hate. They are the lamest, most overdone cliché in the video game world.
The "boss fights" are not the boss fights from your run-of-the-mill 3D action platformer. These battles are puzzles. Each colossus can be killed with no more than 5 or 6 stabs with your sword. The challenge is in positioning yourself to deal those deadly blows. I would say that quick, action-game reflexes are necessary in TWO of the sixteen battles. There is at least one place in every battle where you can stay safely out of harm's way while you ponder your next move. If the battle requires you to shoot the colossus in the eye before it blinks or jump into position before he moves, then the game gives you ample time to do so.
Give me exploration.
The land of the colossi is an amalgam of deserts, rainforests, lakes, plains, caves, cliffs, natural rock bridges, dead cities, temples, and dungeons. One of the great things about this game is taking in the sights around as you go off in hunt of the next colossus.
Give me puzzles.
As I said, the battles are more like puzzles than they are like boss fights. I was watching, waiting, and thinking rather than jumping, shooting, or reacting.
Give me suspense, fear, foreboding, thought-provoking scenarios, convoluted plots, mysteries.
The suspense and mystery lie in the secret of the colossi and their purpose. The fear comes from facing your first few colossi. Foreboding comes from watching oily black tentacles shoot out of each defeated colossus and then infest themselves in the main character's body. This happens with every colossus and is not explained until the end. The game is thought-provoking in that it makes you question the ethics of seeking out and killing these colossi, some of which are completely non-aggressive. Admittedly, the plot is fairly simply and non-convoluted; however, this allows the player to focus squarely on the gameplay.
Don't give me some humongous robot killing machine and tell me I have to hack at it repeatedly with a small pointy thing. Grr.
Many of the colossi have fleshy areas that you can stab and damage and that aren't covered with magical pressure points. You can stab these places repeatedly, but eventually the colossus will stop taking damage from it. With this particular design choice, the creators say to the gamer, "Yes, your efforts are not fruitless. You have dealt some damage to the colossus and you have certainly garnered its attention. But I don't want you to think that this is a solution to the puzzle that I've laid out before you."
So give it another chance, and perhaps read this review written by "The Fly" over at Gamerswithjobs. He has an interesting take on what makes the game so unique, in comparison to everything else out there right now.
Did you know that if you are playing X-Com: UFO Defense while running SETI@home, it speeds up the chances of finding an actual UFO by 0.0005%!?!?
ZOMGLOLFTW
The new combat changes will make it even more fun to play as Jedi. Now instead of watching your toon auto-dealing out the pain to all those who dare oppose your Jedi and all the dedicated hardcore gaming he represents, you'll be able to give it to them with each measured stroke of your burning hot blade of light. It'll be like Quake with a permanent quad damage.
WHOOPS.. "The new Jedi profession will be equal in combat effectiveness with the other professions."[warcry link]
Nevermind.
Seriously though, at the outset of SWG there was a lot of allure surrounding the pedestal of the Jedi profession, especially before people started unlocking them. This is probably no longer true in the current system, but I was once told that a master Jedi would be able to simultaneously confront 8 masters from other combat professions in PvP, and emerge victorious, even if the player didn't know how to use the Jedi class. Now Jedi are no better than anyone else.
But I guess it's for the better, balance wise./shrug
Slashdot Mirror
A) Microsoft concocted a deceptive marketing plan that involved creating a shortage and increasing demand, in which they needed to walk the thin line between generating future sales through increased demand and losing sales due to supply shortage. They enacted this strategy in the North American market with more or less successful results that remain to be seen and did likewise in the Japanese market with the result of failure.
B) Microsoft had an overarching plan to supply all the global markets, allocating 360's to each according to the demand they'd estimated. They had to determine their market allocations sometime in August or October so that they could begin packaging the boxes with the correct language and localization settings. They overestimated Japanese demand and underestimated North American demand.
I don't think the science of estimating demand is that accurate. Knowing how incredibly important it is to get a product on a shelf before Christmas doesn't give you a number.
I've tried this game before; unfortunately when it gets overwhelmingly boring you can't just shut it off without losing faction.
A game released in 1985 had an algorithm for world-loading that was very similar to what you describe. It was called Super Mario Bros., and it was developed for the NES.
Sure, this will increase immersion at the cost of robbing the player of the sense of accomplishment and reward he/she feels at the completion of a level.
But there is something Hollenshead doesn't mention in the admittedly small space he is given to talk about the admittedly sensitive topic of forthcoming features in his company's future product.
Is it going to be one long linear roller-coaster ride to the end of the game, or is the Wolfenstein world going to feature multiple paths to victory, increase replay value, show signs of innovative thought, and possibly broaden this well-worn genre?
Return to Castle Wolfenstein was great, but Quake 3, Doom 3, Quake 4? Hollenshead may be right: he's going to change the way I play First Person games. At the current rate.. I'm not going to play them anymore.
Netrek FAQ: http://www.inl.org/netrek/netrekFAQ.html
Oh Good! This will give me time to play through the immense backlog of games that I've bought and never played over the past 5 years. Let it rest, I say, let it rest.
YOYOSON : Hey guys.
KILLERDUDE : What the fuck? Level 1? Yoyoson, suck my cock.
Yeah, you're right, the joke sucks, Coward.
Did you know that if you are playing X-Com: UFO Defense while running SETI@home, it speeds up the chances of finding an actual UFO by 0.0005%!?!? ZOMGLOLFTW
WHOOPS.. "The new Jedi profession will be equal in combat effectiveness with the other professions."[warcry link]
Nevermind.
Seriously though, at the outset of SWG there was a lot of allure surrounding the pedestal of the Jedi profession, especially before people started unlocking them. This is probably no longer true in the current system, but I was once told that a master Jedi would be able to simultaneously confront 8 masters from other combat professions in PvP, and emerge victorious, even if the player didn't know how to use the Jedi class. Now Jedi are no better than anyone else.
But I guess it's for the better, balance wise. /shrug