Posted by: etoven - 29th March 2009, 7:10 PM - Forum: Ramble City
- No Replies
Clippy The Clipboard Ninja 2.5 - Sporting the new river interface.
I worked all night on this new version of my clipboard organizer, specifically on sub classing windows forms, in order to 'skin' my application, I redesigned the interface from the ground up.
Everyone one let me know what you think!
Specifically what you think of the new interface!
AGD's the group that did the unofficial remakes of KQ1 and KQ2 (unofficial, but using the same voice actor for Graham that Sierra did, and with support from Ken Williams).
Well, they apparently decided to remake their remakes. They added voice acting to each game's narration (the narrator is pretty good, but KQ6's narrator voice is still the best narrator voice ever in everything forever, but that's an unfair comparison). Further, KQ1 (the one that is a 1:1 recreation (save for the obvious changes switching to a cursor interface brings), has a new "no dead ends" mode which makes small alterations to prevent all possible scenarios that could "dead end" a player, as well as taking out the random deaths (like shoving a rock from the wrong side crushing you for no previously indicated reason). They didn't add this for their KQ2 remake, because in that case it was not anything close to 1:1 and it's practically a brand new game, one which already eliminates dead ends and tries to make you aware in advance when you're doing something or are somewhere dangerous. (Personally, I love the vast majority of their version, but I think they took too many liberties in changing some of the characters, like making Dracula downright heroic at the end and making an innocent helpful lady in the previous game a scheming magician in the new one.)
Oh, and they redrew all the background art and a lot of other art sources as well, plus adding lip synching to the characters. All in all, after playing the new versions I'd say the games both look far more professional than they did before.
Weather for the past several weeks has been trending warmer and warmer. It was short wearin' weather, time to turn on the AC, and it's spring now. Well, a few days ago it started getting cooler, and so what do I wake up to this fine late March morn? A FREAKIN SNOW STORM! Just to make it clear, Oklahoma weather is bizarre but it NEVER snows in March, especially not like this. So yeah...
Heard of this? It's apparently the next step of online games, cloud computing style.
The basis of this is that mass producing disks full of copies of software a million times for expensive copies of the same hardware a million times is extremely inefficient. In an example of efficiency that would make the borg blush, they are setting up a system where the entirey of the game code is running on a server (right down to graphics and sound rendering) and the completed image and sound is all that's sent. As a result, this will be able to run on any barebones computer capable of an internet connection and displaying live video feeds. Further, they'll also be selling a very basic device for the TV that accomplishes the same barebones thing. All the device needs from a user is basic input. Basically, MS is cashing in on the growing "too poor to buy a fully fledged video game system" market.
I think it can be safely assumed that they'll be adding support for the service to the 360 no problem, heck there's no reason they couldn't add support for it to an update to the original XBox too and considering the market this is aimed at, they would do well to do just that. Since it's just a video feed, they could port the software relatively simply to the Wii or PS3, well "could" being the operative word, as I somehow doubt that either company would approve of something who's chief purpose is to cut in on their business model.
MS is saying they have solved lag like... forever, or something. There are certain physical realities that tell me this won't work as well as they claim, such as the speed of light and the fact that at any time a user could be on the other side of the planet using this system.
Anyway, even if they have truly resolved the lag issues, while I'm very impressed by the idea, I disagree with this notion that this will be the ultimate solution to all software everywhere. People in the cloud computing business keep touting how this is the future of software, every single aspect all being online with only a barebones user interface user-side. My question is, do we really WANT this, for everything?
E-mail is one thing, but I will add that I actually DO use an e-mail program whenever I'm on my own computer, namely because I want copies of everything ON my computer. The internet is not omnipresent just yet. In fact to drive this point home Cox sort of dropped the ball all night last night and didn't get around to fixing whatever was going on until early this morning. There are times when I just need something to be local.
Further, as an extention of this, something that is a purely single-user experience is something I want to have local anyway. I have no advantage at all in sending it "to the cloud". For example, why the heck would I actually WANT to play Chrono Trigger cloud style? All that adds is the risk of headaches.
Anyway, this also fails to address portable consoles, unless cloud computer's dreams are of a planetwide engulfing in a wireless network that always works all the time.
Sometimes I just want to have something I can plug in and it works without invoking the internet. I'm perfectly fine with mass produced information for each individual. I suppose I don't mind such inefficiency. Cloud computing may be the future of online gaming, but for single player games, and also for games with multiplayer modes on top of single player modes, I want to keep the local versions JUST for me to use when I want without anyone needing to know or me needing to depend on extra services needlessly.
Save the uber-cloud computer utopia for when we all finally do get linked into the collective conciousness and only one mind ever needs to worry about being bored.
Quote:At Nintendo's GDC panel on the DSi's design, Project Leader Masato Kuwahara revealed a bit of news regarding DSi software, that will either terrify or thrill you, based on the status of your DSi preorder. Two new types of DS cartridges are on the way: "DSi Cards," which will only work on the DSi, and "DSi Enhanced Cards," which work on all DS systems, but will have extra features when played on a DSi.
I predicted this as soon as we heard that the DSi had higher tech specs than the original DS. Seems that I was right. I'm not too happy about it (it's too soon for the DS to be replaced), but it's true. :(
Can someone please tell Nintendo that memory cards stopped being cool around the time Microshit showed how wonderfully useful a HDD is? Watch the read problem still plague the damn things as well so you cant store a VC/WiiWare title on it and play from it - so you have to unpack it on to your dash before you can open it just like they do now.
Mmm, smells like retarded. Here's hoping but i doubt we'll see savestates and use of said high capacity cards being useful.. at all. Yunno, like a hard drive would have been.
Blah. If you got GDC news post it here. I'll update as it hits. wtf Metal Gear?
