Backwards compatiblity is luxury, not necessity. But, aren't luxuries nice?

Bah, backwards compatible or not, I'm not buying a new system in 2005. I'll be hardpressed to buy them in 2006, to be perfectly honest.

Ned Beatty being chased by amorous hill billies. The Footless Wonder, seeing this horrific scene, raises his left foot overhead, and with a heroic cry he charges the hill billies. Enroute he trips over the unearthed root of a tree and falls into...

broadsword. With a low, sweeping blow she brought the dancing to an end. No longer able to claim membership of the "We All Have Attached Feet" club, he gathers his feet into his arms and...

Well, I do find it shocking. I understand many games use the same engines, but frequently you can tell from looking at them, "Oh, that's a Quake 3 game" or whatever.

I can tell from looking at it. The animations and especially Links facial animations (and head mvements, etc) are dead giveaways

Quake III games are easily distinguished because they all use use the so-called realistic art-style. Plus most of them were FPSs.

from the size of the characters to the look of the backgrounds to the fact that they have an enormous, realistic looking horse.

Textures, textures, textures (and models). It needn't have anything to do with the engine.

And yeah, changing the lighting as they have is pretty significant.

Not really. It is only significant from a visual perspective. I doubt it required many "drastic" changes to the engine. Cel-shading is just another type of lighting, the biggest difference between it and the more realistic lighting models is the way it "attenuates" over a surface.

All in all, I'd say a hell of a lot of work went into this game to the point where it doesn't look like Wind Waker at all

No doubt a lot(an enormous amount to be more accurate ) of work did go (and is going) into it. However, the change in graphics is almost entirely due to different textures and models not the engine. And I'll put money down on that.

The largest code changes are of course in the gameplay department, what with new elements like the horseback battling. I don't, however, consider such things to be part of the "engine" since generally they are much harder to re-use (unless all you're doing is slapping a new story and new areas onto the game)

I guess I should be more specific and say "the graphics engine".

They didn't just turn off the cel shading, you know.

Gee, really? eye guess eye 2 dumm to no that.  :?


Look, I didn't mean to contradict you, and I certainly didn't mean to offend. I apologize if it seemed that way. I am sorry.

Also, though I forget where I heard this, the engine used in the adult Link game is, shockingly, the same one used on Windwaker (though obviously significantly tweaked).

That is true, but it isn't that shocking. The engine was obviously quite functional, so most changes were probably in the art and the lighting models(lose the cel-shaded lighting for a more a true-to-life type of lighting)

I don't expect many "significant" changes had to be made to the engine. Aside from the lighting-code which probably needed a "significant tweak"

ROFL! I read these probably a year and half ago. The "Robe and Wizard Hat", one is my favorite to =D (The follow up is gold to )

Hahahahaha, it still splits my sides.

The rhino one is right up there, though. "Rhinoceruses don't wear shirts."


Hm, looks like they added some new ones since I saw them. Got a little too lewd on some of them =\

This is a sequel to Pitch Black? Strange that I've never seen PB... my Dad usually rents anything and everything. Hmmm...

I thought it was funny =)

Now I have another excuse to get that sweeter-than-honey NES Edition GBA-SP

Well, the carts caused N64 games to be 64.99 compared to 49.99. I can only expect it'll be even more expensive as technology has improved and the required amount of memory required on each cart will be higher. Nintendo...please prove me wrong.

That sort of flies in the face of all technological advancements of "older" technology. Prices don't go up, they go down, and the products get better.

I would LOVE it if Nintendo went back to cartridges. And when they do, I'm quite confident that the carts will hold plenty of data and be affordable.

Cartridges are becoming more and more viable in recent years, much larger capacities and much less expensive components. However, I don't think we'll see carts again until the generation after the next (I'd love to be wrong, though).

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/8447

I know it said in "Five years" but that doesn't apply to proprietary devices like game consoles (provided a company can begin producing them). Plus this is older than the article may lead you to believe. I've lost most of my other sources, though Of course most of them were more on the technical side anyway.

Unfortunately I don't remember the read times (certainly faster than CDs/DVDs). But judging by the description of the "read process" it should be comparable to RAM/ROM access times.

I honestly don't see them going back to carts though.

I do. And the sooner the better. These slow, fragile optical medias have hindered gaming too long already.

Maybe the next one won't look like a purse with Playskool controllers.

Mr. Burke, you disappoint me so...  :?


P.S. When I say carts, I'm really just referring to solid state medias like your standard ROM.

What is AvP?

DiamondDecision -

I am *definitely* down for a PSP. I've been waiting and waiting for a REAL portable gaming box. The Gameboy stuff is just too underpowered for me. All the games have little round happy people. Blah!

DiamondDecision -

you'll be sending the signal to the publishers that all you want it graphics. And that is all you'll get. No AI. No plot. Just graphics.

It is almost too easy.

Well, the GOTY edition that I bought only had Half Life in it, but you can download CS for free. It'll take you a month of Sundays to patch everything up to the current but the price is right.

Is that right? Free you say? Where can it be found? counter-strike.net, perhaps? I see Steam...

EDIT: Yeah, looks like you get it through Steam, eh? BTW, what do you think about buying HL used? I don't want to get screwed on a CD Key or something.

I don't suppose all the patches can be found central to the CS download itself?

If you are interested in the single player game, in addition to CS, look for the Platinum Pack. It shouldn't be too much more money. It has everything (Half Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress). If you are just looking to play CS, then you can buy any version of Half Life and download CS. Either way, you have to patch.

I've played the single-player game before, a long, long time ago. The SP Mods never really caught my fancy.

I believe the box I saw said "includes Team Fortress" or sometihng.


Anyway, thanks for the info guys =) GOTY was only $10 or so, and since CS is free I think I'll pick it up next time I'm in town.



Thanks again,

Michael.

Does Counter-Strike come with it? It is an orange(ish) box. I saw it down at EB a while ago but only recently decided I'd like to grab a copy of Half-Life/CS.

I'm not sure if it has bluetooth, but if it doesn't it has something that does the same thing. I believe wireless play can be achieved between DS' within 50-100 feet one another.

And: Is the 802.11 b or g?

I believe it is "b", but don't quote me on that.

We were told that the PSP will be crippled down to about 12 hours of constant gameplay before you have to recharge it. (Only about 3 hours for DVD play though)

Yeah, and the PS2 could push some ridiculous number of polygons too (upwards of 60 million if I remember correctly), of course, Sony failed to mention that those polygons were untextured, unlit, etc. Its a basic but effective tactic, tell a partial truth and it is good enough.


I'll believe it when I see it. My guess is Sony, as usual, has tested under the most ideal conditions and then reported those numbers.  I've never seen Sony's products as efficient and I find it hard to believe they've managed to overcome the drain of both the spinning disc drive and the large screen. Admittedly the disc drive doesn't have to be running non-stop but if the PS2 is any indication it will be doing plenty of spinning.

And if streaming game data for levels and what not doesn't do it,  FMV will definitely put the nail in the coffin (and then some). And I think it is no secret that many PS2 devs LOVE FMV.

At anyrate, battery life comes in second to price. And the price is ridiculous. If being adult means throwing money at overpriced electronics  then I don't want to grow up In the off chance PSP ever drops below $200 dollars I'll re-think things. Assuming the library pans out better than I expect.

As for the DS, it won't hurt to have the second screen except the additional battery draw. Of course, it also won't convince me to buy it either.

Fair enough.  ]


Anyway, I don't mean to sound inflammatory, I apologize if it seems that way.

I think that the true power of the DS is really only going to be exploited by RPGs. I am just having a hard time thinking of any other game type that would really benifit from a second persistent screen. Anyone?

I actually have a few ideas for the use of a second screen. I've got the good ones written down somewhere.

For instance, imagine a Zelda game like OoT, two different time periods. Now imagine if on one screen you have past and on the other you have present. That alone opens up ALL kinds of possibilities for puzzles, move or destroy something in the past and watch it take effect in the present. And even more interesting you could make the puzzles naturally occuring, doing something to an object that would cause erosion or something(make the player think.) This could be extended to boss battles and all kinds of stuff.

You could even go further with that, and instead of different time frames you have different dimensions. Then you could have a more "real-time" deal where you can directly affect one dimension, instead of an indirect change as in the lapse of time. Also, both dimensions could affect the other adding a whole new level of gameplay.

I won't go into further detail. It'd take too long and I don't feel like collating my thoughts  That is just the tip of the iceberg, though.

The only limit to what you can do is your imagination!

1.) Unless there is another use for that second screen other than RPGs, it better cost the same as a GBASP to survive.

I don't know how you can go to E3 and not be impressed by the DS.

Worst case: If there is no creative uses of the second screen, it doesn't really hurt anything, does it?

2.) Sony has their entire library to draw on including movies, music, and more. Having seen (and touched) this thing, I can tell you that it will be hard to keep that #1 hat for Nintendo as this appears to be (finally!!) an "Adult's handheld"

I'll just ignore that "Adult" comment  :?  At the estimated price point Nintendo won't have any problem out pacing the PSP, and Sony doesn't have anything to "draw on" since its first party titles are few and it has little control over 3rd parties (especially since it now has ZERO market share, its only real selling point for both home consoles), I expect there will be good 3rd party at first, but I'll be surprised if PSP really takes off.

Further more the over-the-top cinematics that Square and others used to push the PS1/2 into popularity are now going to be crippled with the machine being tethered by battery life, a battery that will be drained by a moving disc media and large back-lit screen.

Also, SE announced that they will have a Nintendo DS game playable at E3. I doubt it, but it would be great if it were the rumored port of Actraiser, perhaps with the action stage on one screen, and the town building on the other?

That would be pretty interesting... Use the touch screen for town building.


I was hoping we'd see a true sequel to FFT... Just imagine how smooth a tactics game would be with a touch screen (and another screen at your disposal!)

It looks OK... I have to admit I was still hoping for a more Tactics like system... silly, I know.

I wish they'd put a full shirt on that kid, though. []

Last I heard the system was due out before the end of the year. One thing though - you notice the price of the games? $49.99? I'm sorry, but I have very little intention on buying a portable console game at that price point.

None of those numbers are official, though. Because EB can't definitively say what the price will be it has to assume the absolute highest number (for both the unit and the games.) In this way, anyone who preorders will get money back instead of having to shell out even more clams.

I expect the price of games will be $29.99 - $34.99 US, and unit itself to be $149.99 - $199.99 (not to exceed $200)

First of all stick what in my ear?

Your piss-poor attitude, and your little, "valid" opinion. Anything that fits, though, will do. Be creative. Have fun with it.

Second like everyone here I am entitled to my opinion.

Yeah, and my opinion is your opinion stinks. That is valid, right?

Yours is no more valid than mine. If you can't stand reading other people's opinions you really shouldn't bother coming into a public board.

Ahh, the oft-used fail-safe "If you don't like it, leave." Charming, positively charming.

I'm just bloody sick and tired of every whiney bugger running around spouting anti-Nintendo babble. Especially with ignorant claims such "Nintendo isn't innovative enough. Its milking its franchises... Oh, hey, look! Jak 3! OMG WTF LOL!!111!" And this is of course without mentioning any of the new things Nintendo has brought to the table. No, those things are conveniently left out. Oh, and we won't mention that Nintendo always tries to mix things up with nearly all its franchise games. No, that would hurt our argument too much.

Instead of raining on everyone elses parade, why don't just go give a good word on something you do like?



Anyway, I'm sorry I've gone off topic. My displeasure has been voiced, and I won't tarnish the thread further.

Would be very surprised if the DS had the power to run anything approaching the Wind Waker engine. Cel-shading is not just some cheap texture effect. Plus with all the animations that game had... I would welcome it but be very surprised.

I dunno, I've been really impressed by what I've seen on the DS so far. Unfortunately I don't know enough about ARM processors (especially 9) to make an educated guess.

I am not judging the game I am judging the inovation of Nintendo. And it sucks. They milk every franchise they have to death and generally don't do squat for inovation.

As opposed to what? No other company on the planet is as innovative as Nintendo. Stick it in your ear.

Humm, I'm going to disagree with ya, Belgedin. There's a certain "slickness" to the PSP design. They didn't have a lot of room to play with the overall design of the handheld, since the whole thing's basically nothing but an LCD screen (seein' as they went with a horizontal shape).

That is of course your prerogative, but I still think it is plain and cluttered. There isn't anything special about the layout and nothing attractive about it, so slick is definitely not the descriptor I feel is fitting.


To whomever was complaining about the DS's controls: The PSP certainly isn't superior to the DS in that respect, it is rather asinine to infer that the PSP has a superior control scheme when the differences between the two (in that respect) are almost purely aesthetic(Oh, look, the DPad buttons aren't connected! That must be better!).


I won't be getting a PSP for two main reasons.

1. It uses a CD-type media. No thanks.
2. It is most surely going to be way too expensive for my blood.

Maybe in a few years the price'll drop enough for me to consider it.

If the DS is indeed $150 dollars I'll almost certainly snap one up.

The PSP is pretty freaking slick looking.

Looks tacky and cluttered if you ask me. It doesn't look bad, but slick isn't the wird I'd use to describe it. Plain is more fitting.

My God... it is beautiful. That is the most attractive game I've seen this generation (in that style I mean... competition is Halo/Metroid Prime etc).

I have to admit I'm gonna miss the cel-shading... but is is amazing looking.


DS is looking outstanding as well, very awesome stuff.


Nintendo has just pwned E3.

He lies! There are lots of fixes incorporated into GOTY.

Did I say "It has all the same bugs as the original"?

1. I'd assume that the resolution is turned down to 640x480 or below in order to get any graphics performance at all. Is it still a good game to play on the Xbox? Is it choppy and/or a slideshow?

It runs fine.

2. Any gotchas with getting the GOTY version of Morrowind instead of the regular?

It is as buggy as the original release

3. Is it possible to get/play user mods with this version?

No.


In my opinion, Morrowind alone isn't worth buying an XBox

Hey, welcome Belgedin!

Many thanks =)

I saw some spreads at QT3 a while back about this game, and after having played the GBA version of Fire Emblem, I'm ecstatic about one coming for the Cube.

Yes, as am I (if you hadn't guessed ) The only way this could be better is if Nintendo included some of the old NES/SNES FE's as unlockables. In such an event I'm quite sure I would have a heart-attack.

I am a bit confused over the Cube-to-PS2 conversion, however. Will the game still go by the same name on the PS2? And what's up with the other 'tales' game on the PS2? Is that a prequel or sequel?

I expect the name will remain the same. So far the port is only slated for release in Japan. I don't know much about the other Tales, I think it is called "Tales of Rebirth." All I know is the main character is pretty cool looking (kind of Sephiroth-esque.) Maybe GC will get a port of that one... tit-for-tat and all that

Man where were you when I crusaded over GG Console forum... you sound more excited than I could ever be.

Hehehe, I wish I'd know about it. I'm sure I could have added something  

Geist is the only one I need info on, because I think everything else will take care of itself

I agree, Geist seems most likely to get lost in the shuffle(unfortunately).

While I'm looking forward to Fire Emblem, the title I want to see (and own) is Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube. I've always loved the Tales series in its previous incarnations, and I have very high hopes for this one as well.

And it's about time the Gamecube got a second RPG...

Yes, I'm looking forward to ToS as well. I didn't have any doubt, though, that it would get plenty of coverage.

I don't know if it'll be shown or not, but if it is I want to know all about it!

I don't think I need to mention The next Mario or Zelda :wink:  If you're not covering those, well, I'm not visiting anymore, LoL.

Oh and Geist! Yes, more info on Geist. That one looks very promising.

I have a feeling that built in wireless will be standard on all of the next gen consoles.

Only if the controllers come with a builtin, rechargeable battery (maybe something like the battery in the GBA-SP). Otherwise it'll never fly.