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Quote from "Equinox" »

I discussed it with my dad and he believes that, technically, it is quite possible, the only concern is, this requires a lot of servers, with one server playing one game at a time

The only games that would require 1 computer all to themselves would be the absolute top-of-the-line games like Crysis. If people are playing less intense games like bejeweled or something you can probably use 1 computer for maybe 15 people. As the hardware engineers start making computer components dedicated to this kind of multitasking they'll be able to use progressively fewer computers to run games with better and better graphics.

I'm certain they've already thought all of this through, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do something like limit to 5 hours a day. Look at it this way... If someone only purchases 5 hours a day then they probably thought this through and knew they wouldn't need any more than that. Even if they had an unlimited plan they'd still probably play less than 5 hours. If they ever got into a game hardcore-wise they'd probably bump themselves up to a higher plan so they could keep playing, as if they always had an unlimited plan. Additionally, odds are they would be playing their games during peak-usage hours whether they had a 5 hour plan or an unlimited plan, so that still wouldn't really solve the peak-usage hours problem. The only way to solve that would be to maybe offer a cheaper plan that doesn't let you play during certain hours of the day. Like, maybe you can play video games from 10pm at night to 6pm the next day, 4 hours of not being able to play, and then start playing at 10pm again. This would be a really crappy way to get around it and I hope they don't have to do it, but it seems to me to be the only way to overcome that theoretical issue.

Quote from "Auruoa" »

Edited 'Untitled'. You need to dock some points because I removed two chapters.

Changed, thanks for letting me know! By the way, that looks MUCH better. I don't have time tonight to re-read, but I definitely will and I'll adjust my review to reflect the changes

*looking forward to it*

How did you manage to cram so many misconceptions and outright falsehoods into such a small post? *sigh* I'll try to tackle them one at a time...

Quote from "Equinox" »

This means OnLive needs to run its own servers, and shitloads upon shitloads of them.Who will pay for this? Us.

They said the subscription fee will be comparable to Xbox Live, so around $50 a year, or $5 a month. I can handle that.

Quote from "Equinox" »

This also means that hardware is useless, which will piss all those hardware makers off.

Hardware makers aren't pissed off. In fact, nVidia is working very closely with OnLive. They're excited because everyone who accesses OnLive is going to need a high-end video card at their disposal, meaning nVidia is gonna sell $h1tloads of video cards to OnLive.

OnLive will still need tons and tons of new computers all the time. Think of it this way... rather than video cards being designed to run 1 game at a time they'll be altered to run multiple games. They'll still need to make lots and lots of these video cards, if only for OnLive, and they'll need to update them regularly.

To put it another way, it's not like suddenly less video rendering power will be needed, quite the opposite, more rendering power will be needed... it will just be served in a different way. Hardware companies will contract for OnLive making really expensive video cards with a high profit margin, rather than selling tons of cheap video cards with an almost nonexistent profit margin.

Quote from "Equinox" »

+ there is the piracy issue.

What piracy issue? If all data is stored on OnLive's servers piracy will be wiped out. It's impossible to download these games, all you download is an audio-video signal.

Quote from "Equinox" »

If OnLive digitizes everything, they can monopolize it, and that would not be good.

Monopolies are bad in most cases, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a monopoly. If someone else develops a cloud network to compete with OnLive all you have to do is pay the second subscription fee for the other company. I'd rather not have to pay 2 subscription fees, but there's always a way to compete with a business. It's unfair to say that it WILL be a monopoly.

Even if it does become a monopoly there are strict laws in place that say a company with a monopoly must advance their technology and keep a competitive price as though they had real competition. Microsoft has had a few close calls for basically monopolizing the operating system industry, but they keep expanding and improving their software because the law says they have to. Plus there's the faint chance that one day Apple might make a business move that allows them to step up to Microsoft. OnLive will have potential competitors coming out of the woodwork so you can bet your ass they'll remain competitive.

Quote from "Equinox" »

"Even if it's a 6-year-old POS you'll be able to run Crysis on it." that's all great as long as Crysis won't start costing $150 instead of $50 (which is already way too much).

By eliminating piracy, eliminating distribution costs, making advertising cheaper and more effective, lowering the cost of production by making hardware testing much easier, not having to pay for personal servers, etc etc etc etc etc.......... *gasps for breath*
I'd say the price of games will either be reduced or stay the same. No way in hell will it triple.

OH MY GOD I MUST HAVE THIS GAME! May 26, 800 Wii points, done.

Quote from "scales" »

Mythos was developed by the same people who made Hellgate:London (Epic Failure); who mostly comprise of ex Blizzard North People.

Now You're complaints are the same stupid complaints over at the battle.net forums about how the whole game looks too colourful and should have fluffy bunny rabbits running around.
1. You base your assumptions on the entire game on: A) a couple screenshots, a 20 minute demo movie show casing 1 outside zone and a dungeon.
2. Have you played through the entire game and can form an opinion on the whole? or are you basing your opinion on the entire game based only on what you've seen? If its the forme lend me your time machine so I can play the game too.
3. Although in your opinion the game is too colourful (whatever) to me its look great.
4. The game isn't finished yet

And I will let this screenshot speak for itself
http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/media/screenshots.xml#53

Thankyou,

God dammit for the last f--king time all I said was that at first glance I thought the background was a Diablo 3 screenshot. Since your post, Ivaron has admitted having the same misconception, so obviously I'm not just pissing and moaning. Stop turning this into that God-forsaken debate.

Quote from "LinkX" »

Sorry, I like to be able to hold my games in my hand.

I still have the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES...

I know what you mean, I have a massive collection of classics from pretty much every video game console. The implication that all my future video games might be digital is pretty hard to swallow, but if the entire market begins shifting in that direction I'll be okay with the change.

There seems to be several misconceptions about OnLive so far, let me address them.

First off, this isn't necessarily competition for the other video game companies. Everyone needs to remember that the consoles that are currently on the market don't make Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo very much money. They make money by selling the GAMES, not the consoles. If OnLive really takes off Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will face a decision. They can either try to compete with a well-established brand, or they can stop making consoles and sell their games via OnLive.

Lets use Microsoft for example. If they choose to compete with OnLive they'll have 2 options. They can either make a new gaming console like the 360, or they can make their own "cloud" gaming system, like OnLive. Both are very risky propositions considering by making a gaming console they run the risk of another Red Ring of Death, and if they make their own "cloud" gaming system it will be way behind OnLive and they'll have to make up a lot of ground. Microsoft has proven they can do this by overtaking Sony with their Xbox 360, so it's not necessarily too lofty a goal, but Microsoft has always been about software, so why not simply make software for OnLive? In fact, they could BUY OnLive and put their software team at the helm of OnLive's operating system. Considering Microsoft is all about providing the whole experience, I think this is definitely a good idea. Imagine OnLive turning into an all-in-one media center. They could integrate the Zune service and take down iTunes, they could offer on-demand television and movies, they could continue to dominate the gaming market...

Long story short, there doesn't have to be a separation among hardware manufacturers now. Everyone can use the same simple hardware of OnLive and just focus on making games. Personally I hope this happens.

Quote from "Genesis" »

That first picture with the console controller makes me go FUCARK!!!
I swear its like no ones ever heard of a keyboard and mouse :confused:
Till the lines between consoles and PC's become indistinguishable, I would prefer to use a PC for this technology

OnLive supports a keyboard and mouse. You can plug them into the USB ports on the front of the MicroConsole or you can use them on your computer like normal when you access OnLive via the browser plug-in.

Quote from name="Lt Venom" »

Well I heard from some really tech-savvy friends that it will not work and I'm also hearing that it works and it may be affordable for me. Meaning, I can play but all I have to do is get an external hard drive or update completely because my laptop right now only has 30-something gigs on it total. About 4.27 gigs are free to use. I know my laptop is complete garbage, but I don't have the money at the moment to go out and buy a Crysis-worthy laptop computer. The one I ultimately want can be seen in my signature.

I'm not totally sure what you're trying to say here, but you won't need a lot of hard drive space OR a Crysis-worthy laptop. To access OnLive with your computer, all you need to do is download a browser plug-in that I think was around 1 megabyte. Since all the processing and rendering of the game will be done on a mega-computer you won't need a good video card or anything special. All you need is a video card capable of playing video files at the resolution you want to play. With almost no exceptions, every integrated graphics chip put on every motherboard in every computer, laptop, or netbook these days supports this.

Let me put it this way... if you can watch DVD-quality movies on your laptop, you can play OnLive games with it. Even if it's a 6-year-old POS you'll be able to run Crysis on it.

Quote from "Astion" »

But what happends if we want to play games over the internet. Instead of singleplayer, then theres going to be alot more delay.
Say WoW

OnLive runs its own multiplayer servers, so there'll be virtually no lag. It will be like everyone in the world is on one giant LAN connection. The only lag EVER will come from the time it takes your ISP to send you the video signal, and they're claiming that won't be a problem.

The only apparent downside is that if a company like Blizzard wanted to run their own servers they'd have to set up something special with OnLive. However, odds are that if OnLive takes off, nobody will want to run their own servers. Odds are OnLive will offer their multiplayer servers to game publishers for dirt-cheap, so why pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to run your own servers when you can let your players play with each other on this gigantic LAN network? This would also likely cut-down on, or eliminate entirely, subscription fees for multiplayer games and MMOs.

Older long-running games (like WoW) will most-likely not be integrated into OnLive, but future MMO games COULD BE integrated very easily. Imagine Blizzard's next MMO having a $5 monthly subscription fee, no lag at all anywhere for anyone, the best graphics any mega-computer can render, all playable on any TV or computer anywhere...

I don't see how anyone could see this as anything but the future of gaming.

Before I get started, let me say that I do think there's intelligent life out there, so I'm a believer.

Don't you think that if all this "government conspiracy" stuff actually happened that there'd be proof out there somewhere? At some point down the line a picture would get leaked or something. Think of how many times the Pentagon's servers have been hacked into and military data extracted. At least one of them would have stumbled across some alien spaceship by now.

Someone saying something happened in some city doesn't constitute proof. Photographs, and videos are proof. I have yet to see any photographs or videos of ACTUAL aliens or alien technology. The only people who claim to have proof show us blurry pictures of paper plates. If all these alien encounters actually happened, someone somewhere would have a clear picture or video.

Let me put it this way. If an obviously real photograph or video popped up it would be the number 1 video on YouTube within days. Every news station would report on it all day long, everyone on Earth would know within a week or two.

All believable evidence points to us having no communications with aliens. The only people who claim to know otherwise are nutcases who are hoping other nutcases will believe them and stop by their podunk city to get a picture taken next to the "alien potato".

Once more, odds are highly in favor of aliens existing, odds are highly against aliens contacting Earth. You can watch all the UFO TV shows you want, but trust me when I say that WE'LL ALL KNOW when they contact us.

Okay, if you haven't heard of OnLive yet, pay attention. It basically defines the future of video games, movies, television, music... everything. The system is slated to focus just on video games to start with, but you can bet your sweet biscuits that they'll be expanding to include video, music, and everything else soon enough. Here's how it works:

OnLive can either be accessed by any computer's web-browser, or with a little "MicroConsole" that hooks up to your TV. It should be pretty easy for everyone to figure out how the web-browser connection works, so I'm going to focus on explaining the MicroConsole, just bear in mind that everything you can do on the MicroConsole can be done on a web browser.



So you've got your MicroConsole (shown in the bottom left of the picture) which is about the size a DVD case. This MicroConsole hooks up to your TV and your internet connection, and also communicates with your controller, or keyboard/mouse. All this little box does is receive input signals from your controller and sends them over the internet. Ultra-super-mega-badass computers in giant server farms will actually be running the games you play, hundreds of miles away. They receive the signals from your controller, process everything into a video signal, use an extremely advanced form of video compression, and transfer back to you NOTHING but an audio-video signal. In other words, it's kind of like playing on a video game console that's located 2 states away.



What about lag? Well, after 7 years of work behind the scenes the company is in beta-testing stages and they're assuring everyone that there's no noticeable lag. They've said that the maximum latency anyone will ever experience using the OnLive system is 80ms which is unperceivable to most people. To back that up, I've read several articles written by average people who acknowledge that they couldn't notice any lag in the current beta stage of the OnLive system. They said that all you need is an internet connection with a high-enough mbps speed to receive the video signal. According to them you'll need 1.5mbps for standard definition and 5mbps for an HD signal.

What does this mean for you, the gamer? It means that if this system is successful you'll never have to buy an expensive gaming console or upgrade your computer ever again. The, MicroConsole and controller will most likely sell for under $100 combined, or you can play the games on your computer with a keyboard and mouse without buying ANY extra hardware.

Speaking of playing on a computer, all you'll need to play the games through OnLive is a computer or laptop capable of playing video signals at the definition you choose to play at. That's pretty much every computer/laptop in existence. Even your $250 netbook will be able to access OnLive and play Crysis!

There will most likely be a monthly fee, but they've said that it will be comparable to Microsoft's Xbox Live service, or $50 a year.

If you're interested in becoming an early adopter, the system is set to go live in December of this year!

I've rambled enough, if you want ALL the details, here's a link that provides plenty of information:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/everything_you_need_know_about_onlive_is_your_next_gaming_console?page=0%2C0

My opinion is that there are enough people excited about this system, that all it has to do is work and it will revolutionize the way we play video games, and eventually the way we watch movies, TV, listen to music, etc. I plan on being an early adopter. I'll be playing from my PC so there'll be no initial investment, simply a small monthly/yearly fee. I'll probably stress-test the system with every demo they have, and if everything works the way it's supposed to I'll start buying games.

So what do you think? Will it flop, or will it fly?

Yeah, she's pretty much the cutest thing ever. I'm proud to share genes with her.

Anyways, I hope you have fun on your vacation! Care to enlighten us where you're going?

Quote from "DesmondTiny" »

You should do it for all storys including the non diablo fiction

Yeah, any fan fiction posted posted on diablofans.com is eligible

Of course Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2...

Beyond those:
Modern Warfare 2
Prototype
Batman Arkham Asylum
Wolfenstein
Rage
etc etc etc etc

Quote from "deathMars" »

Can you make up characters within Diablo? I mean, can I come up with a new demon?

Sure, take my "Adflict, Lord of Torment" story for example. I'm creating a whole new evil right up there with Baal and Diablo. In fan fictions you can basically do whatever you want, but typically people will want you to stay true to the history presented in the games and books. However, if you're making up most of your ideas and introducing all-new characters you shouldn't have to hardly even worry about the history.

Fan Fiction Title: Untitled
Part/Chapter: Chapter 1
Score: 6/10
Review: Sorry for the low score, but honestly I had a very hard time reading it. That's why I stopped after chapter 1. The story seems really interesting, but there's several grammar and format issues that just make it very difficult to follow along.

The main format issue is that you're gonna want to have an extra space in between paragraphs since the paragraphs aren't indented like they are in books. That will make it much easier to read. The other format issue is that as a rule you're supposed to start a new paragraph for each new person speaking. In other words, every time the speaker changes, you should start a new paragraph. This will make the story a ton easier to follow along with. I had a really hard time telling who was saying what.

Aside from that, there was a point in Akira's dream where you switched back and forth from present tense and past tense (you said "he IS bleeding" instead of "he WAS bleeding"). Also, towards the end you switch back and forth from 3rd person and 1st person (you said "I" and "me" instead of Akira).

I hope I don't sound overly critical, I like the characters you've created and I'd like to read more, it's just hard to follow along with these kinds of problems getting me all mixed up.

Another note, I noticed that you posted some more chapters after I gave you your fan fiction club points for the first 2 chapters, so I went ahead and added your points for chapters 3-5. You'll just want to remember to make a post on the fan fiction club thread when you add new chapters, that way I'll know to give you your points

Added a point for myself for reviewing Daemaro's post: http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showpost.php?p=436221&postcount=2

EDIT: added another point for reviewing Auroa's first chapter of Untitled: http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showpost.php?p=436226&postcount=6

Fan Fiction Title: False Prophecy
Part/Chapter: N/A
Score: 8/10
Review: Really interesting read, it really makes you think. For a while I've been considering the thought that the High Heavens don't always have to be the good guys. Granted there are more ethical beings in the High Heavens than the Burning Hells, but all we know right now is that they're 2 forces battling for dominance. We like to make Angels into the good guys, but are they really? I'd like to see you expand on this