Daeval

Unless they outsource an expansion pack like the crap-tastic opposing force.

*cough*virtualboy*cough* Naw, I have hope for it as well, but nintendo doesn't have the best track record when it comes to "radically different" hardware. As for the cross-platform games, I own a PS2 and a Cube, and I usually get the cube version of a game for the cleaner graphics and flawless wireless play, or 4-player w/o dragging out the multitap. That is, as long as the game won't suffer with the gamecube's controller (IE, no fighting games, etc).

/me agrees wholeheartedly. The Cube has some really awesome stuff that people usually ignore.

Correction - WERE awesome. And yay, brain-rats! I love planescape.

WTF? With Garry's Mod?! That would be a royal pain in the ass! Must look into this...

Here a lot of girls want to be more computer-savvy and learn how to program simple GUIs and such, set up networks, learn project management, etc. According to the girls I study with at least. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Where do you live again? If my girl ever dumps me I know where I'm headed... Oh wait, are they cute?

i have a real key too, so I'm not worried about it, but the article does say that even illegitimate users will be able to use auto-update.

Meh, it's 3DRs right to protect their IPs. Furthermore, Duke, as much as I love him, is about the most generic character ever. Short of blatantly copying the art, it would be rather easy to whip up another wisecracking tough guy who kills aliens.

Since I've been doing some UT2K4 stuff recently, I'll toss you a bone on this one, in the form of links: First, the UDN: http://udn.epicgames.com/Main/WebHome It's the official place, so theoretically it should be a starting place, but it's really only good for certain things (at least, without being a licenscee). Either way, it should be on your bookmarks list. Next, the official programming board: http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/forum...php?forumid=269 This is another no-brainer. Just make sure you LOOK STUFF UP before you ask for something in there. The Unreal Wiki: http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/wiki/ This thing is IMMENSELY useful. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's basically an online encyclopedia on all things Unreal, in terms of content creation. It's maintained by end users though, so there is a slight degree of unofficial-ness. UnCodeX: http://unreal.student.utwente.nl/uncodex-ut2004/ This is basically an API spec for the UnrealScript language. It has all the classes native to UT2004 cross-referenced with variables, functions, etc for ease of use. Another must-have on your bookmarks list. Also, the debugger blows. You might try using WOTgreal, but I've been debugging by hand to good effect. So there's that. Good luck, and you can PM me with questions if you want. I may not be able to answer, but I'll try. (P.S. In high school, my friends and I emailed ID Software CEO Todd Hollenshead to ask if we could use one copy of Quake 1 on multiple computers for a club in our school lab, without paying for a site license. He sent back permission and wished us good luck the organization. That was the last thing we needed to convince the tech manager at school to let us run with the gaming club on their then-brand-new pentiums.)

An admirable dream, but a flawed first step, perhaps. As everyone else has suggested, working in the games industry is tough business, but that's not to say it can't be done. Since you're young, you're at an advantage if you start now, since it takes a time-consuming combination of things to really succeed. For one, don't screw around in school. People, my former self included, say you can get by in games without much schooling, and for the most part you can, but a degree will make things a hell of a lot easier. Ultimately it will get you there sooner. Get school right the first time through and you'll save yourself some major headeaches later. If you find it hard now, think about how it's the first step to your dream, and focus on it. Next, do some research into how the industry works. Read books, check the job descriptions on the listings at company websites, etc. You say you want to be a coder, but do you really know what that entails? Most coders work insane hours, and get very little creative input in the industry. Celebrity coders like Carmack are extremely rare, and usually gained their fame when development houses could consist of 5 or 10 people, each working on all aspects of a game. Maybe it's really a designer role you're looking for? Another important thing is to DO something. Start working on your portfolio NOW. If it's coding you want to do, start reading how to books or taking community college classes if that's an option. If you want to make a Unreal mod, scour the web for resources and learn to use them efficiently. You have to direct your own learning when it comes to things you love, because other people won't do it for you. Learn what you have to, what you want to, and CREATE something. Start small, with a small map or a simple mod or mutator. You can't expect to start with the next CounterStrike. It will get you one step closer to your dream, and boost your confidence to boot. Finally, when it's feasable, start looking for testing or, if you're good at it, tech support jobs in the game industry. Both of those are considered the first rung of the ladder towards development positions. It's hard to maintain those and go to school, since most of them want 40 hour minimum work weeks. If it comes down to it, DON'T quit going to school for a testing job! Testing jobs are a dime a dozen, but smart, truly interested young people with degrees are a little harder to come by in the game industry. Anyway, I'll leave it at that. If it seems like there are bits of personal bitterness in there, that's because there are. Just 'cause I shot myself in the foot doesn't mean everybody else has to, so there's my advice.

Every one of those damn bullets gets taken out of our paychecks, and they're wasting them on wrecked cars? Looks neat, but you gotta wonder WTF they're doing in that video.

Having worked video game retail for over a year, I can safely say that problem is now basically gone from both systems. New PS2s haven't regularly had that or the "blue disc" issue for a while. And the XBox went through basically the same issue in late 2003/early 2004. So basically, it WAS valid to say that of either system, but not really at all anymore. Now it's basically fanboy fodder for either side. Stupid fanboys.

I found mention of this little Half-Life 2 mod on fileplanet earlier, and have wasted at LEAST 2 hours on it since. It's great stuff. Basically, it provides a bunch of modified weapons that aren't really weapons, but various ways to screw with the physics. You can: - Use the manipulator gun that was available in the leaked alpha/E3 demos - Spawn a bunch of different props with the Q key, including ragdolls - Attach things with two different types of "rope" or just "weld" them solidly together - Attach working wheels to just about anything, then control them with a throttle - Attach manhacks to things and make them pull whatever it is around. - Attach balloons to things to make them float etc... It sounds pointless, and it is, but it's a helluva lot of fun to screw around with. I'm pretty sure you can use the cheats to summon working AI too, for double the fun. Oh yes, the link: http://www.garry.tv/garrysmod/

Fanboy arguments are so current-generation. Get over the brand names people, good games come out on all systems, even the fanless Cube. No amount of fandom is going to predict specs either. Furthermore, having more than one system in the same generation creates competition, which leads to more innovations for us to enjoy.

Best theory I've heard all year. That site predicts G-man is from some kind of larger resistance movement against the combine, with crazy technology and whatnot. Just to throw in my 2 cents, I'd always thought he has his own not-necessarily-beneficent agenda, maybe as part of another massive organization. Evidence would be: - G-man was ready to feed Gordon to the houndeyes if he didn't agree to be his interstellar biatch. This doesn't sound like the action of an oppressed resistance towards a successful hero with a common enemy. - G-man weilds portal technology far and above what the combine OR the humans have displayed. Super-advanced technology isn't typically the hallmark of oppressed resistance movements. - G-man displays immense power, but takes no direct action himself. He can appear wherever he needs to, and was able to put Gordon in an involuntary stasis without breaking a sweat, but he won't pull the lever on the other side of the locked door, let alone stasis-port Breen under the foot of a Gargant. He appears in combine-infested areas in HL2, and right in front of the Vortigaunt Slaves at Black Mesa, so it doesn't seem like a matter of staying hidden. If his primary goal is the destruction of the Combine, he's sure willing to take a lot of chances on it. - At the end of HL2 (SPOILER ALERT), G-man mentions Gordon's services have been solicited. Other "people" know of Gordon's exploits and know who to contact about them. Typically, underground resistance movements don't maintain that kind of publicity, let alone availability to outside sources. It may be other branches of the resistance asking for help, but why would G-man be reluctant to lend them a hand? Why would he be so focused on one aspect of a growing combine empire? It's all speculation, and for just a game at that, but it's fun to think about.

There's a difference between "leaving things open for a sequel" and "not wrapping up anything." The only things you learn from the HL2 ending are that you probably defeated Dr. Breen, you probably stopped the combine at City 17, and there will be a sequel. If you didn't know those things were going to happen by 10 minutes into the game, you're not exactly a theoretical physics major.

"I'm loving it" almost makes me go into a murdering spree. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Now they're airing this guy who does a really "cool" mcdonald's rap. I almost long for the "I'm loving it" days.

I was trying to watch a movie on comedy central once, but at least two of these ads came on every time it went to commercial, and my patience dwindled until I just turned off the TV. Maybe they are doing us a service after all.

Damn, that's a seriously good rundown. After reading that, somehow I'm not as dissapointed with the ending of HL2.

Dude, Drake.. RTFM. Or in this case, the anti-manuals. It's one thing to ask a few general questions, like "Before I flock my XBox for nothing, am I going to be able to do X once its hacked?" etc. It's another thing entirely to ask people to spell everything out for you letter by letter on a forum, or worse, to tear open your expensive electronics blind, while the info you're looking for is already written all over the net. Make sure you know what a car is before you ask someone how to drive stick. For example, here is a nice list of tutorials on Xbox-Scene: http://www.xbox-scene.com/tutorials.php?p=#151 And here is one specifically for Softmodding: http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=215055 You're normally one of my favorite relative newbies here, but your posts in this thread have been frightening.

Shiki and Tessa

I didn't read the entire article yet, but from just the intro it looks like this guy is ready to hype the hell out of it from the get-go. I'm hoping his predictions will come true, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Being able to plug your pda into your computer to get a stronger processor is a strange, and strangely appealing, idea. Makes you wonder why no one thought of "LEGO Processors" before this, aside from the occasional multi-CPU system with very specific setup and software support. I wonder what this is going to do to the infant 64-bit PC architecture. Will Cell architecture just kill it outright?

The "rust" is a neat effect, but there's no contrast against the bland primer-grey finish. If he'd faux-chromed it or something it might have looked cooler, or even if he just used a darker grey and a lot of glosscoat under the orange. The logo in the center is cool, but the hazard symbols on the sides are a cheap hackjob. Those are just PC fan grills that you can buy off of any mod site, which anyone can screw into an xbox. If he'd actually gotten fan grills that fit and then replaced the plastic x-box grills I would have commended him. Also, two of the grills still show white on the inside where he missed with the grey paint. It does look really nice lit-up, I love the orange, but that doesn't make up for the poor appearance in daylight. As a work in progress, maybe, but as a final mod-job, it's kind of lame... (but thanks for the link )

I live in a big city in the US that I'm 99% sure you've heard the name of, and there are still only about 2 theatres in town (with a total of maybe 6 screens) that have any chance in hell of playing any of the movies mentioned in this thread. And I've seen a few "Beat" Takeshi movies.. very good stuff. Battle Royale also (he's in that one too). Never seen part 2 though.

I'm all for less-than-lethal weaponry (like FN's 303, though it wasn't always orange.. FN 303 ), so in a way this is kind of cool. On the other hand, it could be TOO big a hit on morale, and not enough of a hit on actual combat effectiveness. As someone pointed out earlier, severe psychological damage and even suicide could be an issue. Those odds would probably still be better than the "life, death, or missing limbs" of an explosive though. At any rate, it sounds like this was one of many concepts that they didn't follow up on. U.S. military research also put out a call for powered combat suits/exoskeletons (Warhammer, anyone?) at one time. They were supposed to enable the wearer to go longer without fatigue (presumably by doing some of the work for them), move faster, and carry more, among other things. I think I still have the request that was on the DARPA site somewhere.