What is it with everything adding in auto complete to their list of features?
Alright, I understand that probably more than half the computer using population out there hunts and pecks their keys, and another good chunk of people simply don't know how to spell out there. (I'm terrible at spelling in English, but that's a blog for another time.) However, why do I have to ware out my backspace key just so other people can be lazy?
I think auto-complete would be nice if it only used one key to determine whether or not to finish a word for me. The TAB key would probably be a nice option, though a computer geek like myself would actually prefer F2 or something.
I find it so annoying when I am typing something and I hit the space bar or enter key and auto-complete decides to change my word on me! Just because I used the word "camping" earlier in my paper doesn't mean that I want to use the word "camping" every other place in my paper. I type "I went camping last week." at the beginning of my story, and then later I try to write, "I went back to camp." and the auto-complete decides to be helpful and put "ing" at the end for me. Well ain't that wonderful! So, I end up with "I went back to camping."
The solution of course is to turn off auto-complete entirely. However, in some programs auto-complete can be quite helpful. For example, I use a compiler named Torsion for writing TorqueScript. It would be nice to use the auto-complete feature to make sure all of my variable names are correct. However, when it starts making me hit the backspace key 20 times (or mouse over and highlight) to change function names back to the function name I intended, it becomes more of a pain than a boon.
I tend to wonder if the people who write these programs actually use the features they write into them. I can't imagine some Microsoft programmer using auto-complete in MS Word, the way auto-complete functions right now. If they're not using the feature, I think they should take that as a clue that something needs fixed.
I have another rant for auto-formatting too.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Atari doesn't get it!?
Ok, ok, I'm supposed to be reviewing games, not complaining about game companies, right? Whatever!
I just read this article the escapist:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92296-Is-a-Neverwinter-Nights-MMOG-in-the-Works
... That says Atari is working on a Neverwinter Nights MMORPG. The article states that one of the things that made NWNs so popular is that people were able to create their own worlds that were like mini-MMOs and thus "it only makes sense to make Neverwinter Nights into an MMORPG" [<-Not a perfect quote.]
I'm about to make a slight change in topic, but in a minute you'll see how it relates:
I grew extremely upset when I learned that Bioware is about to release Dragon Age as a Single Player Only game! I was chomping at the bit looking forward to creating my own PW in Dragon Age, and then had all my hopes and dreams shattered when I learned that despite having what will be probably a really awesome toolset the game will only be single player!
How does this relate? I'm upset because I wont get to create my own little MMORPG where I get to be god and everyone else is a bunch of little peons begging me for gold, magic items, and other treasures! See, what Atari and Bioware are missing is that some of us old-school roleplayers are DMs and that we have hungry god complexes that no amount of playing The Sims or Black & White is going to fill! We're not looking to toss around unfeeling little artificial intelligent people or make puppet people wet their virtual pants when we don't build toilets into their houses. We want to have power and dominion over real people through our virtual worlds! We want to know someone is really cowering when we threaten to drop a fireball upon them from the heavens above! Also, the only way we can get these kicks are through games like Neverwinter Nights!
The other thing Atari seems to be missing out on is that the "Mini-MMORPGS" are all as unique as the imaginations of the people who created them. Sure the main game may be Neverwinter Nights, but I've played on servers set in Harry Potter-like worlds, and I've seen PWs set in the Firefly Universe (See: Sci-Fi)!
There are several major reasons why the people who play on Neverwinter Nights PWs prefer Neverwinter Nights PWs, and all of these reasons are why a NWN MMORPG will likely flop on it's face!
Reasons:
1. Neverwinter Nights is FREE to play online!
a. Not everyone is willing to shell out $14.99 a month (or Whatever MMORPGs are charging these days) to play a game online. There are many people who've I heard say the phrase, "I will only pay for a game once!" (Meaning they don't like paying monthly for a game, right!?)
b. Not everyone can afford $14.99 a month! Especially in the current economical climate!
2. There's something for everyone!
a. Some people like games that punish them; They prefer it that when their character dies, they're dead! Gone for good! That's it, roll up another one baby!
b. Some people like games where when they die, they bounce right back up and are able to just keep on going like nothing ever happened!
c. And there are lots of people who like all the shades in between! (Can an MMORPG offer all the shades? - I think not.)
d. Some people love full PvP, some people hate PvP, and some people like the in-between! Can an MMORPG serve all of them?
e. Some people like Hack 'n Slash (generally available in every MMO), but others like to just roleplay... And the hard thing is: Those whole like "Hardcore Roleplaying" don't like to be surrounded by people who don't know what the word "Roleplay" means! (That's one of the biggies I believe for NWNs!)
3. Neverwinter Nights provided great (community made) single player adventures... And plenty of them!
The short of it is: Neverwinter Nights managed to provide nearly everything everyone ever wanted to nearly everyone who wanted it!
There's an old saying, "You can't please everyone all the time." And while Neverwinter Nights certainly wasn't able to please everyone even part of the time, it's probably the only game that's ever come close to doing so.
I just read this article the escapist:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92296-Is-a-Neverwinter-Nights-MMOG-in-the-Works
... That says Atari is working on a Neverwinter Nights MMORPG. The article states that one of the things that made NWNs so popular is that people were able to create their own worlds that were like mini-MMOs and thus "it only makes sense to make Neverwinter Nights into an MMORPG" [<-Not a perfect quote.]
I'm about to make a slight change in topic, but in a minute you'll see how it relates:
I grew extremely upset when I learned that Bioware is about to release Dragon Age as a Single Player Only game! I was chomping at the bit looking forward to creating my own PW in Dragon Age, and then had all my hopes and dreams shattered when I learned that despite having what will be probably a really awesome toolset the game will only be single player!
How does this relate? I'm upset because I wont get to create my own little MMORPG where I get to be god and everyone else is a bunch of little peons begging me for gold, magic items, and other treasures! See, what Atari and Bioware are missing is that some of us old-school roleplayers are DMs and that we have hungry god complexes that no amount of playing The Sims or Black & White is going to fill! We're not looking to toss around unfeeling little artificial intelligent people or make puppet people wet their virtual pants when we don't build toilets into their houses. We want to have power and dominion over real people through our virtual worlds! We want to know someone is really cowering when we threaten to drop a fireball upon them from the heavens above! Also, the only way we can get these kicks are through games like Neverwinter Nights!
The other thing Atari seems to be missing out on is that the "Mini-MMORPGS" are all as unique as the imaginations of the people who created them. Sure the main game may be Neverwinter Nights, but I've played on servers set in Harry Potter-like worlds, and I've seen PWs set in the Firefly Universe (See: Sci-Fi)!
There are several major reasons why the people who play on Neverwinter Nights PWs prefer Neverwinter Nights PWs, and all of these reasons are why a NWN MMORPG will likely flop on it's face!
Reasons:
1. Neverwinter Nights is FREE to play online!
a. Not everyone is willing to shell out $14.99 a month (or Whatever MMORPGs are charging these days) to play a game online. There are many people who've I heard say the phrase, "I will only pay for a game once!" (Meaning they don't like paying monthly for a game, right!?)
b. Not everyone can afford $14.99 a month! Especially in the current economical climate!
2. There's something for everyone!
a. Some people like games that punish them; They prefer it that when their character dies, they're dead! Gone for good! That's it, roll up another one baby!
b. Some people like games where when they die, they bounce right back up and are able to just keep on going like nothing ever happened!
c. And there are lots of people who like all the shades in between! (Can an MMORPG offer all the shades? - I think not.)
d. Some people love full PvP, some people hate PvP, and some people like the in-between! Can an MMORPG serve all of them?
e. Some people like Hack 'n Slash (generally available in every MMO), but others like to just roleplay... And the hard thing is: Those whole like "Hardcore Roleplaying" don't like to be surrounded by people who don't know what the word "Roleplay" means! (That's one of the biggies I believe for NWNs!)
3. Neverwinter Nights provided great (community made) single player adventures... And plenty of them!
The short of it is: Neverwinter Nights managed to provide nearly everything everyone ever wanted to nearly everyone who wanted it!
There's an old saying, "You can't please everyone all the time." And while Neverwinter Nights certainly wasn't able to please everyone even part of the time, it's probably the only game that's ever come close to doing so.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Fallout 3
I have been a fan of the Fallout games since the first time I laid eyes on Fallout (The First One). I've always enjoyed turn-based strategy games and C-RPGs, and fallout combined both of those into one very beautiful (if you can call a post-apocalyptic wasteland beautiful) game. I enjoyed the game play, the setting, and the stories the game told.
When I had first heard they were making Fallout 3 I became overjoyed, but then when I learned Bethesda was creating it I had become worried that Fallout 3 would be more like Morrowind and Oblivion than Fallout 1 or 2. Then when I learned that Fallout 3 was part turn-based and part-real time, I really became distressed and expected Fallout 3 to have terrible game play.
However, I think Bethesda pulled it off! I can actually say I really enjoyed Fallout 3 and am now looking forward to Fallout 4 (I'm told it will be called "New Vegas").
Alright, so here's my break down:
PROS:
* Well written story.
* Beautiful Graphics & Well Designed Scenery
* A very decent A.I. (with NPC that actually run for their lives when you blow one of their friends in half before their eyes).
* "Neat" sub-games (Hacking System and Locking Picking).
+ I especially like Fallout 3s Lock Picking system.
* Plenty of "Side-Quests" (I haven't even 'done' them all yet).
* A Turn-Based combat system that actually works (In my opinion. - I have seen others who've said they didn't like it.)
CONS
* Few weapons
* The main story can be played through very quickly, and players can be finished with the main plot before they even realize it.
Personal Complaints:
* I couldn't put together an old vehicle (like in the other fallout games) to help me carry more junk/loot back to my base of operations.
* Weapons and Loot is so plentiful that there's really no point of Pack-Ratting and I learned that too late. (That may seem like an odd complaint when following the first.)
* I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked running around in power armor.
* Some NPCs were too easy to kill (like Brotherhood and/or Outcasts).
* Supplies were so plentiful that I didn't really feel like I was in a wasteland.
* The music is great at first but becomes annoying after a while.
* The DJ (Three Dog) keep repeating himself over-and-over and it gets annoying. - It's very neat at first when he talks about you, but it becomes really annoying when you hear the same news story for the third time in an hour.
All and all I like Fallout 3 and recommend it to anyone who like C-RPGs.
If you prefer first-person shooters you might want to stay away from this one. Fallout 3 is more about character skill than player skill (although I did snipe a few bad guys with my scope and no "VATS" [Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System]).
I'm looking forward to playing the expansions.
When I had first heard they were making Fallout 3 I became overjoyed, but then when I learned Bethesda was creating it I had become worried that Fallout 3 would be more like Morrowind and Oblivion than Fallout 1 or 2. Then when I learned that Fallout 3 was part turn-based and part-real time, I really became distressed and expected Fallout 3 to have terrible game play.
However, I think Bethesda pulled it off! I can actually say I really enjoyed Fallout 3 and am now looking forward to Fallout 4 (I'm told it will be called "New Vegas").
Alright, so here's my break down:
PROS:
* Well written story.
* Beautiful Graphics & Well Designed Scenery
* A very decent A.I. (with NPC that actually run for their lives when you blow one of their friends in half before their eyes).
* "Neat" sub-games (Hacking System and Locking Picking).
+ I especially like Fallout 3s Lock Picking system.
* Plenty of "Side-Quests" (I haven't even 'done' them all yet).
* A Turn-Based combat system that actually works (In my opinion. - I have seen others who've said they didn't like it.)
CONS
* Few weapons
* The main story can be played through very quickly, and players can be finished with the main plot before they even realize it.
Personal Complaints:
* I couldn't put together an old vehicle (like in the other fallout games) to help me carry more junk/loot back to my base of operations.
* Weapons and Loot is so plentiful that there's really no point of Pack-Ratting and I learned that too late. (That may seem like an odd complaint when following the first.)
* I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked running around in power armor.
* Some NPCs were too easy to kill (like Brotherhood and/or Outcasts).
* Supplies were so plentiful that I didn't really feel like I was in a wasteland.
* The music is great at first but becomes annoying after a while.
* The DJ (Three Dog) keep repeating himself over-and-over and it gets annoying. - It's very neat at first when he talks about you, but it becomes really annoying when you hear the same news story for the third time in an hour.
All and all I like Fallout 3 and recommend it to anyone who like C-RPGs.
If you prefer first-person shooters you might want to stay away from this one. Fallout 3 is more about character skill than player skill (although I did snipe a few bad guys with my scope and no "VATS" [Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System]).
I'm looking forward to playing the expansions.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Spore: Rap Up
In short: I found Spore very boring...
In general I think it's normally a bad idea to read someone else's reviews of a game before writing my own review, but I noticed some game review sites gave Spore a perfect score. I wounder if they ever played the game.
I've also found other reviews and found that one person said they had lots of difficulty as Herbivore. The game seems very out of balance if that's true.
In short: I wish I'd never picked up a copy of Spore.
In general I think it's normally a bad idea to read someone else's reviews of a game before writing my own review, but I noticed some game review sites gave Spore a perfect score. I wounder if they ever played the game.
I've also found other reviews and found that one person said they had lots of difficulty as Herbivore. The game seems very out of balance if that's true.
In short: I wish I'd never picked up a copy of Spore.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
nVidia (Game Related)
nVidia has dumped support for older games...
Their new drivers are 'breaking' games that at one time worked on their video cards (such as the 8 series [and lower]). Players have had to 'roll-back' their drivers to play their favorite games, some of which are only 1 to 2 years old. The games work with the older drivers, which means it's a driver (software) issue and not a hardware issue.
This wouldn't be much of a problem except that older drivers may be less secure and newer games require newer drivers. This means that players have to install old drivers to play old games, then new drivers to play new games, then re-install the old drivers to play their old games. (A very foolish thing, considering that nVidia could support both the new games and old games with one set of drivers!)
If this keeps up I could see nVidia losing a lot of market share. There are a lot of great games that have been made and have cult-like fallowings. Neverwinter Nights (the first one), Vampire Bloodlines, and Silent Storm to name a few. Just cause a game is 'old' doesn't mean no one wants to play it. Just cause there aren't copies on the shelves or being sold doesn't mean no one is enjoying them (or trying to enjoy them).
Every video card I've ever purchased to date has been an nVidia video card. Now I'm feeling let down by nVidia and will have to seek other video card venders unless nVidia wakes up and realizes how many people they're pissing off.
Until next time...
Sources:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=2222f2057d4257600d2f5559b7e367d2&t=98609
http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/Silent-Storm-Sentinals-Issue-t6619.html
http://games.slashdot.org/games/07/09/16/1940215.shtml
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?act=ST&f=33&t=77021
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=003894
Their new drivers are 'breaking' games that at one time worked on their video cards (such as the 8 series [and lower]). Players have had to 'roll-back' their drivers to play their favorite games, some of which are only 1 to 2 years old. The games work with the older drivers, which means it's a driver (software) issue and not a hardware issue.
This wouldn't be much of a problem except that older drivers may be less secure and newer games require newer drivers. This means that players have to install old drivers to play old games, then new drivers to play new games, then re-install the old drivers to play their old games. (A very foolish thing, considering that nVidia could support both the new games and old games with one set of drivers!)
If this keeps up I could see nVidia losing a lot of market share. There are a lot of great games that have been made and have cult-like fallowings. Neverwinter Nights (the first one), Vampire Bloodlines, and Silent Storm to name a few. Just cause a game is 'old' doesn't mean no one wants to play it. Just cause there aren't copies on the shelves or being sold doesn't mean no one is enjoying them (or trying to enjoy them).
Every video card I've ever purchased to date has been an nVidia video card. Now I'm feeling let down by nVidia and will have to seek other video card venders unless nVidia wakes up and realizes how many people they're pissing off.
Until next time...
Sources:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=2222f2057d4257600d2f5559b7e367d2&t=98609
http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/Silent-Storm-Sentinals-Issue-t6619.html
http://games.slashdot.org/games/07/09/16/1940215.shtml
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?act=ST&f=33&t=77021
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=003894
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Spore: Some more thoughts...
I don't like the idea of reading other reviews before I finish reviewing a game myself. However, I decided to take a peack out there and see what other critiques and players thought of the game. I had a great laugh!
I noticed that certain other critiques gave the game a 10 out of 10, or 100%. Those are some huge ratings. After playing the game myself, and then looking at those reviews, I tend to wounder if those critiques even played the game!?
I can't imagine anyone who's played Spore giving it 10 out of 10. (I did see some players rating it as perfect, but even then I can't believe it.) This makes me believe the critiques rated the game on hype, what they saw in previews, and what the developers told them about the game. I believe those critiques expected Spore to be a huge hit, and so they jumped right out there and said "It's 10 out of 10 Awesome!"
....
To toot my own horn here: I will never do that. I will never rate a game before I've played it myself. I may not finish a game (if it's just that terrible), but I will play it as long as I can tolerate and give you my readers my honest thoughts and feelings on the game.
I noticed that certain other critiques gave the game a 10 out of 10, or 100%. Those are some huge ratings. After playing the game myself, and then looking at those reviews, I tend to wounder if those critiques even played the game!?
I can't imagine anyone who's played Spore giving it 10 out of 10. (I did see some players rating it as perfect, but even then I can't believe it.) This makes me believe the critiques rated the game on hype, what they saw in previews, and what the developers told them about the game. I believe those critiques expected Spore to be a huge hit, and so they jumped right out there and said "It's 10 out of 10 Awesome!"
....
To toot my own horn here: I will never do that. I will never rate a game before I've played it myself. I may not finish a game (if it's just that terrible), but I will play it as long as I can tolerate and give you my readers my honest thoughts and feelings on the game.
Spore: Thoughts...
If it wasn't for the fact I want to see what the end-game is for Spore, and the fact that I want to try and find something fun in it... Some light at the end of the tunnel... I would stop playing Spore right now.
I just keep hoping that I get to the space age and finally say, "Holy cow, the space age is awesome!"
However, the more and more I play the more and more my hopes are being crushed.
I just keep hoping that I get to the space age and finally say, "Holy cow, the space age is awesome!"
However, the more and more I play the more and more my hopes are being crushed.
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