As for the Space Shooter biz, i really do doubt freelancer will bring it back. For one, you have no cockpit view which makes it more of an rpg than a shooter.

I don't know. Since it was announced I'm changing my mind every few months between thinking that it'll be really good and thinking that it'll be some shallow "Sims in Space" type of mass market game.

But even if it is "Sims in Space" - if it sells lots of copies (like the Sims) it'll revive the genre. And that's a good thing - even if it isn't another Privateer, it might just pave the way for some new space shooters.

The guy's paper (which I have not read) probably outlined all the inherent dangers of doing the drug. And I'm sure it lists the necessary precautions so that after reading the paper, a user would be making an informed decision, knowing the risks and deciding if the benefits are worth the risk.

Yeah, but you see, most youth's are not in a position to make a responsible decision about such things. You just don't think much about consequences when you're young. Can you imagine someone actually evaluating the risk when they get offered a pill in some discotheque? Can't see it happen - they either just take it or refuse it out of reflex, but they won't say "Hey, wait a few minutes, I'll just sit down in the corner and try to work out wether I really want to do this."

That doesn't mean that I'm against education about the risks of drugs, but they should not be in the form of a How-To that makes it seem that you can safely take them if you take some precautions.

But since we both haven't read the paper, we're just guessing about the nature of the report. But if it is a HowTo, I don't like it...

First the game part

I do wish we saw some space shooter's released. I haven't seen a good one out since freespace 2 and that was a couple years ago. I guess that genre just doesn't make the type of cash it made in the TIE fighter days.

I bet you 20 bucks that that will change again. Just look at the state of the RPG genre before Baldur's Gate. Everyone said RPGs were dead and you couldn't get a real "hit" game in that genre. Pretty much the same as with space shooters right now.

As soon as the next space blockbuster comes along (FreeLancer, maybe?) there will be lots and lots of new space sims because publishers and developers will realise that you can actually make good money in that genre.

About the drug stuff:

Red, as far as I know there is no safe way to consume ecstacy. It is an inherently dangerous drug, as most are. Maybe you can reduce the risk by remembering to not take 20 pills at once, but it will never be safe (not even remotely).

On the other hand, I agree that forcing the kid to make speeches about something he doesn't believe in is probably the worst possible punishment. For one thing, it will just end up being an overly sarcastic affair that will convince no one. And of course, as others have pointed out, there is something called freedom of opinion and that includes the right to not say something you don't want to say.

Btw: that mandatory voluntary work thing reminds me of the german military (I assume that others are not much different): "I need three volunteers to act as the enemy: You, you and you!"

"Lets release the demo first in germany, so that 90% of the content can be removed or ruined! That's a GREAT idea!!"

Or it may be because JoWood is a german publisher (and I think Piranha Bytes is also a german developer (?))...

It makes sense to first release games in your native language before you do the translations.

...cannot be bad with the security team named like that ;).

Uh, I believe these "caps" only apply to free, flat-rate bandwidth. The ISPs would be dumb if they'd just cut you off if you exceed those - what they'll do is bill a few cents for every MB above that limit.

Ah, thanks Pete and Oberiko. Indeed, we also have this game. In case anyone wants to know, we call it (translated) "Voyage to Jerusalem".

And I agree - sheesh, this game is considered too violent? And what's bad about the fact that fast kids have an advantage? That's the case with most children's games (and sports) and I consider it a good thing - at least that way kids get a bit of a workout and don't end up playing computer games all day.

Uh, before I get kicked for that last sentence: I obviously like playing games (otherwise I wouldn't post here) but I also think that children shouldn't do this exclusively but get some exercise once in a while.

There, that's my 2 cents on child education :).

I can see them raising a generation of pacifists who never get anything done, because they're all terrified of offending each other.

Isn't that this generation already?

And I'm getting curious: what kind of game is "musical chairs"? Never heard of it, though I'm sure that we also play it here (Germany). Probably just under a different name...

PC.IGN.Comis reporting that the Russian Homeplanet beta test is underway

The Russians are building a new home planet for themselves? Why wasn't this in the news? *shakes head*

Enjoy that cake! And get some sleep, for god's sake...

Another weird Jacko thing: I just saw on the news that the MJ seen in Berlin was apparently a double:

- he had a completely healthy nose
- his hands were a lot less skinny than they used to be
- he hugged a fan (!)
- he walked right through a crowd in front of his hotel all by himself. Without a mask.

And another thing: I have no idea wether the guy on the balcony of the hotel was the real MJ or not, but that baby stunt was scary as hell. He held the baby with only one hand for a second and it began to slip... scared the shit out of me for a moment. Who would endanger his child like that?

Do they even have a working board yet?

Well, the Firingsquad preview mentioned that they have "spent some hands-on time" with the chipset and seen the demos in action.

Did anyone come across AVI (or QuickTime, MPEG, whatever) versions of those new Geforce FX demos?

I'm really itching to see this chip in action, but so far my search has been without result

Uhm, Blue, I know that sometimes it happens that you put up links of the day that you already posted some time ago. After all, no one can remember all of those.

But.... today's APOD was also Image of the Day yesterday. Gotcha!

Thanks Chance! Great to hear that :).

Still, I would be semi-interested in a game that was still "stupid fun" , but that included some of the advances from the games of today.

Looking at the logo, wanting a Mafia sequel already ,

I hope these two statements were not meant to be related! Mafia is anything but stupid fun, its intelligent fun :).

Speaking of "stupid" fun, does anyone know wether Serious Sam 3 is in development? Since they've completed the XBox port, can I hope to see the sequel soon?

Oh, and I'd also take a Mafia sequel

That MIT data archive should have been named LSpace, not DSpace.

*shakes head* What kind of geeks are they, missing a chance for such a reference?

HL2, DNF

So these games are being made?

As far as I know, it hasn't been announced that Half-Life 2 is actually in development - it's a rumour based on the fact that it would make sense to create a followup.

Someone made a longish post on Slashdot the other day. I didn't recognize his name so I can't say that he's actually in the game industry or not, but he seems to think that if Duke Nukem Forever doesn't ship in the first half of 2003, it will never see the light of day. Reason being - DOOM 3 will make every game look like a cartoon at that time.

Hmmm. I don't quite believe that. After all, most games probably won't reach Doom 3's visual quality for at least a year afterwards - does that mean that Doom 3 will be the only game that sells well? Good graphics may boost sales but mediocre graphics don't necessarily reduce sales.

Personally, I think DNF and Doom3 won't compete with each other all that much because even though both are played in first person, they are really completely different genres. From what I heard, Doom 3 will be a pretty slow-paced horror game, Resident Evil'ish, with much lurking in shadows and sudden "roar from the side" monster attacks. DNF on the other hand is a classic action shooter and judging by the last E3 video, one with a lot of variety gameplay-wise.

To be fair, it is better than most

For those of you just viewing today's update, there was the "Play Time:" text with nothing following it...

Damn! A few years ago that would have made a great Daikatana joke