Strike911

I'm assuming you were using sarcasm in your post. If not then... well, damn son. Pirating games is wrong and illegal. Everyone agrees. But pirating games isn't necessarily the modder's fault. That's like going after an unknowing salesman that sold matches to a pyromaniac. Those committing the actual act of piracy are at fault here. This guy is just modifying consoles, and I don't want to outright support anyone that advocates piracy if he does, but merely hacking a console brings a lot of added functionality to the device outside of piracy. It by no means guarantees that someone is going to pirate games. That's my beef with this situation. The law is screwy and a result of corporate luddites, and got legislation because of old men that hear what they want to hear.

I love how his main page had a conveniently placed : MIRRORS a game by EDGE, to make it look like his company made MIRRORS EDGE. what a dork. lol. I've heard this guy's story for a while now, and he such a tool. I hear some people are pursuing him legally...

NO GO TO JAIL! lol.

That's just ridiculous of the government. Anything can be "hacked" today and open up plenty of additional legal functionality to a device (though it might void your warranty). Be it a GPS, a phone, a computer, or a game console, they all usually have the capability to store data. And if one can store data they could possibly store illegal data. One could theoretically put illegal data (mp3s, software, etc.) on a lot of hardware that has been modified (again, a new CD burner on a PC)... anything.... but that isn't the modifiers problem. How can the government determine what people are using this storage for? How do they prove piracy has occurred because of this guy's mod service? It just doesn't make sense to me. It's a ridiculous avenue to pursue this guy from. It's a ridiculous law in general. It theoretically could make a case for anyone that's ever built a PC for money, that has a cd burner on it, subject to legal action. If this guy has a decent lawyer I bet he could get off.

The article says: I think this isn't so much an issue of modifying the console as it is preventing the sale and proliferation of illegal copies. I don't think modifying you own stuff can possibly be illegal if you're using it for lawful purposes like playing homebrew games or games with region locks from other countries. But where does that stop? How on earth do you prove that without having proof that illegal copies are being used as a result of his modifications??! What if I put new CD burner and Nero on someone's computer, and charge for it. The original computer's set up has been modified for a profit, and burners could affect control or access to plenty of copyrighted works! Uh oh, plenty of people running computer building companies are off to prison! What a ridiculous law. That law is silly. Yeah if he's doing things to promote illegal activity like helping pirates copy things or selling copies, then yeah arrest him and toss him into jail, but the government is pinning him on just modifying the console which also has plenty of legal applications. What others do isn't this guy's fault, again unless he's actively promoting illegal activity (and lets be honest he probably is). But physically modifying an electronic device should not be illegal just because it doesn't make sense. You can't control other people's intent. I hacked my cell phone so I could put custom ringtone midis on it. Theoretically one could put illegally downloaded MP3s on it if one really wanted. If I modified someone else's phone for a profit am I'm suddenly in trouble? That's ridiculous. The person committing the offense should be in trouble, not the modifier. XBMC (like mentioned above) is a fantastic utility for hacked Xboxs. I never used it on an Xbox (there's a PC version), but I could definitely see a legal use for the app on modified systems. Are they really going to toss someone in jail that could do that? *sigh* ... But the physical act of modifying the console for a profit is what they're going after. This is too much intervention from the government over something that should not be illegal because its legal for hundreds of other devices that cause MUCH more damage in the piracy world including PCs with CD burners, DVD burners, etc. Where does the term modify stop? Man this bugs me... again, if he's involved in the piracy scene then go get him Uncle Sam, but from what I can tell they don't mention it in the article. Where does modification start? Where does it end? Again, I would bet this guy is heavily involved with the piracy scene... this situation can't be the norm.

Haha, oh man! I had almost forgot about those games that had hidden trivia questions that required the game's manual to play. lol. Copy protection my ass! I specifically remember Street Fighter 2 for the PC doing that.... and so did the ancient EA racing game Indy 500: The Simulation. Man... what a load of crap that was. lol. haha. Edit: I guess the last game I remember doing that was the original Metal Gear Solid making me check the back of my CD case. Does anyone know any modern games doing this?

No, I'm certainly not saying difficult games are bad game design. Difficult games and overcoming the challenges they present are very important aspects of feeling accomplishment in video games. Overcoming obstacles and overcoming losses are an integral part of games as a medium. What I am saying though is that a lot of early games were often difficult and frustrating because of poor design choices, and weren't calculated to allow the player to overcome them. Like look at the first Ninja Turtles game on the NES (it was riddled with things like this). Why put an enemy at the top of a ladder where its virtually impossible to avoid? That's not making the game difficult so much as it is just punishing the player for wanting to play the game. Yeah, it made the game hard, but it was hard for the wrong reasons, and a lot of early games suffered from that, you know? Things that were just limitations of older consoles I'm often more willing to forgive, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. Like AI. I mean, that could be a large part of why games feel "easier" now. We can have more AI going on to further control what enemies a player encounters. Again, on the NES we had a lot of instances of taking out an enemy and having another one spawn to keep the heat on the player. The problem is that you'll hit an occasional bottleneck where if multiple enemies are on the screen, they'll spawn in places (or do things) that are difficult to avoid and are just plain unfair. The solution usually called for either being a complete master of the game or (for most people and newbies) just eating the damage. Kids today that are playing old NES games are of course not going to like them, because games today ordinarily try to teach the player what they need to know to before they proceed. Too much hand holding people will complain about, but too little and then you get frustrated. It's a tight rope game, and even the best games of older generations taught the player (to a certain extent) what they needed to know before they ramped up the difficulty, its just that, again, in a lot of older games the bar was set at really frustratingly hard levels that makes enjoying the game difficult, until you know what you're doing. I'm willing to forgive easiness of games though. Sometimes I just want an easy experience where I can sit down and play through a story, and other times I want something really intense and precise, offering a real challenge that I can fight my way through. I think the current state of the industry is one of trying to appeal to both people that want a challenge and people that want just a story (like an interactive movie), and what we've got on a whole is an imperfect compromise. ... so yeah. I like difficult games, but games that are needlessly difficult, not so much. And you really should play Shadow of the Colossus. I wouldn't call it difficult by any means. A lot of the time the game points you right where you need to go. And when you get stuck it gives you hints. That said, the sense of exploration is really immersive. It's still a wonderful experience when combined with the music and sheer sense of epic adventure.

How did we beat games? Well, it was a different time, definitely, but the latest gaming magazines and strategy guides were much more important. You couldn't find cheat codes or maps or faqs ANYWHERE (much less previews for new games coming out!). It wasn't until the Playstation 1 and N64 showed up that the internet really had information on games. I remember being a kid looking forward to the latest game mags to see what new stuff was coming out, and a lot of times the tips they offered in the mags were valuable. It was fun to get those magazines every month just because they were a cornucopia of information. You can't really relate to that these days, at all, because the internet. For the last 10-15 years, the internet has just made all that information available at all times. Magazines... print. They were a bigger deal back in the day. HELL, gaming kiosks in department stores were a big source of information. Does anyone remember those giant SNES kiosks in toys r us and stuff that you could press the buttons and get previews and commercials of games coming out? OCcasionally they'd give tips, and a lot of the times it was common knowledge, but occasionally they had a nugget of info. It was weird in that time, really. Game companies really had much more control of who had their information then... Games weren't instant gratification like they are now. They were more like something you'd put time into and if you were good you could maybe finish the game. The more I think about, the more I think the emergence of the internet might be the source. The internet really has pushed a lot of people to desire instant gratification... just because inherently, the internet is exactly what you want exactly when you need it. Same with cell phones and Tivos and stuff. All this information and entertainment right at your fingertips. People want games they can experience right now, and it's a given that they should see the ending of the story if they stick to it. If anything, younger gamers today want the option of putting time into a game to master it IF and only if they choose to. They expect to finish a game and not be a master, but that wasn't necessarily the case back in the day, when you had a really steep difficult right from the beginning. Really, most of those old games were just bad game design, but we all really didn't have the awareness of what good and bad game design was, just because video games were still such a new form of a media. It was still in its transition from an arcade medium, where you played for points into a storytelling medium where you played for the experience and the story. It's all just a transition. Games like contra had their time back in the day because it was right for that moment in time. /yacking

... your problem is that you just haven't lowered your standards enough yet.

haha, that's funny.

Try a game of Lucky Hit. Would you like to play some Lucky Hit?

I don't have anything to add as I don't really have the musical knowledge or ability to dissect themes like that, but I just want to say one thing: I <3 this thread. Insight into the inner working of some of these themes really is eye opening and I honestly feel like I'm learning something. Nice work.

Haha. Props good sir. Props. I love the Gundam statue. <3 it. Sidenote: Char Aznable says, "Let the purge begin." .... really sucks about Sydney, Australia though, what, with that colony drop and all. Never forget.

What are the details regarding rights? Most indy competitions allow the teams to retain their rights, but do they seriously have a stake in it once the competition is over. I'm looking all over the rules right now...

In game vid for those that missed it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9VBrPREN4Y&feature=related

So I watched some of this show. I'm actually enjoying it! The mecha designs are fun, and the different affiliations at war are interesting. Always cool to see how one group is plotting against the other... and how smaller people are affected. *continues watching* Edit: Go Joe.

Just FYI to those interested. Mechwarrior 4 will be released for free very soon. info here: http://kotaku.com/5311399/pay-nothing-get-mechwarrior-4 I'm excited. I hope we get A LOT of customization options.

Teaser trailer of giant robot foot. http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/07/is-this-mechwarrior-5/ Official announcement coming very soon about big mech game by the people that own the rights to Mechwarrior now (R.I.P. FASA, never forget). Could be Mechwarrior 5, and that's what people are expecting... largely. ... I don't know about you guys but a good mech sim is what I've been craving for a loooong time now. Sure, Steel Battalion scratched that itch a few years ago, but the novelty was really only in the controller and interface. I still miss the glory days of Mechwarrior 3. The customization was fun, and yeah Armored Core is great in regards to customization, too, but there's something special about the traditional mech sim, cockpit simulations that I sure have missed all these years. And with games like Killzone 2 giving glimpses of what riding in the cockpit of a giant mech could be like with this generation of hardware, it's pretty exciting to imagine what a new Mechwarrior title could be like. I just really hope it isn't something like a Mech Assault announcement (or any other 3rd person titles). EDIT: More videos! http://pc.ign.com/articles/100/1001586p1.html

I might start watching it then. From what I can ascertain it appears to be a hard military, sci-fi show, which I tend to really enjoy. I'll watch the first few episodes and get back to you guys.

You know, I was given Volume 1 and Volume 3 DVDs as a gift a year or so ago. Maybe I should start watching it...

Oh yeah? I'd been reading up on things but I hadn't hit any of the grievances on 64-bit XP except for a few driver incompatibilities. I'm not exactly dead set on making the switch; heck, it'd be easier for me just to keep what I have now. I could easily wait for Windows 7, and I might do that.

Some of the musical performances so far have been stellar. Good memorial. Definitely moving. edit: And Al Sharpton... normally I'd make fun of the guy because I think he's silly a lot of the time, but his speech was powerful... and it's weird because I've never described Sharpton's words that way, and probably never will again.

Okay, so I have the capability to upgrade my system to a 64 bit OS. (I have more RAM than I know what to do with and my 32bit system won't be able to see more than 2.5-3 GB of it.) I currently have Windows XP 32-bit installed. My question is can I merely upgrade/update my 32 bit system to the 64 bit system (is this possible?), or should I back up everything, wipe the drives, and reinstall the operating system cleanly? My gut feeling is to back up everything, wipe the drives, and install it freshly, but I wasn't sure if it would just be a waste of time, or if Windows even required that. Is just installing a 64 bit XP over the 32 bit XP enough, or will I have issues? I know I need to download 64-bit drivers and could possibly get a few driver incompatibilities, but it isn't too big of a problem, I think. Anyway, your help is appreciated.

I'll never forget how excited me and group of my friends were when we found an old copy of UmJammer Lammy resting quietly in a friend's pile of old game CDs. We popped the game into a PS2, still excited, played the first stage or two... and we were all like, "Wow... this game isn't nearly as fun as it used to be." That and Ballz.

You mean things like Left4Dead 2? heehee.