Semjaza

[quote name='satan665']My problem with gamecube kinda goes back to what I mentioned way earlier. Playstation games I pretty much know what I'm getting into really well because PSM magazine is really good and they have great reviewers. I don't really like Gamepro or Nin. Power because I never feel I'm getting much out of them. My gamecube library is small but mostly I have can't misses like Zelda, Metroid and Res. Evil games. I need to fall back more on the rental system or something.[/quote] Well, that's what gaming sites are for heh. You can always visit [url]www.gamerankings.com[/url] They usually have several various reviews from good sources posted up for a game before it is released. Also, I figure that if you wait a few days after a game this big (mostly meaning non-obscure) comes out, someone would have some impressions or be able to answer your questions. I've been finding that impulse purchases are not a good idea anymore heh. I make sure to at least read a couple previews from various sites first. $50 isn't easy to come by for me, though.

I must have taken some of your comments wrong then, I apologize. Apparently you and I approach these things from a different mindset as it is lol. In any case, the only thing I'm concerned about at this point is the controls. I'm not worried about the button amount, but mostly the placement. It's hard to think of a way that the buttons could be placed that would go well with two screens. I think the main issue for me is that there really is no comparison for it. Other than certain models of Game and Watch, I can't think of any other gaming device that has used two screens. It makes it hard to visualize, especially when thinking in terms of ergonomics for the buttons. (edit -- actually, I had this horrible handheld Tiger wrestling game with two screens... thank god it won't be like that lol). I just hope that companies manage to find new and interesting ways to take advantage of this. Which would mean not just throwing a menu on one screen and the main game on another, like one of the examples given for it way back.

I've yet to read anything prior to this that would have given the idea that this system was capable of any decent 3D, other than hopes and assumptions. All that was known about it were the ARM processors, which really tells you nothing. If people were assuming that the system would be capable of decent 3D, I'd have to say it was largely a coincidence. There weren't any specs to rely on other than that, so I don't know how anyone could make a decent conclusion on the subject before now unless they simply relied on rumors and their own guesses. The point is, nothing out of Nintendo really gave that impression... to me anyway. In terms of the LAN, the only speculation I saw about it made comments on how it would most likely be similar to the GBA's new wireless link. What this system apparently will have is far, far beyond that. I mean, for me at least, it's one thing to expect wireless communicatiosn on some level and another to find out just how far reaching it is. Other than stuff from IGN talking about their sources ([url]http://cube.ign.com/articles/491/491120p1.html?fromint=1[/url]) and other similiar articles elsewhere, I don't know what more could be said about it. It turns out their sources were pretty much right on though.

There was a Final Fantasy anime series. I remember people asking about it here in the past. I can tell you that it was not very good. Apparently people in Japan agreed too, considering how early on in its lifespan it was cancelled. I suppose someone could do a mini-series based on one of the games. I'm not sure why they haven't bothered to. The series that did come out had little to do with any game released under the FF brand. In any case, FF7: Advent Children isn't all that far off anymore.

I'd say the 3D capabilities, wireless mode and the touch pad (which I've noticed IGN doesn't mention, so who knows) are rather substantial new additions lol. I don't remember any official word coming out about any of these in the past. Just baseless rumors with far less proof.

This is just rumor at this point. There's a supposed leaked Japanese document that talks about the specs of the Nintendo DS and there is a jpg of it floating about that I've included. Of course, it's all in Japanese. Gamesindustry.biz is a reliable site and they posted this, so it is probably worth reading. However, remember that no one knows how true any of this is as of yet. [url]http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=3099[/url] [QUOTE]Leaked Nintendo DS specs reveal touch screen, wireless LAN, 3D graphics Rob Fahey 09:54 11/03/2004 New "Nitro" details show this to be a very different beast to the GBA A document leaked onto the Internet purporting to be a full specification for Nintendo's forthcoming DS handheld includes features such as a touch panel input device, 802.11 wireless LAN and a 3D graphics system. The one-page specification summary, entirely in Japanese, also provides further confirmation of many things we already knew about the DS (which has recently been revealed to have the codename "Nitro", although it's not clear whether that is purely a development codename or if it will find its way onto the final product branding). As expected, the system will have two processors, with an ARM-9 CPU running at 67Mhz and an ARM-7 unit running at 33Mhz. Retail DS devices will have 4Mb of main RAM (while debug development units will have double that), with additional chunks of cache and shared RAM for the processors and 656Kb of video RAM. The real surprises, however, come from things which Nintendo didn't even hint at in its original announcement. The system will possess decent 2D capabilities, but it also has a 3D graphics system which, the spec claims, is capable of drawing 120,000 polygons per second, representing a fill-rate of 30 million pixels per second. That figure hardly puts it into the same league as the PSP for 3D performance, but it's the first time that a Nintendo handheld has featured hardware accelerated 3D, and should open up significant new possibilities for games on the device. As, indeed, should the other two revelations on the leaked document - namely the inclusion of 802.11 wireless LAN technology (the industry standard used for wireless networking), and of a touch panel input device. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had already indicated that the device would have wireless capabilities of some description, but most commentators expected that to be the short range Bluetooth system, rather that the much faster and longer-range 802.11 protocol. We wonder what kind of functionality Nintendo has in mind that could call for wireless connections over 50 to 100 metre distances... Sadly no further information is given about the touch panel (the spec simply says "touch panel" in a section on input devices, where it is listed alongside the standard Nintendo handheld input system of d-pad, four buttons (A, B, L and R) and Start/Select buttons), but it seems fair to assume that one of the actual screens may be touch sensitive, which would again open up an intriguing number of possibilities for designers. The screens themselves are marginally more high resolution than the GBA, with two 256x192 resolution panels included in the spec, compared to the 240x160 panel in the GBA. Speaking of which, there's no indication here that the system will be compatible with GBA games, as has been suggested by many commentators, but equally the possibility isn't ruled out and the system should certainly be more than capable of running GBA titles if Nintendo wishes to do so. Of course, a single leaked screenshot of a Japanese document doesn't constitute hard proof of any description, and this document should be taken with a pinch of salt - but if it is a forgery, it's a rather good one (at least to our pidgin Japanese reading eyes). The Nintendo DS remains one of the more unusual propositions for a game console that we've seen for some time, but if the document is for real, the inclusion of 3D, wireless LAN and touch panel hardware certainly just made it a lot more interesting.[/QUOTE]

The Midway Compilation is not very good, but the Activision one was amazing. I don't consider massive, well done compilations like that "remakes", really. However, Activison has make several compilations in the past, so it was getting to be a bit much. Technically, Nintendo already made the original Zelda with better graphics and the same gameplay for the Satellaview System in Japan. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they just threw it on a cartridge for the GBA in the future. Honestly, I don't know that I'd even mind that considering it's basically impossible to play now without emulation. Remakes are a hard thing to do well. When I think of remake, I don't think of "port". Stuff like Resident Evil 2 and 3 being brought over to other consoles and the PC with absolutely no improvements are obviously something I don't care for. And although things have been added to and changed in the Mario Advance games, they really don't feel substantially different in any way. I'm very mixed on the Mario Advance series because even though it offers nothing new (other than annoying voices) and Mario Bros. is slapped on every game in the series, it offers me a way to play some really great games on the road. What can you do though.... at least SMB3 had those neat add on e-card levels. With remakes, there are so many factors to consider. We're to the point where people expect more than just graphical upgrades, in many cases. However, it also seems to depend on when the game came out. I, personally, wouldn't complain if a really good SNES game was remade in 3D, but stayed largely the same gameplay wise. They've done this before with RPGs (Dragon Quest in particular) and with that sort of game, it's nice that it's largely the same as the original. However, when you start getting into remaking 32/64 bit games, you get the issue of people actually playing these games rather recently by comparison. In the case of RE, I really don't think a simple graphical change would have interested people as much as the fact that so much of the game was expanded upon. I personally wouldn't have bought it on graphics alone. I bought it because I enjoyed the original despite its flaws (I thought it was best in the series) and figured this would be a nice improvement. The problem with remakes is that you're not going to please everyone. If people really loved the original, they're going to compare the new version back to it in almost every situation. Often with rose tinted glasses. People are hard to please. One group wants changes, another wants it faithful to the original but somehow different, some want it exactly the same. People will be disappointed sometimes. I guess it's the risk you take. However, remakes really are not just for the original fans. They're also for newcomers to the series and often they are better equipped to get people to become fans themselves.

I'm finding this slightly confusing due to the whole Ronald and Roland thing. Especially since you've spelled the title differently in your post and the thread title itself.

[QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet]The burning times refere to the time between 1484 when Pope Innocent VIII wrote his Papal Bull (I'd like to add a four letter word onto that) quickly followed by the Malleus Malleficarum or Witches Hammer by Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger two German Monks in 1486 and lasted until the late 1700's with the last excecution happening in Poland in 1793. Interestingly enough, I think a movie truely based on this would be more violent than The Passion since so many people were totured and klilled. But enough about that, it's history. History we should learn from, but still history.[/color][/QUOTE] I started looking into this, mostly out of boredom. All I've found on the subject was a film titled "The Burning Times" that came out in 1990. It's apparently a documentary. From what I've read about it, people seem to think rather highly of it, so it might be worth checking out. Seems like quite a few places online sell it, if you're interested.

I find most anime characters so neurotic that I can't really identify with any of them lol.

I thought it was common knowledge that the Church applied Pagan views to their religion in an effort to make pagan-ism seem like a "wrong" choice. The devil stuff is a good example, plus all the conversions of Pagan holidays. There are other gospels that are left out of most copies of the Bible as well. Depends on the version. Stuff like the Infant Gospels and such. I don't buy any of the Mary Magdelene stuff though. There's almost no proof other than a mistranslation that she was even a prositute and everyone thinks she was one anyway. Why listen to yet another offbeat theory? lol

I'm not really sure how to answer that, exactly.... but plants are not sentient beings. That's pretty much the most important aspect of it, I'd say. Buddha was not a strict vegetarian in the sense that many people are today. When he and his monks/followers prepared food, they would not prepare meat in the meal. However, if someone else made a meal and it wasn't prepared specifically for them, they were allowed to eat the meat. Basically, they couldn't eat sentient creatures if they were killed specifically for their personal consumption. However, Buddha's death was supposedly hastened by a piece of tainted meat... so obviously they did eat meat in certain situations. It's kind of confusing, but makes sense if you read it a couple times lol. Most Buddhists now are strict vegetarians. I don't feel that means that they don't "respect" the plant life, though. I feel that if you understand the concept of Dependant Origination,you'll have a sense of respect for all things anyway.

I'm glad we finally got off of that. It's not as if Christianity was the only religion being discussed in here anyway... [quote name='Japan_86']If you are Bhuddist, then your god is every single thing.[/quote] I'm not sure what you mean by that exactly... That's not really how it works. Buddhists don't have creator god(s) or personal god(s), unlike Christian based religions. They just seek enlightenment by understanding the Four Truths and Dependant Origination and by the settling of karmic debts (in other words, reach nirvana and pass into parinirvana - nirvana is the supreme state of enlightenment, not actually "heaven" as most people think of it). The Dharma (Buddha's teachings) asks that all sentient beings be protected. If you understand Dependant Origination, you will most likely realize that everything comes from something and eventually becomes something else that will create even more things. Because of this, all things almost have a heightened sense of importance... however, I wouldn't say that they would be "gods". Honestly, Buddhism makes more actual sense to me than anything else there is to follow. I don't know why I skipped it at this point.

[QUOTE=IceWolfEyes] That is so Jewish, You are such a Jew--Means not cool, unintelligent, something that makes everyone in a room groan. *Sigh* I don't know how it got started, but I am quite tired of hearing it in side conversations. Even my friends use this, and they know that I'm Jewish! Nothing like hearing "Don't be such a Jew" when I walk by a group of people I don't know, and don't care to meet. Or even better, an adult once used this. I was in shock just long enough for him to leave the restaurant where I work.[/QUOTE] As a slanderous term, calling someone a Jew usually meant they were really cheap and money-hungry. It seems like all of those meanings get made more and more general as time goes on. I knew this one kid who called everyone a "jew bag", whatever that meant. He was obviously an idiot.

I'm never going to live Peach Head down, apparenty heh. I still can't get over the fact that you mentioned the game [I]Plok[/I]. Who knew other people even know it existed? I sure didn't. Nice stuff here.

Yeah. Not to mention the fact there is most likely countless images of anime characters kissing all over the internet. If you find a couple and imitate them with your characters, I'm sure it would work out.

That Bill avatar kind of ruined something for me considering I've personally yet to even see Bill's face...

Well, in any case, I don't really understand how one could reject a religion if they don't know much beyond the basics of it. In my situation, I dislike organized religion because of all my experience with it. I'd say it's best to know your enemy (although enemy is a bad choice of words, I can't think of something fitting -- I'm sure people know what I mean). That's me though heh. Anyway...

This is far from controversy lol. You're posting opinions of yours while disagreeing with the opinions of others and people are responding. I've [I]never [/I]seen that before lol. I don't even follow these religion and therefore have no "defense mechanism". I doubt there would have even been an issue if you just stated your thoughts and didn't call people close minded and claim some sort of superiority and down talking (which I honestly do think is shown by your " But I have all the reason in the world to. You on the other hand don't have reason to assume things about me. Ahem." comment). You do realize the Bible isn't just written by one person, I hope. I'm not getting that impression.

[QUOTE=Narius]To claim that everyone's religion is a blind following of some crazy guy's book that was written a really long time ago and really shouldn't have any bearing on today's life would generally cause controversy amongst those devout to their beliefs, so I was in the right in assuming such things. Never said I was more enlightened, but to believe 100% that everything had to start some where is infact close minded....in fact it could be used to define the word. Anything else you want to bore me with?[/QUOTE] Is there some reason you have to be the only one who is condescending and insulting to other peoples' belief systems in this thread? Everyone else has managed to be civil and open about things. Meanwhile you imply that you have the true answers are infact "enlightened", regardless of the words you chose to express it with. Obviously you are implying that anyone that "blindly" follows a faith is somehow less knowledgeable than one who doesn't. It kind of shows that you don't know what faith is in the first place, anyway. Your "crazy guy's book" comment shows such a lack of understanding of the involved religions as it is. Stop wasting everyone's time by acting like a spiritual advisor. You've not really shown any extreme intelligence by your blowing off of wrist cutter's posts. The only ones here who are bored are those who have to bring themselves to read your posts on the subject, which really offer no insight that hasn't been brought up in the past thousand years.

I don't know how bad I can feel for someone who had owned that many cars by your age.

I've been playing saxophone on and of for about 10 years now, I'd guess. At first I was on alto, but the teacher decided to bring me up to tenor. I've played that a majority of the time, although I've also played soprano. I've not really played as much since highschool ended. This was mostly because I let my school use my tenor to teach new band members. I didn't pick it up until this past Christmas. I'm still not sure if I'll jump back into it or not... the money I could make by selling it is looking good right now. I also have a Yamaha keyboard. I forget what model, but it cost around $300 at the time. It's pretty good, I'd say. I mostly used it to hook up to my PC to play around with sounds and such in random sound editing programs. There's also an electric guitar laying around here somewhere, but I still can barely play it at all. I never have the time to bother getting all that far with it.

I don't really care about their music as it's really just fluff, in my opinion. Not that they're bad at what they do, but it really offers nothing for me in any sense. I really cannot stand their attitude though. The way they talk about themselves and other bands, you'd think they were the most hardcore band in existance (not the genre).

Mine has always been the original Legend of Zelda. When you die, you spin in circles and disappear with a pop. The Continue music rocks too.

[QUOTE=Altron]well, I think that a Spam forum would be a good idea. I mean, it should maintain OB integrity, but It should be a place for people to get the spam outta their system. It might also clean up OB on the non-spam forums.[/QUOTE] That's really not even what Azure was suggesting. Besides, there are reasons why OB doesn't have that stuff currently. The Newbie Lounge and Picture Forums are good examples.