I read an article about different versions of kite/sail technology for bulk cargo ships in Popular Science a long time ago. This was one of the companies mentioned.
I'm glad to see it wasn't just vaporware. If the the energy is there, might as well use it!
I actually enjoy the exploration of things that were off-handedly mentioned previously (provided it is done correctly). It provides the universe with a sense of authenticity (rather than the feeling that the authors of a work just pulled all these grand allusions out of their ass with nothing to back them up).
Babylon 5 is a good example of this done correctly. He would often refer to things very off-handedly in one episode, only to later explain it in great detail, or show how it tied in with something else. When done correctly, it not only makes the scene/story in which it is explained interesting, but also enriches the previous scene in which it was only used briefly (often revealing some new insight, or enhancing its meaning).
That said, the execution was poor in the case of star wars (coming from somebody who really wanted to know about the clone wars when obi-wan talked about them), and I agree with the "galaxy is entirely too small" sentiment. The star wars EU novels managed to open up the universe without giving that "the wookie was there the whole time" feel, and I enjoyed that.
B) Take my comments in context. You missed this part:
The idea that you need to spend forty grand a year on private school just to barely scrape by is laughable. Your post seems to insinuate that this "slavery" is some inescapable truth of life, when by your own admission it is only "necessary" if you CHOOSE to go into "a number of specialist fields". You'll excuse me if I don't feel like we are all doomed because of this;)
Some of the best research in the country happens at state universities.
My State School System is perfectly fine (and cheap) thank you very much. I got out of school with precisely no debt.
Private schools aren't giving some holy grail of knowledge you can't get anywhere else. Around here I don't think they are even better, just more expensive with less standards. There is no need to go to one to succeed in life. The idea that you need to spend forty grand a year on private school just to barely scrape by is laughable.
You are doing it wrong. Exactly! Right on all counts. It never comes to that much, and the computer is used for a dozen other things besides gaming - many of which are improved/faster with the newer computer. Buy just under top of the line for the best price/performance and you are good to go.
I build a new rig every 2-3 years or so and I don't upgrade anything between the rebuilds. Anywhere from $1000-$1300, and the only reason it has ended up being that much is because with that kind of time between builds you end up not being able to reuse many/any parts (full architecture changes).
First on the list (2001) was a P3 1000, 512 RAM PC133, ATI All-in-wonder (equivalent to 7200 series, and still serves as a cheap TV and coax input for consoles!). This played TFC, CS, UT, BF1942 fine. RA2 was popular in the dorms, and it did Mechcommander 2, whatever AoE game was out, and Warcraft 3. Plus all the legacy games that are still fun. Ran Win98 at first and then XP.
Next was a couple years later (2003) was a 2.8Ghz P4c (good overclock and price/performance when I bought), 1 GB dual channel DDR, ATI 9800Pro, and an Audigy2 for sound. This ran HL2, DoW, WoW, C&C Generals, War3 at full settings (RoC DotA!), UT2k4, RtCW, W:ET, Doom 3. Plenty of games, all at decent settings and framerates.
This January (2007) was a C2D 6600, 2 GB DDR2, and an 8800GTS ($379 after rebate). This was a bit heavy on the vid card price compared to the last two, but the 8800s were quite a bit better than the next lowest, and as I said, I don't do midstream upgrades usually so it needs to last. This runs anything current. Bioshock, TF2, Overlord, ET:QW, UT3, C&C3, Company of Heroes, whatever.
If you look at the last two, it was in the neighborhood of 4 years between builds. And I had no problem playing the games that came out.
And that is my only point in throwing all this out here is that I was able to play any game I wanted during these time periods with decent settings without going broke, and got a great computer for doing anything else I wanted.
It's simply a product of the scale of the US. You said it yourself, you grew up in a country that was so small that you got transmissions from a dozen other countries in a dozen other languages. Of course your awareness of other cultures is higher.
When I was in Europe (actually staying with a family friend near Utrecht for several weeks) I, at one point, visited 5 countries in one day. That kind of diversity over a small area just isn't a reality in the US. You could travel for 1.5 days in any direction on non-stop freeways and you wouldn't see any kind of major cultural shift.
Its not some sort of willful ignorance, just as it isn't a willful that you got exposed to many cultures in a small area in Europe. Its just a matter of course - what you are exposed to naturally over the course of your life.
Whether the homogeneity of the US culture is good or bad is another thing. Seems everyone thinks it is bad now, but I can remember hearing the exact opposite years ago. People amazed that you could have so many people from so many different places still manage to create such a homogeneous culture. The sentiment being that this was a great accomplishment that hadn't been done before.
Guess the value of something depends on how/when you look at it.
If we say the government is just a representation of the people, you essentially have people in these states suing people in the the whole country, which includes them. We are suing ourselves, and paying for it (potentially) twice!
Others have pretty much hit on the "canon" explanation, but I'll add my own 2 bits.
Your idea of a progression of technology is not what they were really going for. The stuff you see in all the movies (blasters, ftl travel, whatever) were invented a couple thousand years before any of the movies, and haven't changed a whole lot since, or have been evolutionary changes. In fact, if you go into some of the expanded universe stuff, you see some cyclical things or "long lost" technology - a concept you find in a lot of other science fiction. A progression from Golden Age -> War -> Dark Age -> Rediscovery.
So, to bowl it down: The reason all the stuff in the prequel looked nice, was because it was "The Golden Age" in the Star Wars universe. People with lots of money were flying around in fancy ships. It was the roaring twenties, and then there was 30 years of war and most people went more utilitarian. Hell, maybe there were still some rich people flying around after that, but nobody the camera was following around in Eps 4-6 were in that group.
In Eps 4-6 they talked about how great the old republic was (ie. the "more civilized age" quote) and the prequels were supposed to show this "golden age" and then show it fall apart. Now whether anyone thinks the movies suck or not (I was not super hot on them) is a seperate issue, but the reasoning behind the "nicer stuff in the past" is perfectly sound imo.
The Old Republic was more prosperous and stable, the civil war years less so.
For what its worth - I'm American and my job isn't like what you describe.
I work as a software dev for a fortune 250 company, work 40 hours (sometimes less, very seldom more - maybe a couple times a year) and started out of school with 3 weeks (15 days) vacation, with more vacation the longer I work for the company. This does not include paid holidays (a half-dozen days there) and sicks days/medical appointments/funerals - none of those go against your vacation. Going along with another comment I saw in an earlier post of this discussion, I had a project manager who had been with them a while and he had 5 weeks (25 days) vacation. He may have spent a bit more time at work than me, but I'll be damned if it didn't seem like he took every friday off, and I am sure he was being paid quite a bit.
This probably doesn't add anything to the discussion, but it sticks out to me anytime I see "you crazy [insert overly broad generalization about group here]". Generalizations are not "for the win" as they say on the internets.
There are plenty of people (as you can see from reading every other reply here) that will simply find another job if their employer treats them like crap. Generally they are the sensible, smart ones - which are exactly the employees everyone wants. So they have to pay to get them and keep them.
I played MW4 on the PC. You could do all the control stuff (custom weapon groups, assign them to whatever buttons, use pedals, etc) but it certainly didn't have any power management stuff. Sounds interesting - I always thought the power management in games like X-wing and TIE Fighter added to the fun.
Having played the MW4 on the custom hardware ("Firestorm" Pods) I have to say I still prefer the previous (Tesla) version. You could play the original Tesla BattleTech for years and still not get bored with it, but the learning curve was high for new players. The Firestorm version removed the simulation parts to make it easy to learn, which made sense since they also moved the Pods into arcades, but it stopped being a sim and just became another arcade machine.
Even MW3, rushed as it was, still had the right feel of a military sim (not surprising given Zipper's background). I have heard this same thing said elsewhere and it made me curious because I was a big flightsim person and played all the mech games with a joystick setup for a more sim-like experience. What specifically was different between them (these "simulation parts" you mentioned). Any details would be great!
To steal my comments from another forum on FASA's closure:
FASA was just a name by the time they closed down - all their goodness had been pillaged and destroyed.
I would love to see another REAL Mechwarrior game (none of this xbox arcade-style stuff) and/or another Mechcommander game. Both series were fun romps in the superb Battletech universe.
The last iterations of each (Mechwarrior 4, MW4: Mercs, Mechcommander 2) were all a blast to play, had decent stories, and great cinematics. Picking mechs, customizing weapons, and taking them out for a spin was great fun.
And Microsoft made those games (these were post FASA buyout), so they have it in them to do it. Or at least did.
I can only hope they eventually make a Mechwarrior 5 or Mechcommander 3 someday, but they seem too enamored with the XBox.
You're looking at it the wrong way. No, I think that is perfectly legitimate way to look at it. Now of course it looks nicer to look at it your way, and Valve's marketing/standalone pricing is designed to encourage you to look at it that way - but that doesn't mean it is the correct way to look at it.
This whole argument is interesting. One side is arguing that the package is "a great deal when you break it down and compare it to MSRP" (which is how valve markets it on their site and wants you to see the deal) and the other side is arguing that the MSRPs are inflated and the games only become reasonably priced when in the package. Also the Black box was indeed supposed to be $5-10 cheaper - so they are comparing it to that. The two sides are calculating their numbers from different places (and obviously reaching different conclusions).
Ep1 was $17.95 perorder standalone and yet we are sitting here calculating Ep2 at $20 as part of a package deal? You are supposed to get a better deal with package - not have to get the package for the same (or worse) deal.
Slashdot Mirror
Vivendi owns Blizzard. When Vivendi and Activision merged, they called the joint gaming division "Activision Blizzard".
It sounds like you are using Adobe's PDF tools.
:)
Try Foxit: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
Much faster
I read an article about different versions of kite/sail technology for bulk cargo ships in Popular Science a long time ago. This was one of the companies mentioned.
I'm glad to see it wasn't just vaporware. If the the energy is there, might as well use it!
I actually enjoy the exploration of things that were off-handedly mentioned previously (provided it is done correctly). It provides the universe with a sense of authenticity (rather than the feeling that the authors of a work just pulled all these grand allusions out of their ass with nothing to back them up).
Babylon 5 is a good example of this done correctly. He would often refer to things very off-handedly in one episode, only to later explain it in great detail, or show how it tied in with something else. When done correctly, it not only makes the scene/story in which it is explained interesting, but also enriches the previous scene in which it was only used briefly (often revealing some new insight, or enhancing its meaning).
That said, the execution was poor in the case of star wars (coming from somebody who really wanted to know about the clone wars when obi-wan talked about them), and I agree with the "galaxy is entirely too small" sentiment. The star wars EU novels managed to open up the universe without giving that "the wookie was there the whole time" feel, and I enjoyed that.
B) Take my comments in context. You missed this part: The idea that you need to spend forty grand a year on private school just to barely scrape by is laughable. Your post seems to insinuate that this "slavery" is some inescapable truth of life, when by your own admission it is only "necessary" if you CHOOSE to go into "a number of specialist fields". You'll excuse me if I don't feel like we are all doomed because of this
Some of the best research in the country happens at state universities.
My State School System is perfectly fine (and cheap) thank you very much. I got out of school with precisely no debt.
Private schools aren't giving some holy grail of knowledge you can't get anywhere else. Around here I don't think they are even better, just more expensive with less standards. There is no need to go to one to succeed in life. The idea that you need to spend forty grand a year on private school just to barely scrape by is laughable.
Melllvar! Melllvar is the ultimate fan!
It should be no surprise, then, that ancient alien city of T'Leth is right in the center of the Gulf of Mexico.
Those damn aliens were the second impact!
I got the 8800GTS 640 in January for $379 shipped. This article claims it is still $400?
I think not:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=8800GTS&x=0&y=0
I build a new rig every 2-3 years or so and I don't upgrade anything between the rebuilds. Anywhere from $1000-$1300, and the only reason it has ended up being that much is because with that kind of time between builds you end up not being able to reuse many/any parts (full architecture changes).
First on the list (2001) was a P3 1000, 512 RAM PC133, ATI All-in-wonder (equivalent to 7200 series, and still serves as a cheap TV and coax input for consoles!). This played TFC, CS, UT, BF1942 fine. RA2 was popular in the dorms, and it did Mechcommander 2, whatever AoE game was out, and Warcraft 3. Plus all the legacy games that are still fun. Ran Win98 at first and then XP.
Next was a couple years later (2003) was a 2.8Ghz P4c (good overclock and price/performance when I bought), 1 GB dual channel DDR, ATI 9800Pro, and an Audigy2 for sound. This ran HL2, DoW, WoW, C&C Generals, War3 at full settings (RoC DotA!), UT2k4, RtCW, W:ET, Doom 3. Plenty of games, all at decent settings and framerates.
This January (2007) was a C2D 6600, 2 GB DDR2, and an 8800GTS ($379 after rebate). This was a bit heavy on the vid card price compared to the last two, but the 8800s were quite a bit better than the next lowest, and as I said, I don't do midstream upgrades usually so it needs to last. This runs anything current. Bioshock, TF2, Overlord, ET:QW, UT3, C&C3, Company of Heroes, whatever.
If you look at the last two, it was in the neighborhood of 4 years between builds. And I had no problem playing the games that came out.
And that is my only point in throwing all this out here is that I was able to play any game I wanted during these time periods with decent settings without going broke, and got a great computer for doing anything else I wanted.
They need to save on that other stuff PRECISELY so they can afford the thousand dollars of video cards!
.
.
.
I feel like I am missing something....
Oh, yes. Ahem.
You insensitive clod!
It's simply a product of the scale of the US. You said it yourself, you grew up in a country that was so small that you got transmissions from a dozen other countries in a dozen other languages. Of course your awareness of other cultures is higher.
When I was in Europe (actually staying with a family friend near Utrecht for several weeks) I, at one point, visited 5 countries in one day. That kind of diversity over a small area just isn't a reality in the US. You could travel for 1.5 days in any direction on non-stop freeways and you wouldn't see any kind of major cultural shift.
Its not some sort of willful ignorance, just as it isn't a willful that you got exposed to many cultures in a small area in Europe. Its just a matter of course - what you are exposed to naturally over the course of your life.
Whether the homogeneity of the US culture is good or bad is another thing. Seems everyone thinks it is bad now, but I can remember hearing the exact opposite years ago. People amazed that you could have so many people from so many different places still manage to create such a homogeneous culture. The sentiment being that this was a great accomplishment that hadn't been done before.
Guess the value of something depends on how/when you look at it.
If we say the government is just a representation of the people, you essentially have people in these states suing people in the the whole country, which includes them. We are suing ourselves, and paying for it (potentially) twice!
:D
Just thought it was funny
Continue your regularly-scheduled discussion.
Canada is in North America too, you insensitive clod!
I think people should read everything BUT the NJO (Yuuzhan Vong) series of books. I stopped reading after the first few of those.
The Zhan Trilogy, the Corellian Trilogy, the Jedi Academy Trilogy and the X-Wing series are where it is at.
/signed
And throw in X-COM 2. It was pretty much exactly the same game, but with an underwater theme that I enjoyed.
There are a couple of known bugs to both games that people have found. Fix those, update the graphics, and you are good to go.
If I had mod points, I would mod you all up for these references.
Oh, and it depends on the chassis and environment, of course.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/19/team-fortress-will-not-have-cross-platform-play-but-valve-plays/
Others have pretty much hit on the "canon" explanation, but I'll add my own 2 bits.
Your idea of a progression of technology is not what they were really going for. The stuff you see in all the movies (blasters, ftl travel, whatever) were invented a couple thousand years before any of the movies, and haven't changed a whole lot since, or have been evolutionary changes. In fact, if you go into some of the expanded universe stuff, you see some cyclical things or "long lost" technology - a concept you find in a lot of other science fiction. A progression from Golden Age -> War -> Dark Age -> Rediscovery.
So, to bowl it down: The reason all the stuff in the prequel looked nice, was because it was "The Golden Age" in the Star Wars universe. People with lots of money were flying around in fancy ships. It was the roaring twenties, and then there was 30 years of war and most people went more utilitarian. Hell, maybe there were still some rich people flying around after that, but nobody the camera was following around in Eps 4-6 were in that group.
In Eps 4-6 they talked about how great the old republic was (ie. the "more civilized age" quote) and the prequels were supposed to show this "golden age" and then show it fall apart. Now whether anyone thinks the movies suck or not (I was not super hot on them) is a seperate issue, but the reasoning behind the "nicer stuff in the past" is perfectly sound imo.
The Old Republic was more prosperous and stable, the civil war years less so.
"Hambeast" is my new favorite word.
For what its worth - I'm American and my job isn't like what you describe.
I work as a software dev for a fortune 250 company, work 40 hours (sometimes less, very seldom more - maybe a couple times a year) and started out of school with 3 weeks (15 days) vacation, with more vacation the longer I work for the company. This does not include paid holidays (a half-dozen days there) and sicks days/medical appointments/funerals - none of those go against your vacation. Going along with another comment I saw in an earlier post of this discussion, I had a project manager who had been with them a while and he had 5 weeks (25 days) vacation. He may have spent a bit more time at work than me, but I'll be damned if it didn't seem like he took every friday off, and I am sure he was being paid quite a bit.
This probably doesn't add anything to the discussion, but it sticks out to me anytime I see "you crazy [insert overly broad generalization about group here]". Generalizations are not "for the win" as they say on the internets.
There are plenty of people (as you can see from reading every other reply here) that will simply find another job if their employer treats them like crap. Generally they are the sensible, smart ones - which are exactly the employees everyone wants. So they have to pay to get them and keep them.
Ah interesting, thanks for the reply.
I played MW4 on the PC. You could do all the control stuff (custom weapon groups, assign them to whatever buttons, use pedals, etc) but it certainly didn't have any power management stuff. Sounds interesting - I always thought the power management in games like X-wing and TIE Fighter added to the fun.
Even MW3, rushed as it was, still had the right feel of a military sim (not surprising given Zipper's background). I have heard this same thing said elsewhere and it made me curious because I was a big flightsim person and played all the mech games with a joystick setup for a more sim-like experience. What specifically was different between them (these "simulation parts" you mentioned). Any details would be great!
Indeed.
To steal my comments from another forum on FASA's closure:
FASA was just a name by the time they closed down - all their goodness had been pillaged and destroyed.
I would love to see another REAL Mechwarrior game (none of this xbox arcade-style stuff) and/or another Mechcommander game. Both series were fun romps in the superb Battletech universe.
The last iterations of each (Mechwarrior 4, MW4: Mercs, Mechcommander 2) were all a blast to play, had decent stories, and great cinematics. Picking mechs, customizing weapons, and taking them out for a spin was great fun.
And Microsoft made those games (these were post FASA buyout), so they have it in them to do it. Or at least did.
I can only hope they eventually make a Mechwarrior 5 or Mechcommander 3 someday, but they seem too enamored with the XBox.
This whole argument is interesting. One side is arguing that the package is "a great deal when you break it down and compare it to MSRP" (which is how valve markets it on their site and wants you to see the deal) and the other side is arguing that the MSRPs are inflated and the games only become reasonably priced when in the package. Also the Black box was indeed supposed to be $5-10 cheaper - so they are comparing it to that. The two sides are calculating their numbers from different places (and obviously reaching different conclusions).
Ep1 was $17.95 perorder standalone and yet we are sitting here calculating Ep2 at $20 as part of a package deal? You are supposed to get a better deal with package - not have to get the package for the same (or worse) deal.