Posts by Thrik

  • Traditional Arts and CG.

    I'd be inclined to recommend going with a technical course because you'll be given proper projects to develop and work on, and often you get quite a lot of flexibility in terms of what exactly you make so you even get that freedom of making something you're passionate about. Having that kind of structure will really help you to put together some great work for an eventual portfolio as long as you're made of the right stuff, and will help prepare you for the 9-to-5+ structure of working in the industry rather than when you feel like it.


    A more theoretical course like art history will give you a lot of great knowledge but not a lot to show for it — and motivating yourself to work on significant personal projects might end up being harder than you think when you consider how much time your Uni course and social life will take up. You'll also learn a fair amount of irrelevant things, whereas you can fine-tune what you learn more precisely if doing it in your own time. Also, technical courses often have you do historical research anyway, just like an industry job. You're not expected to just know exactly how X from Y period in history should look, what every art movement has been, etc.


    Another thing I noticed is that almost every single person who did the art history/fine art/etc courses at the art and design college I went to are now working in pretty shitty irrelevant jobs, whereas those who did the technical courses like me are doing much better. That could just be coincidence but I don't see people doing those courses getting very good returns on their investments.

  • Battlefield 4

    I've learnt to live with the way they're structuring the Battlefield games' DLC and appreciate the reasons why, it just seems a little lame as a gamer that by not pre-ordering (I won't have a suitable PC in time) I'll then have to fork out for the China stuff, and then to play on all the servers I'll likely need the other DLCs that come along too. It almost feels like the core game isn't worth having by itself.


    I'll be interested to see how many maps the core game ships with though. Don't think it's been revealed yet?

  • Battlefield 4

    Quote from Chimeray

    It's twice the cost cos Premium includes all expansion packs, which pretty much totals to content for a whole new game. DICE LA will (is already?) working on Premium although some of the early expansions are still made inhouse. Which is why you saw the GM of DICE LA in that video at gamescom.


    It's kind of funny when you look back. Battlefield 2142 (after patches) had 17 maps, and two added via a single DLC. Battlefield 3 had nine maps, and a further 20 added via five DLCs. What's Battlefield 4 going to be, five maps in the base game?


    I'm thinking I won't pre-order BF4 (for the first time in the series) and if it's anything like BF3 the release-day content will be a bit shit and lacking the variety needed to keep me playing for more than a month or two. The game will probably be a bit cheaper too by then, oh wait no it won't because I'd have to buy the basic 'DLC' that pre-order people get for free or have like no maps — smart move EA. ;/

  • The Elder Scrolls MMO

    I don't know, I'd personally prefer a 'flat rate' rather than being nickle and dimed for small transactions. Maybe I'm alone on this, but I hate the micro-transaction model. I'd rather just not bother constantly making small purchases, and if that means giving up on the game I usually do. Also, I personally see a game I don't pay for as less likely to be good and more focused on bleeding my wallet dry.


    I guess one interesting factor to remember is that this game is going to be very orientated towards consoles like Skyrim, so it might be that the business dudes have figured that people will be more likely to do a one-time purchase with the free trial and then keep subscribing, than they would be to get into a F2P version (however that might work on consoles).


    It might be really silly but because I've come across so many shitty F2P games that are almost malicious in their attempts to get me addicted and extract money out of me, I'm now pretty much averse to F2P games altogether. I literally avoid any F2P game now because I've had so many shit experiences and I bet a lot of people are in the same boat. Thanks to a load of asshole publishers/developers it's been ruined for everyone else...

  • Rime

    ... WHAT THE FUCK is with the camera constantly zooming out over the audience during footage being shown in this conference?????

    Back on topic, I love the look of this. Evokes both Wind Waker and Journey.

  • Battlefield 4

    The real question is: how long can you hold off orgasm.

    I'm still considering PS4 version but I'm a bit pissed off it's 720p. I'll have to wait and see how good it looks, anti-aliasing, etc. Because, yes — I'm a graphics ho'.

  • Zoo Tycoon

    I can't deny it, I really want this. Apparently it's targeted for the (unknown) XBone release date.


    An Inside Look at Zoo Tycoon with Frontier Developments


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dPJ4jyza48


    Oddly, it's an XBone (and 360) exclusive. It looks like they're going to be throwing some Kinectimals in there, but the small clip of the traditional simulation perspective at the end looks fuckin' gorgeous. If they can figure out a way of blending these two experiences together — similar to how Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and Theme Park World blended 'go on the rides' mode with 'hardcore simulation' mode — I'll love this.


    The biggest thing for me is that this could mark the start of a generation where simulation/RTS games are finally implemented well on consoles. I've never in my life played one that felt right without a mouse/keyboard, but for the first time ever we'll have both main consoles capable of understanding where you're pointing (whether it's with your finger or the pad itself) so no stick horribleness. If Microsoft ever let Lionhead make a new Black & White...


    I think these are all bullshots but they're pretty anyway:


    [Blocked Image: http://news.xbox.com/~/media/Images…Chimp.JPG?h=538]


    [Blocked Image: http://news.xbox.com/~/media/Images…hants.jpg?h=538]


    [Blocked Image: http://news.xbox.com/~/media/Images…_Lion.jpg?h=538]


    [Blocked Image: http://news.xbox.com/~/media/Images…Rhino.jpg?h=538]

  • Xbox One

    Yay, more Fable...


    If they can put together a truly great successor to Fable 2 I'll be overjoyed, but everything since that game (including Fable 3) really hasn't appealed to me. It feels like they're really bleeding the IP dry, like Lionhead has forgot it could once make other games too.


    It does look gorgeous, of course.

  • Borderlands 2

    Yeah that's true. For my first few hours of Skyrim I was like 'this is a bit boring'. Then after I broke several hours in and started arriving at sweet locations and discovering random awesome places and realising how vast yet full of life the world was ... that was basically the last time my girlfriends and colleagues saw me.