Xbox One, Halo, and other things Microsoft has announced.

CamoBadger wrote:

Ketchup wrote:

StoneSlinger88 wrote:That dog's either gonna die, or be the last thing your character sees as he dies. Either way I'm gonna be like Camo and tear up.

It's strange how we empathize with animals more than people in fiction, when the opposite is often true in real life.

But yeah, me too.

Eh, somewhat true for me, but even in real life I've got a bit more empathy for dogs when they die. Even more so for service dogs; seeing them die is fuckin' awful, and I can't even imagine how the handler must feel.

I've read quite a bit about service dogs and handlers, and I'd agree, it's definitely sad when they die. The bonds are very strong, to my understanding. World War Z has a section that always gets a tear related to them.

Empathy is an odd emotion. I've never lost a close relative or friend, or even a pet. So, I don't know.

@Kipper
Steamroller might not be as great as it looks; if it's like Piledriver, its "eight-core" functionality is not as great as they make it sound; in the case of the current flagship of the line - Vishera - there are eight cores, but the CPU runs with four logical cores in normal operation, each of which totals the clock speed they claim (basically it's 4 modules containing two 2Ghz cores each). In multithreaded compute applications it's a good thing. In gaming, Intel's processors perform better by a decent margin, but CPU power isn't bottlenecking games nowadays. In games that are, however, (Planetside 2, for example, with its massive worlds) Intel will surely be a better choice with more powerful individual cores. (Parallel processing reduces efficiency, but you probably know that, and maybe most of what I am saying.)
Then again, the current Piledrivers are available at a very impressive price point for performance, so it's likely to be a good idea if the new Steamrollers retain that price point. And as you said, the possibility of increased multithreading is quite likely. Consider, though, that AMD CPUs use much more power than Intel's, and tend to be warmer to match. Though, I'm sure you bought your PSU with upgrading in mind.

Ketchup wrote:
I've read quite a bit about service dogs and handlers, and I'd agree, it's definitely sad when they die. The bonds are very strong, to my understanding. World War Z has a section that always gets a tear related to them.

Empathy is an odd emotion. I've never lost a close relative or friend, or even a pet. So, I don't know.

They are. The handlers spend 24/7 with those dogs while they're overseas, some don't even get as close to other soldiers as their dog. I only saw one dead service dog while I was overseas, and the handler missed his flight back to the states (he was being medically sent home after his injuries) because he refused to leave the morgue for 3 days. Probably one of, if not the saddest thing I've ever seen.


But yeah, it's a strange emotion for sure.

Ketchup wrote:@Kipper
That's pretty simple stuff, actually.

Glad to hear. I do try to make what I say simple enough that if you have any knowledge of the inner workings something you could understand.
It's all fine and dandy to shout out buzzwords and technical terms about the transistors and the wattage, the this and the that - but end of the day, I might as well say "yeah, this works better than this because of that."

To speak in jargon is just to try make yourself seem impressive. If you already are impressive, you know you can speak in layman terms and still seem impressive because of your knowledge and capability to spread that knowledge with anyone who might have some minor interest in it all.


I was mostly worried about the folks who aren't computer literate in that sense. Again, it's fine for me because I disassemble my computer and rebuild it every so often to completely rewire it and clean out the insides as I see fit. I also try to keep up to date with all the upcoming releases of the latest technology because it's my hobby to have the high end gear. I mean, I can't afford the absolute top of the line / flagship products, but I still like to have top end gear and having knowledge of what's best for the price:performance ratio while also being top end is important to me because of that.

CamoBadger wrote:They are. The handlers spend 24/7 with those dogs while they're overseas, some don't even get as close to other soldiers as their dog. I only saw one dead service dog while I was overseas, and the handler missed his flight back to the states (he was being medically sent home after his injuries) because he refused to leave the morgue for 3 days. Probably one of, if not the saddest thing I've ever seen.

I can imagine why that would be sad. Terribly so.
I don't have first-hand experience with plenty of things, so I just simply cannot relate. I've read a collection of accounts of service dogs and the effects they have on the troops they're attached to.

Anyway, this isn't the 'discuss how sad it is when dogs die' thread.

For more tears, look up "Sally the Pitbull".

And I'll speak in jargon specifically to impress the tech-illiterate family members, especially the older ones. I've tried to explain it in layman's terms, but they end up just as confused. I've found if I don't talk in technobabble when dealing with their computer problems, they might try to hire a guy to do something simple because they have no idea how a computer works.

StoneSlinger88 wrote:For more tears, look up "Sally the Pitbull".

And I'll speak in jargon specifically to impress the tech-illiterate family members, especially the older ones. I've tried to explain it in layman's terms, but they end up just as confused. I've found if I don't talk in technobabble when dealing with their computer problems, they might try to hire a guy to do something simple because they have no idea how a computer works.

I do a mix. Whenever someone is talking about "hiring a professional" or "having a professional sort them out a new PC" I start speaking technobabble to put them in their place. Sometimes I don't even try to make any sense, I just sprout out random crap if I'm too bored to think of what I'm on about and they're quickly reminded that I do know my shit.

...or I remind them how much I've spent on my current set-up and remind them what it's capable of doing and they go quiet and agree with me. Just about everyone in my family has seen the insides of my computer - how neat it is (pristine cable management) how clean, how good it looks and how expensive it is.
Hell, I even managed to bag myself a free enterprise grade server unit by speaking jargon with my old step dad seeing as he works with a big bank and had just been asked to decommission one.

This seems relevant (from 2010)

As a dedicated PC gamer looking at the Internet tearing itself apart over opinions about Xbox One... It's actually quite funny, could use a bit more popcorn though.

To state at least some opinionz... I have no idea what Halo TV series announcement (even if awesome on its own) has to do with announcing a new cons-... Oh, right, I forgot that TV was in every sentence uttered there. Hmmmm... Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I always thought that gaming consoles were, you know, about games, not watching TV. It's nice that Xbox can play TV, sure, but so can your actual TV and since you connect Xbox to your TV it kinda loses its point, the only advantage being that you don't need the TV remote control to switch stuff.

Also Kinect being mandatory part of Xbox One would discourage me from buying. Who wants something that's always online... Watching you. I don't need a "rocket science-level" creepy thing in my living room. Not to mention I probably wouldn't use it anyway.

I just think MS tries too hard to make Xbox One into a PC... Combined with TV and rocket science... With both PC and TV still doing a better job at it all than Xbox One.

Oh well, we'll see at E3, there could even be games, it's gonna be entertaining one way or another.

Also, I'm gonna murder their pitiful faces off if they're gonna make Mirror's Edge 2 into an Xbox One exclusive just for the sake of forcing people buy their new console (I know I said this before, but one can't say it enough times, especially when EA is involved).

If they want to watch me all the time... I'm gonna give 'em a show. Who's up for naked calisthenics?

StoneSlinger88 wrote:If they want to watch me all the time... I'm gonna give 'em a show. Who's up for naked calisthenics?

By all means, it's not like I have anything better to do anyway.

I was watching it live and found the entire thing quite hilarious, personally. It was the unveiling of their new console, but all they ever talked about was Television - not to mention that their voice command demo struck me as being prerecorded.

Needless to say, it's good regardless that the market is finally going to be moving away from the archaic techonology of 'modern' consoles.

@Kippershy:

Thanks for all the info. I've been out of computer building for a while.... okay for a long while, and totally missed out on the different iterations of DDR RAM.

The users over a Gamasutra had interesting things to say about the Xbone. At least the comment threads there didn't devolve into flame wars..... much.

It seems I'm gonna be heading back to the PC for gaming, again. Did it in the 90's and it looks like that time has come back. Though, I must say: I love the look of the new controller. The textured analog sticks look nice, all the rumbley-ness seems fun and thank the maker for a more discreet battery compartment. I enjoy being able to swap out batteries at a moment's notice. Rechargables are perfect for it. How do you all feel about it using AA's instead of an internal?

Now, is there a decent way to wirelessly stream what's going on on the computer to the TV? Because that's something... nevermind my Google-Fu has told me. I'll change the question: has anyone had any experience with these things? How well do these wireless HDMI things work? Because I don't wanna play games at a desk.

And hey, @CalamityWhen, you've played Grim Fandango as well, I'm guessing?

Seems topical :

Oh well, Xbone reveal in a nutshell.

I didn't get a X Box because I was young and saw it as a Microsoft cash grab into a market I guess they saw was more worth while then making better computers. Also I didn't get why Halo was a big deal.

I didn't get a 360 because the hype built up around it because of Halo turned me off and by the time I decided to upgrade from my PS2 the Red Rings of Death was well documented and was a problem Microsoft sunk over a billion dollars into trying to figure out and fix. They eventually did but by that point I already had a PS3 and got into computer games.

X Box One is a non-entity to me. I just don't care. Hell, it's to the point I don't even care about the PS4. Call me old fashion, but I have to side with Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation. Use to all a company had to do was release a thing that could play game. At the rate we're going, consoles in general are going to be like smart phones. Good for everything else except what they're suppose to do. Might as well just build a computer to play games on.

That could very well be the case. I honestly haven't been paying attention outside of what I see on facebook, a few videos, and what's posted here.

The PS4 could very well be another giant black machine built just to play games, but the way the companies like to copy each other there's no telling if they won't go all "always online, always watching, no option to play offline by yourself".

Nintendo is Nintendo. I like them for that but the newest thing I have from them is a 3DS.

IncoherentOrange wrote:@Kipper
Steamroller might not be as great as it looks; if it's like Piledriver, its "eight-core" functionality is not as great as they make it sound; in the case of the current flagship of the line - Vishera - there are eight cores, but the CPU runs with four logical cores in normal operation, each of which totals the clock speed they claim (basically it's 4 modules containing two 2Ghz cores each). In multithreaded compute applications it's a good thing. In gaming, Intel's processors perform better by a decent margin, but CPU power isn't bottlenecking games nowadays. In games that are, however, (Planetside 2, for example, with its massive worlds) Intel will surely be a better choice with more powerful individual cores. (Parallel processing reduces efficiency, but you probably know that, and maybe most of what I am saying.)
Then again, the current Piledrivers are available at a very impressive price point for performance, so it's likely to be a good idea if the new Steamrollers retain that price point. And as you said, the possibility of increased multithreading is quite likely. Consider, though, that AMD CPUs use much more power than Intel's, and tend to be warmer to match. Though, I'm sure you bought your PSU with upgrading in mind.

Let me stop you on two things.

IncoherentOrange wrote:AMD CPUs use much more power than
Intel's, and tend to be warmer to match.

This used to be true... but have you seen Haslel?
Fuck up of the fucking century.
What does it cost, 650 dollars? You know what stock speed temps are under load using the stock cooler?
91c
...91c.

That's something that AMD doesn't hit even when you overclock to 5.1ghz

Also, Jim Keller is back with AMD. If you don't know who he is, he's the guy who made AMD great back in the Phenom II days.


Steamroller looks set to rebuild AMD's reputation while Excavator will wipe the floor clean and make a new slate.
Haslel is a joke, one that Intel are paying dearly for in terms of reputation.
Intel may have strong single cores, but with Jim back in charge of the projects, I'm pretty confident that AMD's future chipsets (centurion not included, as that's an FX8350 ultra-high binned rebrand) will recover from their mistakes since he left to go to Apple.

Besides, back to the mutlithreading thing - because of the fact that the consoles are using Jaguar chipsets, which are from the notebook APU range, developers are going to really focus on making full efficient use of AMD technology if they want their games to shine. Sure, they could just let the fact that the CPU's are that much more powerful than the previous generations' CPU's and people will still see the benefit, but anyone wanting to make a true AAA game will be forced to write code that incorporates as many threads as is available to them to allow for the smoothest, most free reign experience they possibly can.
They'll learn in time how to make it even more efficient of course, as they did with the 360 and PS3, but that doesn't mean they have room to be lazy early on.

Parallel processing is indeed a big factor, and with HSA will give AMD an even bigger benefit and guess what? Implementing it shouldn't take anything more than a firmware update. HSA will make AMD's APU chipsets even more efficient and it all looks good from there.



The other thing to consider is it's not all about gaming.
AMD excels in almost any program that uses more than two cores. Video editing? AMD. Photoshop (excluding CS4)? AMD. Compiling? AMD. Anything pretty much goes to AMD, especially when you remove biased Intel compilers that actively sabotage AMD chips.

Formis_Hoodiegod wrote:

Not enough George Orwell.
Good hint of it though.

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Let's see the other side of the barricade. This is how win a war before it even started and your opponent is even helping you.




PS: Seemed kinda pointess to create an entire new topic for this, even if PS4 and not Xbone related.

The vultures certainly picked up on it. It's much easier to find negative feedback on the XBO's 'features' than it is to get positive opinions.
There's just no way they really thought that some of this would go well at all, the 'Kinect spy' isn't a big deal since you can indeed turn it off, but the internet issues and other garbage associated with secondhand games is just ridiculous and really doesn't have much of a point aside from more money.

The console is being absolutely dominated by the PS4, from what I see.

Ketchup wrote:The console is being absolutely dominated by the PS4, from what I see.

DOUBLE KILL! Triple Kill! Overkill! Killing frenzy! Killimanjaro! Unstoppable! Godlike! M-M-M-Monster Kill!

Wii-U anyone? I'll need more research before I decide on getting a Nintendo since I've outgrown most of its IPs.

Darkbright39 wrote:Wii-U anyone? I'll need more research before I decide on getting a Nintendo since I've outgrown most of its IPs.

Meh. I'm more interested in a PS4 for KH3.

RoboRed wrote:

That seems fairly accurate. :D

A bit of an (sort of) update for PS4 DRM features (or lack thereof).
PlayStation 4 third-party publishers can dictate their own DRM terms, Tretton says (update)

But it doesn't really change anything, no DRM in their own games and no built-in restrictions in the console itself is all Sony can do, any possible DRM in thrid party titles isn't something Sony can heavily dictate, without alienating the publishers at the very least.



PS: Here's a bit of off-topic just for the lulz, because there's nowhere else to post it really: EA Wants to Stop Being 'Hated'
EA, you're doing it wrong, you have to change your anti-customer policies first, then you can reasonably "want to stop being hated".