James

[font=franklin gothic medium]This looks awesome, Sandy. I've read through it already and it really fleshes the universe out quite a bit. I only have two questions at this stage. First, what is the currency in the game? (It may seem trivial, but I'm curious lol). And second, will you at some point post a general world map? It wouldn't have to be very detailed, but it could just show the general locations of cities and continents. [/font]

[quote]What retailers only support Blu-Ray? Blockbuster is the only one I can think of, and one rental chain isn't much of an advantage, especially factoring in it's small selection and hundreds of stores that carry both formats. The most important store in the format war is, at least in the US, Best Buy. They keep a large and diverse stock of both formats.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]I forget which one it was now, but it was a major one. Like, a really major American one (of the Wal-Mart caliber). I did read about this recently, but I'll have to double check. This has also happened in other countries, including Australia (and again I'm talking about major mass market retailers, not electronics stores or game-centric stores). Retailer support is critical to "winning the war" with a proposed mainstream format. Still, as I said, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Blu-ray still has the edge I'd say (though it's lost some of that recently), but anything could happen in the coming year.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]It's sounding interesting as you describe it beyond the initial post. I'm definitely interested. The visual concept reminds me of something like Final Fantasy IX (or possibly XII). Very cool. I'm not sure if I like the idea of all the characters being related (this might make things difficult under some circumstances), but I do like the idea that most characters will be part of a broad lineage. I'll start thinking of characters and see how it goes. Edit: And I just wanted to mention that I love the Steampunk concept and the Alchemy. Very cool. And I'm glad someone is going with a Landmark System! It'll be good to finally see this implemented, since HV never got started.[/font]

[quote] The PS3, Blu-Ray's main player, was even outsold last week in japan by the Xbox 360, a console that has never sold well in japan to begin with.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium] It’s worth pointing out that this is largely an anomaly based on the release of Ace Combat 6. Not to mention that this really has nothing to do with the format war – Xbox 360 doesn’t utilise HD-DVD for games (and being that HD-DVD isn’t built into the console, I’m not sure how well the comparisons fare). The biggest turnaround recently was Paramount’s decision to reject Blu-ray, which it had previously supported. This occurred very recently and it has surprised the industry, I think. At this stage Blu-ray still enjoys superior retailer support, which is critical to the success of any next generation format. However, if more studios jump on board with HD-DVD, it does make you wonder how long it will take for retailers to change their tune. As with other formats in the past, I think this just further confirms that we won’t see any real outcome to this situation within a short period of time.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]A level editor? How did I miss that? Geeze. This game is shaping up to be bigger than religion.[/font]

[quote name='Desbreko'][color=#4B0082]I'd delete OtakuBoards for $1 million. Drop me a PM if you're interested.[/color][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]And I'd pay someone $100,000,001 to hunt you down if you did. :catgirl:[/font]

[color=#606060]The Etheria can be human-like though, right? I'm honestly not sure which ones I want yet. Maybe I can just work it into the story that I'm going to change them...or something. Not sure. It's hard to decide without knowing much at all about the game world.[/color]

[color=#606060]I will go after jigglyness. I will try my best to make it easier to be followed this time! :catgirl:[/color]

[color=#606060]Your point about fibre networks is another reason why physical media is going to remain dominant for quite some time - and why it's both necessary and logical to look for a replacement to the existing DVD format. I'm glad you joined the discussion, Red. You clarified the differentiation between Web 2.0 and Internet 2 (I was certain they were different but I'm not an expert on the detail). That was a necessary distinction, nevertheless. I also think it's worth pointing out that mass digital distribution - as a replacement for physical media - is absolutely relevant and worthwhile in theory. But any discussion involving that theory needs to recognise the very real physical and regulatory constraints that exist today. The debate about fibre optic networks is interesting because this is actually something Australia is struggling with right now. We do have an existing cable infrastructure but there is much debate about the development of a [i]new[/i], ultra-high speed fibre optic network. Why is there that debate? Simply because of the massive, massive expense. And I know such debates are occurring in other wealthy nations as well (including the U.S.) So while the overall concept of how digital distribution might be a reasonable replacement for digital media at some point is fair to consider...I do think it has to go hand-in-hand with an understanding of the realities as well. It's important to understand [i]why[/i] new physical media formats are being sought by major industry players. Also as a footnote to this...I read today that Howard Stringer thinks that Blu-ray and HD-DVD are basically neck and neck. There have been a few recent shifts on the part of some key major publishers (Paramount, anyone?) It's interesting that there are still major publishers supporting HD-DVD. I know why they're doing it, but if retailer support doesn't change...I imagine it will be difficult for the HD-DVD consortium.[/color]

[color=#606060]I think Shy has a good point in that perhaps an intelligent/developed alien race may not even use radio communications. I mean...who's to say that they would contact us in the first place? I don't think that can be a basis for deciding that there isn't life on the planet (not that we'd assume otherwise, without evidence). I tend to think that we often assume another species would use similar communication methods to us, but I find that assumption to be unwittingly arrogant in some sense. It could be that there are communications out there but our equipment isn't sensitive or sophisticated enough to pick them up. You know? I think this sort of thing tends to demand more lateral thinking than anything, in terms of coming up with theories and such.[/color]

[color=#606060]I'm not saying people are born gay (I think sexuality is probably formed during puberty), but to say it's a choice is asenine. Nobody can consciously choose instincts - they are, by nature, instinctive and not reasoned thought. One must be able to differentiate between the two. English is something you learn, it is not instinctive. But the desire to have sex is not a learned behaviour - it is instinctive and part of your genetic make-up. As I said before, you can not "choose" who to love or who to find attractive...nor can you learn it. By that logic I could "teach" you how to find George Bush physically attractive, lol. It just doesn't make sense. It's a line of logic that leads to a completely ridiculous conclusion, if followed to that degree. Anyway, as I said, let's try to keep the weirder/unrelated stuff to one side and focus on the discussion about legislation - perhaps that can be expanded to include other civil rights matters, I don't know. I just know that if we were talking about space travel and the thread degenerated into a ridiculous discussion about whether or not we actually landed on the moon...it would be a waste of a thread. The experience I have in this area is different from many of you just by virtue of the fact that I'm not American. There's certainly still some discrimination here and there in Australia...but as I said earlier, actual workplace laws relating to this were formed long ago - including anti-discrimination law on the basis of sexuality or gender. I think the bigger issue in Australia is achieving equal rights in other areas, including everything from superannuation to Medicare. Those areas are probably due to be rectified in a fairly short period of time, I think it's just disappointing that it's even still something that needs to be fixed.[/color]

[quote]Simply because it is better to doubt until information is available than to believe based on nothing.[/quote] [color=#606060]I just had to quote that. It's like...one of the most defining statements I've ever read on OtakuBoards, especially coming from a religious person. Haha I don't mean that as an insult or anything, I just think it's kind of an ironic and kind of funny quote. :catgirl: Anyhoo, as far as I know, there are a number of Earth-like planets that have already been discovered (which is why I can't imagine NASA being in a particular uproar over this). Perhaps the other planets that are considered "Earth-like" are just too far away though, I'm not sure. But I'm certain I've heard of a number of these discoveries in recent years. Still, it's interesting. I just wish we had the ability to go out there and visit it. :catgirl:[/color]

[color=#606060]Welcome to the boards, I hope you enjoy your stay. :catgirl: I highly recommend browsing the Theater if you're new, as you are likely to find some interesting material in there. It's a pretty unique aspect of the boards. Anthology is also good if you're just in the mood for a read, too.[/color]

[quote name='Aceburner']Tis is where I respectfully disagree. Babies have no sexual orientation. That's what we call a "Life Choice." Sure, events may transpire to influence one way or another, but that's like saying I was born to join Karate. My personality, which was fostered by my parents, combined with a deep unwillingness to take crap, drove me to join up, where I made new friends and, ironically enough, became more tolerant of jerks. Bottom line: Babies aren't born with anyone's pants on their mind.[/QUOTE] [color=#606060]I don't really want to get into another one of these debates but...sexuality is definitely not a choice. You have to look at it more broadly than who's pants you want to get into. When you have a crush on someone or you fall in love, you don't choose it. You don't consciously sit there and say "I think I'll fall for that person...[i]now[/i]." If it were a choice, nobody would ever have heartache because we'd be able to detach our attraction from someone simply by choosing it. So please do not make the mistake of suggesting that attraction/orientation is a choice. It isn't. Very few people would consciously choose to be gay, especially given the inherent restrictions (especially related to having children). I don't want this topic to turn into a "being gay isn't natural" thread or whatever - we've been there and it's always the same. I would ask that we go back to focusing on the issue of legislation, as has been mentioned at the start of the topic. I just want to make sure that misconceptions are addressed and that we go back to focusing on the topic before we stray too far from it. And on that note, I would be interested to know about those from countries other than America - I'd be interested to know what their laws are like in this area. Some of our European members might have an interesting perspective on the legal issues. Edit: I posted at the same time as Raiha. I need to correct something you said there. Those people who "made a life choice" are only deciding to follow an inherent element of their personality. In other words, they've stopped ignoring their fundamental instincts and decided to "give it a try". This should not be mistaken for a straight person simply deciding to be gay one day. Doesn't work like that.[/color]

[color=#606060]Speaking of Australian horror films, Wolf Creek was creepy. Very creepy, lol. It's basically about these people from Sydney who are travelling way way out in the desert miles from anywhere...and their car breaks down. Some random guy with a truck picks them up and offers them a ride. He takes them back to his place and...well, it gets nasty as hell from there. lol Since they are out in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nowhere to go, I think that makes it quite a bit nastier. Not to mention that the bad guy is very unnerving in a lot of ways. Last night I saw 30 Days of Night, which was actually relatively good. It actually made vampires scary, for once. It's a gore-fest, but it does have some genuinely creepy moments...and the new treatment of the typical vampire legend is quite good. I'd probably compare it to 28 Weeks Later in terms of the overall feel - it's quite gritty, oddly realistic and there's a very strong sense of desparation and despair throughout the entire film. Other than that, nothing really comes to mind right now. But there are some good recommendations here already.[/color]

[color=#606060]Aceburner, I agree with you. It would be nice if people would generally hold to that mantra...nevertheless, I guess it's a nice ideal. :catgirl: Gunslinger: I still think that fear motivates much of the hate. If you consider that some people think homosexuality can be "taught", that's obviously motivated by the fear that exposing yourself or your child could "make you gay". And obviously people are afraid of that. So I'd say that fear is borne of ignorance, but the fear itself is what leads to hatred. The same is true with racism, especially pre-Civil Rights era. The hatred of black people was largely motivated by the fact that white people were afraid of them. It's not necessarily an outright horror-type of fear...it's a discomfort, or a mistrust, or a fear of different ideals...or whatever.[/color]

[quote] Back then it was an ancient technology, and the argument as I remember it wasn't so much "VHS is good enough." It was "DVD isn't all that impressive."[/quote] [color=#606060]Right, I see your point. But this is essentially the argument you are putting forward in this thread, isn't it? You're not saying there's anything wrong with DVD - far from it - you are just pointing out that you don't find Blu-ray impressive enough to warrant switching over. My point is that the environment was the same during the VHS/DVD switch. So in actual fact we agree on that point, haha.[/color] [quote]Sure, upscaling is radically different than a film being "made" in a native hi-def resolution. But realistically, it doesn't matter, because when something like Jurassic Park is upscaled and still blows you away, visually, that's incredibly significant.[/quote] [color=#606060]Oh yeah, I don't doubt that Jurassic Park looks good upscaled. Don't forget that Jurassic Park on Blu-ray would likely be upscaled. So if you are blown away by upscaled imagery, you'd be even more impressed with native HD content. Another comparison is probably Wii and Xbox 360. My HDTV upscales Wii, essentially. It looks great. But on an HD set, I notice big difference between native resolutions. The same will essentially be true for next generation formats, at least when we get proper native resolutions going. This difference will be even more noticeable as movies become increasingly filmed in digital formats.[/color] [quote]n all honesty, I see this format war puttering out. There's not going to be a clear winner, even four or five years from now. And whichever format does come out on top is going to be seeing immense competition from the few companies who were exploring and expanding digital distribution. And come to think of it, big reason I see that digital distribution might take another few years to really kick off is because so many companies are focusing all of these resources on physical media.[/quote] [color=#606060]Well there are a few things there. First, companies are definitely heavily invested in physical media. If you went to the board of Time Warner and told them that discs will be irrelevant in five years, they would all laugh at you; it's still a critical part of their business and will continue to be at least for another decade. In terms of not being a clear winner, I think you'll find that there probably will be a decisive winner in the end. It is not in the industry's interest to have a protracted format war - it divides markets and ultimately harms publishers. At this stage Blu-ray is the clear front runner and whoever has the momentum at this point is more likely to win. So those predicting a Blu-ray victory are probably going to be right, at this stage. In the end I think publishers will probably focus on both digital and physical distribution. It's a question of infrastructure, consumer interest, copyright concerns and various other elements. I think that both formats will sit side-by-side for quite a few years yet. Physical media complements digital media in many respects. It'll be a long time before we see digital distribution taking up even 50% of the total market. But eventually, down the track, I'm sure we'll see digital distribution coming out on top. In terms of Internet 2 (which I'm sure is actually different to Web 2.0, if I'm not mistaken), I don't even think it's an issue right now. Many world markets are still struggling to implement basic broadband infrastructure of an average broadband speed. The issue we are discussing doesn't relate to bleeding-edge, it relates to mass market. And infrastructure has long been a cause of slower mass market penetration for many systems. I think it'll be another decade or so before global networks are at a point where the mass market experience becomes completely doable. Right now it's all still very, very early. Xbox Live is a good example of how early it is, actually. Microsoft haven't yet begun full media distribution through that service. And even when they do, it will only reach a tiny, tiny fraction of the population. So at this stage it's still very much an enthusiast thing - the Xbox 360 isn't going to standardize digital distribution, because it is not a mass market device. Even if all ten million Xbox 360 owners in America went online tomorrow...that's still a tiny fraction of the audience needed to outright replace physical media. And we're only talking one country there too, of course.[/color]

[color=#606060]I don't really care who ignores who, but I think it sucks to have to point out that it's not fair to treat brand new members - who ask completely legitimate questions - like something you scraped off your shoe. It's disappointing to see that, considering how welcoming people usually are here. Anyway, if anyone [i]does[/i] want to see The Arena return in some form then please, feel free to create a thread in the Info Kiosk about it. If there's enough interest we can certainly try it. People may have some suggestions about how we can maybe change it to suit OB or something.[/color]

[quote]Besides, I could swear the Constitution already covered this. Something about "all men are created equal."[/quote] [color=#606060]I don't think "all men are created equal" is actually considered to be a specific piece of legislation or a specific amendment. By that I mean, it's a vague statement that doesn't at all reflect the reality of American legislation. The fact that there are still various legislations to pass to make people of minorities truly equal pretty much demonstrates that I'd say. Also I should point out that there is plenty of evidence of discrimination in this area. I've read about American schools that have fired teachers once they discovered that they were gay - so there are definitely issues there. And of course, the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is directly related to employment discrimination. So there are many examples if you pay attention to news in general, I think. Any laws that bring things into balance - or that help - are going to be welcomed by those who feel that they aren't being adequately served by existing laws. And Gunslinger, I agree with you but I'd say that homophobia is still a pretty accurate term. That "hate" is often a manifestation of fear and discomfort, especially among those who are uncertain about their sexuality.[/color]

[color=#606060]It wasn't really writing-based, it was just an online poll. People just voted for their preferred character. It was much like the poll feature you see at a site like GameFAQs. So it's ridiculously easy to do and requires virtually no input or management from staff. If it's something people want then sure, we can easily do it here using regular poll threads. A lot of people voted, but I don't know how well it would go on OB.[/color]

[color=#606060]I agree that digital distribution will play a major factor. But physical media will remain important for a long time yet. This is mostly because there are still many very large markets in the world that just don't have the broadband infrastructure right now. There are really only a handful of countries that are going to benefit greatly from enhanced digital distribution. There's also the fact that a lot of consumers - especially those who aren't as tech savvy - aren't really dabbling in this area right now. Many still prefer the relative comfort of having a physical copy of their chosen movie. Still, I don't doubt that one day in the future digital distribution will be the dominant form globally. And in the meantime the smarter companies are going to have to try to cater to both audiences as much as possible - those who ignore digital distribution do so at their own peril. I also think one of the biggest question marks is how digital rights management (DRM) is going to change over the years. We're starting to see some positive signs, but it's still highly restrictive and that, in turn, is partly responsible for holding back digital distribution. The mindset and corporate culture of many of the major publishers is going to have to change as well.[/color]

[color=#606060]The other thing is, when DVD first came out a lot of people wondered what the point was. Minimal improvements in visual quality combined with few titles being available? And few early DVDs taking advantage of bonus features? What the? This is the case for every single new format. These new formats are still fighting for a foothold with studios and developers right now...and although they are available to buy, there is no question that they are not mainstream formats right now. So on some level the debate is purely intellectual because this isn't really affecting what consumers buy today - DVD is still dominant. However the debate is worthwhile in terms of discussing DVD's replacement format. Like DVD, it will take a few more years for Blu-ray/HD-DVD to become a mainsteam industry format. There's no question that a new physical format will be required within ten years anyway, partly because of those capacity constraints. That these new capacities are not being used amazingly well right now is to be expected, really. Also, upscaling is not the same as native resolution. Yes, a lot of the older films are simply being reformatted. The difference will largely come when films are produced in native resolutions that cater to these formats. That's still a while off, but again, we aren't talking about a current mainstream product - we are talking about a product that won't become standard for at least another few years.[/color]

[color=#606060]I never really buy the slippery slope argument though. If we applied that logic to everything, we'd never be able to regulate anything effectively. It's perfectly reasonable to say to a group that yes, they can protest on public property...but that under certain circumstances they must maintain a reasonable distance. You'll find that this is probably already enforced under various circumstances anyway, just not funerals. I don't see that this limits free speech, it just makes sure that people have the right to be heard without harming or impeding on the rights of others. All too often I think we use the monicker of free speech without realising that sometimes one group completely overbears another - or at least, that unregulated access for one group might mean suffering for another. Ultimately you have to try to maintain that balance. Freedom of speech is not all-encompassing - nobody is telling anyone else what they can or can't say. All they're saying is that [i]where[/i] you make that protest should be at least mildly regulated. Still doesn't stop you from having a street parade or starting a web site or whatever else. We have to be very careful when we broadly talk about civil liberties being eroded; I think it's important to make contrasts and to understand the difference between freedom of speech and personal responsibility.[/color]

[quote name='Aceburner'] Really the only problem I see with this legislation is that I don't really see what is keeping homosexuals from unhindered employment in the first place.[/QUOTE] [color=#606060]I think that sort of demonstrates why it's important to educate people about the realities of the modern workplace. I don't mean that in a negative light; I literally mean that some non-gay people are totally ignorant that there's even a problem. I'm glad this measure passed, but I'm amazed it has taken America so long. We have had this kind of anti-discrimination law in Australia for many years (including transgender people). So it's just commonly accepted here that you do not discriminate on such grounds. Anyway, even baby steps are better than no steps.[/color]

[quote name='VincentTheGreat']ouch, uh i was just commenting on a feature of MYotaku, back in the day. It was taken off without notice or reason. I never said anything about it then , I was just thinking about again and wanted to know if anyone else missed it, But im sorry i didnt know you couldnt voice opinions in a FORUM, frankly this being my first thread and haveing that be the first response, well i guess ill just stick to myotaku.[/QUOTE] [color=#606060]Ignore Deus Ex, his post was stupid. I remember what you're talking about. You're referring to the matches we used to have at theOtaku.com, where people would vote for whichever character they wanted to win. I'm honestly not sure why it was taken away; it seemed quite popular. I will talk to Adam about it and see if he has any plans to re-introduce it in the future. :catgirl:[/color]