Posts by redhood

  • Scott Miller: Steam should not be a part of valve

    Strictly from a marketing point, while it may be superficial, the store interface cycles four games in the main banner. At the moment, none of these are Valve games. Even when EP2 launches there will still be three open slots plus the four quarter size banners to advertise alternate games (Although I can see this logic failing because of the Portal/TF2 bundle).

    Then there is the top sellers and top rated tabs. Six of the the eight games are Valve games in the top sellers. Which sounds reasonable considering Valve games rolled out on Steam for the better part of Steam's incarnation and, of course, because it's Valve's network (This is a ratio I don't see changing much even though it may be somewhat unequal). Next is the Top rated games according to metascore. The eight slots are split 50/50 between Valve and other publishers. So, the fair trick to having a stronger presence in this particular area is to create great games (which get great metascores) that are distro'ed on Steam.

    Apart from the conflict of interest issues, the store interface is well weighted as of now. Obviously there is room for improvement to market other publishers but, I guess, this is one of the conflicts; will Valve allow that to happen?

    Miller's concerns are all valid but, I think, most of his public flames towards Steam are because he is bitter because of Triton's failure.

  • Zaphod's new web project: devbump

    Zaphod - The what is devbump/FAQ could use a little tweaking. It's sorta overwhelming at the moment with so much to read. And so much that casual surfers won't really want to bother with. I think the most crucial information, selling the idea of devbump, should be the priority and the terms and conditions and license be linked individually at the end of the article or perhaps in a help section.

    You could also follow other pages examples and edit the information making it direct and accessible from the frontpage. I've always liked that form. That way I don't have to snoop around a page to find out what it's all about. I know immediately when I enter. I know Digg uses the learn more which is maybe why you chose to design it that way, but you don't want to be an exact replica do you?

    Here are some examples of popular pages with a direct about on the frontpage just so you know what I mean.

    Odeo - Over one million audio files—from podcasts and all over the web. Listen, download, subscribe...

    Reddit - reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. reddit learns what you like as you vote on existing links or submit your own!

    Flickr - The best way to store, search, sort and share your photos.

    There are plenty more examples but those are just the ones that came to mind. And I think you get the idea. If you don't go for the headliner approach then separating some of the about content would be beneficial. Right now, I think, it makes the page look like a bore.

    I know everything is still undergoing development so I'm sure there will be a lot improved and changed over time. Anyhow everything looks fantastic! I'll definitely be making it a daily stop. Can't wait to see how it takes off and how it evolves.

  • Filter Forge

    Peri not all the filters have map inputs included but the majority will. Go to Filter > Render Maps - You can choose diffuse, bump, normal, specular strength, specular exponent, metallic and alpha to be rendered.

  • Filter Forge

    Skdr - Just download the beta then you can use the program from inside Photoshop or independently. Go to download more filters in the top right corner of the window. Then you'll get to browse the expanding library and download official and user submitted filters.

  • Filter Forge

    I can already hear the majority of folks saying, real men don't use photoshop filters! Well, usually I would agree with you. However, the other day I ran into this new application called Filter Forge. It's a peer updated filter set for photoshop - which means, you can create your own filters and throw them into an online library free for everyone.

    Of course there are sites out there that offer filters, brushes and so on but I thought the concept of this app was unique. Not only that but some of the user submitted filters are actually good and seem like they may come in handy every so often. The program can be downloaded for a 30 day trial but you can also sign on as a beta tester which gives you a couple more months to test it out. Contributing testers are also eligible for a free package, or percentages off when it's released.

    It's definitely not going to replace your years of self taught texture skills, but it looks as though it could come in handy in a lot of circumstances.

    http://www.filterforge.com/