Geek S**T

Off Topic
1187

[quote]Professor X wrote:
AngryVader wrote:

Good point. Outside of RPGs, it seems like most games are way too short. Games like Tie Fighter took weeks for me to finish. Plus, there was value in replaying these games so you really got your money’s worth.

I can think of quite a few newer games that you could start playing in the afternoon and have it beat by the time you go to bed. Once you beat them, do you ever want to play the game again? Sometimes, but for me, most of the time I’m done with it.

Granted, if the gameplay isn’t all that great, then sometimes it’s a good thing that the game isn’t too long.

Well, realistically, how many games could even be made that not only take forever to finish but are actually interesting enough for you to play them that long?

I think I beat Spiderman 3 in a weekend. I keep playing it though because swinging around a very realistic version of New York is fun for me.

God of War takes a while to finish but if it were really a whole lot longer, it probably wouldn’t have the following that it does.

Games like San Andreas can last forever because you can literally spend weeks avoiding any of the missions and just feeling out the environment.

That means your best bet for really long game play are free roaming games with a virtual reality world that you can fuck around in for days without following the game plan…that and shooter games (sports games too) that you can just keep playing over and over online with other people.[/quote]

This is why I tend to stick to RPGs. RPGs cans sometimes take me months to beat if want to level up my characters, do all the side quests, find all the secret, etc. I’ll admit that sometimes they can be too long though.

But I get what you’re saying. With pressure to get games out on time and still be good, length is the easiest thing to be sacrificed. If they sacrificed graphics or the game was too buggy, nobody would play it at all.

Your point about Spiderman 3 was what was I getting at for some of these other games. Sure, it’s a short game, but you enjoyed the gameplay enough to keep playing it. It seems like a lot of these games aren’t worth playing once you’ve beaten it. With games prices rising, I’d like most games to still have some replay value, especially if you can beat it in a few hours.

1188

Did you ever play the Ultima series, Vader? I loved Ultima 8 & 9. Pity 9 was so buggy though.

1189

[quote]RSGZ wrote:
Did you ever play the Ultima series, Vader? I loved Ultima 8 & 9. Pity 9 was so buggy though.[/quote]

I did play some of the Ultima games, but for some reason, I was never really was that into them. I remember being excited for Ultima 9, but I could barely get that game to run.

I was really into the Might and Magic series for a while and some of the D & D related games. I’m trying to think of specific titles, but I’m drawing a blank. I’ll have to search around and see if anything rings a bell.

I used to play just about everything made by Sierra back in the day.

I’ve always been into the Final Fantasy games.

I really loved Fallout, so I’m looking forward to Fallout 3.

I’ve already put a deposit down on Fable 2

1190

Sierra always has and always will = King’s Quest 5.

Windows 3.1 gaming to the rescue!

1191

[quote]Vash wrote:
Sierra always has and always will = King’s Quest 5.

Windows 3.1 gaming to the rescue![/quote]

All, the “Quest” games by Sierra were great in my book.

Space Quest, King’s Quest, the Quest for Glory series. I even liked the Krondor games.

1192

Space Quest was amazing! The humor in that series was incredible, definitely like Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

1193

Any fans of Heroes of Might and Magic? I still play HoMM 4 from time to time. Unless you get lucky, most games will last you a weekend.

1194

Anyone catch the Anandtech review of the Intel SSD drives?

I think the specs of the X-25E, which are unreleased, are 170 MB/s read, 240 MB/s write. 100 GB PER DAY for THREE YEARS equivalent MTBF rating. How is this possible?

God, I can’t wait for a greater than 250 GB capacity to reach less than $800 - I know, I know, at least 2 years off - and pop one in my laptop.

By then, quad core CPUs should be around and hardware accelerated H.264 encoding at 1080p quality should be standard, or at least a viable option. God bless the mobile GPU wars; GPUs rape Moore’s Law and the competition has literally created a whole segment of jobs for thermal engineers.

Side note:

My graduation present to myself will be a badass DSLR. I’m looking at a Nikon D300 right now because I want the slickest AF system out there, and that one camera seems to have it. Ideally, I want something for mostly JPEG shooting but about 20-30% of my shooting will be in RAW.

Focusing speed and low-light ability are my other top priorities. Don’t know if I should just scoop up a used Canon 30D for now and play with it until I have more coin…

Any thoughts? I want a decent ‘system’ for under a grand. Ideally, under $800.

1195

Wouldn’t the focusing speed and low-light ability be more of a factor of your lenses?

I have a rebel xt or whatever it’s called but I choose it for the fit in my hand and compatibility with my canon EOS lenses (which was a waste of time, the autofocus is crap on the old lenses with the new body)

1196

[quote]debraD wrote:
Wouldn’t the focusing speed and low-light ability be more of a factor of your lenses?

I have a rebel xt or whatever it’s called but I choose it for the fit in my hand and compatibility with my canon EOS lenses (which was a waste of time, the autofocus is crap on the old lenses with the new body)[/quote]

A minx among us? Nice :slight_smile:

Yes and no. It has a lot to do with the sensitivity of the AF sensors. Naturally, the most sensitive AF sensor will be the center one, but focusing accuracy and low-light (read: high ISO performance) have more to do with sensors, the latter with the actual imaging sensor and pixel density.

The more pixels for a given area, the more potential for noise. That’s why I never bought into the megapixel masturbation in the consumer segment, and it’s why the hobbyists and true photogs have given the Fuji F30fd so much praise that, despite being a discontinued model and only 6 megapixels, has such phenomenal high ISO performance for a sub compact that used models fetch insane prices on eBay.

1197

:o

I was never overly happy with the noise at low light on my camera. It would have helped had I known more about the sensors I suppose. Also it lacks spot-metering which is unbelievable IMO. But that’s what I get for buying the lowest end SLR. And for my compulsive tendency to buy first, compare specs and reviews later. But this was 2 years ago and there weren’t as many DSLRs at a decent price available yet. You’re lucky you’ll get a better selection than I!

For the most part is serves my purposes.

1024×683 153 KB

you can see some discoloured pixels in this pic though. I can’t really do much with lower light than that. That’s at ISO 100.

1198

I guess there are ‘tricks,’ in particular for landscape work.

Stacking images with varying opacity, then maybe combining the images (4-5 I hear is good) or possibly even doing a noise reduction for the chroma noise on the resultant image, then reducing size then sharpening.

I know it’s a ton of work and it does NOT work well with something that requires longer shutter speeds, like the flowy-ness of fog/water.

I think if you have a Canon and some lenses, a used 30D (maybe $600-800) is a sweet buy right now. I’ve just always been a fan of the Nikon lens lineup and body ergonomics. Or, you can try a used EOS 450D, which I think has the same sensor and will no doubt cost less. Definitely better high ISO performance than your XT.

And I’m no expert, by the way. A hobbyist at best who’s never had the cash for a true DSLR. I’ve made due with my Casio Z-750 which has been awesome; Divx quality movie recording and insane battery life. Grid lines, too.

But I might spring for a Fuji F30fd if I can’t decide (or afford) a DSLR system by next spring.

1199

you’d really need to use a tripod for that kind of precision though? That’s going into HDR territory. I don’t have the patience for that stuff. On trips where I want to get the great shots, I’m too exhausted to bother setting it up right or pulling out the tripod and metering.

I played with my uncle’s new Nikon last week and I quite liked it but I did find it hard to handle with my small grip. He loved the size of it for himself though. Just not a girl’s camera I guess, if you can imagine there’s such a thing.

Anyhow I’m sure whatever you’ll get will be better than mine :slight_smile:

1200

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
RSGZ wrote:
Did you ever play the Ultima series, Vader? I loved Ultima 8 & 9. Pity 9 was so buggy though.

I did play some of the Ultima games, but for some reason, I was never really was that into them. I remember being excited for Ultima 9, but I could barely get that game to run.

I was really into the Might and Magic series for a while and some of the D & D related games. I’m trying to think of specific titles, but I’m drawing a blank. I’ll have to search around and see if anything rings a bell.

I used to play just about everything made by Sierra back in the day.

I’ve always been into the Final Fantasy games.

I really loved Fallout, so I’m looking forward to Fallout 3.

I’ve already put a deposit down on Fable 2

[/quote]

Are you some runaway-incarnation of mine?

1201

So. Fable 2. I didn’t play the first one beause its reviews were quite similar to that of a fresh, unadultered shit. I heard it wasn’t half the game it was hyped up to be, and ended up becoming monotonous and predictable. That being said, I see people pre-ordering Fable 2 left and right (Best Buy employee).

Honestly, I can’t see how anyone could get excited about a one-button fighting system. One fucking button! Not only that, but I still don’t think there’s any way that the dynamics in the game could be shifted enough to make it an incredibly personal and customizable experience. Molyneux’s only real gem thus far has been Black and White, and even that had its issues.

If you can actually pillage and destroy everything in the game, perhaps I’ll give it a shot at a rental, but other than that… forget it.

Anyone else?

1202

The Suikoden and Breath of Fire series were well done too

1203

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
RSGZ wrote:
Did you ever play the Ultima series, Vader? I loved Ultima 8 & 9. Pity 9 was so buggy though.

I did play some of the Ultima games, but for some reason, I was never really was that into them. I remember being excited for Ultima 9, but I could barely get that game to run.

I was really into the Might and Magic series for a while and some of the D & D related games. I’m trying to think of specific titles, but I’m drawing a blank. I’ll have to search around and see if anything rings a bell.

I used to play just about everything made by Sierra back in the day.

I’ve always been into the Final Fantasy games.

I really loved Fallout, so I’m looking forward to Fallout 3.

I’ve already put a deposit down on Fable 2

Are you some runaway-incarnation of mine? [/quote]

hehe…I think a lot of here were all cut from the same piece of geek-cloth.

1204

[quote]SSC wrote:
So. Fable 2. I didn’t play the first one beause its reviews were quite similar to that of a fresh, unadultered shit. I heard it wasn’t half the game it was hyped up to be, and ended up becoming monotonous and predictable. That being said, I see people pre-ordering Fable 2 left and right (Best Buy employee).

Honestly, I can’t see how anyone could get excited about a one-button fighting system. One fucking button! Not only that, but I still don’t think there’s any way that the dynamics in the game could be shifted enough to make it an incredibly personal and customizable experience. Molyneux’s only real gem thus far has been Black and White, and even that had its issues.

If you can actually pillage and destroy everything in the game, perhaps I’ll give it a shot at a rental, but other than that… forget it.

Anyone else?[/quote]

Despite the bad reviews, Fable was fun and just about everyone I know that played it also thought it was fun. The game was short and didn’t live up to it’s original hype, but that didn’t seem to stop anyone from enjoying it.

I didn’t have any problems with it’s combat system. Yes, there was only one attack button, but the other buttons were also utilized in combat for ranged weapons and magic (as will also be the case in Fable 2). I used to do this fun sword with lightning combo.

That said, we’ll just have to see how Fable 2 turns out. I have no reason to believe based on what I’ve heard that I won’t like the game.

1205

Anyone watch the Smallville season premiere last night (no spoilers)?

1206

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Anyone watch the Smallville season premiere last night (no spoilers)?[/quote]

No cable yet.