James

[quote name='Warmaster']You missed the point. What I am saying is, is Mario 64 better than Super Mario Bros. 3? Is Ocarina better than Link to the Past? You may think they are, but even so, is it because of the controller you are using, or is it something else about the game? It's not a question of playability alone, it's something else about game design that makes games "good". I am not saying they will not make something that will work *best* or *only* on the Revolution. I am saying that we don't know yet if they will make something that is no doubt better than something that can be done with a traditional controller. That is why I am holding off judgment until I see what sort of playing experiences we will be enjoying.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]I don't think that it matters whether these games are "better". I think that's a bit of a non-issue. I mean, do you really directly compare Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Bros. 3? The two are both Mario games, but they are also very different games in their own right. Comparing a 3D game with a 2D game is difficult due to those differences. My point was that Super Mario 64 worked partly due to great game design and partly due to the controller - the controller was integral to the experience. The game would not have worked on any other type of controller, because it was designed around that control method. So, whether Revolution games are "better" than what you've played before is 100% subjective. That's not the issue. The issue is whether or not those games are designed around the controller and whether or not they can really only be truly experienced with that type of input device. If the games can be enjoyed on any other controller, the new controller's design will therefore be pointless. I think a game is fun or good for many different reasons - there are reasons well beyond interaction, I'd agree with that. But I'd say that play control is one of the most important aspects of game design - your experience with a game begins and ends with the console's controller, afterall. So, whether or not Revolution-specific games will be "better" than any previous games will be entirely debatable at the time. I'm sure there are people who would argue that the 2D Mario games were "better" than the 3D Mario games - but nobody would doubt that Mario defined 3D gaming early on. Nobody would doubt that the 3D Mario games were as important to 3D software as the 2D Mario games were to 2D software. So I know what you're saying, I just think that whether or not the games are "better" is almost a side-issue, because it's going to be so different for so many people.[/font]

[quote name='Warmaster']I think that while the controller allows for some really cool new play styles, it's not something to get excited about prematurely. I don't think any game has been good or better than another by virtue of the control capabilities of the system it is on. So, let's wait until Nintendo comes out with something *good* for the Revolution, and then decide that the controller is worth having over the traditional.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]I think you just have to look at the history of games. Imagine if you'd had to play Super Mario Bros. on the original digital joysticks? Those giant, unresponsive controllers would have destroyed that game. The directional pad was as critical to the SMB experience as the SMB was to the NES. There are many examples. Super Mario 64, for instance? Imagine playing that with a D-Pad versus an analog stick - if you've played Super Mario 64 DS, you know what I'm talking about. There's no comparison between the experiences - Super Mario 64 was clearly suited to the analog stick and no other mechanism. It was designed around that style of control. I mean, technically you could probably try to play The Wind Waker on the bongo controller for GameCube. But that wouldn't exactly be intuitive, would it? Therefore, I think it's clear that games are not only designed for specific control styles...but that those styles help to define the game experience. Considering that Nintendo established gameplay for analog sticks, I don't think it's premature to expect that they can create Revolution software that can only be properly enjoyed on that system's controller.[/font] [quote=Warmaster] After all, Superman 64 doesn't exactly show that analog joysticks are better than standard 8-way directional pads. [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Yeah, but Superman 64 isn't really a great example, because it was universally canned by just about everyone. Super Mario 64 was really a defining game in the history of the entire industry...so a game like Superman 64 was probably never going to really be the best demonstration of 3D analog control. ^_^;[/font]

[QUOTE=Sage]Yeah, I know, that's why I asked and didn't just blame (see, I'm learning! ;) ). But we must also remember that insititutions like media and government aren't just one person, they reflect the generalized thinking of the majority of people, so I wouldn't be surprised if the tv-channels have made a principle decision about not showing the damages of the earthquake much (even though I can't think of a reason why...) [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Well, news organizations are somewhat bound by entertainment value as well (which is certainly not right). But it's important to distinguish between "this isn't an entertaining story so we won't air it" versus "we won't air this because we don't want sympathy for America's enemies". The two are pretty different and the former is really more accurate in those cases where the media may not be reporting it to any significant extent. However, I must say (on cable news at least), the issue has had a lot of air-time...both on Australian and American news stations. I think the problem with these things is not that they have too little air-time, but that they have too much air-time. Of course, major disasters should be covered and they are important - but I would argue that disasters are often covered far too much, when there are other things going on in the world. I mean, yeah, you're more likely to cover a major disaster like this than some pointless local news story (relatively pointless, anyway)...but there are always a variety of important international events taking place. For one event to monopolize all coverage 24 hours a day is, I think, doing a big disservice to the public. But I guess that's a slightly seperate issue in general - it has nothing to do with people's perception of the situation in terms of whether or not they regard these countries as enemies or not.[/font]

[QUOTE=Sage]That's exactly what I tried to point out back at the 9/11 thread, but I guess I couldn't word it right... :/ As I'm not American, I have a[B] question [/B] to those who are: Do you think the fact that there aren't much news coming from the earthquake destruction zone has anything to do with the fact that Afghanistan (and to some extend Pakistan) are considered to be enemies of the USA? I think I personally sense a connection here... Oh, Jamesy! Money isn't the answer! :P Seriously speaking, I am quite suspicious with aid donations, I have some difficulty believing that all the money will go to their directed address. Besides, I'm a student, I currently have less than a hundred euros in my bank account for the rest of the month - [I]I[/I] should be among the ones getting donations instead of giving them! ;P [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]The first paragraph is, I think, more than a little unfair. Germany was the enemy of Australia during WWII, but do you think Australian people didn't like German people or didn't care about them? Afghanistan isn't anyone's enemy anymore anyway, or at least, it's government isn't. I think people are (generally) able to distinguish between "Taliban" and "ordinary Afghan citizen who only wants to survive and isn't concerned with blowing things up". You know? I mean, I'm sure some people can't distinguish that...but they are not entirely rational anyway, so I expect nothing more. lol As for donations...there are plenty of transparent organizations that get the money to those affected. Often the money is used to pay for materials and medicine and stuff. Even $5USD would probably be enough to contribute to materials for re-building a house (don't forget that a few bucks for us is of much higher value in third world countries). Mostly I think the money is a bit of a symbolic gesture - no, $5 isn't going to solve the problem. But it might buy a toy that will comfort a child, or it may pay for some medical aid for someone. I understand the financial difficulty though, so it's okay. It was mostly just a suggested way to contribute, given your concern for the issue.[/font]

[quote name='DeathKnight']When I saw you reply I literally said "Oh ****" out loud- I don't know what that says about you but it certainly says something. Still, this was rather tame. Yet, 'faux intelligentsia' just doesn't sound as great as what I made. You gotta do better, James. You clearly didn't extend alot of effort into creating that phrase. [/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]Ahh, so you looked up the meaning of "intelligentsia", no? Don't worry. There are more words in the dictionary. Anyway, in regard to the general topic...I don't think it's unreasonable to think about these things. In a way, I do think Sage has a point - people don't tend to be concerned about things that aren't happening on their doorstep. I don't think people necessarily [i]have[/i] to be concerned about such things, but at the same time, I'm not sure how good it is to dismiss things that go on outside our own daily lives. Sage, if you are concerned about a lack of feeling or something (or even with your own lack of feeling), maybe you could make a donation to an international relief organization or something. That may not directly change how you feel, but it may satisfy you to know that you have made a physical gesture regardless. ^_^[/font]

[QUOTE=Dagger]Personally, I think it has to do more with the fact that disasters like this are almost beyond our ability to comprehend. Pictures, articles, even video clips--they capture part of what's going on but not all of it, and I think we ourselves unconsciously don't want to understand it. [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Bingo, that is the reason right there. A statistic may sound horrible but it's never really enough to drive the issue home - usually someone only truly feels pain from a disaster if they go through it, or if they lose family/friends through it. That doesn't make you a bad person, it's just how human beings are. It's like death in general. You are more likely to feel worse pain if someone in your household dies, versus a family member who you never/rarely see - that's simply because it literally hits closer to home. Disasters are no different. If we had more members from one of those three countries, we would naturally see more discussion on such issues. It's as simple as that, really. It doesn't mean that nobody cares...it just means that for various reasons (scale, statistics, personal involvement), we are somewhat distanced from the tragedy. While we are coining phrases and terms, maybe we should add "faux intelligentsia" to the list. :animeknow [/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I felt that Nintendogs was mostly just an interesting showpiece for other people. You know? My little sister plays it quite a bit more than I do and it's something interesting to show to people who visit. Predictably enough, non-gaming friends are the ones who spend the most time playing it. I guess that people like you and me are looking for more, which is understandable. I just wish Nintendo Australia would get more aggressive with DS releases here. Kirby's Canvas Curse isn't even out yet, as far as I know. And that's probably the first game for DS that I'm really quite interested in. On the other hand, they've been very good with getting GameCube software out there...even though the system is basically a non-issue here. Very confusing![/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]If the Mario Kart bundle ends up being true, I'd go with that. I'd love a red DS (and of course, getting DS with Mario Kart at a lower price has got to be good). I have a teal DS from Japan, which is nice...but I think I'd rather have gotten the glossy white DS. It's become a cliche, but it does actually look quite cool. Anyway, the teal bundle includes Nintendogs...which is something you may not necessarily want to play. I like Nintendogs, but it is ultimately a much more elaborate Tamagotchi - it probably will not keep your interest for too long if you're more of an ethusiast gamer. So, I'd probably go with chrome since it's the colour you want. That way you can wait a bit and get Mario Kart or Animal Crossing or something, when they come out (rather than being forced to choose something from a bundle). The slight extra cost is probably worth it if that's what you really want. ^_^[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]If you want to make the thread and set up some basic rules for it, that's entirely up to you. It would go in Music, Movies & TV and would not be an "official" OB event, though. If you want to make it successful, I recommend looking at some of the advice in here...but it may also be a good idea to collaborate with another member and see what you can come up with. I'm really not opposed to anything like this, but it's important to avoid confusion if you want it to work out.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Qman, this is your last warning. Please do not just copy and paste news items and make a thread out of that - we expect you to put a little effort in. You could discuss what games you are interested in, for example. Also, please direct all Xbox 360 discussion to [url="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=33556"]this thread[/url] (unless you want to make a thread for a specific game that does not currently have a thread.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I don't think many attachments will be needed, though. Some games will probably play with just the freestyle controller, but most games (at least the more "traditional" ones) will probably utilize the nunchuku style controller most of the time. I imagine that the traditional controller shell will mostly only be used by third parties and for backwards compatibility purposes. The nunchuku controller can really play any kind of game you can think of. Because the freestyle controller acts as a 3D mouse, the need for a second analog stick is eliminated. On top of that, you have four main buttons (Z1, Z2 and A, B) as well as a D-Pad, which is within reach of your thumb (if you look at the size of the controller, you'll find that the D-Pad can be used while you are pressing the B trigger on the back). So, my feeling is that most games will use this control system. It strikes a good balance between what we know and something entirely new. Of course, IGN recently showed their own mock-up of a shotgun attachment, which could theoretically have the freestyle controller inserted into it. Obviously that sort of stuff can happen - but I think the game could still be played fine by just holding the freestyle controller itself (though obviously it would be less authentic, even though games like Goldeneye and Halo never required a gun peripheral). Also, if you look at traditional peripherals (such as the bongo drums or the light gun), those controllers had to do everything themselves - they were complete controllers. However, Revolution doesn't require all-new controllers...it only requires attachments. This means that they should be significantly cheaper than entirely new, full controllers. Does that make sense? The shotgun peripheral would only be a "shell" to slide over the freestyle controller - it would not require its own gyroscopic sensors or a pointing device on the tip, because it simply utilises what the standard controller already has. So because these new components are only components and do not need to have the full tech of a controller, I imagine the price should be very cheap indeed. One thing that would be interesting is if they released special edition attachments now and then. To give you a lame example, a new Harry Potter game might come out with a wand attachment that slides over the freestyle controller - it's unnecessary, but it hides the controller and makes it look just like a wand from the novel/film. That sort of thing would be interesting and would probably be dirt cheap to make. Any kind of attachment could be produced in this way though - they could release a special "RE5"-themed shotgun attachment for example. I can imagine the customization there being even greater than faceplates and so on. Lots of possibilities with that, given that we're only talking about shells and attachments, rather than full controllers.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I think the problem is that most people who complain about politics don't really understand politics at all. The same is true here in Australia, where it is part of our culture to have a natural suspicion of government. I mean, of course there are negatives in politics - there's always going to be someone who is corrupt and there's always going to be someone who is trying to abuse the system in some way. I don't mean to dismiss any of that, but I think it has to be understood that this is part of human nature - no system, especially a democratic one, can be ideal. But the systems that are in place now are a whole lot better than the many alternatives out there. It reminds me of a phrase that is often used in Australia: "The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer". I hear that all the time. A lot of people say it, especially those on lower incomes. But is it really true? Well, no...it isn't. The various data relating to unemployment, healthcare and education suggest that (in Australia anyway), living standards are constantly increasing and the gap between rich and poor is shrinking at a brisk pace. Of course, these statistics do not mean anything to someone who is barely scraping by, but such information does suggest that some of these popular sentiments are really a kind of emotive rhetoric and don't have much basis in fact. This is also true of the slogan "No war for oil" - it's an emotive comment, but in and of itself (and in the context it's often used), it demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of current geopolitical issues. I would rather have a media and a public that is suspicious of government than too supportive of it - whether or not the government is doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Having a general skepticism is probably better than being blindly supportive, regardless. However, I do think that a lot of today's skepticism and cynicism is based on misinformation. Part of this is possibly due to most information being pushed through the media's own prism, but a large part of it relates to the fact that [i]most[/i] people will happily jump on the bandwagon without doing any real research and without looking more deeply at the issues. For example, Australia's current Prime Minister is very unpopular among young people (the same way that George W. Bush is unpopular among American youth). However, a lot of young Australians seem to think that this is somehow new - that our Prime Minister is somehow worse than anyone beforehand. What they fail to realize is that their current outbursts against the government have and will always exist - young people in particular are the ones who often want change, but they are also often the most misinformed about politics and history. This is especially true if you take more than a passing glance at tertiary institutions and their students' political involvement. In Australia at least, any Prime Minister who is in office for long enough is bound to become despised by young people across the country - this has little to do with real knowledge about policy and more to do with a general "stick it to the man who is trying to corrupt our society" mentality, which itself is part and parcel of being a young person in many respects. The Prime Minister (or president), often seems to become a central figurehead that represents everything that is regressive and stale and opposed to change. I'm sure that is often somewhat true, but it's a simplistic point of view that fails to recognize the complexity of society. I know few people my age in Australia who suppor the current Prime Minister. I have several friends who chose anti-war themes for their class projects in graphic design school. But I also noticed that those same people were completely ignorant about politics - none of them watched or read news and none of them did any kind of investigation into issues relating to UN resolutions and so on. Therefore - at least among my own age group - the most vocal were also the most ignorant. I found that both funny and a little scary...but ultimately predictable. I mean, a lot of people my age, as I mentioned, hate our current PM. But they often don't really know why (other than vague statements about how he supports the US alliance and so on). Those that do know why fail to take the next step - they fail to compare him to previous leaders (such as Paul Keating), who, if one actually took the time to investigate - were responsible for dumping mountains of debt onto this country among other things. So although I'm really talking about Australia there, I think a lot of that relates to the United States as well. These things always go through cycles. I'm sure there are plenty of young people who have some true awareness about political issues, but the most vocal ones seem to have very little historical or political perspective. So I often find that mildly amusing, mostly because from their view, they are perhaps seeing themselves as controversial visionaries or something. But from an outside view, they are just part of a cycle that occurs all the time - they are, in many respects, contradictory to the idea of real and lasting change, simply because of their sheep-like mentality.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Man, did you just copy that from a news site? I could have sworn I'd read that exact post somewhere else not long ago. Hopefully not. Anyway, I don't know why this is particularly newsworthy - this is all PR spin. Sony will push its Cell processor and talk about the benefits and Microsoft will talk about the benefits of having a more general-purpose hardware design. In the end I think both have their merits but really, it comes down to how developers make use of them. So yeah...I think we just have to expect that Sony and MS will talk up their hardware and talk down the opposition like this.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]For me, I think it has to be the basic concept that interests me...I don't know if that means the backstory or the genre or what. It probably depends on the individual RPG. For example, Ozy's Beatles RPG had such an off-the-wall concept that I found it very appealing. I only didn't sign-up because I really knew nothing about The Beatles. So I think that if someone can present either a totally new concept, or a really interesting twist on an existing concept, that's the first thing to grab my attention. Aside from that, it probably comes down to whether or not I find the specific universe and backstory interesting - if I do, then I'm likely to sign up. It really doesn't matter who made the RPG or who else is participating - if I like the actual core concept and backstory, then I'm far more likely to sign-up. Sometimes my favourite RPG creators make stuff that I have no interest in whatsoever and sometimes people make awesome concepts and I've never really posted in their RPGs before. So for me I guess the content/concept of the RPG itself is of paramount importance.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I agree completely with Manic on this question. The problem is not so much with the actual creators, it's with the studio executives who are often too frightened to make an investment in something new. But it's unfortunate because the value of creating a new film franchise can really be invaluable. I mean, where would Warner Bros./Silver Pictures be if they hadn't taken a chance on The Matrix, which turned out to be one of the most influential films of the last fifteen years? And there are quite a few films that have earned a cult status after their initial release (ie: films such as Donnie Darko). Of course, that film made no money at the box office, but I'd imagine that it's made up for that in DVD sales globally. But this happens with any industry - video games are no different. Big publishers never want to take risks. And it can be frustrating for those of us who are wanting to try something that we haven't seen previously.[/font]

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3]All I know is that it wouldn't fly on these same grounds at other places I visit and I still think it's condoning it when it's an obvious [b]fact[/b] that people have done these things (I mean, it's directly mentioned in this very thread; no link doesn't make a difference). [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]But you yourself have offered MP3 downloads on your own site in the past. If I owned a copy of Advent Children that I'd imported and I offered it to download here, I assume you would complain about that. The only reason I respond in this manner is because we have made strong efforts to deter discussion about acquiring materials illegally. You know this. You know that we close down discussions about acquiring ROMs and you know that we block any discussion relating to the acquisition of fansubs. Allowing people to discuss a film or TV series or game is [b]not[/b] the same as condoning piracy. All you have to do is look at the example in my second post for more clarity on that - where does it begin and where does it end? We can not and should not take responsibility for what people are doing away from our site and most sites would not do that either - I can think of several examples of large commercial sites where this is the case. As long as we are not aiding piracy and as long as we are not providing any sources or information related to it, we are therefore [b]only[/b] allowing discussion on the material itself. There are plenty of issues where I would just be happy to leave it there, but this isn't one of them. I think it's somewhat hypocritical and unreasonable to be suggesting that we are condoning piracy, given the points I've made in this post and others. And I want to be very clear on that. While I'm here I should mention that if anyone [i]does[/i] make the attempt to offer this DVD for download or if they provide illegal sources for it, they will be banned immediately. Anyway, to get back to the topic at hand, I don't really know what the requirements are for something to be considered at the Oscars in terms of animation. I assume release date would play a role, but given that AC will be available in the US pretty soon, I'm guessing that isn't really a problem. It would certainly be nice if AC were considered. Did the Final Fantasy movie win anything at the Oscars? I don't remember. I haven't followed the Oscars at all for a couple of years, because I think that their entire awards system is pretty flawed. There are plenty of groundbreaking movies that haven't had a look-in at the Oscars. I remember when Ellen Burstyn was up against Julia Roberts for best actress one year (Ellen Burstyn was up for that award from Requiem for a Dream). Most people were pretty amazed that she didn't win, considering how amazing her performance was in that film. So there are plenty of examples like this, both on the acting side and on the production side. Unfortunately foreign movies also have some difficulty getting in, it seems. So who knows. It would certainly be nice for AC to win something, even based on technical gounds alone. [/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Well, nobody has said that we should not allow people to talk about anime TV series that haven't yet been released in the United States. That has never been an issue. As far as I know, it's always been acknowledged that we should not - and do not - provide any resources or support for people who want to download copyrighted material without paying for it. But by the same token, fansubbing is obviously huge and we obviously allow people to talk about any anime series - whether they have watched it or not and regardless of how they have acquired it. The situation Advent Children is no different to any Japanese TV series that people have acquired through fansubbing. Yet I never heard anyone saying that we should block all discussion about anime series that have not yet appeared in the United States (where people may have watched the series via fansubbing). This does not mean that we support fansubbing, it simply means that we are allowing people to discuss a particular TV show or movie. I do not know how we can accurately police something like this, without being overzealous and unreasonable. What if we were to block discussions of upcoming albums, even if people have already heard leaked tracks on the Internet? What if we block discussions about anime TV series that haven't come out in the US so far (which would be a large amount of stuff discussed here and everywhere else)? What if we block discussions based on games that have never come out in the United States? How far do you take that? How do you test whether or not people acquired the property legally in the first place? When do you make the assumption that they downloaded it? And even if you make that assumption, do you then block people from discussing it at all? And if you don't, do you then block those who have downloaded it, versus those who are just talking about it without having seen it? It's not that I entirely disagree with the idea in principle, but I think it is possible for us to allow discussion on any TV show or movie or album, regardless of when/where it was released. If people acquire it illegally, that is not our responsibility. It only becomes our responsibility when we are actually offering it for download, or providing resources for people to download it illegally. We are only providing a forum for discussion about the material itself - we are not condoning or aiding piracy in any sense. This is the only reason that I feel it is important to step in and make a comment, because I am completely opposed to piracy and I do not really accept the suggestion that we are somehow lax on that issue, simply because we do allow people to discuss the material itself. [/font]

[quote name='Generic NPC #3']I don't exactly know what kind of respect that OB and theOtaku can gain by supporting something like this, from good members or actual anime creators and domestic distributors. "Anime done right" is theOtaku's slogan, but this isn't right at all. [/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]Whoa, hold your horses there. Let's just clear a few things up here. First of all, the presence of this thread should not in any way be considered to be a sign of some kind of official support for piracy. That's just ridiculously off-base. By that standard, we should never have any discussions that relate to products outside the United States (whether it's music or film or any other medium), because there's a chance that people may be pirating the product. In the case of music, I am quite sure that a variety of the music discussed here is discussed by people who may have downloaded it without paying. No staff member here would condone music piracy and certainly, there's no official support for anything like that. It is important to draw a distinction between people discussing something and our network actively allowing people to download stuff illegally - or turning a blind eye toward piracy. We do not allow people to link to illegally-acquired material from here, nor do we allow anyone to product instructions or information on how to obtain content illegally. At the same time, I'm not so sure that we should just kill off every single thread that might be discussing a film or a TV series that hasn't yet aired in the United States. I regard that as a little short-sighted and casting a net that is just a little too general. It is unfair and inaccurate to take this one thread and extrapolate that into some kind of larger meaning/policy for the entire network. You know very well that we don't allow discussion about acquiring game ROMs for example, yet we won't block people from discussing games that have never been released in the US. Also, just as a quick side-note...you also know that there are times when I will disagree with a Moderator's decision and I will reverse it or change it. It is wrong to suggest that a single Moderator's judgement about a thread is somehow representative of a final say on the entire issue as far as the network is concerned. I think it is worth reinforcing the above points, because I am 100% against piracy, but I do not want to be overzealous in moderating discussions related to movie/music/game content. I should also mention that if you really feel this thread shouldn't be here, I am open to discussion on that - I'm open to discussion on how we can improve things in this area. I'm very eager to make sure that we have the best policy we can have on something like this. But there are ways to go about that without making generalizations and stuff. You know that. ;) [/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Whew, I haven't posted in this thread for a long time. I haven't been in the game as much as I'd have liked to, but then again, I guess I've been in there a decent amount of time lately. I guess the most exciting thing in recent times is definitely Sorrow's Furnace. For those guild members who are near Ascension, I can only really say that there's still plenty to do, even after you've Ascended. Sorrow's Furnace and the areas surrounding it really provide some very cool opportunities in terms of new quests and new missions. Also, the others were not kidding when they talked about the sheer value of killing things in the Furnace. Not only is the XP pretty good, but the value of items (and the raw value from gold pick-ups) is pretty high. I think I made approximately 4 Platinum from simply doing one quest and exploring the area with another team. This is really useful not just in terms of buying the higher level armor and such, but it's also great to be able to provide gold to your lower level characters. It'll give them a good head-start as they move into the game. So what else...well, two things I guess. The lesser news is that I've created a new character, which has a Mo/N profession setup. So far I'm really enjoying it - I'm finding that once people have spent a lot of time with their preferred combinations, they are starting to branch out a bit and explore. There always seems to be a demand for monks, so that's good. But more importantly, I'm actually finding primary monk to be a lot of fun. Finally - and more importantly - I am really hoping to get some quality time soon to build a site for our guild. I doubt that it will be anything major; I want to create something simple and elegant, which is easy to construct and which we can update nice and easily. That way, we can continually add more information and we can update the information for our characters. What I'd like to do is have a page where each member and their characters are listed. Then, hopefully, we can make it so that this data can be updated (so that if you delete a character and begin a new one, you can update that on the site). At least, I'm hoping to do something along those lines. We'll see how it goes. This might be a good place for people to contribute and make suggestions about the site, too. I am thinking that it will be established at [b]qkt.otakuboards.com[/b], considering that it is OB's first "official" guild/clan.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I think the problem with Sage's thread was the tone of his initial post. It came across as being a little abrasive, which is perhaps why some people reacted as they did. On the one hand, I don't blame that reaction, but on the other, I think that the thread did become a little ridiculous after the first few posts. I have no objection to people providing suggestions in a calm and respectful way. As you point out, that's precisely what this forum is for. But because it's a forum, other members are able to come in and discuss/debate the proposals. I think it's reasonable for members to do that, as any changes obviously affect them. Obviously, if people are breaking the rules or being rude to one another, it's important for staff to step in and keep those people out of the threads (or remove their posts, etc). We're not always going to be able to ensure that threads are 100% clean, though, and there does have to be some leeway to allow people to debate ideas. Anyway, I don't think it's anything to worry about. If you make a suggestion here, other members will tell you what they think of it. In quite a few cases, people have supported suggestions and in some cases, those suggestions have been adopted. So in the longterm I don't really worry about it - at the very least, this forum lets me gauge what the general concerns and complaints are, which helps to me to know what I need to tackle next.[/font]

[quote name='joshdude89']Even though I am a fan of Nintendo I am worried how the new controller will work with new Zelda Games and other games I think it will work a little strange. It makes me wonder if Nintendo will come out with a second controller that works more like normal controllers for certain games[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]Honestly, I don't think you need to worry. Nintendo will be producing a "traditional" shell for the controller, as indicated by others here. However, the design shown on IGN is just a mock-up; nobody really knows what it will look like. Having said that, it won't be necessary to use the shell all that often, I don't think. Most games will be designed with the new controller in mind, so they will not require the shell. Zelda, for example, will be designed specifically for the new controller - it will not play as the older Zelda games have. In terms of backwards compatibility, it's obvious that the freestyle controller can be turned on its side to produce a NES layout. However, you can also plug in your GameCube controllers, which means that pretty much any game would be playable. I think you'll find that the new controller will give added precision and intuitiveness to existing genres (especially FPS, as Nintendo has already pointed out). But it's one of those things, you just have to try it and see how it works. At this point I think the worries are pretty unfounded, especially based on the impressions that are already out there.[/font]

[QUOTE=sand dragon 19][COLOR=DarkSlateGray] However if there really is going to be a new server...Maby there can be even new and better things happening here. who knows?[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]As far as I know, the new server should be coming online soon. Hopefully that will improve the speed of the site during peak times. And there's always new stuff on the horizon. You'll definitely see some big new things before this year is out. ^_^[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]It may be possible to establish a specific thread (or even a forum) for Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and other online software. We'll see how it goes. I'm thinking about something along these lines at the moment. [/font]

[QUOTE=armana] ICO, unless I'm mistaken, wasn't released here in Australia, which is anther reason I can't wait to play this game. If I am mistaken please tell me.[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Actually, you can buy ICO here. I'm not sure how common it is, but I rented it from a local Blockbuster here. You should find it in gaming-centric stores, I'd say. As for the whole sequel idea...I don't know how this game can be called a sequel. Although there are surface similarities to ICO, the core gameplay is quite different. In ICO you are navigating a castle, dragging someone around with you. In Shadow of the Colossus, you are hunting around large environments by yourself until you find a Colossus, which itself is a seperate kind of gameplay. So yeah, of course, people are calling it a spiritual successor or whatever (like Perfect Dark to Goldeneye), but I don't think people would generally say that PD was a sequel to Goldeneye. ^_^[/font]

[QUOTE=dposse]A) One of the most negative things that i don't like about Otakuboards is the rule that you must write a long post or it will be deleted. I find that to be a bit much. I know its to try to cut down on spam, but sometimes people just cannot do it. It also limits to the kind of topics you can put on Otakuboards. [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]I just want to correct this, in case there is a general perception relating to this. The only thing that about length that I want Moderators to remove is when someone either makes a single-word post (like just saying "Yes" or "No" to a question), or when someone posts something that isn't terribly relevant or doesn't really explain anything. It is possible to have posts that are only two or three sentences, provided that they are relevant and readable. That's all, really. So, I just wanted to step in and dispel any idea that we delete posts based on some kind of set number of words or something. Obviously we encourage thoughtful posts, but it is possible to be thoughtful without writing a novel. ~_^ Thanks to everyone for your responses, I am really finding this thread very useful so far. Please feel free to continue responding![/font]