Cutter wrote on Feb 22, 2020, 13:00:
Russia helping Bernie? What a crock of shite. Trump and Moscow Mitch already work for Putin, there's zero gain in helping Bernie become Prez.

Beamer wrote on Jan 23, 2020, 09:38:
As annoying as the China censor-creep into Hollywood is, it's far less that the sinister Chinese government is forcing anything or funding anything, and far more that the Chinese box office for blockbusters is generally 50%-150% of the US box office.

If you're a cynical, publicly traded company producing cynical products designed to appeal to the widest audience possible, this means having to enter China. A $200MM movie will make its money back faster if it doesn't ignore 30% of the global market.

So they avoid anything the Chinese censors will dislike, and often add something the Chinese audience will. Not doing so means missing hundreds of millions of dollars. And it isn't as if we have many movies being made for art or creative purposes anymore. There isn't a whole lot left out there other than giant blockbusters carefully crafted to appeal to literally every single human being on the planet. It's why I find TV much more satisfying (also, it's why network television blows.)

Slashman wrote on Jan 22, 2020, 17:09:

jdreyer wrote on Jan 22, 2020, 16:21:
While every Chinese company has to do what the government tells them, I haven't gotten the sense that Tencent is particularly beholden to or controlled by the CCP. I oppose consolidation as a general rule, so I think this acquisition isn't good, and you'll find me a constant critic of the Chinese government on this forum. That said, Hollywood catering to the Chinese market is a trend that will continue, IMO.

Yes it may seem that Tencent is not beholden to the CCP...until the CCP asks them to do something or allow something and they comply.

The problem isn't Chinese people. I have a few Chinese friends and Chinese people have been residents on the island for as long as I can remember. The issue is that these common folk have no power to fight back against a government that still dabbles in forced organ donations and "reeducation camps". Well that's not exactly true...collectively they could fight back but it would take a hell of a lot to make them move in that direction.

This makes it hard to trust ANY Chinese based company because they ultimately do not answer to anyone else except their authoritarian government.

jdreyer wrote on Jan 22, 2020, 14:46:

Blue wrote on Jan 22, 2020, 14:28:

PHJF wrote on Jan 22, 2020, 12:57:
So we watched Godzilla Saturday (my gf’s idea), and while the whole movie was tremendously fucking awful, the thing that stuck out most was the shoehorning in of a totally random Chinese character. My first instinct was wow this must be a Chinese-backed movie... and sure enough it is.

Yes, shoehorning a character from a giant media market into a Godzilla movie just to appeal to a wider audience is an unprecedented catastrophe.

LOL.

Skull Island had a Chinese character, as did The Meg, and both of them were fun romps. When a movie is bad, it makes like actor and product placement stick out. Still hard to blame them for wanting to appeal to a market of 1.4B people. Also, hooray for more Asians in Hollywood films. We've come a long way since Long Duk Dong.

Cutter wrote on Jan 19, 2020, 16:53:

jdreyer wrote on Jan 19, 2020, 16:27:

Cutter wrote on Jan 19, 2020, 14:16:

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Jan 19, 2020, 13:06:
Now we have confirmation from Amazon that not only did it licence Lumberyard to CIG (which was publicly known) but also CryEngine, meaning that CIG cannot be in breach of the GLA with Crytek. Not that Crytek's claim had any merit, as the GLA specifically included Star Citizen AND Squadron 42.

Crytek attempted to extort CIG and now it looks like it will be on the hook for over $500,000 in legal costs, possibly a lot more. Crytek should be focused on paying its own employees rather than filing baseless lawsuits that will create even more of a blackhole in its finances.

Are you privy to the original contract between Crytek and CIG? If not than how would you possibly know? All I've seen is the usual convoluted mess of their PR people engaging in he said/she said.

Haven't they been releasing the contract text? I could have sworn I read some of it last year.

Since when are contract specifics public knowledge? Anywhere? All I've read since this bullshit began is claim vs. counterclaim - same as any public dispute - that's long on claims and short on actual facts.

chickenboo wrote on Dec 12, 2019, 19:36:
Good Op Ed, but it boils down consumer backlash to noisy racists/trolls, labelling all dissenting opinions about the EGS to the association with a few noisy rude loudmouths on twitter. It's like labelling all of the protesters in Hong Kong as dangerous radical looting rioters because a few bad seeds are present.

The arguing against EGS definitely comes off as petty - it's just a store front, big deal - but games sold on Kickstarter guaranteeing Steam keys and then suddenly taking EGS exclusivity deals while riding the association with the Steam store front is pretty misleading and bad practice. Ditto Metro Exodus who announced two weeks before launch that they're going EGS Exclusive, the backlash for that is pretty deserved, and despite there being a lot of horrible direct abuse and attacks which are never warranted, there's a hell of a lot of decent, reserved commentary on why this is a bad thing. It's pretty annoying that this Op Ed glosses over that in favor of portraying every game consumer with the same rabid/troll/racist/pigheaded paintbrush.

The 88/12 deal is fine for producers but the argument it will lead to more and better games is simply misleading. It's like when businesses say that any increase in taxes represents one less employee that could be hired, implying they would have hired extra people if they had the money, not that that ever really happens. Look at Mechwarrior 5 Mercs: the game just released, it's riddled with poor grammar, spelling mistakes, the story is some weak revenge tale with one dimensional characters who don't even more, they just stand there stock still. From what I've read the missions are dead simple and don't offer branching paths that even MW2 Mercs managed to do (complete your contract with A or do what B suggests and get double the payout). You mean to tell me this developer took the EGS payout, and this is what we get? How do you release a V1.0 with grammar and spelling mistakes? I thought 88/12 split was supposed to improve the quality of games.

Until we get clear proof from developers of what they were able to achieve with the generous EGS earnings split and a demonstration of what would have been left off the table without it, why should I believe them that it's in MY best interests to buy from this store, that exclusivity is worth it? And when/if Steam eventually meets the 88/12 split... are we going to see these fabled lands of better games now that devs get 18% more, or will it be status quo...

Luke wrote on Nov 26, 2019, 08:20:

Choobeastia wrote on Nov 25, 2019, 20:27:

Thakk wrote on Nov 24, 2019, 14:45:
I've dropped about $1k on the promise of CR's vision. I hope it comes to fruition. I'm fine with the spent funds. Will I be contributing anymore funds in the short-term? No. I've given enough. If/when the IP ships, that's when I'll determine to give more.

As a former Project Manager of software developers, I've been having a blast following the ups and downs and I've met some great people along the way. I know all to well the JIRA jargoon and Project Manager speak they've incorporated these past few years. It's a slog, no doubt about it, especially with scope creep. I wish them the best of luck.

Ahh a believer....never fails to make one laugh , keep telling to youself and it will be true...in ya head 350$ sick


Are you sure you're on the right webpage? My impression was that people were only allowed to call it a scam, joke about it never coming out, or act like it's their duty to love it around these parts. *offers a map*

All jokes aside, I agree. I'm not in as far as you (about $350 here), but I don't have any regrets. I enjoy watching the progress, and it's been a blast seeing different components come online. SOCS is a huge one, and I look forward to when that blossoms into Server Meshing.

GinRummy wrote on Nov 25, 2019, 10:35:
For all the millions of words argued about this game so far, nobody ever actually talks about the state of gameplay in it. Is it an empty solo place? Are there people, quests, enemies, planets, etc. yet even in beta form? What is coming soon and is it actually worth trying the demos now? I suppose I could install it myself and see, but that's work others could do and just tell me.

Cutter wrote on Nov 24, 2019, 17:29:
And each one of those virtual ships is available to you for only several thousand dollars a pop! What a bargain!!!

Thakk wrote on Nov 24, 2019, 14:45:
I've dropped about $1k on the promise of CR's vision. I hope it comes to fruition. I'm fine with the spent funds. Will I be contributing anymore funds in the short-term? No. I've given enough. If/when the IP ships, that's when I'll determine to give more.

As a former Project Manager of software developers, I've been having a blast following the ups and downs and I've met some great people along the way. I know all to well the JIRA jargoon and Project Manager speak they've incorporated these past few years. It's a slog, no doubt about it, especially with scope creep. I wish them the best of luck.

MeanJim wrote on Nov 15, 2019, 22:37:
Even if I were interested, it would be a no buy for these reasons:

3rd-party DRM:
* Denuvo
* EA on-line activation and Origin client software installation and background use required.
* Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account (Supports Linking to Steam Account)

Darks wrote on Oct 20, 2019, 18:56:

Choobeastia wrote on Oct 20, 2019, 12:44:

BIGtrouble77 wrote on Oct 20, 2019, 02:32:

Darks wrote on Oct 20, 2019, 02:13:

BIGtrouble77 wrote on Oct 19, 2019, 21:35:

Darks wrote on Oct 19, 2019, 19:02:
Freed huh? yea, there is nothing free about this POS game. its all locked behind DLC. Cost you 20 times more to unlocked everything then it would have to just buy the game. Screw that BS!!!

It's funny that everyone that doesn't play this game has this opinion, while the rest of us that do play the game like the DLC policy.

And you are exactly why these shit heel publishers do the shit they do. You must be so proud!!

Even with all the DLC paid at full price, my price per hour played is ridiculously low. That's the only metric I care about.

I'm right there with you. Even if I paid the full $191 for Stellaris, plus 3 full expansions, plus many story packs and others, I am at about $0.15 an hour with 1281 hours played. It would cost me more than that in gas to go to a nearby donut shop and just look at the donuts.

Basically, the PDX model is a proper business model to keep up with inflation, and not something designed to bilk some people out of tons of cash via micro-transactions and loot boxes.

You guys are a bunch of delusional assholes. I dont care how you break it down,. price gouging is gouging no matter how you guys try and justify it. SMH!!!

BIGtrouble77 wrote on Oct 20, 2019, 02:32:

Darks wrote on Oct 20, 2019, 02:13:

BIGtrouble77 wrote on Oct 19, 2019, 21:35:

Darks wrote on Oct 19, 2019, 19:02:
Freed huh? yea, there is nothing free about this POS game. its all locked behind DLC. Cost you 20 times more to unlocked everything then it would have to just buy the game. Screw that BS!!!

It's funny that everyone that doesn't play this game has this opinion, while the rest of us that do play the game like the DLC policy.

And you are exactly why these shit heel publishers do the shit they do. You must be so proud!!

Even with all the DLC paid at full price, my price per hour played is ridiculously low. That's the only metric I care about.

Kxmode wrote on Jun 11, 2019, 16:45:

Cutter wrote on Jun 11, 2019, 11:35:
Oh right, EGS exclusive = hard pass.

September 2020, available on Steam... soft pass. I don't reward developers who engage in deception.

ldonyo wrote on Jan 25, 2019, 11:07:

Darks wrote on Jan 25, 2019, 10:58:

Clu32 wrote on Jan 25, 2019, 10:54:
did anyone even ask for this?

Nope, I think mainly we have been wanting more content added to the world and the option to host our own servers. None of this forced in pvp bullshit.

In fact, the exact opposite of this has been asked for; the ability to completely opt out of PvP. Instead, they've nerfed weapons and added ambush PvP, err "survival mode".