Posts by Thrik
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Sorry to hear that Sentura, I managed to find a cleaner version for you to look at:
[Blocked Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/37346336/destiny.jpg]
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I kind of sit in the middle really.
On the one hand, some of these dudes have literally been getting numerous brand new triple-A titles for free because of this, and that's pretty shit. And it's not just a region locking thing, brand new games have somehow been ending up on these obscure countries' Xbox LIVEs. It smells a lot like some Microsoft employee or hacker putting them there intentionally for people to warez.
On the other hand, some people like blackdog weren't really out to cause harm and just thought they were taking advantage of a sweet deal. OK, there is some definite intent in going out of your way to create a new account for a different country to get hold of some free shit, but it doesn't feel like a particularly bad thing to do IMO. If someone said to me I could get a free copy of Uncharted 3 by just making a US PSN account then I'd probably have considered it!
The timing is definitely bad. It's piracy, few of those doing it didn't know they were doing something wrong. But so close to a new console launch when the company is already being assholed at every turn? The fact that they can just shut down your console and your account is pretty alarming in itself. Has Sony ever been known to do such a thing?
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Not sure, it stands to reason the console probably has to be connected for it to be banned so I guess if the account is gone you're probably safe. Sounds like it's mostly the new games that've been coming out (apparently more and more have been appearing recently, making me think it's some Microsoft employee setting it up for nefarious purposes) that cause the bans so I doubt you'll get assholed for one small game like that.
You could even argue it was some past owner of the console it was so long ago...
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Going through that thread it sounds like the main thing that's been triggering bans is using a Bosnian account to get hold of Rayman Legends for free:
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showpost…34&postcount=23
I guess a good lesson is learnt here though: don't do it! Microsoft has historically been incredibly brutal with banning for stuff like this, they did something similar a few years ago. They don't give a shit about banning entire accounts or consoles and the TOS lets them do it.
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Apparently there's been an oversight/intentional sabotage/whatever for 5+ years allowing those with Xbox LIVE accounts in relatively small parts of the world like Oman to get new games for free — all you have to do is create an account for those regions (presumably using a proxy) and you're good to go.
It's been quite an open secret in some communities and an increasing number of people have been doing it because Microsoft doesn't seem to care — until now. Microsoft is currently banning any Xbox 360 consoles that've done this, leading to a hilarious amount of butthurt:
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=542555
The post where one of them goes begging on the Microsoft forums offering to do a 'deal' where he deletes all the games he acquired, hahaha. Oh man I love this.
Note that it's consoles that are being banned. It looks like Xbox LIVE accounts sometimes are or aren't banned, but in all cases the physical console itself is permanently banned from Xbox LIVE LMAO.
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Seriously that has to be intentional, oh my god.
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LMAO surely that is a troll?????
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By the way, if you haven't seen it already FMPONE wrote a great MapCore article detailing a more improvised approach to making a level, which he admits is risky but can produce some beautiful stuff:
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Great stuff above. Frie is definitely right that establishing what's fun is the key for levels unless you're doing it purely for artistic joy. Need to get it in the hands of actual players and refine it until it works, then worry about all the assets and detail which are considerably harder to change than basic building blocks.
It's no coincidence that many of the most successful maps on MapCore are repeatedly playtested. Even just getting your level into the hands of a few friends can be very revealing — are they actually having a good time or bored stiff? Don't be too proud to let people test even when it's just basic geometry and grey textures.
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Yeah, it happens. I suspect that Telltale has also been going through some changes recently as two of the key players (directors/designers of The Walking Dead) have just split off to start a new company. I've known one of them for years and it's a pretty big loss for them. I'm not sure how many of the original dudes are still there actually.
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I don't think competitive people are the primary target here. For someone like me who enjoys a bit of C&C and simulation games but would prefer to play them on my sofa, this is a godsend. Nobody's taking hardcore gaming rigs and peripherals away from those who are totally focused on being the best, right?
IMO Valve are going to be hitting a great middle ground. Many people (including myself) just don't enjoy shooters so much with a pad not because I'm fundamentally against pads, but they're just not accurate enough. I've often made do with them anyway just because I don't want to be sat at my desk playing games — but having something that better captures that mouse experience will be a huge thing for me.
You're being a bit OTT though. While hardcore RTS gamers will struggle, you can still do a lot of what you mention with the Steam Controller. It has many buttons that can be bound, including potentially 4–8 on the touch screen plus gestures. The second trackpad can be used for the map, and the main trackpad can be just as effective as a mouse with practice (I know because I've forced myself on a laptop, lol).
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Quote from Erratic
People can't be serious about playing any rts with this thing can they
Why not? Haven't you ever used a trackpad on a laptop to play one? That's effectively what those circular things are, except better. It might not be a mouse, but it's still very accurate — infinitely more so than a thumb stick. You could very conceivably use the two trackpads on it to handle moving the screen and a cursor, and the extra buttons on it would be more than sufficient for all but the biggest keyboard shortcut nerds.
Then of course there's the touch screen which is a whole different thing altogether, but I think that'll be more used for buttons and maps and such rather than primary interaction.
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7 of the 8 maps in Valve's new 'Operation: Bravo' pack for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive were created by MapCore members. In this article, Shawn 'FMPONE' Snelling ( FMPONE) discusses the experience of his maps — Cache and Gwalior — being part of the release, and shares some advice for those hoping to get involved with Valve's efforts to reward those creating content for its games.
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Really good article on Kotaku, with lots of former staff at all levels speaking out (sometimes anonymously) about what exactly led the company that I idolised many years ago to collapse. While it was kind of obvious anyway, the company had been in insane decline for many years before Disney bought everything — which is most likely why they decided to shut it down.
I think the saddest thing in that entire article is the fact that a HD remake of Day of the Tentacle was approximately 80% finished and then scrapped:
QuoteLike the special editions of the first two Monkey Island games, released in 2009 and 2010, the remastered Day of the Tentacle would be pseudo-3D, with remade background art and cut-scenes redone to run at 30 frames per second.
Although this Day of the Tentacle remake was never officially greenlit, two sources say it was almost finished. One person familiar with the project pegs it at 80% done. But it was never approved, and the company's higher-ups had no interest in continuing to make what they called "legacy" titles like this one.
“For many involved this was a dream project,” said one person who worked on the game. “But sadly, like many, many LucasArts games in development, it never saw the light of day.”
jesus fucking christ
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Quote from Synthesizer
The whole screen functions as a button, so you can "hover" by using the touch screen and push it in to "click". Seems like an interesting idea and should make it easier to port mouse based menus to the touch pad I guess (hover for tooltip, etc.).
Showing the touchscreen on the main screen is also pretty cool, especially when combined with the fact that you can hover instead of just clicking.
It's also all about tactility, although your point is also true and will be great for navigating desktops and RTS games. One of the biggest hurdles with touch screens, pads, etc is a lack of satisfying feedback — it's why games so often feel shitty to play on iPhones and iPads even tough they have 'buttons' on the screen. It might seem silly, but just being able to click a button on the screen will feel so much better — I expect that many games will divide the touch screen into a bunch of big buttons.
Combined with the innovative feedback touch pads, it looks like Valve has been thinking about feedback and tactility more than most hardware manufacturers. Everything I'm seeing and hearing about this thing makes it looks like it's simply going to feel great to use, and more importantly for the first time bridge that huge gap between consoles and PCs that prevents RTS games, shooters, etc from being truly satisfying for those used to a keyboard and mouse.
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Thorough post from the Super Meat Boy dude about his experience with the controller:
http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/624765236…team-controller
Sounding better and better.
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