I've played MMORPGs since Asherons Call went live (99?) and seen several different attempts at creating 'casual friendly' game play, and they always fail.
The reason: Levels.
The power games will power level their way to the top (and then complain there's nothing to do, but that's another rant). Always, always, always.
Some look at it as a status symbol. The race to be the first max-level character on the server, or in the entire game even (right after release).
The PK players want the levels so they can be competitive.
How to fix this? Remove the concept of levels. Create a true skill-based system that uses no visible numbers of any kind.
You start out as "Joe Average" with no special skills, or maybe a few chosen at character creation. From that point on, you gain experience in the skills you use. If you neglect a skill (ie: not use it for a long time) they atrophy as you "get rusty" at that particular task.
If you want to learn a new skill, start working at it. Pick up that mace and use it for a while instead of your longsword. The more you use it, the better you get with it.
The trick is not to publish the stats to anybody. It's all internal to the game mechanics and nobody knows exactly how good you are.
Imagine it. No race to the top. No concerning yourself with how high a level you are for PvP play.
Instead, you try and fail, or succeed when you go up against that Orc boss mob. Only trial and error will show. If you fail, go work out some more on easier mobs until you feel you can try again.
If your a PvP player, you now have to choose your opponents with care. That dude that's taunting you is someone you've never seen before. Is he a newbie, or just someone you've missed all this time. Do you dare challenge him?
It would make the trek into new lands a true adventure. No more checking on maps to determine if your character is high enough level to try out that zone. You'll really have to take a chance for once.
For the casual gamers, this will still mean that there will always be those who are higher level/more powerful, but this way, it is not as obvious.
Play with your friends, sure. You may die along the way if something they can handle gets to you somehow, but at least you will not be blocked from participating.
Easy Solution: Make people buy something to use wifi, and propose a 2-hour limit, or however much you deem necessary
Please. You can't fix social problems with technological solutions.
That is not necessarily a technical solution, but rather a social one:
"Hey you! Yea, you! You've been sitting there for 3 hours surfing the net, and haven't had a single cup of coffee. Pack it up and leave. No, I'm sorry, buying a cup now won't do. Please leave."
Yea, it is chasing a potential customer away, but really, if they were, they would have bought something already.
Looking at that, one can imagine why I never did well in the CS industries.:P
Perhaps this is because those who would otherwise be interested in going into IT are watching the news and seeing how many of those IT jobs are being outsources overseas and how many IT professionals are currently out of work, and are making the (IMO correct) decision to consider other professions.
It is very possible that the timing or rhythm was off for the jokes. I just figured that the lack of humor I perceived was due to the fact that none of it was new to me.
I've read the books enough times that I don't get the same experience as I did the first time around. That happens. The jokes stop being as funny as before, the more times you hear/see/read them.
I saw this at this past Monday's preview, and thought it was great. Much better than the BBC production, but not as good as the books.
It was much better than I expected it to be.
Given the responses from the audience, including the group that sat directly behind us, who didn't realize there was a book, I think it went over well enough. However, I doubt it will do well enough for us to see a sequel. Time will tell though, I suppose.
If you are a fan of the books, it's worth a viewing, in my opinion.
I still watch G4 to some extent, but really there are only two shows worth watching (Anime Unleashed (sometimes) and X-Play) and I'm glad they finally dropped the Screensavers name from the show, since it really isn't any more.
The new show is Ok on it's own, but pretty lame at times. *shrug* Maybe it'll improve, but I doubt it.
This (the podcast) is a good thing, IMO. I miss the original crew. Hopefully, they'll bring back what we used to get with TechTV.
Everyone concerned with the film has been careful to honour Adams's intentions -
though some inspired guesswork has been necessary.
This bit worries me more than anything else.
Why on earth would anybody need to guess at ANYTHING related to this? I mean, the books have been around for years. If they wanted to know, all they had to do was read them.
I'm not getting my hopes up for this to be true to the books.
My favorite is from the original Bubblegum Crisis anime.
Picture a computer screen with a clock display. It hits 7:00, and a bird comes on chirping.
Hand comes up and hits the keys, and it goes away.
Time passes until the word "Again" appears on the screen. The bird appears, peeking out of the screen with a decidedly evil look on it's face, and starts chirping again, twice as large, and twice as loud!
Always made me laugh.
As to the one in TFA, it wouldn't do me any good since I don't use my snooze any more. I stopped after my district manager told me "if your late one more time don't bother coming in!"
Slashdot Mirror
An addition to Samurai movies I've recently (within the past year) discovered is Zatoichi, (played by Shintaro Katsu) the blind swordsman.
H.
Since when does McDonald's produce high-quality hamburgers?
That being said, it sounds like a movie aficionados paradise.
H.
I've played MMORPGs since Asherons Call went live (99?) and seen several different attempts at creating 'casual friendly' game play, and they always fail.
The reason: Levels.
The power games will power level their way to the top (and then complain there's nothing to do, but that's another rant). Always, always, always.
Some look at it as a status symbol. The race to be the first max-level character on the server, or in the entire game even (right after release).
The PK players want the levels so they can be competitive.
How to fix this? Remove the concept of levels. Create a true skill-based system that uses no visible numbers of any kind.
You start out as "Joe Average" with no special skills, or maybe a few chosen at character creation. From that point on, you gain experience in the skills you use. If you neglect a skill (ie: not use it for a long time) they atrophy as you "get rusty" at that particular task.
If you want to learn a new skill, start working at it. Pick up that mace and use it for a while instead of your longsword. The more you use it, the better you get with it.
The trick is not to publish the stats to anybody. It's all internal to the game mechanics and nobody knows exactly how good you are.
Imagine it. No race to the top. No concerning yourself with how high a level you are for PvP play.
Instead, you try and fail, or succeed when you go up against that Orc boss mob. Only trial and error will show. If you fail, go work out some more on easier mobs until you feel you can try again.
If your a PvP player, you now have to choose your opponents with care. That dude that's taunting you is someone you've never seen before. Is he a newbie, or just someone you've missed all this time. Do you dare challenge him?
It would make the trek into new lands a true adventure. No more checking on maps to determine if your character is high enough level to try out that zone. You'll really have to take a chance for once.
For the casual gamers, this will still mean that there will always be those who are higher level/more powerful, but this way, it is not as obvious.
Play with your friends, sure. You may die along the way if something they can handle gets to you somehow, but at least you will not be blocked from participating.
Heh. That ain't no fish story!
No, it Really was that big!
H
"You mean?"
"Yes, that's a cherry tomato!"
H.
Not that Empire, I mean the great Lucas Empire.
Remaking the SW movies in 3D is, IMO, nothing more than a bit to suck more money out of the fans.
Even though I enjoyed All the movies, I'll not bother.
I am looking forward to the TV Show though.
H.
With it's co-workers being named Elvis and Lisa Mari, it felt slighted.
At least they're not calling them "Boomers."
H
The Master stole another Time Lords lives, if I remember right. He was at the end of his regenerative cycle and needed more or he would die.
I doubt The Doctor would do the same, but of course, it's always possible to work around that as well.
No, I doubt that the series will end with 13 actors. They'll find another way to make it work.
For that matter, they could always go back to the first incarnation, showing that particular Dr at a time of his life before he became old...
H.
For what it's worth, most of the Doctor's have had attractive (to some extent or another) women with them.
After all, they spend a lot of time in that box....
H.
I guess I should hang up my hat as a Star Wars fan, despite the fact that I actually enjoyed all the movies (yes, even the ewoks).
:/
Most of the easter eggs here went way over my head. Never heard about most of it.
I have no excuse, other than it's the end of a 12.5 hour night shift....
H.
After loosing at Diablo II, we all just figured that everything was extinct.
That is not necessarily a technical solution, but rather a social one:
"Hey you! Yea, you! You've been sitting there for 3 hours surfing the net, and haven't had a single cup of coffee. Pack it up and leave. No, I'm sorry, buying a cup now won't do. Please leave."
Yea, it is chasing a potential customer away, but really, if they were, they would have bought something already.
Looking at that, one can imagine why I never did well in the CS industries.
H.
"We are not in anybody's airspace. There is no air.
H.
Perhaps this is because those who would otherwise be interested in going into IT are watching the news and seeing how many of those IT jobs are being outsources overseas and how many IT professionals are currently out of work, and are making the (IMO correct) decision to consider other professions.
That was long and run-on, but you get my meaning.
H.
I thought of that first!
H
You don't see what really happened until much further down the article (around 3/4 of the way through) emphasis mine:
Gotta love the media. Anything for a sensational headline.
H
It is very possible that the timing or rhythm was off for the jokes. I just figured that the lack of humor I perceived was due to the fact that none of it was new to me.
I've read the books enough times that I don't get the same experience as I did the first time around. That happens. The jokes stop being as funny as before, the more times you hear/see/read them.
I saw this at this past Monday's preview, and thought it was great. Much better than the BBC production, but not as good as the books.
It was much better than I expected it to be.
Given the responses from the audience, including the group that sat directly behind us, who didn't realize there was a book, I think it went over well enough. However, I doubt it will do well enough for us to see a sequel. Time will tell though, I suppose.
If you are a fan of the books, it's worth a viewing, in my opinion.
H.
I still watch G4 to some extent, but really there are only two shows worth watching (Anime Unleashed (sometimes) and X-Play) and I'm glad they finally dropped the Screensavers name from the show, since it really isn't any more.
The new show is Ok on it's own, but pretty lame at times. *shrug* Maybe it'll improve, but I doubt it.
This (the podcast) is a good thing, IMO. I miss the original crew. Hopefully, they'll bring back what we used to get with TechTV.
H.
This bit worries me more than anything else.
Why on earth would anybody need to guess at ANYTHING related to this? I mean, the books have been around for years. If they wanted to know, all they had to do was read them.
I'm not getting my hopes up for this to be true to the books.
Nope, not going to do it.
H.
All I can say to this is, Way to go!
I'll check this out after work.
H.
So.... This is a good thing?
*looks around*
I mean, Are they allowed to do that?
H.
The user is searching for "report"
Take a look at the bottom of this screenshot.
Two pictures...
H.
My favorite is from the original Bubblegum Crisis anime.
Picture a computer screen with a clock display. It hits 7:00, and a bird comes on chirping.
Hand comes up and hits the keys, and it goes away.
Time passes until the word "Again" appears on the screen. The bird appears, peeking out of the screen with a decidedly evil look on it's face, and starts chirping again, twice as large, and twice as loud!
Always made me laugh.
As to the one in TFA, it wouldn't do me any good since I don't use my snooze any more. I stopped after my district manager told me "if your late one more time don't bother coming in!"
H.
After you've paid for the tour of the brewery...
H