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Topic: Useless gaming news & chatter (Read 1361494 times)
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Malakili
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10596
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Whether there is or not, I feel like this "Games as a service" model isn't something I like the sound of too much. Sounds like microtransactions. I guess we've been going more and more that way for years, so it shouldn't surprise me.
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stu
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1891
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I think what he's saying is that because Valve's fate is tied so closely to the Steam community, they want to have a constant release of content (like what the TF2 devs pump out). He says they get more consistent quality from shorter dev cycles, which is fine with me. If your company takes forever to pump out games, why not look for ways to release content in blocks? I guess the problem they've run into is they don't have a way to tie their crown jewel IP into that format and are using Portal 2 as a test bed.
edit: plus, games on Steam are always moderately priced. It's not like PSN, where items never drop from full price unless you pay it forward with a Plus sub. I mean, they even make you pay for avatars on there. ugghgh
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« Last Edit: May 09, 2011, 12:13:44 PM by stu »
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Dear Diary, Jackpot!
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Sky
Terracotta Army
Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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It only works for games like TF2. Unless he's implying that Valve is abandoning story-based games. I mean, what would a hat or gun update do for HL3?
And there's definitely an angle they'll mine more in the future with steam, already being able to link over youtube stuff from within steam. I mean...I'm not on facebook but I'm on steam!
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Malakili
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10596
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I guess the problem they've run into is they don't have a way to tie their crown jewel IP into that format and are using Portal 2 as a test bed.
Is Half Life even their key franchise anymore? I bet people younger than 18-20 don't even know what it is, on average. Hell, even when the original Counter Strike was popular there were tons of people who had no idea what Half Life was, and that was a mod for HL for years before it was stand alone.
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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Pretty sure their key franchise is Counter-Strike.
Also I noticed that gog.com has decided to ignore its customers' geo-location... just in time for the Witcher 2 release.
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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K9
Terracotta Army
Posts: 7441
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Whether there is or not, I feel like this "Games as a service" model isn't something I like the sound of too much. Sounds like microtransactions. I guess we've been going more and more that way for years, so it shouldn't surprise me. I can understand the concept inside the framework of games like Portal, TF2, LFD2 and Counterstrike. You start with a small game which is in itself a platform and a service, then you expand within. So you add a constant stream of small additions, which keeps people interested, but you avoid hassle at the front end by making smaller games. You can expand the definition of the game with new modes, for example challenge maps in Portal 2. I agree though, I don't see clearly how this works for a story-based single-player game. Perhaps in the fullness of time Valve will just move away from that. Frankly, other than Half-Life, all their other games fall into the 'Games as a service' model much better: Dota2, TF2, Alien Swarm, LFD2, CS. None of these are particularly story based in a way that cannot be addressed with the addition of a new map. The only way I could see it working for a story-based game would be in the context of some hub-based game where the stream of content is akin to DLC that you get in hour-long chunks or so. This wouldn't seem on the face of things to support a good narrative though.
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I love the smell of facepalm in the morning
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stu
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1891
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I would say they are taking the notion that if you know your world well enough, story will come out in the atmosphere and environment rather than through cut scenes. Like the messages on walls in L4D or Portal. By placing emphasis on settings, you get more flexibility in the long run. They may have hamstrung themselves with HL because the story has to keep escalating in quality in order to provide a meaningful experience with each new iteration.
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Dear Diary, Jackpot!
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bhodi
Moderator
Posts: 6817
No lie.
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It only works for games like TF2. Unless he's implying that Valve is abandoning story-based games. I mean, what would a hat or gun update do for HL3?
Look at mass effect 2 DLC as an example of gradual releases for a single player game to keep people interested in the wider story/universe.
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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The Mass Effect DLC is a great example.
The problem that I see with letting the story seep out as a player discovers the world is that some of it comes across as a bit too obvious and ham-handed. I keep wondering who has left all that graffiti in the Aperture Enrichment center, and how did they determine where to put those arrows? Obviously the arrows are there to lead the player on, and this is an extreme version of letting the world tell the story. Another one is the smear on the wall in Dead Space that tells you to shoot off their limbs; this always has a Castle Aaaaarrghh feel to it. That tactic didn't seem to work out for the other fellow, but he had time to write this on a wall?
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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Sky
Terracotta Army
Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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Excellent example! Hadn't thought of it.
I also didn't consider Gabe has a front row seat for what's selling on Steam and loves statistics.
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Samwise
Moderator
Posts: 19228
sentient yeast infection
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"I have not actually recommended many games, and I'll go on the record here saying my track record is probably best in the industry." - schild
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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That comic is terrible.
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Rasix
Moderator
Posts: 15024
I am the harbinger of your doom!
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-Rasix
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Azazel
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Might just be Half-Life 3 instead. I think by "moved beyond" he means "it was an utter failure in execution".
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Azazel
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The Mass Effect DLC is a great example.
I haven't played ME yet, but the downside to that sort of thing is Alan Wake syndrome, where they deliberately left out the ending to the game/story in order to sell it to you as separate DLC. And while not the most expensive, at 560msp a pop, not on the cheap side, either. A pretty good reason to skip that particular game. (For me, anyway).
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Margalis
Terracotta Army
Posts: 12335
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The problem that I see with letting the story seep out as a player discovers the world is that some of it comes across as a bit too obvious and ham-handed. I keep wondering who has left all that graffiti in the Aperture Enrichment center, and how did they determine where to put those arrows? Obviously the arrows are there to lead the player on, and this is an extreme version of letting the world tell the story. Another one is the smear on the wall in Dead Space that tells you to shoot off their limbs; this always has a Castle Aaaaarrghh feel to it. That tactic didn't seem to work out for the other fellow, but he had time to write this on a wall?
I went to a GDC presentation about this sort of thing. Basically you have graffiti and audio logs and...well that's basically it. In one or two games it's effective but it's reaching the point of generic cliche. I remember playing Fatal Frame and at that time the audio tapes you found were really cool, now I roll my eyes when a new game advertises the incredible immersion of discovering audio logs.
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vampirehipi23: I would enjoy a book written by a monkey and turned into a movie rather than this.
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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The problem that I see with letting the story seep out as a player discovers the world is that some of it comes across as a bit too obvious and ham-handed. I keep wondering who has left all that graffiti in the Aperture Enrichment center, and how did they determine where to put those arrows? Obviously the arrows are there to lead the player on, and this is an extreme version of letting the world tell the story. Another one is the smear on the wall in Dead Space that tells you to shoot off their limbs; this always has a Castle Aaaaarrghh feel to it. That tactic didn't seem to work out for the other fellow, but he had time to write this on a wall?
I went to a GDC presentation about this sort of thing. Basically you have graffiti and audio logs and...well that's basically it. In one or two games it's effective but it's reaching the point of generic cliche. I remember playing Fatal Frame and at that time the audio tapes you found were really cool, now I roll my eyes when a new game advertises the incredible immersion of discovering audio logs. I agree completely on this. To me this was stale after System Shock 2. I made fun of it, but HL2 at least had NPCs for you to talk to instead of recordings. It's one of those issues that every designer knows about but so far no one has devised a good replacement for. When someone does, it will be like the Chronicles of Riddick health system all over again.
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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Azazel
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What was that? Regenerating health?
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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Yes, in the primal form it was regenerating health as long as you didn't lose an entire "block" of health. I believe this led not only to immediate clones but also to the modern day implementation of full regeneration if you can just hide behind a tree for a bit.
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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Looks like the Wii is $150 now and Twilight Princess is $20 (overpriced). Another kick-Sony-while-he's-down or business-as-usual?
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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MisterNoisy
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1892
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Looks like the Wii is $150 now and Twilight Princess is $20 (overpriced). Another kick-Sony-while-he's-down or business-as-usual?
I think it's just the response to flagging Wii sales combined with the fact that they're due to show a new home console this E3.
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XBL GT: Mister Noisy PSN: MisterNoisy Steam UID: MisterNoisy
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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You are probably right, I'm just not giving much thought to this new console. I expect very little.
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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Malakili
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10596
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Anyone have any advice on a nice gaming headset? I think mine is starting to die, so I want to shop around a bit before they bite it completely. I've heard good things about Steel Series, but it might be more than I want/need.
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Hawkbit
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5531
Like a Klansman in the ghetto.
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I've owned about six pairs in 10 years, ranging from $15 to $120. I'm back to using a $20 simple cheap headset because all the upper end ones have janky stuff going on.
My Steel Series had a short boom that I had to pull forward with one hand to talk loud enough for folks to hear me. I wasn't impressed with the design, either. It was large, heavy and got sweaty. ymmv.
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Strazos
Greetings from the Slave Coast
Posts: 15542
The World's Worst Game: Curry or Covid
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The logitech sets I've had generally work nicely, though the one I have cuts out in one of the ears sometimes. I think it's because it has a rather long cord which is prone to getting stuck under the wheels of my chair.
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Fear the Backstab! "Plato said the virtuous man is at all times ready for a grammar snake attack." - we are lesion "Hell is other people." -Sartre
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Sjofn
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8286
Truckasaurus Hands
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I like logitech too, for whatever that may be worth.
Next Sims 3 expansion is apparently out at the end of the month. Sounds like the devs went "oooohhhh riiiiiight, it's a sandbox game" and mostly focused on beefing up more social stuff for the Sims in the ages that aren't young adult/adult. I know I'm the only one who cares, but goddammit, I need to say it somewhere.
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God Save the Horn Players
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caladein
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3174
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Yeah, this one looks like one whose features I won't wind up avoiding nearly entirely (hello to you Late Night and your stupid elevators) after a week.
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"Point being, they can't make everyone happy, so I hope they pick me." - Ingmar"OH MY GOD WE'RE SURROUNDED SEND FOR BACKUP DIG IN DEFENSIVE POSITIONS MAN YOUR NECKBEARDS" - tgr
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Sjofn
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8286
Truckasaurus Hands
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The elevators are pretty shitty, yeah. I built a bunch of my own nightclubs and crap for my other neighborhoods and ditched the new one because of them. Most of the rest of Late Night I liked though, although trying to be a band seems pretty buggy too.
I still miss having weather, though. :((((((((
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God Save the Horn Players
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Hawkbit
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5531
Like a Klansman in the ghetto.
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Caught this from Kotaku, got a giggle. In a financial meeting, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada said the company was working on a big MMO in addition to Final Fantasy XIV. "I think we will reveal it sometime this year," said Wada.
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Amaron
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2020
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Hawkbit
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5531
Like a Klansman in the ghetto.
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Sky
Terracotta Army
Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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That's an interesting idea. I have a decent pair of cheap Sennheisers (hd280) for monitoring my mixer, a clip-on mic would be great for those. On the other hand, I like to keep the headphones for voice and have the game sound through the speakers.
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