Re:The problem with guis is they don't work
on
GUIs Get a Makeover
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· Score: 1
Well, if you're an expert drafter, chances are your gui is limited to popdown menus for when you forget a shortcut key or command. You might also have a puck and tablet to increase the room on screen even more. In the old days, people would often draft entire drawings using the keyboard, but now with object snaps and dynamic zoom/pan, it's faster to use the mouse.
Which brings up an interesting point. Too much focus is placed on making commands accessible by mouse really fast. More focus should be on making the interface and commands interactive.
Just recently, while formating a document in MS Word, I desperately wished to be able to select multiple sections at once. Another option would be a shortcut key for applying a style, or a format brush that allows you to copy a format multiple times (AutoCAD does this, why not word?).
In my opinion, the standard pack model is bad for consumers. There's always something you don't want in the pack, but you still have to pay for it, and it takes up space.
Custom packs are a little better, because you don't get any of the games you don't want. But if it's a 5-game pack, and you want 6 games, you've got to get 4 more games that you wouldn't have bought otherwise.
Then you have to consider that getting games in packs only gives marginal savings (especially custom packs - extra infrastructure costs). Considering they're selling individual games at $5, if they were going to use bundles, I doubt they'd go as low as $3 a game. ---
Also, don't forget that setting all this up actually costs them money. They've got to pay for all the equipment (servers, etc.), the labour of setting up the equipment, maintenance on the equipment, development and bug testing of the emulators (more than just one) and the menu system, graphic designing, and implementing the purchasing system.
I'd also think that the other companies that hold rights to the games would like some money for making them available on virtual console, so you've also got to pay them, and track how many units of each game are sold.
For the record I agree with you. There shouldn't be two buttons.
However, If you look at the before picture, "Network ID" will bring you to a wizard. The other button should bring you to a proper networking config.
Now, in the after picture, by making it more "user friendly", I have no idea what those buttons are supposed to do. I assume they perform the same function as before.
I hate wizards, and Windows's obsession with them. They always come up when you don't want them to often screwing up stuff that already worked.
Wow, I was going to say that there's gain in buying a game system that runs F@H if weren't already going to get it. I've already got a computer to fill that role.
I mean F@H adds no extra value to the system, since you could just buy a PC and run F@H on it 24-7 for less than a PS3. In fact, you could probably get Wii with that too, and still pay less.
But with all the hate-replies you got, I'm glad I read your post before writing mine. Thanks!
No, the key to stopping AIDS is to disallow anyone with AIDS to do stuff that might transmit it. That means:
No sex; No injections; No reproducing (therefore no dirty babies with AIDS); No bleeding on people's open wounds; No getting cut on an object which may cut someone else; etc.
I understand you're issues with windows, and other GUIs always interrupting you. I have the same issues, but that's actually why I use KDE. I don't know what it was like back in the 2.x days, but I'm really happy with it at 3.5, and I'm looking forward to KDE 4.
A couple ways I've gotten the system to leave me alone are: a) don't show desktop icons (desktop behaviour); b) set focus to follow mouse (window behaviour) - no more clicking on windows to get back to them.
There are other features in KDE that I find really useful too. The most useful has to be what they've done with the maximize button. Left click= maximize. Middle click=maximize only on vertical. Right click=maximize only on horizontal. And they're all reversible at any time. It's perfect for larger screens and multitasking, or copying from one app to another.
A half hour exploring the control center can save much stress and frustration.
Sure, it may sound odd to say "I love Wii", or "I have a Wii", but in terms of syntax it works. Any native english speaker's brain should think "A noun refering to a third party has to go there. Therefore Wii is an object".
1. Almost every key on the keyboard is used for a command. 2. For some commands you need to use the shift key (w is wield, W is wear), or another modifier ie. ^D the d. 3. There are also extended commands where it's necessary to type # then the name of the command. 4. Inventory lists are long. I've had more than 26 items in my inventory before. 5. Why change the interface, and make it harder to play for experienced users?
It's true that you need to check every source for accuracy. In fact that is one of the main reasons essays and reports require citations - so that the information can be reviewed properly. I actually had a job in which all I did was collect the referenced material for written reports (to do with nuclear reactor safeties).
However, not all information sources are equal: Britannica has a large team to check all the information; newspapers have a smaller team of time limited fact checkers; Wikipedia depends on volunteers (with unkown competence); and/. has moderation points.
The problem I have with Wikipedia is that people are stupid. Which results in: -unqualified fact checkers; -heavily biased information; -unreviewed articles; -poor source information; -and people that use it as if it's a reliable source regardless of the above points.
There have been many times where, in a vain attempt to get more understanding for a topic, I checked wikipedia, and the information was wrong. Usually this would be for a university course, and the text book says something different. In other cases, the information was unusable, because it offered no insight into the equations it slammed in. Of course, I never fixed it, because I lack the time and competence required to correct it.
"Let me try to wrap my head around the point, starting with how it could be revolutionary within the realm of Final Fantasy games."
So half of what you said doesn't really matter. In terms of FMV, he did say that counted as revolutionary within the realm FF games, but not in the wider realm of all RPGs.
Finally you said:
"Well, you just alluded to itself in your prior paragraph; it's the level of immersion."
Since half that sentence actually makes no sense, I'll take it you meant, "Well, you just alluded to it yourself in your previous paragraph: it's the level of immersion."
First, immersion is the wrong word. The GP was talking about appeal to a larger audience, which is what you're also talking about. Immersion involves making the player more a part of the game. Games get a wider audience by making things shinier (this is not immersion).
If you listened to the DVD commentaries, you'd know that they actually had much more planned in the underlying plot of the series, but it got cut short. The final episodes were in no way a conclusion to the series.
To quote a friend from CSC who directed me to this: "see, the csc isn't allowed to use bittorrent; MFCF has a huge fit everytime we try." MFCF is essentially in charge of all the servers, etc. for University of Waterloo.
I currently attend UWaterloo (Mechanical Engineering), and I have to say, UWCSC isn't quite that bad anymore. Many of them keep proper hygiene - or at least rudimentary - and there isn't that unpleasant aroma any more.
No. of Games: I actually have more games (in number, and that I enjoy playing) on NGC than on PS2. I also have more for the N64. So, it's really the preference of the gamer. I only liked 3 of the games you listed.
WindWaker: I had fun, but was never a really big Zelda fan. Twilight Princess should fix that problem finally.
GBA and size of DS: Never had a GBA, but it was certainly the best handheld out there for a while. As for the DS, I don't think it's that big, personally. The main reason I'm getting a Lite is because my mom has started hogging my system, and we need another.
NGC Controller: In my opinion, this is the best controller out to date. SSB:Melee is also perfectly set up to play on it, it's essentially a 1 button game with 3 auxilliary buttons. I saw some people playing it on a projector on campus yesterday, because it's so good. That being said, I prefer playing MegaMan on playstation controllers because of the dominant position of the D-Pad.
So, it's all about personal preference, and a lot more people just happen to prefer the way Nintendo is doing things now.
"I dont know about some of you but I've beat almost every nintendo DS title in less than a week. It took me 2 days to beat the new Super Mario Bros, and i was playing at my spare time at work (spent 3rd day unlocking secret levels)."
"HUGE amount of content like Final Fantasy"
That's funny, I beat the New Super Mario Bros in an afternoon. That's because it's a platformer, not an RPG. NDS cartridges can also currently hold more than a CD.
As for final fantasy, I've beaten VII and X in less than 30h each cause they were just there -- I haven't played any others. Dragon Warrior 4 on the NES took me much longer than that (with no FMVs thank God), so more storage does not mean more time in a game.
On top of that, many NDS games are in the puzzle genre, which should not take that long to "beat".
Well, I myself will be 21 in a month, and I'm an NES fan. My brothers got one, and I'd play it. It's amazing how much time you've got to play Dragon Warrior when you're not in kindergarten yet (or just in kindergarten). We also got the SNES the day it came out, so I was playing that at about 7.
That being said, the GP is clearly talking about our parents. They were the ones saying 'he's playing nintendo'. We'd say we're playing video games on a sega, et cetera, because we knew all about what we were doing.
"Some have speculated that this patent could portend an instant messaging system for the Wii."
Remember the whole Connect24 thing? Part of the announcement said that you could start up your console after it was sleeping, and you'd see the messages and gifts (ie. files) from friends which were sent to you while you were away.
My brother has a few cameras like that. I think the ones he has are called Brownies, and were one of the first affordable cameras. I'm pretty sure they also use 35mm film.
One advantage of the design is that you can hold it against your body for more stability. It's also a more comfortable position in my opinion.
A friend of mine who's getting into photography has put a high priority on a screen that folds out in a similar fashion for her digital SLR.
The only problem with that argument is the how percievable the jump in graphics between those systems is.
I'm sure you have just as much or more experience with old video games as I do. I haven't played an Atari:( but I did grow up with Vic 20->C64->NES->etc. and I had a Colecovision up until 4 years ago.
So I think you'd agree that the differences in graphics and processor power were very noticible. I would say that it had a huge effect on gameplay back then (and the NES controller is clearly superior to the Colecovision).
The following comparison to sound tech should clarify:
Colecovision: Mono NES: Stereo SNES: Stereo, but with much better speakers N64/PSX: Early surround NGC/PS2/XBOX: 5.1 surround with varying cable qualities 360: 6.1 suround PS3: 6.1 surround, but with gold connectors Wii: Who knows
Slashdot Mirror
Well, if you're an expert drafter, chances are your gui is limited to popdown menus for when you forget a shortcut key or command. You might also have a puck and tablet to increase the room on screen even more. In the old days, people would often draft entire drawings using the keyboard, but now with object snaps and dynamic zoom/pan, it's faster to use the mouse.
Which brings up an interesting point. Too much focus is placed on making commands accessible by mouse really fast. More focus should be on making the interface and commands interactive.
Just recently, while formating a document in MS Word, I desperately wished to be able to select multiple sections at once. Another option would be a shortcut key for applying a style, or a format brush that allows you to copy a format multiple times (AutoCAD does this, why not word?).
In my opinion, the standard pack model is bad for consumers. There's always something you don't want in the pack, but you still have to pay for it, and it takes up space.
Custom packs are a little better, because you don't get any of the games you don't want. But if it's a 5-game pack, and you want 6 games, you've got to get 4 more games that you wouldn't have bought otherwise.
Then you have to consider that getting games in packs only gives marginal savings (especially custom packs - extra infrastructure costs). Considering they're selling individual games at $5, if they were going to use bundles, I doubt they'd go as low as $3 a game.
---
Also, don't forget that setting all this up actually costs them money. They've got to pay for all the equipment (servers, etc.), the labour of setting up the equipment, maintenance on the equipment, development and bug testing of the emulators (more than just one) and the menu system, graphic designing, and implementing the purchasing system.
I'd also think that the other companies that hold rights to the games would like some money for making them available on virtual console, so you've also got to pay them, and track how many units of each game are sold.
I think $5 is very reasonable.
For the same price as a PS3, you could go on a real safari!
For the record I agree with you. There shouldn't be two buttons.
However, If you look at the before picture, "Network ID" will bring you to a wizard. The other button should bring you to a proper networking config.
Now, in the after picture, by making it more "user friendly", I have no idea what those buttons are supposed to do. I assume they perform the same function as before.
I hate wizards, and Windows's obsession with them. They always come up when you don't want them to often screwing up stuff that already worked.
Wow, I was going to say that there's gain in buying a game system that runs F@H if weren't already going to get it. I've already got a computer to fill that role.
I mean F@H adds no extra value to the system, since you could just buy a PC and run F@H on it 24-7 for less than a PS3. In fact, you could probably get Wii with that too, and still pay less.
But with all the hate-replies you got, I'm glad I read your post before writing mine. Thanks!
No, the key to stopping AIDS is to disallow anyone with AIDS to do stuff that might transmit it. That means:
No sex;
No injections;
No reproducing (therefore no dirty babies with AIDS);
No bleeding on people's open wounds;
No getting cut on an object which may cut someone else;
etc.
I understand you're issues with windows, and other GUIs always interrupting you. I have the same issues, but that's actually why I use KDE. I don't know what it was like back in the 2.x days, but I'm really happy with it at 3.5, and I'm looking forward to KDE 4.
A couple ways I've gotten the system to leave me alone are:
a) don't show desktop icons (desktop behaviour);
b) set focus to follow mouse (window behaviour) - no more clicking on windows to get back to them.
There are other features in KDE that I find really useful too. The most useful has to be what they've done with the maximize button. Left click= maximize. Middle click=maximize only on vertical. Right click=maximize only on horizontal. And they're all reversible at any time. It's perfect for larger screens and multitasking, or copying from one app to another.
A half hour exploring the control center can save much stress and frustration.
Sure, it may sound odd to say "I love Wii", or "I have a Wii", but in terms of syntax it works. Any native english speaker's brain should think "A noun refering to a third party has to go there. Therefore Wii is an object".
Have you ever played nethack?
1. Almost every key on the keyboard is used for a command.
2. For some commands you need to use the shift key (w is wield, W is wear), or another modifier ie. ^D the d.
3. There are also extended commands where it's necessary to type # then the name of the command.
4. Inventory lists are long. I've had more than 26 items in my inventory before.
5. Why change the interface, and make it harder to play for experienced users?
It's true that you need to check every source for accuracy. In fact that is one of the main reasons essays and reports require citations - so that the information can be reviewed properly. I actually had a job in which all I did was collect the referenced material for written reports (to do with nuclear reactor safeties).
/. has moderation points.
However, not all information sources are equal: Britannica has a large team to check all the information; newspapers have a smaller team of time limited fact checkers; Wikipedia depends on volunteers (with unkown competence); and
The problem I have with Wikipedia is that people are stupid. Which results in:
-unqualified fact checkers;
-heavily biased information;
-unreviewed articles;
-poor source information;
-and people that use it as if it's a reliable source regardless of the above points.
There have been many times where, in a vain attempt to get more understanding for a topic, I checked wikipedia, and the information was wrong. Usually this would be for a university course, and the text book says something different. In other cases, the information was unusable, because it offered no insight into the equations it slammed in. Of course, I never fixed it, because I lack the time and competence required to correct it.
I just wanted to point out that the GP said:
"Let me try to wrap my head around the point, starting with how it could be revolutionary within the realm of Final Fantasy games."
So half of what you said doesn't really matter. In terms of FMV, he did say that counted as revolutionary within the realm FF games, but not in the wider realm of all RPGs.
Finally you said:
"Well, you just alluded to itself in your prior paragraph; it's the level of immersion."
Since half that sentence actually makes no sense, I'll take it you meant, "Well, you just alluded to it yourself in your previous paragraph: it's the level of immersion."
First, immersion is the wrong word. The GP was talking about appeal to a larger audience, which is what you're also talking about. Immersion involves making the player more a part of the game.
Games get a wider audience by making things shinier (this is not immersion).
Katey was on the late late show on Tuesday night, why did it take until Thursday night for this to get on slashdot?
/. within the hour of it being said.
I'm disappointed. I would expect this sort of news about Futurama to get on
If you listened to the DVD commentaries, you'd know that they actually had much more planned in the underlying plot of the series, but it got cut short. The final episodes were in no way a conclusion to the series.
To quote a friend from CSC who directed me to this: "see, the csc isn't allowed to use bittorrent; MFCF has a huge fit everytime we try." MFCF is essentially in charge of all the servers, etc. for University of Waterloo.
So, they would Torrent if they could.
I currently attend UWaterloo (Mechanical Engineering), and I have to say, UWCSC isn't quite that bad anymore. Many of them keep proper hygiene - or at least rudimentary - and there isn't that unpleasant aroma any more.
I remember reading an add for a motion capture bra in a 3D graphics magazine about 4 years ago.
Any one who's seen a Gundam series knows what'll happen when we make space colonies: melodramatic war between the colonies and earth.
Of course we'll first need massive armored suits and lazer swords, not to mention genetically engineered kids to fight our battles.
No. of Games:
I actually have more games (in number, and that I enjoy playing) on NGC than on PS2. I also have more for the N64. So, it's really the preference of the gamer. I only liked 3 of the games you listed.
WindWaker:
I had fun, but was never a really big Zelda fan. Twilight Princess should fix that problem finally.
GBA and size of DS:
Never had a GBA, but it was certainly the best handheld out there for a while. As for the DS, I don't think it's that big, personally. The main reason I'm getting a Lite is because my mom has started hogging my system, and we need another.
NGC Controller:
In my opinion, this is the best controller out to date. SSB:Melee is also perfectly set up to play on it, it's essentially a 1 button game with 3 auxilliary buttons. I saw some people playing it on a projector on campus yesterday, because it's so good.
That being said, I prefer playing MegaMan on playstation controllers because of the dominant position of the D-Pad.
So, it's all about personal preference, and a lot more people just happen to prefer the way Nintendo is doing things now.
"I dont know about some of you but I've beat almost every nintendo DS title in less than a week. It took me 2 days to beat the new Super Mario Bros, and i was playing at my spare time at work (spent 3rd day unlocking secret levels)."
"HUGE amount of content like Final Fantasy"
That's funny, I beat the New Super Mario Bros in an afternoon. That's because it's a platformer, not an RPG. NDS cartridges can also currently hold more than a CD.
As for final fantasy, I've beaten VII and X in less than 30h each cause they were just there -- I haven't played any others. Dragon Warrior 4 on the NES took me much longer than that (with no FMVs thank God), so more storage does not mean more time in a game.
On top of that, many NDS games are in the puzzle genre, which should not take that long to "beat".
Well, I myself will be 21 in a month, and I'm an NES fan. My brothers got one, and I'd play it. It's amazing how much time you've got to play Dragon Warrior when you're not in kindergarten yet (or just in kindergarten). We also got the SNES the day it came out, so I was playing that at about 7.
That being said, the GP is clearly talking about our parents. They were the ones saying 'he's playing nintendo'. We'd say we're playing video games on a sega, et cetera, because we knew all about what we were doing.
I have a feeling there will be a huge spike (DS Lite) on June 11th that will last for a few weeks.
"Some have speculated that this patent could portend an instant messaging system for the Wii."
Remember the whole Connect24 thing? Part of the announcement said that you could start up your console after it was sleeping, and you'd see the messages and gifts (ie. files) from friends which were sent to you while you were away.
My first computer game was played on a C64, or maybe Vic 20. It's been too long.
:)
Hey, maybe it would make a lot of sense if Commodore bought Nintendo
My brother has a few cameras like that. I think the ones he has are called Brownies, and were one of the first affordable cameras. I'm pretty sure they also use 35mm film.
One advantage of the design is that you can hold it against your body for more stability. It's also a more comfortable position in my opinion.
A friend of mine who's getting into photography has put a high priority on a screen that folds out in a similar fashion for her digital SLR.
The only problem with that argument is the how percievable the jump in graphics between those systems is.
:( but I did grow up with Vic 20->C64->NES->etc. and I had a Colecovision up until 4 years ago.
I'm sure you have just as much or more experience with old video games as I do. I haven't played an Atari
So I think you'd agree that the differences in graphics and processor power were very noticible. I would say that it had a huge effect on gameplay back then (and the NES controller is clearly superior to the Colecovision).
The following comparison to sound tech should clarify:
Colecovision: Mono
NES: Stereo
SNES: Stereo, but with much better speakers
N64/PSX: Early surround
NGC/PS2/XBOX: 5.1 surround with varying cable qualities
360: 6.1 suround
PS3: 6.1 surround, but with gold connectors
Wii: Who knows