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NEWS 625 - 33 Comments
From: Jackzilla Entered on: March 24, 2009 4:20 PM
I find issue with your definition of whore.  Where does sniper factor in?  Them's the whores! Pretty cool that this can all be tracked.  Although stats can be misleading, that's for sure.  It's too bad private games aren't tracked. Badness called me complaining about the Gears 2 update making everything laggy.  Is that true, or did he just have a bad night?  I haven't played in a few days (and won't be on tonight either... sorry, kids!).
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 24, 2009 6:43 PM
Jack, I agree with you about the Sniper stat.  There are definitely stats I didn't process, but I'll do some more in the next few days.  I need to check again, but I don't think they actually differentiate sniper kills.  I think those are just considered headshots, which you can also have with the torque, shotty, pistol... pretty much anything. My definition of 'whore' is just getting a kill on auto-pilot.   I don't mean that in a negative way, but once you lock-on with the saw, or tag with the grenade, your work is done.  Even with the Hammer of Wang, you need to aim and move it around a little.  Besides, to be honest, I just picked that stat because Bunky was at the top of the list :) Though at the last minute, numbers weren't quite adding up. Turns out, they don't really consider the chainsaw a weapon.  Most of us have hundreds of chainsaw kills, but our favorite weapons are lancers or shottys (except Bunky--'nade whore :P) The update was today, so I don't think he would have had problems last night.  Even so, I'm guessing the lag is from people downloading the update, not necessarily from what the update is doing.  And I believe after a major update, the game cache gets rebuilt--textures, models, etc. have to be reloaded to the cache to be quickly accessed during gameplay.  Give it a few days and it should even out.  I played with some douche-nozzles this afternoon who were bitching about the update, which makes me think I'll like the update.  Any update that alienates the 1337 gamerz is ok in my book.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 24, 2009 6:44 PM
I do think we need to have a word with Bushy about where he got his controller mod though :)  That's a LOT of reloads, and a frackin' HUGE number of 'perfect' reloads.
From: Bunky Entered on: March 25, 2009 8:14 AM
I can't defend my Bunky Whore status, but as for Pigtails, it is misleading because I only have minimal games on that account! I do love frags, I can't help myself!
From: BigFatty Entered on: March 25, 2009 1:01 PM
Hmmm... this might be the industry breaker.  I don't know more than what is in the article.  Watch-out if it is as good as they say it is! http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/new-tech-could-make-consoles-obsolete/1299562
From: Ross Entered on: March 25, 2009 1:53 PM
I read that too. Interesting idea - moving gaming to the cloud just like other forms of computing.  In a way, those shitty hotel gaming systems already do this - just not nearly as impressively.  If you think about it, this kind of gaming is probably inevitable and will probably largely displace high-end hardware in the home, the same way netbooks and cheap PCs are beginning to erode regular laptop and desktop sales.  The question is how much... and my guess is that it will just come down to cost.  If you can successfully launch a subscription based service that will let you play Gears 2 every night for a buck or so each time, or say, a few cents per game, you might have a viable business model.  But my guess is that it will be a while until it's that cheap.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 25, 2009 2:35 PM
Yeah, someone just sent me this.  I don't know how well it will scale to millions of users though.  You also have the offline market to consider.  Some of us DO actually play games by ourselves.  I think the industry (gaming and computing alike) is getting ahead of itself with regard to cloud computing.  They are anxious to sell us on a subscription-based service because it makes for a better revenue stream.  I attended a dog & pony by Microsoft about the Azure cloud.  What it amounts to is you paying them not only to use applications and only 'pay for what you use' (i.e. pay for each app you use, each time you use it, every time you use it), but their language on some of the preliminary use-rights propaganda makes it sound like you'll get to pay them to run the programs you write. You can have my stand-alone gaming box when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.  Give me a call on Thursday.
From: Ross Entered on: March 25, 2009 2:40 PM
Why wouldn't this model work fine for solo-based games as well?  Anyway, you have a point - if the companies running the services gouge you, it just won't be worth it - that's kind of my point too.  If it's still a better deal for the consumer to pay $300-400 for a console and then $50 apiece for games, plus $50/year for the online service (given their particular level of usage), then this kind of subscription-only service shouldn't take off.  But my guess is that the way the technology is moving will ensure that it eventually does.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 26, 2009 8:46 AM
I could work for solo games, but what if my connection is down or if I'm traveling and want to take it with me? The one thing it would help with is host-based exploits.  If we're all remote, no one has the host advantage! It also seems like you'd see a longer period between major system generations.  When the consumer is footing the bill for the hardware, you can get the majority to bite every 4-6 years.  If we have to upgrade all the hardware for all our subscribers all at once?  Meh.  We can stretch our usage to 10 years.
From: NickNick Entered on: March 26, 2009 9:02 AM
All I can picture is this floating cloud of megabytes that we reach out and grab when we need to, and then pay the bill at the end.  Maybe I should be thankful I've fallen off the techno wagon.  It's too confusing to me now.
From: Ross Entered on: March 26, 2009 10:11 AM
If your connection is down, you're hosed, true.  But I think that's a tradeoff that will be increasingly worth it over time.  Taking the long view, though, I don't agree about the lag between generations.  I'm envisioning something where the hardware on the client end is nothing more than a glorified tuner (this is probably not yet what this current thing is) and so you're mostly just streaming the video over the net.  Granted, our internet pipes are not fat enough for this yet.  Some of the rendering may be done locally, but I figure that over time, less and less of this will be the case.  So eventually, you'd have seamless upgrades, and the concept of a "generation" of the hardware would be meaningless, as it would be mainly incremental upgrades on the server side.  So I view this device as a transitional form, on the way to getting us to that ideal.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 31, 2009 11:28 AM
Sorry Ross, I knew just after I posted my comment that it would probably be read that way...  When I said "...upgrade all our hardware for all our subscribers..." I meant it from the content-provider's perspective.  Obviously, the rendering needs to happen somewhere, server-side, or client-side.  If it's client-side, as it is now, the gamer is paying for the hardware--simple.  If you're removing that burden from the gamer, you're going to need the hardware to do that for them.  If you consider the infrastructure needed to process millions of gamers simultaneously, any major (i.e. generational) upgrade is going to require you to replace the entire thing.  Arguably, there are minor upgrades, adding processors, etc. that might stop-gap between major revs, but since core architectures change so often, I don't see it as a viable plan.  Sure, I can add a faster processor, ram, drives, etc., but they all have to be within the same architectural generation--4Ghz Pentium to 4.1Ghz Pentium, fine.  But adding a 5Ghz Pentium requires a different socket type, which requires DDR4 RAM running at 1.2Ghz (or whatever).  Minor upgrades are ok, but major upgrades will be costly enough for them to delay as long as they can get away with.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 31, 2009 11:34 AM
Interesting:  I was reading the Gears forums to find out some information about lag and ran across a guide on how to play Horde so you get higher scores--not that I care about my horde score, but I'm interested in the mechanics of the game/AI/etc.  Interesting section about shields and their lifecycle, since they seem to disappear between rounds: You have exactly 15 seconds from the start of the wave to save as many shields as you can. Generally, the more shields, the better. (note, this is not the case with heavy power weapons like mortar and mulcher which require to be held by you from seconds 13 - 17 to ensure they stay for the new wave) It's assumed you're going to camp.  According to the article, if you don't camp somewhere on the map, you won't make it to level 50... ever.  Lots of good tips.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: March 31, 2009 1:40 PM
Also applies to Horde mode: 1. A downed locust can revive himself. 2. A locust at any given moment can disappear and reappaer somewhere else on a map. 3. You can be killed by splash damage from a boomshot while you are in complete cover. 4. In waves 40+ sometimes you get a half second bleedout and die less than half a second after getting downed. (especially true when you get downed by Grinders. This is a bug) 5. You CAN occasionally get headshotted (instant death by sniper) by a sniper that can aim with perfection while running at full speed. 6. Enemies CAN kill you from a distance while you are down (Warzone rules). 7. You can die without ever getting downed from non one-shot kill weapons that the locust use. 8. Cyclops can chainsaw you through the shield while you are blocking with a shield.
From: Ross Entered on: April 1, 2009 7:38 AM
I just happened across this blog posting about the whole OnLive/Cloud gaming thing.  The guy has a lot of interesting things to say. He does a decent job of showing how challenging this would really be to do well. As for your point about upgrades, I think the guy in the article says what I was thinking: you don't have to throw out hardware to upgrade, you just run older games on it.  ie, new games get the new hardware, and you peg a game to a "platform" - but the end user never really has to be aware.
From: Ross Entered on: April 4, 2009 10:05 AM
Speaking of gaming, for those with iPhones / iPod touches, I just got this and it's sweet: It's the full original game, and the controls work surprisingly well.  Brings me back to high school... They say DOOM is coming soon!
From: The Bone Entered on: April 4, 2009 10:00 PM
I finally broke down and got the iphone. I resisted long enough but between the GPS and all the useful aps, plus the ability to check my email at work all day was worth being a conformist little bitch. On a side note, I saw a guy in his mid to late 20s, sporting a green flight suit with USA patches, a belt (not worn on a real flight suit), tucked into combat boots and a big ass XBOX backpack with his 360 no doubt tucked away inside. He was at the mall waiting for the toy store/video game store to open. He clearly was not in the military and at first glance, I thought he was waiting to start a Columbine style rampage because who the hell wears a get up like that at the mall? Well there is one type, a Super Dork of America! The kind of guy that most likely diddles Dr. Octopus, I mean Robot Spider, during Gears of War. Good stuff.
From: Bunky Entered on: April 5, 2009 11:42 AM
Did you take a picture with your new iPhone?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: April 6, 2009 9:44 AM
Bunky said: Did you take a picture with your new iPhone?   Bunky, are you looking for "bern pern" again?  I believe Bone has already told you before:  You show you yours, he'll show you his.
From: Bunky Entered on: April 7, 2009 10:36 AM
Jack, this forum is for cell phone owners only. You are going to have to excuse yourself!
From: Ross Entered on: April 7, 2009 3:44 PM
I still can't believe he has a bluetooth-enabled car and no phone with which to use it...
From: Jackzilla Entered on: April 7, 2009 4:29 PM
Come on, now Bert:  Certainly it's no worse than having an Xbox 360 with Gears of War 2 and not playing it, right?  :P Sorry Bunky... I'm leaving now!
From: BigFatty Entered on: April 7, 2009 4:34 PM
Dude - You would not know Bluetooth if it bit you.   HAHAHAHA nerd humor.
From: RobotSpider Entered on: April 8, 2009 6:23 AM
The Bone said: I finally broke down and got the iphone. Having taken a few driving trips with the iPhone, I have decided that I'm going to end up with a Garmin or Tom-Tom at some point anyway.  The gps is ok, but loses signal/stops routing often enough to be irritating.  I created a map online--Google Maps-- and had modified the route a bit, but when I sent it to my phone it wouldn't accept the changes to the route.  The gps features aren't bad, but I wouldn't rely on them.  Also, I paid 4.95 for an app that would improve the gps mapping.  It allows cached maps for offline use, better waypoint entry, and a few other tools the built-in app doesn't have.  Despite the fact that they have a realtime map, and it will do coordinate routing, apparently they won't allow an app developer to implement turn-by-turn driving directions because it competes with their app.  Yeah, Apple is a big friendly coorporation that knows what their consumer wants--nearly 50% of the time.  The other 50% of the time, they lock it down so tight it'll turn your nuts blue--sorry, it'll turn your iNuts iBlue. iForgot.
From: Bunky Entered on: April 8, 2009 9:04 PM
It's a good thing Angie is driving the Prius to work during the week so someone will make use of the bluetooth! As for the GPS on the iPhone, I have it in my work car so I never use it. However, I have the Pandora Radio app and use it all the time when driving. I have an auxillary plug in my dash so I can connect my phone to it with the cable and listen to Pandora while I drive.  For those of you who have not used Pandora, you type the artist name in and it will select and play songs based on the same Genre as the artist you choose.
From: Ross Entered on: April 9, 2009 8:31 AM
That's pretty sweet.  I have the Pandora app but does it work only on wifi and 3G?  I have the first generation iPhone, which has a pretty slow network speed. So I usually stick to music or podcasts I already have on my iPod/iPhone. However, I do have a pretty kickass iPod integration in my car.  I got a unit that does a digital hookup directly into the stereo and lets you control the iPod using the stereo controls, as well as charge it.  It was exactly like this guy's step by step DIY guide.
From: The Bone Entered on: April 11, 2009 11:51 AM
My biggest complaint with my Toyota is it doesn't have a jack to plug in an ipod/iphone. It's a 2007 for fucks sake! You would think by then they would have made it standard on every vehicle in the universe. The radio stations in Hawaii are 10 times shittier than the ones in Mayberry, North Carolina so I'm motivated to get some good tunes. I was going to replace the head unit but might go the route Bert posted. Seems pretty cool.  The GPS in the iphone isn't spectacular but it's good enough for my purposes. Robot - this $4.95 app you downloaded....what does it do exactly and is it worth it?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: April 11, 2009 5:15 PM
The Prius has a ipod plug, but I having no ipod dig the mp3/wma compatibility better.  I can burn a cd with 6-12 albums (in mp3/wma format) and all of a sudden my 6-disc changer has 100 albums!  And I can navigate through the touch screen... thumbs!
From: RobotSpider Entered on: April 13, 2009 11:09 AM
The Bone said: The GPS in the iphone isn't spectacular but it's good enough for my purposes. Robot - this $4.95 app you downloaded....what does it do exactly and is it worth it? The app has a few more traditional GPS features--compass, heading, etc.  It can also save tracks.  You can set waypoints along your route and save/load them later.  One of the biggest reasons I got it was because it will cache maps for offline use--you know when you're using google maps and every time you reposition the map, it has to re-download?  With this, you can set the amount of local storage space to use for maps.  I was hoping it would give me turn-by-turn routing along with the cached maps.  It makes for a nice realtime, overhead map, but without the ability to route between addresses, it's a bit limited.  Also, and I need to do some research to confirm this, but I believe it actually uses GPS, as opposed to the terrestrial-based towers, to locate your position data.  When it starts up, it actually searches for satellites, but will work 'offline' if it can't locate them.  Only works on G3 version, according to the documentation, since it has a newer chipset.  App is called MotionX-GPS.  Might be a free-trial, I don't know.
From: Ross Entered on: April 13, 2009 11:40 AM
Yeah, I have a first generation iPhone and I can confirm that I do not have GPS in mine.  Its positioning does use towers and as such is quite inferior.
From: The Bone Entered on: April 13, 2009 11:24 PM
I decided to go the USA Spec adapter route. A tad pricey to get it installed but the plastic shit around my head unit looks way more complicated than the Pilot so I figured I'd pay some expert ninjas a hundo to install and save me the grief. I almost got the head unit replaced with a bad ass video capable bitch but at $900 I thought better of it.
From: Ross Entered on: April 14, 2009 9:53 AM
Yeah, I don't understand people with the video players in their dash.  It's illegal to drive with it on anyway, so what's the point?
From: Bunky Entered on: April 14, 2009 9:32 PM
When I am driving, Pandora runs off my 3G. I can't listen to regular radio, they only play the same songs over and over. My work car is 2008 and has the aux plug. I should have enough miles by the end of the year to get a new 2010, and I am hoping it has the USB plug. My husband has the same complaint on his Tundra, Bone. I used to use the iPod adapter in my old work car and the aux cable is much clearer. My Dad's car has the video in the dash, and the screens in the back, but it only plays on the front screen when you are in park. When you are in reverse it shows the back up camera, and when you are driving it can be the touch screen for XM radio or navigation. I guess since all those soliders died in Iraq so he could buy his car, it might as well have some nice safety features so he doesn't kill Americans whilst driving and watching DVD's. Jack, WTF? Let Bells or someone with some modern day technology (i.e., cell phone, iPod) ride in your car so all the extras you paid for get some use! It's like owning a XBOX and not having LIVE!