nin wrote on Sep 28, 2012, 08:50:
Christ, did you guys wind him up again?

I get the impression you think I'm raging at the other end of the tubes here- I'm not.

It's more like I see a small core of snide folks that think they're smart enough to tell everyone else how to live; so I start flicking ice cubes at their heads to see if they're more than talk.

Anyhow,

The negativity on here even concerning games is huge. Meh, I'm done posting here- kudos to all those that exhibit a positive attitude about my oldest hobby.

Take care BN's- I'll be a reader of headlines/links still.

I'm thinking this is a strategy- like Metallica's last album- "We're sick and tired of this shit we want to go shopping."

jdreyer wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 17:12:

Matshock wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 11:18:

jdreyer wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 06:42:

Shorter Matshock: Why use the brakes?? We'll just stop anyway when we hit something!

I can purchase, maintain and use brakes as I need to just fine thank you. Brakes weren't invented by government command either- .gov didn't build that.

Here's my question- do you actually think you're part of setting command economy policy or do you only get to agree with the policies set by others?

Dude, equating smart regulation with the "command economy" like those of Soviet Russia is hyperbolic to the point of absurdity. But if you prefer your economy unfettered by regulations and laws, I hear Somalia is excepting citizenship applications. Let me know how your business ventures over there turn out.

inflation = smart regulation

I'm not leaving. I'm not obeying you- ever. Now what are you going to do?

Graham wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 13:51:

InBlack wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 11:02:

yuastnav wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 10:38:
"Certify minecraft for win8"?

What does this even mean?

It means that they want to turn Windows PC's into a closed system ala Apple's Macintosh computers.

All software has to be 'certified' by Microsoft before the OS will let it run. Microsoft will probably take this a step further as they will only allow digital copies of the software to be purchaed through their built-in app buying software. (again ala Apple's Itunes)

Sorry, we need to correct some ignorance here.

OS X is not a closed system. It has a gatekeeper that can be completely turned off. Software can be downloaded from the Internet, installed from third party apps stores, or even compiled yourself with free tools that are both included in the OS and available freely online.

The conduit for buying software as a digital download from Apple is the "App Store". iTunes is used for movies, TV shows, music, and iOS apps.

I expect better from a site frequented by people this close to technology. If you're going to talk shit about something, understand it first.

--Written from my Ubuntu installation on a self-built rig.

Then I *could* end up with OS XI instead of Windows in a few years.

I think the comparison is coming from iOS which is the bulk of Apple's sales and thus what people think about Apple.

Good correction though. Hopefully Apple sticks with that formula instead of closing up more just because MS does.

Or better yet everyone just migrates to Linux and comes up with a unified standard. Get the big hardware folks and game devs behind that and it could happen.

Or better yet MS gets off it and diversifies into modernizing the power grid or something useful.

NKD wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 13:08:
Minecraft works fine on Windows 8. Beyond that no one should give two fucks.

For now- they may implement licensing restrictions in the future so one day Mojang either does MS's certification process and passes the cost on to you or tells MS to piss off and all future releases of Minecraft won't work on Windows 8.

Patches slow down because they all wait on MS approval, indie titles get shut out, etc. etc..

I'd get on a video conference call and loudly proclaim- "I'll sell it for *dramatic pause* a bajillion quillion dollars!" with my pinky next to my mouth.

+1 not gonna happen

InBlack wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 11:02:

yuastnav wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 10:38:
"Certify minecraft for win8"?

What does this even mean?

It means that they want to turn Windows PC's into a closed system ala Apple's Macintosh computers.

All software has to be 'certified' by Microsoft before the OS will let it run. Microsoft will probably take this a step further as they will only allow digital copies of the software to be purchaed through their built-in app buying software. (again ala Apple's Itunes)

All in all first Gabe and now Notch, kudos to those two for saying fuck you to Microsoft.

It looks like Win7 will be my last Windows OS.

But but but I've been assured this was not going to happen!

Being fair MS hasn't fully implemented this yet but I bet they will.

I finally went to Windows 7 last month because I too will not ever install Windows 8 onto a personal machine even if it were free.

MS lacks the hardware acumen and student loan spendthrift brand equity that Apple has- this will be the kiss of death for MS.

Of course if Foxconn burns down in a riot Apple will be on the skids too...

jdreyer wrote on Sep 27, 2012, 06:42:

Shorter Matshock: Why use the brakes?? We'll just stop anyway when we hit something!

I can purchase, maintain and use brakes as I need to just fine thank you. Brakes weren't invented by government command either- .gov didn't build that.

Here's my question- do you actually think you're part of setting command economy policy or do you only get to agree with the policies set by others?

jdreyer wrote on Sep 26, 2012, 20:58:

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 26, 2012, 13:31:

Obama has already said he likes high gas prices, helps push his green agenda and ideas for creating things like carbon taxes for the manufactored global warming schtick the libs have going for themselves.

I like high gas prices. Gasoline is a dead end. Higher prices drive new technologies to get us to where we need to go. The run up in oil prices in 2008 is driving the current crop of hybrids and electrics. If not for that, we'd be seeing much less development and adoption. Despite that, the USA already has some of the lowest gas prices in the world outside of Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, where gas is heavily subsidized. And being forced to buy oil from regimes that hate us threatens our national security. Whatever you think of global warming, getting off of gasoline is good for a multitude of other reasons.

Yea for command economies!

pot=bad

gas=bad

meat=bad

sterility=good

war=peace

poverty=plenty

etc. etc. etc.

Fantaz wrote on Sep 26, 2012, 16:04:
This is very good news... My next car might be Tesla.

Another step- how many stations? How many outlets per station? Where are they? How much do they cost? What if it's raining?

I get the feeling unless you're living or working in a high rise in San Diego and just happen to have an odd hour lunch break where you sit and watch your car recharge this isn't going to happen soon.

Get 150 miles off of a 220V outlet in 30 minutes and you've got something real- even if it's a supercharge station you leave in your garage. After all this is just some kind of high efficiency capacitor.

As soon as it's economical I want to get an EV though and then a vanity plate that reads COALPWRD.

Jerykk wrote on Sep 26, 2012, 12:33:
*shrugs*

I really didn't think it was hard to find the $50 digital download on Amazon and the Ubisoft store. Took all of one minute.

But yes, Ubisoft does want you to buy the $60 version. If they didn't, they wouldn't have made it. Same thing applies to every other game these days since they all have deluxe editions, as well as pre-order bonuses. FC3's deluxe edition is cheaper than the norm, since most cost $70+.

Online marketing is one of my bags, what UBI is basically doing is:

a) push marketing the $60 PC version- look what happens when you search "far cry 3 pc" on Amazon-

Amazon Search

From that list it looks like you can either get a $60 digital copy or a $50 DVD- this is what got me.

b)using the $50 digital order as a catch for people who are digging for bargains and

c) trying to punish the folks from b) by withholding actual game content from the $50 product and thereby pushing again the $60 product

There's going to be some slip and slide between the channels in this strategy which is what happened to you, which is why IMO this is a convoluted and half-assed strategy.

This comment was edited on Sep 26, 2012, 13:22.

Jerykk wrote on Sep 26, 2012, 02:51:

Matshock wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 22:58:

Jerykk wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 21:50:

Matshock wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 16:36:
Amazon is listing $60 for digital. I see Dell is doing $50 though.

Huh.

Amazon was at 50 for XCOM EU DVD for a while then went to 60.

Pricing is all over the place for preorders these days.

The deluxe edition of FC3 is $60. Regular is $50. XCOM DVD is $60 because it has a bunch of physical goodies included. Digital download is $50.

I get all that- let's set aside XCOM.

UBI is:

a) charging $60 for digital delivery

b) withholding actual value content (missions, weapons) from the $50 boxed set that PC gamers don't want as a release product anyway AND it costs UBI more to deliver

They're pushing to $60.00- that's obvious. They're being half-assed about it like they are about their DRM.

If they push a non-deluxe digital version I'll retract but right now they're pushing $60.

Non-deluxe digital version

Or you can just buy the download version directly from Ubisoft: $50 Far Cry 3 digital download from Ubisoft store

I dislike Ubisoft as much as the next PC gamer but you really should do some degree of research before posting tirades.

Anywho, it's not exactly a secret that publishers are starting to abandon physical PC games in the U.S. A lot of games are digital-only these days, like Sleeping Dogs, Dark Souls, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, etc. A big reason for PC gaming's resurgence is the higher profit margin and long-term sales that digital distribution offers.

OK $50.

I will say that you have to manually select digital on Amazon's site and that UBI is giving one of the FOUR "optional" digital contents as pre-order bonuses on their own site which Amazon doesn't list on theirs. Amazon also lists that same content for XBOX & PS3 but not PC.

The only place you listed that gives the full picture for the PC is UBI's own website. Amazon is no slouch when it comes to content listing so there's something going there. Plus when I go to UBI's home page:

UBI Store

What's not there? In fact you have to click on the PC header (not any of the drop down items that appear when you touch the header, but the header itself ONLY) just to view it or get there through an external link and that path isn't easy either.

So, you want all the content and no hassles? $60.00. Is the art book even physical? If so doesn't that nullify the margin benefits of digital; if not aren't you really just paying for the full consent of the game itself?

They're still trying to push to $60- they're just doing a half-assed job of it.

Call it a tirade if you will but buying FC3 for PC is that complicated- it's a nice vehicle for debate but a poor one for sales IMO. I've got no desire to pre-order into that mess and I finished FC2 and enjoyed it all.

This comment was edited on Sep 26, 2012, 12:15.

Jerykk wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 21:50:

Matshock wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 16:36:
Amazon is listing $60 for digital. I see Dell is doing $50 though.

Huh.

Amazon was at 50 for XCOM EU DVD for a while then went to 60.

Pricing is all over the place for preorders these days.

The deluxe edition of FC3 is $60. Regular is $50. XCOM DVD is $60 because it has a bunch of physical goodies included. Digital download is $50.

I get all that- let's set aside XCOM.

UBI is:

a) charging $60 for digital delivery

b) withholding actual value content (missions, weapons) from the $50 boxed set that PC gamers don't want as a release product anyway AND it costs UBI more to deliver

They're pushing to $60.00- that's obvious. They're being half-assed about it like they are about their DRM.

If they push a non-deluxe digital version I'll retract but right now they're pushing $60.

Amazon is listing $60 for digital. I see Dell is doing $50 though.

Huh.

Amazon was at 50 for XCOM EU DVD for a while then went to 60.

Pricing is all over the place for preorders these days.

DangerDog wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 15:05:
I wonder how much consolitis this one will suffer from, far cry 2 didn't support fov adjustments, it was locked down to 65.

FC2 got a FOV mod not long past release.

This is a $60 game anyway- by the time it gets down to where I want it there will be a FOV mod if its not an option on release day.

bhcompy wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 14:46:
Is this game seriously threaded or something? In general, game performance seems to be better with Phenoms rather than Bulldozers because of better single core performance, which makes their high performance suggestion kind of odd

Agreed- UBI is a big publisher though, they tend to exaggerate system specs to be BFF with the hardware folks. Once upon time many "high end" games included a bump mapping mode that made everything look pitted and would only run smooth on whatever cutting edge CPU/GPU was out. It looked like crap, but you did need the recommended system specs to run it.

I went to an i3 3.3ghz recently- it's a big step up from my Phenom 9500.

I think the only time you need a big 4+ core CPU for games is when you're on a laptop because of clock throttling.

Beelzebud wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 13:35:
Yep I'm over it. Actually I'm over MMO's. No desire to play any of them, including GW2. To me, that is a victory. Wasted too much time on them as it is.

I tried Age of Conan- I really wanted to like it but grinding is boring any which way you cut it.

WOW sounds like it has a lot more content but I didn't/don't have the time for it and it has about run its course apparently.

Creston wrote on Sep 25, 2012, 13:48:
I'm glad Ubisoft is starting to come to its senses regarding its (hopefully former) DRM scheme.

Far Cry 3 is looking pretty damn sweet.

Creston

Yep, nice to see an evolutionary FPS with a protagonist.

I like the way they made the prey animals aggressive too- the fact is that IRL they injure/kill more people than predators do because people are dumb enough to think that they won't.

Wow Kung Fu Panda? The movies had to have been out before Blizzardvision made the decision to develop this. Weird.

Dev wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 16:06:

Titus wrote on Sep 24, 2012, 15:34:
Bit smallish for a 5G demo, basically 1 tutorial, one small level and a lot of cutscenes.

The cut scenes would be why. Movies folder is almost 4g out of the 5g.

Be careful of watching them directly from the folder. They are spoilerific, they even included the end game cut scenes.

They could have (and should have!) cut the distribution down at least in half if they got rid of those (dummy files would have been fine), plus avoiding spoiling the game's story weeks before its out.

I guess they figure the bandwidth is all on steam, but they forget end users sometimes have limited caps.

Thanks for the heads-up. Portal 2 was spoiled for me during that ARG when all the cut scenes went viral. I'm avoiding all things X-COM until I actually play it.