Valve, please use our money to buy some more servers

You know, I used to wonder why Valve didn't have more companies using their Steam platform to distribute games.

Maybe it's because every time a new game is released, the servers are too busy to fully process any transactions?

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Deceptive pop-ups

I can't believe this problem is still around... Wasn't there legislation put into place to punish companies for making pop-up ads that look deceptively like operating system messages?

I only saw it at all because I switched from Adblock to Adblock Plus and lost my existing filters.

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All are equal before the might of Katrina

Saw this over on boingboing:



You know, I've never felt so sad for a clown before...

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Nintendo Revolution controller

Nintendo said that their Revolution controller would be different. To me, that meant maybe a weird shape with the tilt sensor from WarioWare: Twisted and maybe the touchscreen from the DS.

How wrong I was...



This is what real progress is about.

It's well-known that the cost of entry into video game industry is spiraling out of control. With the huge budgets required to develop current-gen titles, there are few willing to take a chance on something new. So year after year, we get the same sports and driving games from the same old publishers. On the one hand, they can't be blamed for being nervous - it can take millions of sales to hit a profit on games these days.

Microsoft and Sony are making things even worse with the Xbox 360 and PS3. Developers could see production costs increase by a factor of 10 for the same styles of games we have today. It will also be more difficult to port titles between 360 and PS3, making production costs even higher.

Nintendo has the right idea. Instead of being a third "me-too" next-gen system, the Revolution will offer a new kind of gaming experience that will cost less to develop for than the competition. With the extraordinary shape of the controller and 3-dimensional movement tracking, players will find themselves immersed in totally new gameplay experiences.

I am a little bit afraid of "Power Glove-fatigue", but apparently the sensitivity is high so that large sweeping motions won't be necessary for every single action.

There will also be downloadable NES games which one can play by simply rotating the controller 90 degrees. I'm definitely excited about the next generation of consoles now.

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Game Boy Micro - Plays less games than ever!

Thinking about getting the spiffy new Game Boy Micro? Beware of what Nintendo isn't telling you!

Check out what the Game Boy Micro press release says: (emphasis mine)

It weighs an astonishing 2.8 ounces, or about the weight of 80 paper clips. Yet Game Boy Micro has the same processing power and plays the same games as Game Boy Advance SP models, complete with standard face controls and gleaming shoulder and Start/Select buttons that literally shine.

This is a lie. The Game Boy Advance SP plays original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. The Game Boy Micro only plays GBA games!

So if you get a GBM, say goodbye to classic titles like Zelda: Oracle Of Ages/Seasons , Kirby's Dreamland 2, the Super Mario Land series, Zelda DX, Tetris, etc!

The new screen is nice and bright though, so if you get it just for your GBA games I won't be mad at you.

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World of Warcraft server simulator

Update 2007-08-24: As much as I hate to close off the only post I've ever made with any traction, I've got nothing to do with WDDG or any other WoW server so comments have been disabled.

Update 2005-11-24: WDDG seems to be down. Google provides this as an alternate link for information - http://www.wddg.6x.to

Last week I discovered a World of Warcraft server simulator created by the World Database Development Group and today I have some information about it.



Read on for more...

Incredibly, the server works very well. There are things that don't work (like some spells) and more than a few bugs, but the game is quite playable. One can create a character, pump up its stats, and walk right into the Burning Steppes, as pictured below:



There are many changes from the official version that I think stem from not having access to the server-side patches that Blizzard has made. Flavour text is different in many cases, and I'm sure that I never noticed hat vendors before:



MMORPG server simulators are great for groups of up to ~50 people who want to play as a private community without interference from the public. In the case of WoW, Blizzard's reluctance to hold live events can be bypassed by holding one's own special events.

Blizzard is quite clear that they don't want anyone using private servers:

B. agree that you shall not, under any circumstances,

(iii) host, provide or develop matchmaking services for the Game or intercept, emulate or redirect the communication protocols used by Licensor in any way, including, without limitation, through protocol emulation, tunneling, packet sniffing, modifying or adding components to the Game, use of a utility program or any other techniques now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, unauthorized network play over the Internet, network play utilizing commercial or non-commercial gaming networks or as part of content aggregation networks;

WDDG says this in response:

Q: I see Blizzard has attacked and destroyed, often illegaly, many such server simulators. How is this one legal?
A: It is NOT legal. However, it is also NOT illegal.
The core is made in Latvia where their are NO computer laws.
As the program is released world wide, it is subject to the conditions of where it is created. Blizzard generally will attack anyone they view as competition.

Q: Does that mean, Blizzard can't touch me if I host this server?
A: In theory, yes, but in practice, wrong. They will do anything they can to shut you, your host if any, and ISP down!

It is best to not host this server within the U.S.A. as America has the most corrupt, greedy laws, and the least amount of freedom.

Having already played WoW for several months, I can't see myself resuming play on any server, official or otherwise. But if you're not burned out on WoW yet, here are some resources for setting up your own private server:

World Database Development Group
Build a Server FAQ
Emulator Bugs & Issues
Official WDDG FAQ

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