Video games are business, very little art is solely art...

Release dates aren't legally binding... if you treat it like it is, that's YOUR own fault.

If you buy a video card that includes a game that hasn't been released yet, you should expect to receive the game when it comes out, and if you can't handle that, perhaps you shouldn't be purchasing that particular item

If you spent 200 bucks on Halflife thats your own fault...

Valve is a business, Halflife2 is a product... first and foremost that is how Valve has to treat their reality... because they have to report to investors, financers, etc... because they have a budget... it just so happens that Valve tends to support Halflife and it's community more than most, how many years have patches been coming out REGULARLY? SDK? etc? How many other companies have supported/hired talented mod-makers in a manner such as Valve? Name another game that comes CLOSE to all of the above in regards to Halflife, and is currently still being played like mad, still supported, more than 1/2 a DECADE after it's release!!!

Privaleges and rights people. Know the difference.

And you know what, if you don't like the facts, don't like the people involved, simply don't support the product... but then if the whiners were THAT mature, we wouldn't really have to be subjected to all this childish conspiracy theories and fat jokes now would we?

Consume, don't be consumed

I lived in China for over 1 year in Shanghai... the first thing you catch on quick is that the government rules through fear and intimidation (not in your face violence, though that HAS happened... but through threat and the lack of rights Chinese citizens have). The government also controls most media outlets, either directly or indirectly (again through fear - imprisoning journalists, restructuring supposedly non-government controlled media outlets, or outright shutting them down happens frequently there).

The Chinese have a huge national pride thing going now... with the 2008 Olympics, the 2010 World's Fair, the whole man in space missions, etc. Another way to increase national pride that the Chinese seem to like is by putting down other nations, pointing out flaws whenever they can... and then, completely ignoring their own. Alot of "journalists" over there jump at the opportunity to point out flaws in other nations, it'll get them in the good books with their country's leadership. Usually, its more of a governmental mandate. Its a good thing, though ABSOLUTELY nothing will come of it in a positive light for the freedom of Chinese media, that the lack of credibiliy in Chinese reporting gets shown to the world. I kind of doubt people realize how slanted their news media is.

It all seems to stem from the fact that Chinese culture seems to harbour a very TEENAGER type mentality... me first, nah-nah-nah-nah boo-boo, politeness is thrown by the wayside, lack of helpfulness (unless there is something for them to gain), etc... It only shows how rampant this TEENAGER mentality is when looking at the national level, you see the same type of characteristics...

Not that there isn't alot to love about China, there is! There's just sooo much NOT to like.... and UNLIKE the good old US of A, people there don't have the freedom to criticize their government, make fun of them, etc... whether you agree with me or not doesn't matter, I've looked into a normal, Chinese citizen's eyes while talking politics... and there was a HARD TO MISS difference between that and the eyes of an American when talking politics

I wanna play this game bad

I live in China

I don't wanna see connections like I had to Earth And Beyond

350ms (best) 3700ms (worst)... wide range of packet loss

so I'm hoping for some NON- North America servers, and a trial so I can see what my connection will be like, before shelling out 60-80 Canadian

sent an email to starwars@soe.sony.com

hoping

unfortunately I have to agree... videogames are a business, and unfortunately, its a very competative business... and the games that 3DO has released, while many being easily recognizable franchises, have been completely lackluster

i hope the best for all those involved, new jobs, etc...

but the simple fact is, sometimes you have to stir the pot, so the soup still tastes good

HP-UX????

lol, never even heard of HP-UX

lol, i love how l33t type makes it look like a serverly disabled person with only 2 fingers is typing, while being hung upside down

and like I said MULTIPLE OS, you assume 1 computer, was actually 3 different machines

ok though, don't feel like I'm missing much with such vocal supporters of it like cock climber

btw ManOfPorn is a band, I also like to see how people with little minds respond to it, thanks for taking part cock climber

I almost tried this game, but after returning the game for the 3rd time because it wouldn't install I gave up.

I tried both 2000 and XP.

My computer hates the French I think.

Anyone should be able to answer why Saddam shouldn't have any weapons of mass destruction. Because he'll use them... infact he has.

10 years or so before the Gulf War there was this thing called the Iran-Iraq war. Iraq showed then they were capable of using chemical weapons in a wartime situation. Not only that, the wartime situation was INSTIGATED by Iraq. Iraq invaded Iran during a time of "relative" peace between the two countries.

Then 10 years after that, Iraq invades Kuwait. I seem to remember something about oil fields being set on fire and causing HORRIBLE ecological damage. Hmmmmm.

After the Gulf War, the UN came up with the resolution for him to disarm. Now 12 years after that, the US has stepped up and finally said "Hey, this guy has had 12 years to comply, and he hasn't". Infact statements from 1 year ago have shown that Saddam was openly lieing to the world community about the weapons they now say they DO have. And the only reason they are "complying" to ANY extent now, is because the threat of force looms over Saddam.

Yeah, this is a guy who should remain in power.

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As for France, I'm sure economics comes into play in their yellow streak, BUT the biggest thing is that France has a pretty high muslim population. While the majority obviously aren't extremists, they don't want to risk the chance of upsetting their large muslim population. They like to look at the problem as, MUSLIMS vs USA, and that it isn't their problem. Well, Saddam's past actions speak louder than words. If not for the US, trust me, other nations WOULD consider Saddam their problem.

He proclaimed on national tv that in the last election he won 100% of the people's vote. :-| How happy do you think most Iraqi's are with him in power? Do you seriously think they have the option of voicing their opinion of Saddam if their opinion is ANYTHING other than adoration?

Sorry, Saddam to me is the biggest frickin blemish on the human race at the moment. I gets emotional about the turd.

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As for North Korea, how exactly is Kim a bleeding-heart liberal? I'm sure his friends and all the people directly beneath him receive preferential treatment. Infact, all the handpicked heads of the North Korean army are all friends of his. Sounds very humanitarian to me, I mean you would only stack the army so they are completely obediant to you if you were one of the greatest humanitarians on the planet. I'm sure the half of North Korea that are currently starving causes him to toss and turn ALL night.

I mean, it's obvious in how N. Korea is trying to escalate the situation by restarting more shut down facilities, test firing rockets into the ocean between them and Japan, that it's the best interests of EVERYONE that Kim is looking out for.

Kim's all about the bling-bling here people, he's trying to force the US into economic concessions at a time when the US is concerned with matters on the other side of the planet. He's a greedy little c_nt, plain and simple.

Beyond that, have you seen anything on NOrth Korean television lately? I have, because I'm living in SHanghai. You'd be surprised what the North Korean people are being told about the situation. How the US is escalating things, and so on and so forth.

The biggest problem I see with North Korea isn't that they'd actually use nukes against the US, they could only hit California. If they did attack, they'd hit Japan and S. Korea. But thats not in the cards. Hard to get rich that way if you are Kim. Nope, any weapons they develop will be going on the black market. Guess who's itching to get weapons of mass destruction?

I'll give you a hint. The majority of the world's muslims do NOT live in the Middle East. They live in South East Asia. The MAJORITY of extreme muslims are now in South East Asia (Malaysia, Phillipines, Indonesia, etc). Ready to guess yet?

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As for the whole Islam vs US issue, I saw an interesting CNN feature. They covered the Hadj (not sure of spelling), a holy pilgramige in the Middle East. They asked some of the pilgrims questions about the possibility of war in Iraq and what they thought about it. The response I heard the most, and thought the most ludicrous was:

"If you attack 1 nation of Islam, you attack ALL of Islam"

That reasoning is SCARY.

Why?

Because it shows how fanatical some factions of Islam are about the US. Because when possed the question "Well, if the above is true, then if 1 Islamic nation funds and harbors terrorists who kill innocent people, is ALL of Islam to blame?" they most assuradely would answer NO.

Either you are a coheisive whole or not. The US isn't fighting ISLAM. The leaders who are fearful of being ousted want you to believe that... and the SCARY thing is, most people seem to believe their leaders. But then, when your leaders control all of the news media, what else are you expected to believe (remember in the Gulf War, the US dropped pamphlets and radios).

---

Either you use the balls you got, and stop evil men like Saddam from becoming bigger threats now, or you deal with the consequences. Bush and Blair aren't helping their careers by their current stances are they? I'm sure the French leader is as well as the German. Blair and Bush have the balls to stand up and say, listen the current method of enforcing the policy in Iraq isn't working, they've had 12 years, enough is enough. In this respect they are showing themselves to be men of courage. A trait I find lacking in ALOT of world leaders right now.

Ack... I'll keep ranting and raving and be late for work if I dont' quit.

Yes, French Fries - Freedom Fries is hilarious. Just like Hamburger to Salisbury Sandwich in WW2.

And poutine is a CANADIAN creation, not French. And most Canadians don't like the French either, especially those who call themselves CANADIAN but seem to think they deserve special treatment. I spit on BILINGUALITY.

I spit - haockputwoo

Liberals and Democrats... different methodologies when it comes to SAYING what they'll do before they are elected... not so different after they are elected.

Definitely not so different when you consider where their campaign money mainly comes from.

It's like George Carlan said best, Americans have the illusion of choice when it comes to politics. But with only 2 parties? There are others, but never amount to a significant portion of the Senate. Yet ice cream shops have 32 different flavours.

That's why I dislike politics!!! Soft money... baaaahhhhhh!!!

A crook that steals and gets caught is a criminal. A crook that changes/makes the laws isn't. Hmmmmm

Waaaay off topic... late. Sorry...

Ok, its statistically thousands of times more likely to be killed by blah blah blah than by a legally purchased gun in the US. I agree...

Now refrase that... switched legally purchased to illegally purchased. Thousands of times more probably diminishes. To what degree? Definitely not as probable as cancer. Getting closer when comparing to car accidents and committing suicide though.

I just thought it was interesting that you had to use the word legally. Because I'm pretty sure the statistics show that criminals mainly don't use legal firearms. Thus any deaths caused by those wouldn't fit into the scheme.

However, to get off topic. The US does have really "ahem" lax gun control laws. Statistically speaking, comparing the number of premeditated and accidental deaths that occur in the US due to LEGAL firearms to MOST other countries of the world will show the US to have a higher rate of deaths.

The right to bear arms is in the Constitution. But remember, the constitution was written in the days when the expansion was still occuring... and there were hostile British, French, and Native Americans to deal with. Not to mention the fact that a normal situation for westerners then (westerners still mainly being to the EAST of the Mississippi) to be quite secluded. Having neighbours who lived miles away instead of next door.

To imagine that the US government going to enforce a police state and impose martial law and tattoo everyone's forehead is very foolish. The US government makes more money off the people the way it is now, than they would in any other form. They won't change the system unless its PROFITABLE. Yes, they do manipulate the US populace through propoganda and such... but you don't need a gun to resist those things... just a BRAIN!

There are some parts of the world where this doesn't hold true. Wartorn countries, developing countries, etc... but guess what... the US doesn't fall into this category!!! The US is the world's LARGEST consumer and spender. The highest (if not, then VERY close) standard of living!

Like I said, you don't have to worry about the US government taking that away from the US citizens... because to continue as is, the US needs the US population to continue spending as is. Which means freedoms will remain, as is. You only have other nations to fear really.

And guess what. You've got the US Armed Forces for that. The world's BIGGEST stick!!! Your hunting rifle won't do u much good. If the US is going to be attacked, it wouldn't be invaded. Very impractical now that Russia ain't the enemy (and the USSR is dissolved). The US would be hit with weapons of MASS DESTRUCTION.

Surprising the Constitution hasn't been changed from guns to radiation/biochemical/bacterial suits and bomb shelters or something.

Anyhoos, that's my 5 am rant... thank you... good night

Family... ok
Country... ok
World... ok

Extreme Sports (sky diving, race car driving)... maybe but then look at Lemmings, maybe to them, jumping off the cliff into they ocean is their version of Extreme Sports lol... when it comes down to it, these things are solely for personal enjoyment, I don't think alot of these people really acknowledge the impact their death would have on loved ones... I'm sure they wouldn't get a "rush" out of it

Video Games... ... ... do I need to answer this? How about dieing from playing Scrabble for too long, or Monopoly? The social implification of how "cool" the action is kinda makes a difference eh? (tack on to the Extreme Sports)

Though like many people say, in nature, this would be considered nature's "thinning of the herd"... which, no offense, to me sounds all the better... if the gene or trait of "playing video games to the point of death" was passed along my gene pool, I'd be VERY ashamed!

Environment definitely makes the difference here...

in Asian... MOST people cannot afford their own computer, let alone an internet connection for their home... the distinction between the rich and poor in Asia is MUCH worse than that of North America... on the same street you'll see someone who just payed 500 US for their lunch, and another guy that hasn't eaten in a week!!!

that being said, LAN cafes in Asia are MUCH different than those of North America... first they are CHEAP!!! 1-2 yuan / hour in China (thats less than 20-50 cents per hour US). Second off, LAN cafes are 24 hours. Third off, they are busy... CONSTANTLY... you will NEVER see a LAN cafe in Asia less than almost full! Fourthly, safety guidelines in Asia (some countries being ok, others being HORRIBLE) tend to lack.

This all added to the fact that for Asians (teens to early adults) there IS NOT a lot to do ... in China I've had people tell me this is what they do regularly... stay at home, play cards/majohng/etc with friends, go out drinking with friends (in this order) due to cost and work restrictions... well, that makes cheap gaming where you don't have to be constantly buying exotic coffees damn alluring... not to mention CS played over here like CRAZY!!!

In alot of Asian countries just because you are in a crowded environment, doesn't mean you are safe from not hurting yourself through neglect... most LAN cafe owners could care less here about your health and wellbeing as long as you are paid up... and everyone else around you is too busy with CS.

Heck, in Beijing, a LAN cafe full of over 30 people burnt down, killing EVERYONE inside of it about 3-4 monthes ago.

Unfortunately, things like this, especially for Asian countries won't be changing very soon... most Asian countries are the Wild West of stories... lawless and unsafe, but will stay that way because there is money to be made with it in that state.

Heck I used to think hardcore gaming was me getting giant sized blisters on BOTH thumbs the day I purchased Tekken 3 for PS...

Common sense you ask? Whats common? Common for North American or for Asia? They are too different things! Believe it or not! Yes, thats paradoxical, but thats life. Trust me, until I actually started living in Asia, things like this would shock me... now, I just shrug and say, "that's Asia"

when I try to install the demo i get the following message window:

"Could not initialize installation. (CRC)"