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| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=19671 |  xpax (24) Feb 20, 2008 - 12:27 pm
| The problem is quite simple. There are several reasons that so many people are migrating to consoles (even though the games aren't as good) but the main one is the ages old money issue. You don't have to upgrade your console every year to play the new games that come out.
If PC game developers quit treating their games as tech demos and instead focused on gameplay, things would be different. The other issue of course it cheesy ports from console games instead of proper dedicated PC versions.
A classic example of both of these problems, for me, was UT3. I've got a decent rig, but it's not enough to play UT3 at full resolution (1920x1200). I could overlook that.
The fact that it's obviously designed for consoles, I can't overlook. There are too many (primarily UI) features missing from previous iterations of the game for me to do so.
Which brings me to my final point, and I'm just as many people will agree as disagree with me on this one. The graphics detail levels are insane. Even with a system capable of handling it, UT3's environments are too detailed and it _really_ distracts from gameplay. Take TF2 as an alternative way to go. Runs on lower hardware, enemies are clearly visible, detail is kept to a level that beautifies but doesn't distract. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=19287 | xpax (24) Jan 28, 2008 - 05:39 pm
| | Perhaps Nvidia will offer a similar solution, ala the GX2 approach -- but watch out. Don't buy weird/nonstandard Nvidia boards -- I did, and I regretted it. I picked up a 7950GX2 when it was the hot shit, and then had to suffer with limited functionality (can't do dual monitors when SLI is enabled, rebooting is a PITA) and waiting forever for drivers (Vista was out 2 months before they released an SLI driver that supported the GX2). Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=17539 | xpax (24) Sep 24, 2007 - 06:57 am
| I think the box is nice. I'd like to see a more substantial bonus for this edition though. The 2K4 version came with a free headset for example.
And yes, of course, less children playing would be a bonus. But then again, that's why I haven't bothered with Xbox Live and stick with PC games in general. More adult crowd. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14871 | xpax (24) Apr 01, 2007 - 08:21 pm
| I recently heard an interview with one of the honchos at Sprint/Nextel and they were saying this phone is going to flop due to the price.
They said they'd sold a few million RAZR's, but when the price dropped to under $100 they were selling tens of millions (55m so far). This is typical of all phones, until the price is eminently reasonable, they won't sell very well.
I didn't buy my RAZR until I could get it cheap either (just because I'm cheap :). Part of the problem is that a fair number of people lose/break their phones fairly often and for those people, this phone would be absurd. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61707/308 | xpax (24) Mar 17, 2007 - 04:30 pm
| Couldn't you confirm this by plugging another (non-Logitech preferably) mouse into another USB port, then use mouserate to test that mouses responsiveness compared to the first?
If you have multiple mice, they can all work simultaneously.. so it's worth a shot. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14644 | xpax (24) Mar 13, 2007 - 05:58 pm
| Having been using PC's since the mid-80's, and honestly, I've copied my fair share of games. But from my perspective, they lost more money on piracy back then than they do now.
Back then, every game was a non-networked single player experience. These days, the only games I'm interested in playing are ones that are online in some manner or another.
For example, my main games today are all legit. HL2, UT2K4 and Supreme Commander. When C&C3 comes out, I'll buy it, as I will also buy UT3.
What I don't understand is how you'd go about pirating a game like UT2K4 which requires a valid CD key to play online. You might be able to steal someone elses key using a lot of work and while committing 4 or 5 other felonies in the process. Doesn't sound worth it to me.
Games like The Sims, sure, being a boring, tedious (it isn't even a game, for crying out loud) offline experience, I can see people copying that. Then again, I'd also not give a the tiniest crap if it were console only.
And those of you who say that requiring you to log in to play will reduce piracy -- it will only work if "logging in" provides some benefit. If it's just for the sake of copy protection, it'd be removed by the crackers. The only way it works is if it ends up taking something away from the game that gamers can't live with. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61803/126 | xpax (24) Mar 03, 2007 - 11:55 am
| Not bad. I agree that RTS should not be something to be considered by a TBS game series. If it works as TBS, keep it that way.
I love RTS games, SupCom, C&C3, etc. I've been playing them since the beginning.
And I do remember Krush Kill & Destroy, which was acronymized to KKND. It actually kept things rather simple, and we played it for a bit. Back then, though, my thirst for RTS was insatiable - these days I seldom have the time for a game that lasts for more than an hour.
In response to other posts, MOO and MOO2 were great games. Typically, I loathe the amount of time that TBS games like that take -- but the depth of the MOO series pulled me in. I remember playing multiplayer games that took many, many hours to finish.
I have to say though, that for multiplayer, I'd have to go with an RTS title every time. The frustration of knowing your next 3 or 4 moves, while someone you are playing with sits there hemming and hawing over his next move for 20 minutes is excruciating. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14465 | xpax (24) Feb 24, 2007 - 04:43 pm
| Vista is excellent. XP is outdated and no longer necessary on retail computers. You want/need a computer with XP? Get a nice custom configured one from a real retailer and stay away from the mass market Best Buy type junkpiles.
The only software that doesn't run on Vista is stuff that hooks into the kernel in ways it never should have, really old crusty stuff, and the general pile of crappily written apps. 90% of the software I use works perfectly, as does the software I've written. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=13799 | xpax (24) Jan 05, 2007 - 09:48 pm
| Yawn. Quit being so picky, people. It's not a big deal. And FS -- don't stop providing opinions. I like opinions, and as a person who isn't stupid, I can sort out fact from fiction on my own. I like to know what the people who write the articles think.
Personally, I'm certain that Blew-Ray will go the way of Betamax, Minidisc, Memory Stick, etc etc. Every time Sony attempts to introduce a format, it's only for one purpose -- to cash in on the IP gravy train. And for that same reason, they will always fail. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=13603 | xpax (24) Dec 18, 2006 - 05:23 pm
| I wouldn't bet the license fee would be lower for UE3. I would assume for a game like this, both Epic/id would forgo licensing altogether.
And the Unreal 2 engine saw plenty of competent modding (Make Something Unreal contest anyone?). There is no reason why that would not move to 3. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=13594 | xpax (24) Dec 17, 2006 - 09:31 am
| I'm not a smoker, but "strong link"? Put nicely, that is an exaggeration. More like superstition and a bunch of people who "don't like the smell". There have been few studies done that found any credible link, the (largest study) 1999 WHO study showed no statistical increase in risk to those exposed to SHS. The Germans understand this, they demand facts not fiction.
Also, a study of all the studies done found that many results have been suppressed. Any study which did not find a link were not published, because that wasn't the result the anti-smoking lobby was looking for.
It's an abuse of science at this point to definitively say there is a link. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=13449 | xpax (24) Dec 07, 2006 - 12:07 pm
| I will hold back on upgrading until Microsoft fixes what they've done to OpenGL on Vista. I understand they want to promote DX, but breaking OpenGL is hardly essential to that goal.
It's a shame too, because I feel that otherwise Vista is very slick. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=13449 | xpax (24) Dec 07, 2006 - 11:05 am » Edited on Dec 07, 2006 - 12:05 pm
| | Oh, it's a great thing. I've been upset recently that the PC games I play on the net only have a couple of lame 12 year olds playing and constantly being annoying/talking smack. I wish it were more like Xbox Live (where 90% of the players are Flag this | Edit this post |
| Screenshot Link » /media/gallery_index.asp/802 | xpax (24) Aug 01, 2006 - 05:56 am
| What, you mean like Warcraft 3 where you can't even see your units past all the dopey Nintendo-ish looking effects?
Looks great to me -- like they're getting back to what made C&C cool in the first place. Flag this | Edit this post |
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