zircon

Wait, so is this literally a remake in the sense that they redrew things? Or is it just a re-cut/re-edited version of DBZ? I'm not sure I understand. It's not accurate to call it a remake if they just used the same library of 'footage' from DBZ and cut stuff out.

That would be Schala's theme. Nice beat, but too bad there isn't any credit to CT.

Hey, only getting funding from a bank didn't work out. Our first game is actually nearing completion. Like I said, we just had to bootstrap it www.spacewhalestudios.com - check it out!

Most of you don't realize just how hard game development is. I started a game development studio with four others and we went to banks, venture capitalists, angels, the SBA and other organizations on a local, state and federal level to try to get funding. We couldn't get any. We have to pay for everything out of pocket and work strictly on a volunteer basis. Even with a very sharp business plan (we have one over 60 pages long, evaluated by UPenn's Wharton school of business) and good personnel, it is basically impossible to get money as a startup company, much less one that needs few fixed assets (lenders prefer to lend to companies who use the money to buy fixed assets that they can sell later in the case of a loan default.) Publishers are what enable so many developers to actually realize their games. They take on the risk (and there is a LOT of risk, most games do NOT turn a profit) and the developers get to enjoy paychecks, as opposed to working day jobs and trying to develop a game in their spare time (next to impossible.) I really can't say this enough. It's INCREDIBLY hard to develop a game. Even one with basic graphics requires massive man-hours. And if you need contractors, for things like AI, netcode, modeling, rigging, texturing, scripting, etc.? It's incredibly expensive. Our estimates for a small-scale XBLA multiplayer RPG title called for over $100k in startup capital. To a publisher, this is nothing. To a group of five people trying to start a company, it's an impenetrable wall. Frankly, that is why record labels are a very, very good thing as well. I understand some major labels have made some terrible decisions in the past, but while home recording is nice and all, how many indie artists do you know of with enough money to afford world-class engineers, session players and recording spaces? You might say "well you don't need that" but the fact of the matter is, if you want to make the best music, you need the best tools and the best people. Good luck funding any of that as an indie artist without a label. Labels are awesome because again, they take risk away from the artist and let them realize their music to its fullest potential, AND get paid (via advances) in the process so they can spend all of their time on music. This is all to say nothing of the other, non-monetary benefits that a publisher/label can bring: promotion, distribution, brand name (and brand trust), a legal and accounting staff, headhunting/recruiting, and so on. It's really easy to be on the outside and say "oh publishers/record labels are so bad" but until you've really been through the game development (or album development) process, you really don't know what it's like.

I'm not using the term "demand" in the sense of "We demand this, or else!" I'm using the economic definition. EA can put out a new sports game every year for numerous franchises and generate a lot of revenue. There are millions of people who have demand for such products. They can choose from any game out there, including indie games, as well as any other kind of entertainment to spend their discretionary (luxury) money on. Yet they choose these games, and games like GTA4, Uncharted 2, Final Fantasy 13, etc. instead. There is no argument here. The market has a lot of demand for these higher end games. Games which do not have polished voice acting, great graphics, bugfree code, and realistic physics are much less appealing than the competition and there is thus less demand for them. They have to try to create blockbusters because it's so expensive to make games to begin with. What would happen if a game company released a game with PS1 graphics on the PS3? Or PS2 graphics? It wouldn't sell. Gamers want more evolved games in every way. They won't settle for anything less. Again, you can point to indie games, but indie games don't generate anywhere near the revenue or sales figures. There is less demand for them. More people would rather play a cinematic adventure like Uncharted 2 or a brilliant platformer like Super Mario Galaxy 2 than Braid. Simple as that. True, NSMB Wii had more sales. But it also had the 'install base' of people who had already played NSMB DS, which was among the most popular DS games ever, and the DS has an extremely large fanbase. In effect, you're proving MY point, which is that developers are more likely to develop low-cost sequels (NSMB -> NSMB Wii) than take risks (SMG1) though again as you can see, SMG2 is sticking very closely to SMG1 - something Nintendo has never done on their main consoles since the days of the NES. Anyway, here's a fun image: The game industry will simply continue to do things in its own best interest. If gamers show (with their wallets) that they are more than willing to pay higher prices, premium DLC fees, $15-20 for a game like Braid, or whatever, and if those things pull in ideal revenue for developers and publishers, then those things will continue. But the game industry as a whole cannot cater to strictly the small subset of hardcore gamers that are willing to pay far more than the average gamer. Again think of my previous example. EA could easily find buyers for a $100 sports game, but they'd get far fewer sales, thus making it not worth it. The market, in this case, corrects itself.

You're absolutely right that a web presence is extremely important (along with proper search engine optimization.) However, I'm not really much of a web designer myself. Other people have to do the heavy lifting before I can really do much. With Jill's help I'm capable of making color alterations, basic layout tweaks, and certainly content management, but in terms of doing things from scratch, I have to look to others for help. Luckily I do know a lot about web design 'theory' if you will, as I've taken some classes on the topic. There's a lot to know, though a lot of it is common sense, and I'd be happy to give you some advice when you get to the stage where a design is being created.

Actually, Space Whale Studios is a video game developer

Ha, cool - was hoping for a thread like this someday! I'm involved in three small businesses. However, none of them have any employees. One is a sole proprietorship involving just me (www.zirconmusic.com). Another is a partnership (two people) that does involve contractors, but nobody salaried or on staff (www.impactsoundworks.com). The third is another partnership involving five people, again making use of contractors but no full-time employees (www.spacewhalestudios.com). It might seem like I'm doing a lot but they're actually all pretty intertwined.

Put out those flame kicks with some WAAATAAAAAH I vote for Hakan and/or Makoto.

The fact that gamers demand mainstream games with massive budgets shows that we do, in fact, want/need that. Yeah, indie games are up-and-coming, but they're not pulling the same kind of numbers (or anywhere close) that the big games are. I don't know why you guys are even arguing this. Making proper AI, designing levels, coding (Uncharted 2 had over 1 million lines of custom code), modeling, rigging, texturing, animating, creating realistic physics, all of this costs massive $$$.

What does that have anything to do with it? The secondary market isn't the market for new games. It's possible to be at the equilibrium price and still have a thriving secondary market. Put another way, the people participating in the secondary market are already included on the demand curve of the primary market. Reducing the price of a new game to $30 would improve sales numbers, since you are moving lower on the demand curve and thus increasing quantity sold, but the overall revenue wouldn't be as high. Put yet another way, if the increase in price from $50 to $60 resulted in less total sales revenue, it wouldn't have stuck.

How is the market's willingness to pay at that price "no reason"? Prices for products are not set based on how much they cost to make. If you've taken basic economics you know the rule; there is an ideal point where the supply and demand curves intersect, and that point is the equilibrium price. In simple terms, there is a sweet spot of (Quantity * Price). At this point you might sell 1 million copies for $60, whereas if you increase the price to $70 you only sell 500,000 copies, and if you decrease the price to $50 you'll only sell 1.2 million (overall, less profit generated in either scenario.) $60 has resulted in greater video game sales revenues (quantity sold * price of game.) That's the reason for the $60 price tag. That's the reason for the price of most any consumer good. Companies have little reason to sell a product at a price that results in less revenue.

Actually, it IS your problem. When games get really expensive to make, any failure means developers closing up shop, layoffs, less risks taken, more sequels, ports and knockoffs, less innovation, longer development cycles, etc. And guess what? We're seeing tons of that stuff now. FF13 took what, 5 or 6 years to develop? Next generation it might take 7 or 8, if not more. Does anyone really want that?

[qipte]What I find astounding is all the industry "apologists" of this. Look, there may be a number of people that have a large disposable income, but the truth is, games are too expensive, and there are financially stripped gamers. And when you release major titles within 3 weeks time frame, how do you expect to make a profit off your game?

$35 to get my ass kicked... hmmm.... I'm not going to even attempt a tournament until I can win online matches 90% of the time.

Happy birthday Jade! Hope to see you at MAG!

Also, a good way to get better: set your custom match search parameter to "more skilled." Normally I can maybe win 50-50 online but with that parameter I lose like 80% of the time. Great practice.

Perhaps one of us could help if you could upload a replay, either via XBLA (if that's what you're on) or even just recording it to YouTube. Who's your main? Here are some common things to help you get better at SSF4. 1. Don't spam reversals. Since it is really easy to do reversals, almost any competent player will not try to attack you on wakeup. If you see them executing an attack, then of course go ahead and reversal them. Also, if you're a grappler and they're just standing around (but NOT JUMPING) right as you're waking up, reversal command grab them. "Mashing DP" against anyone with half a brain is just a bad idea. 2. A common tactic is for people to jump in on you and execute a block string (eg. a series of attacks where you are in hit stun and they have the 'frame advantage'.) In these situations, it is generally best to hold down-back and then spam LP+LK. This is what is known as an 'optional select' or 'crouch tech'. If they finish their block string and then go for a throw, you will tech it and/or hit them. If they mess up their block string, you will hit them. If they continue their string, you will just block. It's generally a win-win scenario for you. 3. Always block high when someone is jumping in. Sounds simple, but some people don't do it, so be aware of that. 4. Don't spam Ultras or other highly-punishable moves just out of desperation. If you are losing, it's better to maintain your calm and keep your tactics the same. If anything, you may consider playing more defensively and baiting your opponent to attack, setting up a good opportunity to execute your ultra. 5. Learn your "BNB" combos. Everybody can execute moves in SSF4. Learning a few basic combos will go a long way, though. Forget about link combos for now and spend time in Challenge mode to fine tune your skills. A BNB (bread and butter) combo is something you should do in any situation where you have the opportunity to deal damage. For example, a whiffed fierce shoryuken, whiffed focus attack or ultra. For example, Guile's BNB is crouching MP -> fierce Flash Kick. Fei Long's BNB is standing close FP -> 3x Rekkaken. Many players will simply do a low sweep or throw if they have the opportunity to deal damage, but this is not taking advantage of the opponent. Most online players know their BNB combos so if you're not doing yours, you're at a disadvantage. 6. Learn your block strings. Simple strings tend just to be a series of LP and LK attacks, but Challenge mode will help you learn more advanced ones that also incorporate special attacks. Even if you are playing a very defensive character, you need to know how to apply pressure. Once you know some basic block strings, develop your mindgames. Throw a series of blocked attacks out, then pause a split-second. If the opponent goes for a reversal, you can punish them. If they do nothing, you can rush up and throw them (I do this all the time.) Mixing in overhead attacks with your block strings is another excellent way to pressure, and will almost ALWAYS make your opponent start panicing and throwing out attacks. 7. This might go without saying, but try to pick one or two characters and really learn all of their properties. A big part of Street Fighter is "footsies", which basically consists of moving back and forth and throwing out normal moves (not specials) to help control space. Many newer SF players simply use as many specials as possible, but this is not a good idea. Try browsing this guide for more info: http://sonichurricane.com/?page_id=1702 Learning normals is such a big part of this because each character has very different properties of their normal moves. For example, Guile can beat out almost any jump-in attack simply by crouching and pressing fierce punch, but you need to know the timing for this, because it's different than other "anti air" normals like Fei Long's standing back+roundhouse. Some characters have particular normals that are extremely good and that you should constantly rely on - Chun-Li's medium punch, for example, Dee Jay's slide, or Hakan's fierce punch.

Impact Soundworks is proud to be a part of the newly unveiled Indie Dev Collective, a massive sale consisting of twelve developers from all ends of the audio software spectrum with the goal of providing customers with a huge range of deals on synths, effects, samples, loops and presets. Discounts extend all the way up to 65% off, with over 50 deals on more than 90 diverse products by developers like: Impact Soundworks de la Mancha Dusted William Sounds H.G. Fortune Hardcore Harmonics/Supersynths Manytone Nucleus Soundlab Perimeter Sound Arts Ugo Westgate Sounds whiteLABEL Dangerous Bear Underground In an effort to introduce our customers to more developers and encourage cross-fanbase interest, the developers of the IDC have organized the sale with a little twist: 1. Purchase any of the 19 products, from any developer, on the IDC main page in the lefthand column. 2. After purchase, the developer you bought from will email you your download information and send you a link to a private sale page where you'll find even more discounts from all participating developers (deals listed on the righthand column of the IDC main page.) The sale is open now and will continue through May 31st. Visit the Indie Dev Collective site for more information: http://www.indiedevcollective.net The ISW products involved in this sale include Sitar Nation: Classical Instruments of India, Impact: Steel - Cinematic Metallic Percussion, and Groove Bias: Vintage Drum Sounds, all critically-acclaimed KONTAKT-format libraries!

Then all you have to do is set the kick channel so that it doesn't output to the master track in the mixer.

I said non-fireball characters are *generally* at a disadvantage... and E.Honda has pretty much never been top tier. Most fireball characters don't suffer from a lack of close-range moves and can still string devestating combos together. However, they also have great zoning. On a related note, the tier list really surprises me. It's obviously way too early to call any of this stuff with certainty, but Rufus was not top in SF4, and he received nothing but nerfs in SSF4 - his damage came down a LOT. I don't see how he can deal with zoning any better in this game. Maybe his jumpins trade with DPs more?

I think Makoto has a lot of potential, but generally all non-fireball characters are at a disadvantage to begin with. Makoto seems to suffer from nerfed combos, too (ie. can't do much with chaining rush punches/neck breaks.)

Hope it wasn't posted, but I got a kick out of this.

No, don't use the Peak Controller method. It's outdated and needlessly complex. Sidechaining in FL9 is now really simple using the FL Limiter plugin. Put it on whatever channel(s) you want to be effected by the kick, then switch the Limiter mode to 'Comp' instead of 'Limit'. In the mixer, select your kick track. Right click on the arrow at the bottom of the channel(s) you want to be effected and click 'Sidechain to this Track'. Now, the kick is sending a sidechain signal to those channels. What this does is make the FL Limiter act as a compressor triggered by the KICK. So, just lower the threshold and increase the ratio to tweak the pumping effect, timing, and so on. It's really a very powerful tool, and more flexible (not to mention smooth) than the peak controller method.

In the U.S., there is a simple procedure of visiting a website (Harry Fox Agency), picking the songs you want to cover, and paying a fee for X licenses. The rate is 9.1 cents per song per download or album sale. You do have to prepay for digital sales. Not a bad deal overall. However, I have no idea what the Canadian laws are - the process I described above, which essentially is called 'compulsory mechanical licensing', is a U.S. law and not international.