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Comment Resets/extra lives/resurrection (Score 1, Interesting) 620

This is why most games provide a reset/extra lives/resurrection feature where you don't lose all of you equipment, skills, or attributes when you die.

Diablo II multiplayer had a hardcore mode where once you died you could no longer continue with that character. I played it and got to level 30 where I lagged in a dungeon. When my connection came back I was dead. I never played hardcore after that.

The point is that a lot of time is wasted when a game doesn't have decent reset features. In this case, 6 years.

Comment Re:Diablo Clones (Score 1) 85

I'm a fan of the genre - I played through D1 and D2 several times - but Torchlight just didn't cut it for me. It was literally Diablo with different graphics. I got bored after a few dungeon levels. If Torchlight had advanced the genre in any way my opinion might be different. Unfortunately I didn't feel like playing the same game I played five years ago.

I know that many other games are repeats of previous ones with different graphics, mechanics, or story. Somehow those games do a better job of hiding their heritage.

Comment Re:Building up Android (Score 1) 184

From the article:

one will use a cached response from the last time the app was run if no connection to the Market is available

Which doesn't sound like the train wreck that you make it out to be:

from users' perspective: you'll have to pre-open such apps that you'd want to use on a plane before taking off (or going off-roading, camping, hiking, etc.) - for example, you don't usually play a certain game (but you will on a plane), so cached response could have expired - better remember to pre-open and re-cache everything before taking off! Users shouldn't have to deal with this crap.

It doesn't sound to me like the cached responses expire. Where did you get that information from?

why not just validate the license at install time, and "cache" the encrypted license forever for that specific apk

If there ever was a problem with the DRM then it could never be fixed unless users reinstalled their apps. This method is more secure. The cached response from last run seems like the best solution possible.

Comment Re:Apply logic to other things... (Score 1) 254

If something is illegal because it is generally used for illegal purposes, I have no problem with governments disallowing it. These game copying cards are most likely used to illegally copy games. Some people might buy the cards to legally backup their games, but most people are buying them to illegally copy the games.

*reader of this comment pulls out the "You need proof that it is used for illegal purposes!" card*

Well, show me the proof that it is generally used for legal purposes. If a government allows guns and finds that people start killing each other more often, why is disallowing guns so wrong?

Comment Your natural medium should be more natural (Score 5, Insightful) 428

While it is possible simply to attend a local school in person, I would much prefer an online environment as it seems to be a more natural medium considering the content of my studies.

When you deal with people in nearly any industry it will often be far more intimate than online discussions. I would suggest taking courses in person so at least you learn skills in an environment that will apply in your future career. Think about it: most customers would rather discuss their web designs (which you'll be making) in person rather than someone at the end of a phone line, chat room, or email thread. Taking offline courses helps you in so many ways. You'll discuss ideas with classmates, learn how to debate about best practices with others, and learn to learn through many different methods.

Comment Re:The Biggest Issue With Journalism (Score 1) 422

"This is an overall score, not an average."

Many gaming sites have that line on their review scores. The graphics or voice acting may have been crap, but did it affect the gameplay? Maybe the gameplay was great, but it had horrible DRM, so it gets a lower score. Maybe a game even had amazing graphics but it failed to make up for the shallow mechanics. There's many things that go into review scores and I don't really think this is hurting the industry as the article states.

Comment Re:In other words, it is work (Score 1) 422

When I was in high school I found that I liked playing video games and I liked programming. I naturally wanted to put the two together and I took computer engineering in university.

Point is that soon later I found that the game industry has tight deadlines resulting in extreme overtime hours. In the games industry people seem to accept these insane work regiments. I wasn't willing to accept that. I'll work my 8 hours a day. I'll work a little more if I'm passionate about a project. But in no way am I going to work 12 hours a day for months straight just to get a game out the door. To be frank: fuck that shit.

There's something in the games industry that breaks people down. It's not that testing != gaming. It's the acceptance of free overtime hours that gets to people.

Comment Re:Gun ownership (Score 1) 321

Meh. If you look at statistics of gun violence between countries where gun ownership is a right (US) and countries that heavily regulate gun use (Canada, Britain, Australia, any other country) you'll see that there's far more gun violence, and violence in general, in the US. The number of legal uses for guns isn't any excuse for allowing people to be killed by them over and over and over again.

Comment Re:Oakland needs to mellow out (Score 1) 690

The problem is that most medical practices won't recommend weed even though it is a valid solution to many illnesses. Instead they'll just recommend whatever pharmaceutical + the side effects it comes with. Weed is taboo: doctors don't recommend it for fear of being prosecuted or losing patients; patients don't ask for it because it isn't mainstream and they fear rejection by the doctor.

I think if weed was more mainstream and accepted, which it is becoming, we would have more people legitimately asking for medical marijuana.

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