General Chat

Well if you can put in another $100 or so i would say get a Radeon 9600 pro... that's a good card.
For $180 I would suggest a GeForce 4 Ti or some sort, or if you can try and get a Radeon 9100 (not 9000 and not 9200, they are both worse than the 9100)...

I pointed my friend towards a gexcube/gigacube ATI 9600 Pro. The brand may sound a little dogey, but all benchmarks I've read on this card have been the same as all others. Most third party ATI cards seem to barely differ from the reference board anyway.

I got this board from Computer Alliance for $230. Most Gigabyte/Hercules/Saphire boards are an extra $100 or so. These cards are definately worth it if you are on a budget.

If you can't go that last stretch and get a 9600, don't bother with a 9200 or FX5200. You're better off going down to the DX8 cards and getting a TI4200. But yeah, a 9600 Pro is definately recommended, they are a very good card, and can be found quite cheaply too.

Check out this site for a massive list of Aussie stores selling cheap cards.

[url]http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=153[/url]

Ebay can also be a good source of cheap cards. They are generally new cards, but be careful of international sellers. Postage may kill you. My friend picked up a Radeon9800 for $100 less than retail (inc. postage). I myself am a little wary of buying something like that off ebay, but the option is there.

Yeah... I'd be wary of buying something like that off ebay. I bought a very cheap Clarion car Headunit off ebay earlier this year. It came from the US secondhand but it was amazingly cheap, $220AU inc postage... same unit retailed for $800AU. Actually, it was the third time it was auctioned before I actually got the item, he kept getting non paying bidders.

Anyway, the unit rocked up soaking wet with the box demolished and a tiny part of the unit dented. It wouldn't play cds properly, and at first I thought I had gotten a dodgey unit. Took it to get repaired and found out it was from the water damage. Got my insurance back on it so it was all good.

But yeah, headunits can be fixed easily. If you got a 9800 pro in the mail that didn't work, good luck getting your money back.

I'd still stick to shops for that sort of thing. At least you can go down there and hassel them in person if they screw you over at all. [:D]

hi bouncy_roo,

You'll want to install Samba on your Irix machine which will allow you to share folders and access shared folders on your windows machine (Samba basically emulates the high level windows network protocol). Have a read up on Samba for Irix here: [url]www.sgi.com/software/samba/[/url]

You can download the samba binaries from here:
[url]http://samba.mirror.aarnet.edu.au/samba/download.html[/url]

Nice purchase Bouncy. I actually hae a question about your Octane. Is the speed difference for general working that much different? I was looking at trying to find a second hand one a while ago, but then I read articles saying that P4 and equivilent speed systems can give all the SGIs a run for their money. I would just be interested to know how differently Maya runs on the two machines (and what your normal PC is).

If you love Maya's modelling tools (I do as well), then take a look here.

http://www.byronimo.de/mainpage.htm

Cost me about AUS$85, but it has been worth every cent so far.

Enjoy your SGI.... you bastard :)

Couldn't tell you the differnces woulf have to get someone who had a better pc then mine text it *grin*, network remarketing has second hand sgis it cost a bit but not as much as what they usually do.. the usual cost for octane is more then 38000 and i got it for under 3000 with moniter etc incl. pretty sweet deal far as i am concerned i'm glad i got it. it's not as evil as my pc. runs nicely in my opinion although typing in the console to install stuff is a bit evil :P

thanks i'll check samba out and hope all goes well

HAHA. ANYTHING with Domokun is automatically cool.

[img]http://home.netspeed.com.au/mlanham/godkills.jpg[/img]

See.

Although dumb, that site has some cool photos. I really want that giant GBA :)

i dont get the deal with this sidetalking thing, its annoying granted but it comes with a handsfree set thing you plug in, so why not use that?
on another note internet fads, gotta love em :D

quote:Originally posted by MoonUnit

i dont get the deal with this sidetalking thing, its annoying granted but it comes with a handsfree set thing you plug in, so why not use that?
on another note internet fads, gotta love em :D

Yeah, but I guess if you are walking around and have it in your pocket and its starts to ring, your not gonna bother getting all the handsfree stuff out just to answer it. Well I wouldn't anyway [:p]

I'm really hoping that Hoyts also do the trilogy screenings. 9hrs straight of LoTR (drool).

I saw Two Towers on boxing day last/this year. You can [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=214&SearchTerms=two,to…"]read about it here[/url]. I hope it doesn't turn out like that again for Return of The King!!!! I'm extremely looking forward to ROTK. I haven't read the books, I know zilch about the final part of the trilogy, and I want to be awed. [:)]

i have had the LOTR books for about 6 years now and still havent read all of them!

i am about to starty readin ROTK, so hopefully i will have it finished before boxing day (yeh, sure...)

from what my insanely-tolkien-addicted brother has told me (about a milliont time mind you) is that the last book is the best, and the movie should be too...

also, on Austar (Tassies version of Foxtel) i heard that all the Saruman scenes from ROTK are being cut to keep the movie to a 3 hour limit!!!!!!!!!!

im unsure about that, but if its true, oh the horror!

to Souri...

i highly recommend reading the books, you'll be amazingly surprised how much has been taken out of them for the movie... Tom Bombadil for example...

if you want to know the full story, buy War of the Ring as well, it is all the stuff you dont see in the movie...

Bombadil sucks. Insert smiley here.

The premiere parade is two blocks from my house. On the main street are massive statues attached to buildings of things like Nazguls and riders. Tres cool.

Jonathan: You so have to go throw carrion at Elija wood.(sp?).. That bastard turned frodo into a frothing pansy!!

I recently bought the Two Towers special edition DVD.. It's got like 40m of extra footage.. All nicely inserted into the film too :D Brings it up to 220 minutes I think. Over 3 and half hours of nerd love.. Crikey..

Anyhow, I haven't watched it yet, gotta wait till christmas.. It's a present for dad.. I'm looking forward to the making of gollum, and why peter jackson felt the need to add stuff to the books (aragons fall and the elves at helm deep)

i would give ahything to go to that premiere parade...

S Bob - you've got to remember that these books are Jackson's interpretation of LOTR - they're not intended to replace Tolkiens work, but rather, to accompany them. Tolkien couldn't write characters, but he had great attention to detail and history.

Thats true, I just disagree with some of his interpretations.. 95% of things kick ass, but that 5% is what gets talked about the most.

I've got my tickets for the Boxing Day session... 11:30 at the Regent in Brisbane. There is an earlier showing at 9:30 in the Myer Centre cinemas, but I think the regent is a better cinema for openings, it has a cool atmosphere. :)

//Spoilers for ROTK and TTT:EE

Yes, the Saruman scenes have been cut, they will be on the ROTK:EE DVD.

TTT:EE DVD is great, I feel the extra footage really adds to the movie. There are so many little things in there... especially some good moments with Merry and Pippin. Now they do more than just hitch a ride on Treebeard for the entire film. Its also good to see the Huorns at Helms Deep.

//End Spoilers

I am very much looking forward to ROTK, I think it will be great. Some of the decisions by PJ on this film are going to leave me a little dissapointed, but I still think it will be great!

Yup, my bro and I shall keep our tradition each time a LOTR movie comes about. See it in Gold Class. I mean, it's a long ass film. May aswell see it in damn comfy recliners with diddly all people about. And I'll have a hot chocolate delivered 20 minutes into the film, thankyou very much. @:-D

I cant wait for this movie, sorry to hear about your bad experience with TTT Souri, one of the perks of working at the cinemas though, I dont have to line up :) Still this will be the 5th movie I've actually paid for in 7 years, and It'll be worth every cent.

Stu

It's getting close now.. Another week!
Did anyone read about Peter Jackson cutting over an hour and 20(?) minutes from ROTK? Cripes... can't wait for the special edition DVD [:)]
I was telling my friend how they could've just split ROTK up into 2 parts, and show the final part on boxing day next year.. [;)]

$$ Bling BLing $$

yeah i read somewhere (some news site about an interview with jackson) that the extended dvd will be over 4hr 50mins

im just waiting for the 12 disk box :P (all three)
god thatd be expensive but heck id probably still buy it :D

i havent bought any of the dvds waiting for that big pack at the end :)

tickets go on sale... tickets sell out in under an hour.
Damn crazed fans.

woo im seeing it on boxing day!!

ill be in phillip island at the time (holiday house there) and the closest that has it is wonthaggi cinema, being pretty much out in the middle of nowhere theyve still got seats :P

Well I saw Return of the King this morning, and I quite enjoyed it. A couple of things did annoy me to a small extent, though I won't leave any major spoilers here. There were a few additions to the story that didn't really make sense, and I felt the character of Denethor wasn't quite right. There were also a few changes here and there that really didn't need to be made, as they didn't really have any impact on anything at all. So why change them? Also the start felt a little slow, but the ending was a little rushed. Well I think thats all the negative things out of the way, now onto the good stuff!

The Seige of Gondor was excellent, and Sean Astin was really great as Samwise. Shelob... excellent! I really can't say too many things without ruining the movie, but it is just as good as the others. I think after a few more screenings the film will be even better.

Still, I cannot wait for the extended edition. There was so much happening in ROTK that you do barely spend any time in one place. Hopefully it will be fleshed out a bit more on the DVD.

Those of you who have seen it, let me know what you think!

Yup, I thought it was very nicely done - I'd still have to say that Fellowship was better (but I think that's the best book anyway). I found the atmosphere the film painted in the 1st half to be quite depressing - which is rather impressive feat for a movie maker when the viewer knows the story well :)

Minas Morgul reminded me a lot of the ziggurats the undead have in Warcraft III ;)

I must say the 3 hours and 20 minutes only seemed like 60 minutes by the end.

Two silly things that I noticed (that I'd like to know if others spotted :)

* I swear I saw one of the Gondorian soliders with specatcles on after the battle of pellenor (sp?) fields
* In the opening scene, the hand used to pick up the ring didn't seem to be the one that was opened (trying to avoid any spoilers here :)

Oh well, let's hope Jackson makes the Hobbit in time for another boxing day soon :)

And if you haven't seen it yet: go see it now! :)

Wow. Visaully the greatest movie I have ever seen.
I could go on and on about how I liked it, but I'll sum it up.........I loved it :)

went to watch it boxing day. it was crazy...packed cinema ofcourse and stupid twits and idiots pushing in and bitching about people pushing in..its just a damn movie people.. anyway- got in and landed myself the perfect seat in the middle couple rows from the back (take that all you bitches who pushed..i took it easy and got the best seat...lol)

the movie was excellent. i loved it even before all the battles.. only 1 thing..not even that, a ? of a thing :)
im undecided on the long wrap up ending. i feel they could have cut off some of it - i understand why they put it all in. its in the books. it ties it all up and makes all the JRR T. fans happy and concluded without doubt the best series of movies ever. like i said- im undecided...maybe if they cut it around where frodo/and sam were saved it may have felt like the story wasnt finished. the movie just ended on a bit of a slow note which wasnt bad- but i probably wouldnt haved complained if they cut some of it off (e.g. sam getting married).

That's it.. I'm puting in a spoiler warning in the thread title [;)]

Just came back from watching it. Surprisingly (but definately happy as a result) there weren't that many people in the theatre, and all was whisper quiet during the whole movie. We happened to walk past the cinema on boxing day, and boy, it was like a zoo [:)]. Yeh, I did have an issue with the rather long 3-part ending. The audience mumbled a bit when the third part of the ending came on. Other than that, the pacing was great, never a dull moment..

Jackson needed to keep the ending in there. The whole point of LOTR is not about the war of the ring, its about the effects the war has on people, and how they are never the same after. If he had cut it at the end of Mt Doom, it would have been no different to every other popcorn action flick around. He needed to add the rest in, and show that Frodo could never go back to his old life.

I felt the ending was a bit drawn out - but overall the movie was great. When I first read the books (when I was really little) I always thought that Aragorn/Strider was the most interesting character and that the bits with Frodo were just filling inbetween :) I think I kind of carried that into the movies. I felt the weakest ingredient of the trilogy were the hobbits, although for a 'weakest part' they were still strong enough.

All in all at least the ending didn't suck. Nowadays it's generally not 'cool' to have a conclusive happy ending, so a change is nice.

p.s. My view was that LOTR was about the effect that power has on even the seemingly incorruptible.

*wonders what the extra HOUR and a bit will hold for the ROTK special edition*

When Frodo was writing the last words in the book, I manage to read some bits on Sam becoming mayor of the Shire. [:)]

the ending did seem a bit... odd didnt it. Like jackson really didnt know how to end it

i did thoughouroly enjoy the movie though, twas awesome! :D
i think that sort of general orc with the sort of mangled pink face (like his brain was sitting on his cheek)... he seemed like a thrown in character that wasnt really nescary (i dont know if he appeared in the books but he came off that way to me in the movie)

I haven't read the books, but when Fellowship of the Rings (the film) came out, fans were mumbling that Arwen and Aragorn's relationship wasn't really something that happened in the book (or maybe wasn't a big part of the book). So was the thing at the end with Elrond revealing Arwen + the wedding put in by Peter Jackson? What else did they change from the book?

saw it again today with a friend who hadnt seen it, i think it was even better! i dunno if im going to be able to go see a movie in peace again....

yeah Arwen and Aragorn's relationship didn't really happen in the book, well it did happen but it was only very slightly hinted at and wasn't a big thing like in the movie. A lot of the information about Arwen and Aragorn was in the appendices rather than the actual story.

umm, so other stuff that happened was that Saruman, after the ring was destroyed, beat Frodo and Co back to the Shire and basically took it over and they had to fight him off.

yeah, also there was a whole bit in the fellowship about this dude called Tom Bombadil who was really powerful and jolly within his own forest (the other forest thats not fangorn, i can't remember its name). It was a pointless bit of the story imo.

yeah, there's heaps of other stuff that happened too which i can't remember off the top of my head

I think I'll wait for reviews or comments before downloading it since I'm on a 56k modem [xx(].

I'm dl it now. Should be done in an hour. Bless you DSL (hugs modem) :D

Just finished dling it and wtached it as well. It had some intereting sides to it, but it is starting to become a bit of a joke. Sure they are playing for money, but do people have to take computer gaming THAT seriously. When they lost a match, they looked like they were going to commit suicide. They are games guys, they are meant to be a form of entertainment. Entertainment means that you should have some form of fun from it. It's the same reason why I don't watch professional sports. People just take it so seriously.

Plus the movie had two parts of John Romero. That was two parts too many.

If you want to dl it, then go ahead, but you really arent missing out on that much. There was only about 3mins worth of really interesting footage out of a 17min movie :/ Other people may have different opinions though.

??????????????

Okay. I'll reply. Downloaded it. Does anyone know if that is how it's cloud effects work? I was expecting smooth moving clouds that actually disperse and gather. Instead it is a series of pics that just fade in and out. They also aren't that closely timed together. It ends up looking a little odd.

The rest of the engine does look incredibly nice though. Gameplay looks like it should be very interesting as well.

The time is sped up in the video, so the clouds might not be that noticeable when it is run in at normal time. I seriously cant wait for this game, its going to be amazing...

Yeah that video is awesome. Actually Stalker was on display at the AGDC, it was just a fly through but it looked damn good, especially on a 21 inch LCD Monitor :) The guy wouldnt let me play it :(

Funny you should mention environmental effects. My friend showed me a report/article from Siggraph showing diagrams, math equations, and explanations on doing realistic clouds, just the other week. Some absolutely incredible images of realistic looking soft clouds with frame shots showing them disperse/grow, and also lighting effects on them. You know how you see the edges of clouds lighten up (since it's less dense) when the sun shines through them? That kinda stuff.
I seriously can't wait to see games do these kinds of things in years to come. One day we'll laugh about the times when games used skyboxs with textures for the sky. [:)]

Yeah a friend bought that one into the AIE early last year. Along with some awesome GI, Smoke effects and fluid dynamics. We really are just starting to scratch the surface of what is really posible. The next few years are just going to be brilliant :D

[url="http://www.gengamers.com/html/stalker2.html"]Some more pics on Stalker[/url].. Have been looking forward to seeing this game for quite a while now. I made a post about Stalker [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=149&SearchTerms=stalker"]around this time last year[/url] [:)]

dual athlon 2.2
512ram..wast 1gb but one stick died...bastard thing.
80gb
and geforce3deluxe from my last computer

2.4ghz
512ram
60GB (a 40 + a 20)
3d card? Unknown, doesn't matter since it's pretty much dead now anyway.>:(

Mine is a;
P2 or 3
566
64mb
No 3D card
To round of, its a brick, but i like it.

Athlon 1.1ghz
512mb
40GB
Geforce2mx
(hopefully getting a 9600 pro or FX5600 soon so i can try out more funky shader programming)

AMD 2000xp+
dual channel 768mb DDR
GF4 Ti4400 128mb
60GB

AMD 4ever :)

P4 2.53Ghz
2x512Mb DDR-2700 RAM (1Gb Total)
2x60Gb ATA-100 IBM Deskstar 7200RPM HDDs (upgrading to dual 250Gb in the new year :D)
128Mb ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Creative SB Live Platnium (never bothered upgrading as there really isn't anything that much better out now)
40x12x18 ASUS CD Burner
Pioneer A-06 DVD Burner
Hercules ProphetView 920-DVI LCD Monitor (17 inch)

This baby cost me a shit load a year ago, but it was worth it. A year down the track and it still kicks serious arse. I would love to get a P5 when the second gen ones are realeased :D

p4 2.4
512 ddr
2x80gig seagates
geforcefx 5900 ultra 256mb

Athlon XP 1900+
Asus A7V-266E Mobo
512mb PC3200 DDR Ram
Asus GF2 MX400 64MB
Maxtor 80GB HDD 8MB Cache
Liteon DVD Rom

I desperately need a new graphics card, but I think that will come after a newer car. Looking at an ATI 9800 non pro, as they should be fairly affordable at the start of next year.

Athlon 2gig
512mb ram
20 and 8 gig HD
Geforce 4mx

Waiting on Doom3 and Half Life 2 before I even think about upgrading the gfx card...

1800+ XP
256 DDR
30 gig
Radeon 9500 PRO

P4 3.0 Ghz
2x 512Mb Ram
120Gb Hardrive
256 Mb Nvidia GeForce Fx 5600
Lite On dvd+-RW Burner
19" Diamond View Flatscreen CRT Monitor

I Just got it a month ago, it kicks ass. Great 4 games.

Cost $3083 AU

Mines in need of an upgrade:

Athlon 1.4 XP
Gforce 3 ti500
512Mb Ram
60GB Hard drive

But my pride and joy is dual-screen setup with one being a 21" sony trinitron flatscreen display. WOOT!

*pulls penis out*

Celeron 2.2ghz overclocked to 2.75ghz
512mb Ram
40gb HD
Radeon 9800 Pro 128
21" Sony Trinitron flatscreen (better than malus's cause i said so!)

Gotta upgrade the cpu soon.. It's holding me back!

Amiga 500
512k Ram
Floppy Drive 795k per disk
Some kind of vector draw video card (16384 colours)

I have been thinking of getting a RAM upgrade to a 1 MB.

damn hows the rendering times on that baby doord ? [:)]

Currently my nice machine stands at:
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz
MSI 845PE Max 2 Motherboard (Gigabit Lan Onboard)
512 MB DDR333 Ram
Radeon 9100 128MB
SB Live! DE 5.1
Seagate 80GB 7200rpm HDD
16x Pioneer DVD Player
52x/52x/24x LG CD Writer

I've also got a linux box which is in flux hardware wise still, and making a new computer for my mum to be able to use...

not bad you just need to keep the res down on the renders :)

Sorcerer Bob: You've been peeking again haven't you!! lol

[overtly phalic] Yours may be better but I know how to use mine better.[/overtly phalic]

Nah actually mines still better too, go the G520!! booyah! [:P]

XP 1600+
640MB RAM
120G western digital 8MB
2x 20G quantm fireball's
POS Asus Geforce 2 mx
Micosoft Optical Tilt Mouse - hugs mouse.

Drood: I'm a programmer, hence no renders, only compiles.

quote:Originally posted by Daemin

Drood: I'm a programmer, hence no renders, only compiles.

i think he was replying to someone else in regards to his specs [;)]

I have a few computers at my command.
I spend most of my time on a Celeron 2 GHz with a Radeon 9600.

But the 'beast' (and it's not as beastly as it was a while ago) is an Athlon XP 2400+ with 1GB Corsair TWIN-X PC2700 (not running in dual channel mode though as MB is crap) with a Radeon 9800 Pro and a 40Gb main hard disk and 80Gb scratch disk (both western digital I think)...

The 'mini-beast' which is also sometimes dragged out of retirement is currently incapacitated (fried CPU under warranty) is an Athlon XP 2000+ with a GeForce4 Ti4600 and 1Gb of PC2700 RAM.

I also have a few relics. A P166 which acts as a firewall, and a Athlon 650 (GeForce 2 MX -> crap even in it's day) which is used for basic programming stuff and a Pentium II-350 somewhere, plus a 486 DX4-100 which I think is getting a little unstable (MB maybe)

My main beastie is:

P4 3.0
2x512 Corsair PC-3200 in dual channel
Geforce 4 Ti 4800
SB Audigy
2x36Gb WD raptors in raid 0
Miscellaneous junk
21" Sony CRT

Compile times are nice :)

Plus a few other ex-main-beasts to keep it company in the veritable computer zoo that is my loungeroom :)

AMD Duron 700
320MB RAM
GeForce DDR
SoundBlaster PCI
10GB/20GB
15" Tatung monitor

*sigh* This computer's being borrowed. Slowly upgrading it into my own. Currently own the 20GB HDD, keyboard and mouse, CDRW and the Floppy drive @:-P

I just bought my first Digital Camera today, so I thought I would finally take a pic of my setup. My desk needs a bit of a clean though :p

[img]http://home.netspeed.com.au/mlanham/comp 01.jpg[/img]

here's a pic of my desk with taken with an old somewhat crappy digital camera. (yes, the briefcase with the chupa chups sticking out of it is my computer)

[img]http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~chenps/desk.jpg[/img]

suddenly my desk doesnt seem so messy....

now that is a good idea...how do I add a picture to my post?

jeebus...Aven, you've got a nice rig there...heres mine...

[img]C:Documents and SettingsJohn McGovernMy DocumentsMy Videoscomputer.bmp[/img]

Sorry Kane, but she di'nay work. What you see there is a build up from the last 5 years. Saving from crappy part time jobs (:p) and pressies from people. There is also a scanner under the pile o' crap next to my case :D As I said, I REALLY need to tidy me desk up a bit.

Adam, are you after a programming or art tutorial? I doubt you'll find one specificially on the game, but if you give us a bit more info on what you're wanting (and what your game development background is) help with we might be able to give you some pointers.

Cheers mate.

or perhaps you're after a walkthrough for the game?! [:o]

The entire web site is pretty funny.

My brother bought an x box, even after I begged him not to [:(]and needless to say after watching such "Great" titles as phantom crash!!! and kung-fu-chaos!!! For a full 10 min!!!! I went back to my room plugged in my N64 and started playing golden eye. I'm glad that day had a happy ending [:)]

quote:Originally posted by Djenx

My brother bought an x box, even after I begged him not to [:(]and needless to say after watching such "Great" titles as phantom crash!!! and kung-fu-chaos!!! For a full 10 min!!!! I went back to my room plugged in my N64 and started playing golden eye. I'm glad that day had a happy ending [:)]

Out of the PS2, Gamucube and Xbox, Xbox is my favourite console. If you still don't like Xbox try Halo. Don't be a fan boy, you'll miss out on what the other consoles have to offer (I'm assuming your a nintendo fan).

That article was kind of funny. Considering that he really didn't have anything new to say about the console. Just the usual crap that every site had to say when it first came out.

I liked the Xbox because of it's controller. The same reason why I liked the Dreamcast. The controller is a good size for me. I find that the PS/PS2 controller is too small for me and I get cramps after a while. Plus the PS D-Pad reeks (blisters ahoy). I still think that JSRF is one of the best games on the Xbox. It is just a pity that no one has played it. Magazines even rated it really well, but no one wants to try it.

Overall I would love to own one of all the consoles that exist as they all have a few good games on them. I just don't have the room and inlets to have them all (money as also a factor :p). I was seriously thinking of buying a PS2 just for Rez, but it was only released in VERY small quantities. Another good game that never got the support it should have. At least I got to play it on the DC :D

I just completed my next gen collection last week - got a Cube and a GBA SP for $150 NZ (about $125 Aussie). Booyah.

The Xbox has got the most game time for me. It still hasnt reached it's potential as far as Im concerned. JSRF is a very good game but it's not that addictive for me, I find it hard to go back to. Shenmue 2 and Halo are my picks from my (albeit small) collection. It's the games of 2004 that I'm looking forward to most. Having said that - Xbox needs more exclusive content, it's been out since 2001 now...

The PS2 is great for the exclusive games but I feel a little underwhelmed by the amount of sequels that keep showing up. Having said that MGS2 is easily in my top 5 of all times. PS2's a great system you can't go wrong with. I'm keen for Rez too.

The cube is going to be home of the games that I missed on other systems (like the Xbox is) - I'm after Ikaruga, Skies of Arcadia Legends but most of all Viewtiful Joe. Will pick that up next week and also MGS:Twin Snakes - Holy shit! Did anyone see that vid of the Ninja fighting Snake? The new director of photography/cut scenes is excellent!

quote:Originally posted by Djenx

My brother bought an x box, even after I begged him not to [:(]and needless to say after watching such "Great" titles as phantom crash!!! and kung-fu-chaos!!! For a full 10 min!!!! I went back to my room plugged in my N64 and started playing golden eye. I'm glad that day had a happy ending [:)]

If you weren't paying for it, why beg him not to buy it?

The Xbox has done everything right so far with the exception of not being able to secure exclusive content (although I think this will change in the near future). It's got a HD, allows for online play for those that want it -- you can do lots of extra stuff with dvd's and mp3 ripper. It's a great system. Even when they got stuff wrong, they've attempted to fix it - ie Making the 'Controller S' the system standard.

Oh - I just remembered - Ninja Gaiden and Sudeki are on my most wanted Xbox list along with Fable (maybe), Dues Ex 2, Halo 2.

It would be nice to see the Xbox with more exclusive content, but I would be happy if it would just have some nice old school shooters on there (like Ikaruga). Sudeki looks like it may be good, especially seeing as their are few few proper RPGs on the Xbox. I'm really waiting for O.TO.GI, but I don't know if we are even going to get that over here (I thought it was supposed to be out by now). The thing that makes that even more painful is that O.TO.GI 2 is being made :( Halo has had a LOT of play time, but I think that JSRF beats it out by a couple of hours (I love games where you have to complete EVERYTHING). I now have Halo PC and have been playing that way too much online. That is the reason why my Villain updates have become so few.

The only thing I have against xbox is the quantity of good titles, Yes they have some very good games, but you can get most of those on computer which sort of defeats the purpose of getting a console in the first place

If he hadn't of gotten an Xbox he would have been able to upgrade his comp from the p3 500mhz he has now, and ultimately play all of the cool PC/XboX Games as well as being able to do a hell of lot more

I have a friend who was tossing up between either buying a Xbox/PS2 or a new PC. He bought the new PC and was kicking himself after as he played games. He didn't care about making them, he doesn't have the net hooked up, and all he does on the PC is do his Flash Uni assignments on it. He would have much prefered a new console, so that he can just lie down on his couch and play games on a big TV.

If your friend is happy with the Xbox, then I say good on him. If he is unhappy with his decisions, well then I am sure that he learned his lesson and will think more seriously the next time around.

O.TO.GI is out in NZ, I've seen it in the shops, so it's bound to be out in Aussie. I think Australasia have the same distribution channels.

I don't know if you can get most of the good Xbox games on computer, but I know you can often get them on other platforms. Usually the Xbox one looks the best so if you're deciding on which version to go, 8 times out of 10, the Xbox version is the one to choose. Playing Xbox games (that are ported to PC) work better for me. Just pop in the disc and away you go. No fiddling around with frame rates, patches and the like. Console gaming is about plug and play. Actually, I will concede that a lot of Xbox games you can find on PC. Probably due to the similar architecture. However, I dont think you'll find many PC games from the Japanese developers (not that there's that many supporting Xbox anyway).

quote:If he hadn't of gotten an Xbox he would have been able to upgrade his comp from the p3 500mhz he has now, and ultimately play all of the cool PC/XboX Games as well as being able to do a hell of lot more

Considering that an Xbox costs about $350 - what parts for a PC could you upgrade to? If you can find me a top end PC to play Doom 3 on for around $600, sign me up! I probably seem a bit of a zealot but I think MS have done more right than wrong with the Xbox, but they're still copping a lot of flak. A hangover from the PC world, probably.

OTOgi is a mad game very good to play and very interesting characters and sets lotsa particle effects as well [:)] (the models are kick arse good), although it is pretty much a rip off SHINOBI, i love games like that [:D] looking forward to otogi 2 as well [:)]

I have to say something. The 2nd gen X-box which are about to come out over the next 4 months will show everyone what the x-box is made of. The main reason the x-box has not that many AAA games is because most devepolers didn't know how it was going to do. but after seeing Halo and DOA 3 alot took note (and a little money microsoft help also) a lot of good developers started games.

the frist of these title was Star Wars: Knight of the old from bio ware, yes this game is coming to pc but by the time it is out it will be four or five months after the x-box. and the game has done so well that bio-ware are making another x-box only RPG after the one more that they were contracted to make anyway.

Then only goes up from there. X-box has the three big PC titles in Duse-Ex2 Half-Life2 and doom3 and also many more x-box to pc game spinler cell 2, rainbow six 3. No the x-box isn't just a low cost PC which can play all them PC games it has a huge line up of othe X-Box only games. Fable, BC, Ninja Gandian, Halo2, DOA online, A number of game from rare (5 I think and one a which is perfect Dark2) and a range of game that have not been talk about (bigwrold) I'm sure there are lot I have missed, But I think you all get the idea. Oh I forgot all them good game which are cros platfrom, all games I have listed here will not be on the Gamecube for PS2.

Why wouldn't buy an X-box???

quote:Originally posted by Djenx

My brother bought an x box, even after I begged him not to [:(]and needless to say after watching such "Great" titles as phantom crash!!! and kung-fu-chaos!!! For a full 10 min!!!! I went back to my room plugged in my N64 and started playing golden eye. I'm glad that day had a happy ending [:)]

Hey man, Phantom Crash rocks.

Some of those Rare games haven't been scoring too well - not that reviewers are the be all and end all. Grabbed by the ghoulies has received middling reviews at best. Haven't seen any shots of PD2, but it's safe to say that it's a given. Some rumours have been floating around that PD2 might be a launch title in 2005 (ish) for NeXtBox. I'd prefer it if it came out for Xbox instead.

Killer Instinct 3 is another that Rare are supposed to be doing. Xbox is a little light on fighters (at least, to the extent that the PS2 has them, so hopefully it'll have the depth of the old KI games. With all the cutesy games Rare have done recently, it's easy to forget these guys made games like Battletoads, KI plus loads of others when they were called Ultimate (play the game?)

To be honest - Xbox has had a quiet year but Doord is right, I think 2004 will be the Xbox's year. Off the top of my head, I can only think of MGS3:Snake Eater as a must have for PS2. Maybe FF12 but that's a wee way off.

And your all forgetting Xbox Live. even though PC has online gaming, Xbox Live is so well set up and so easy to use, the fact that it's broadband only I think is a good thing.

yeah - Xbox live is the thing that MS have probably got the most right. While it's good they've gone BB only - it does mean that Europe, Australasia wont use it as much due to the lack of BB penetration.

Hahaha, thats cool!

[8D]

Delicious AND deadly!

mm the smooth taste of larraby cigarettes. [:P]

I'm pretty sure that the other guy in the interview (the producer), would have been Joel Silver. He seems to be the translator for the brother, as you never seem to see them. Has anyone here actually seen them?

Yeah I heard of it a few months back in an issue of EDGE. I will try to find the issue and scan in the half page article (inc pics). They didn't actually have much info except for that it was about the Matrix, and it was online.

If it is done properly, then it would be great (like any game though :p), but I will remain dubious until I see a bit more. A lot of online games have been disapointing for me personally.

by 'online' do they mean MMO or just internet multiplayer?

MMO from what I can understand. I don't know whether you can pick to be an Agent or a Freedom Fighter and go from there or what. As I said, the article is very sparse with the details.

A trailer for it turned up here about a month or 2 ago, its MMO and looks ok, lots of cool wire-fu moves and bullet time.

Nice green lens filters, mmmmm...

i have never played a MMO game, but being the Matrix and all I'm sure it will be a game worth playing for any Matrix fan

As long as they do a better job on it than ETM. *shudders*

I read somewhere, that the Matrix MMO is gonna somehow incorporate bullet-time. It would be interesting to see how they pull that off (or that i constantly mis-read things).

Bullet time in a mmo could be done, but I would probably affect every one with in a certain area, which would be a pain if you?re just trying to walk by. I'm more interested to see how they could actual create an economy with in the matrix, considering that anything they need they can get from the loader program

Okay. Sorry I took so damned long to post this pic. I just completely forgot (hangs head in shame).

[url]http://home.netspeed.com.au/mlanham/MatrixOnline.jpg[/url]

Taken from EDGE issue #125.

Anyone actaully seen what those Waskch.... brothers look like?

i think they are really a figment of Joel Silver's imagination. Would explain why he is always blowing that much hot air up their arses that it isn't funny.

I have to admit that I would love to see them with my own eyes.

ETM was shocking wasnt it, i was sucked in to buying it :'(

matrix online sounds like a lot of fun to me, apparently you can trade abilities with other players, maybee this is kinda your economy substitute

and they could do bullettime just how itd work in the real world (well if bullet time were true :P ), the person who's in bullet time appears to move very very very fast, why slow down the whole area and besides, if your batteling someone and you use bullet time and it effects them, what advantage did you just gain?

btw if youve seen the third movie (im trying not to give anything away but for those of you who would feel safer not hearing.. well dont read :P ) .......(youve been warned) there isnt going to be any agents

quote:and they could do bullettime just how itd work in the real world (well if bullet time were true :P ), the person who's in bullet time appears to move very very very fast

so if i'm in bullet time, i would see everything in slow motion, but i am actually moving really fast to everyone else?
that would mean the game would physically have to slow down time for me...[8]

apparently they make the end of bullet time really fast, so you like "catch up"

sorry for the double post but:

http://www.gamebiz.com.au/news.php?action=display&id=3044

some game info and new screenies!
ive never really been into the whole idea of paying to play a game (eg online RPGs) but this might change my mind...

Our beer is better than your beer :P
Hope to see you there!
CYer, Blitz

Don't say that Blitz...

But of course if he wants to disprove that then he's welcome to bring some good German beer over here :-)

Beer - like every art - needs an audience. The audience is always part of the performance and will influence the aesthetic result.

If we think of the beer as the actor, the glass would be the stage and the drinker the audience. So as we all know, a cheerfull and goodhearted audience will always enhance the show.

This brings us to the good 'ole stereotypes, i.e the germans being the humorless and serious types, whereas the australians being friendly and cheerfull...

But what does this tells us about the quality of the beer? Could it be possible that the germans just have to brew an excellent beer just because they are such a bad audience? And that the always happy, cheerfull australians could drink yellow water with bubbles and foam and still enjoy an exquisite brew? [:D]

I think I will have to pick up the gauntlet and bring some samples along...

But anyway, the best beer comes from bohemia, IMHO

see you soon...

Ive been to Berlin, great city, excellent clubs and I'm sorry Blitz but there beer walks all over the dribble we make, actually all European beer does. [:P]

Malus: Yeah I thought so when I was over there, but then I was a weee bit underage, even in Germany.

sylvius: Cool, I look forward to you sharing the brew that you bring along. Will this be a part of the Saturday thing?

Allright, Saturday will see the legendary, one-and-only, tastebud-blasting

"Great Oz-Kraut Beer Clash"

So be it!

quote:Originally posted by sylvius

And that the always happy, cheerfull australians could drink yellow water with bubbles and foam and still enjoy an exquisite brew? [:D]

Well considering we drink stuff like Powers Gold, XXXX, VB, KB, and numerous others, I think its safe to say that your statement is true.

Ouch, this wasn't a statement! No! I would NEVER say autralian beer is just yellow water with bubbles. It was just a play of thoughts. I do not want to face a lynch-mob when I arrive in Melbourne. [8D]

I tasted a couple of your very fine brews when I stayed in Sydney in 1996 and I really liked all of them (well, there was one very cheap one, which had some weak points to be honest [:)] ) Hahn Ice was new on the market then and quickly became my favourite. Doest it still exist? VB is a very solid brew IMHO and I had a great night with XXXX and some friends back then.

Hey, I want to make friends in Melbourne and I think it's not wise to do this by starting to insult one of your national symbols. Hmmm, is it possible to insult a beer? Good question, we should try this later on saturday night [xx(][:D][xx(]

see you soon

I would bring over some Coopers Pale Ale, but that's one of the cheaper beers over here in Adelaide.

However I would say that VB is yellow water with bubbles, but I haven't tasted any of the others.

A friend of mine absolutely abhors VB.. wouldn't touch it if it were free! I don't mind it, but I would prefer others. I don't think you can bring beer through customs if you wanted to?! [;)] (There's a few German/Austrian community clubs where you can have a taste of their beer.) And yes, Hahn Ice still exists.. [:)]

Crown Lager is the best but it's Kiwi beer.[:p]

I'm sure you could bring beer through customs, it would be strange to allow other alcohol (spirits, wine) but not beer...
I love VB (well did when i actually drank) and Melbourne bitter was also a favourite.
The best way to insult a beer is to not drink it :P
CYer, Blitz

I don't like VB... I find it has a really foul taste. Still of course you can have some great nights on the stuff, just down those first few glasses quickly and you'll be fine. My drop of preference at the moment is Hahn Premium.

ok, I am currently selecting the chosen few who will be my combatants for the kraut-oz beer clash. The weight limitation on luggage being a restricting factor, I am selecting a few representatives. (Please correct german grammar here....)

There will be nice examples of light, sweet, bitter, dark and strong brews.

See you all soon....

Sylvius

Hrm, I guess we all have to select some decent Aussie beers to compete with that...

For the light category I could bring over some Coopers Pale Ale's...

Bitter - Southwark Bitter?
Dark - I have no idea here
Strong - Even less here...

Hey Sylvius,

Feel free to bring me a heffaweisen *spelling* I really loved my wheat beers! If I remember right someone said that wheat beers are German.

Hope to see you at the Thursday night dinner - if not just look for the crazy german guy? :)

Oh well, a friend of mine suggested these:
Light: Cascade Light
Dark: Coopers Dark Ale
Strong: James Squire Strong Ale (or Double Malt)
Bitter: Southwark Bitter

I guess if you can get Cascade, Southwark and James Squire in Melb then I only have to bring over the Dark...

Get Coopers extra stout for your dark beer, seeing as it is the best stout in australia ;).

Ok, this is getting serious. I will bring 3 Bottles: a naturally brewed Hefeweizen, a strong beer called "Aventinus" and a dark beer, brewed by a company founded in 1544.

I wanted to bring a "Oktoberfest" beer but it smashed on the backseat of my car. Damn cheap bottle [:(!]

I will be boarding my plane in about 12 hours time and will arrive in Melbourne on Tuesday moring. See you soon!

Hurray! My favourite topic!! Beer!!

quote:Originally posted by Happy Camper

Crown Lager is the best but it's Kiwi beer.[:p]

Crown Lager is brewed at the Carlton United Breweries. Err.. last time I checked, it's still in Australian hands :)
You might have been thinking of 'Steinlager'.. That beer is often said to be the worlds best, but I've had better.

The best local beer imo is Boags Strongarm Bitter. Damn good beer, cheap, great taste.. Go try some!!

My favourite beer, would have to be a Grolsch.. The dutch, belgians and germans brew my favourite beers, it's a pity they're so expensive down here :(.

Wish I could be down there, sounds like it's gonna be a fun weekend :)

Purity laws have been in Germany for centuries my friends, which generally means better quality, no preservatives etc.

German beer is by far the best, then Dutch, Belgian and the Checkz Republic (spelt that wrong I know), the UK is good but not enough to beat mainland Europe, Australia/NZ have a decent batch of mediocre beers but nothing totally excellent and America makes beer flavoured water. [:P]

I stand corrected SB, I don't drink that much beer, most of the time I drink Bourbon or scotch. Sometimes Vodka but not that often.

Don't get me started on spirits !! [:P]

Sorry the link to my site was wrong, but this is the right one http://www.actionquake2maps.0catch.com/home.html.

Sorry again, the link to my website again was wrong, had a . at the end of it, but this is the one http://www.actionquake2maps.0catch.com/home.html thankaz for your time.

You can just edit posts if you want add/change something.

Anyway Hi and Welcome to Sumea.

My workmate used to sleep under the desk [:)].. Polyphony Digital looks like an *awesome* place to work at.

Hah, my fav quote is from the Simpsons too.

"Excellent" -Mr Burns

Although it HAS to be done in a Burns type voice.

Conan the Barbarian is also a great source of quotes, being about the best movie ever. Just don't watch the sequel.

"What is best in life?"
"To conquer your enemy, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women!"

I think i mighta got a couple words wrong there.

And of course the almighty Red Dwarf.

"Drop dead Rimmer."
"Already have done."
"Encore!"

CYer, Blitz

Some red dwarf to start with:

"According to the log we're down to our last 3000 vomit bags. It'll never be enough. "
- Rimmer

My mind is so numb and brain-dead, I feel like I've just attended a 3 day seminar entitled 'The Future of Plumbing'. Have you any idea how irritating you have just been? You're a master, there are things you could teach to tropical skin diseases.
- Rimmer

"Hey, this has been a good day! I've eaten five times, I've
slept six times, and I'd made a lot of things mine! Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can't have sex with something!"
- Cat

Rimmer - "After intensive investigation (comma) of the markings on the alien pod (comma) it has become clear (comma) to me (comma) that we are dealing (comma) with a species of awesome intellect (colon)."
Holly - "Good. Perhaps they might be able to give you a hand with your punctuation."

Please rush me my portable walrus polishing kit. Four super brushes that will clean even the trickiest of seabound mammals. Yes, I am over eighteen, though my IQ isn't.
-Rimmer

Futuramas:

Brannigan: "Stop exploding you cowards!"

Bender: "What should we point it at first?"
Fry: "I dunno. Try it on me!" *zap* "Ow! My sperm!"
Bender: "Wow! Neat! Mind if I try that again?" *zap*
Fry: "Hu, didn't hurt that time."

[ fry talking with robot lucy liu]
Fry: "You are cute!"
Lucy Bot: "You are cute!"
Fry: "You!"
Lucy Bot: "You!"
Fry: "You!"
Lucy Bot: "You!"
Fry: "You!"
Lucy Bot: "You!"
Professor: "Oh dear! She is stuck in an infinite loop and he is an idiot! Well, that's love for you."

Bender: "Interesting! No, wait. The other thing. Tedious."

Ikea bot: "Enjoy your affordable, swedish crap."
Fry: "Wow, those Swedes sure know how to include almost everything you need."

Bender: So what, I can make annoying noises?
Beck: Exactly, I use those all the time in my music!

cheers

Great... now I don't know whether I should watch a Futurama or Red Dwarf DVD :P Series 3 comes out soon!

Zapp - "If we can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... checkmate."

Probably the most quotable movie in existence is Army of Darkness (Duke Nukem stole a few from that movie). My favourites are:

Ash:
"Closest I can figure it the year is 1300 AD and I'm being dragged to my death. It wasn't always like this."
"Yo, she-bitch. Let's go."
"That's right... Shop smart, shop S-Mart. YOU GOT THAT?!"
"We can take these Deadites, we can take 'em... with science." (Ash then gets a few text books from the boot of his car and makes explosives and a combustion engine [:)])

King Arthur: "Are all men from the future loud mouth braggarts?"
Ash: "Nope, just me baby. Just me."

I like anything from Full Frontal...

my favourite is the news headline "Today, an unarmed man broke into a prosthetic limb factory..."

hehe

The Lucy Liu Bot quote mentioned above is easily my fav Futurama quote. As well as Zapp's, "Check. Mate" comment.

Another Futurama

Orphen: "Can we have Bender burgers again?"
Bender: "NO! The cat shelter is on to me."

Family Guy. A lot of people haven't seen this, but you should.

Peter: "I'll tell you what's wrong. I'm trying to make love to you, and you're thinking about Chris' freakishly large penis."
Lois: "WHAT?"
(Walk into Chris' (son's) room and Peter lifts up the sheets).
Lois: "Oh my. Well I guess that explains why he's always slouching."

Same Episode.

Lois: "Look. Peter. I care as much about the size of your penis, as you care about the size of my breasts."
Peter: "OH GOD NOOO!" (Runs out of the room crying).

Fawlty Towers

Basil: Hello, hello.. can anyone hear me? Have I ceased to exist? Have I become invisible? Sybil, Sybil, Sybil... can you see me?

Sybil: No.

Basil: Oh good. I?ll go and lie down then. No I won?t, I?ll go and hit some guests.

Panmonger

Futurama

Fry: "I got one of those things. It's like a headache but with pictures."
Lela: "you mean an idea?"
Fry: "oooh oooh, those things."

Beavis and Butthead.

Theres nothing on TV but pro golf so Beavis and Butthead seek alternative entertainment

Beavis: "What should we do now?"
Butthead: "do homework"
Beavis and Butthead: "hehe haha hehe haha" (in typical Beavis and Butthead laughter)

15 minutes later

Beavis and Butthead: "hehe haha hehe haha"
Beavis: "HOMEWORK!!! hehe haha hehe"
Beavis and Butthead: "hehe haha hehe haha"

also got a heap of favourite Invader Zim quotes but I haven't watched it for a while so I can't really remember them.

Waynes World

Wayne: "She's a babe. She's a total babe. If she were latin, she would be called Baboria Majora."
Garth: "If she were a president, she would be Baberaham Lincoln."

Another Waynes World

Cassandra: "Yeah and if bullfrogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their ass everytime they hopped."

Red Vs Blue ( halo cartoon )

" Man! does that thing ever run out of bullets? "

< newbie red soldier runs towards blue base with tank sitting nearby>

" oh!!! that must be the shop!,... OHHHH SWEEEET! they sell TANKS!! "

On of my recent favs is in the first Matrix
Neo pops his head over the cubicle wall and spots the agents by the elevator
Neo : " Oh shit!"
Morpheus : "Yeess..."

Brilliant delivery on Fishburne's part.

That actually reminded me of Computer Boy.

Morpheus: "Hello Neo. Do you know who this is?"
Neo: "Mum?"
Morpheus: "No Neo. I am not your mother. Take another guess."
Neo: "Mum?"

Hahaha, Computer Boy...

Trinity: "Tank, I need an operations manual for a 92 Suzuki Swift."

paraphrased of course. i haven't been able to find a non-streaming non-crappy version of computer boy... :(

cheers

Got it. Quicktime. If you would like it I can get it to you somehow.

Family Guy.

Peter and Lois are rushing Lois' sister to the hospital as she is pregnent. The car stops and Lois looks at Peter.

Lois: "Peter, why are we stopped?"
Peter is talking to a drive through box: "Ah yeah. I'll have three cheeseburgers."
Lois: "For God's sake Peter, she's having a baby."
Peter: "Oh yeah that's right. And a kids meal, and ahh... I guess i'll have fries. I-If I have fires, is any one else gonna have any? 'Cause I don't want to feel like a fatty."

Bailef: "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"
Peter: "I do.......... Ya bastard."

Hmmm, that's a though one...

Most of my all time favourites are to be found at the
"Canonical List of Famous Last Words"
at [url]http://www.eclipse.net/~srudy/flw/[/url]
collected over the years from hundreds of RPG & SiFi Gaming Sessions.
Enjoy!

That's very funny man. My fav so far has to be:

GM: "You're very lucky, you all don't know how lucky you are! Save or take 210 points of damage"

haha, those are great!

"Oops, I spilled flaming oil on my beard. I'd better wash it off after we kill this fire lizard."

another site to check out would be:
http://www.bash.org

Yeah I went and saw it at 12:30...
Uhh - it was interesting. I really *really* liked Reloaded (although the first one is obviously the best) but I can't say I came out with much satisfaction from Revolutions.

I guess it didn't quite turn out as explicitly good as I had hoped for :)

I had this idea that Neo basically never gave up, and would always go on, but I kind of feel that he stopped believing in himself and he stopped kicking arse because of that.

I probably had too high expectations for the flick though.

And Seraph was cool - but we only got like two seconds of him kicking arse and then he stood infront of the Merovingian like a marionette with no one pulling the strings. I thought the bit at the start with the train was good...uhh...yeah.

I didn't care too much for the over-glorified war stuff though.
Now that I've seen the matrix stuff to it's conclusion, I think they could have left it at the end of the first one (or even the second one) and I wouldn't complain :)

i managed to pick the one cinema in the whole entire region that isnt showing it till the weekend...
so still havent seen it.

Here's a post from another forum I go to as I couldnt be bothered typing it out again.

Really good movie. Doesn't bother with the fluff of Reloaded (I liked tha fluff tho') and there won't be any bits in the DVD where you will skip (ie - like the dance scene).

***SPOILERS*** (Big ones so dont read if you dont wanna know).

The Siege of Zion was unbelievably intense - the scale was awesome and the CGI was fantastic. I mean, fantastic. Also - Mifune was an unbelievably hard bastard. His face getting cut up was brilliant. I think the Siege is probably my most favourite piece of action in a sci fi movie.

The pace of the battles was frenetic and confirmed my theory about CGI characters etc -- if the action is fast enough, the human eye can't really focus on whether it's CGI or not.

The pacing of the movie was a lot better. I found it hard to watch coz I had to pee about 20 mins in and I didnt want to miss a damn thing.

The final battle was pretty cool (although again, the trailer revealed too much) and didn't blow me away as much as I thought although the topsy turvy-ness and changing balance of the fight was well executed.

There wasn't as many brilliant revelations or surprises in this film but it was far more consistent than the previous one. I liked Neo's conviction in this film (forcing answers out of the oracle) and Keanu did a good job of acting this time around. Even though I knew that Neo ends up wearing a blindfold -- the way it happened was excellent -- very vicious.

I thought it was cool how the Wachowski's mislead us about 'a' main character being killed when it was more than just one. Excellent. I was hoping for a bit more of the anti-gravity thing. I thought it was supposed to be the Matrix fucking out where as it just ended up being an ability of the enemies they were fighting. Club Hell fight was a little underwhelming compared to other fight scenes in the trilogy and there was little explanation as to what that place actually was.

My views of the films:
Matrix - 10
Reloaded - 8
Revolutions - 9.

Ending was a little limp because when Morpheus said 'as long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free' and as I see it, there's still billions of humans plugged in. The machines still have their power source and the humans can still use the Matrix.

The only thing I didnt like was that there was no 'startling' revelation. I was really hoping for something huge.

Saw it this morning. I liked it....I think.

---------------*SPOILERS*----------------
The CG was great, loved the shot of the hundreds and hundreds of sentinals pouring into Zion. The fight scene at the end with Neo and Smith was brillant, espeically the water and the slow-mo into "the punch".
However, the ending was a real letdown. REason being is that, well, it kinda didnt end. They (the people) are back to sqaure one, the machine world still exists, the matrix still has people plugged (and will be rebuilt) and Neo died. Plus, it got a tad boring with all the talking during the middle of it.

STill, it was fun to wach for the CG alone, but the story kinda let me down.

Still think that 1 was the best. I'll see it again though.

you see ive take a different outlook to the whole thing, the matrix and the " real world " are in fact still just programmed worlds and the "REAL" world is the one you see in the last scene with hte architect, seraph, sati and the Oracle.

The oracle and the architect are muckin around making simulations of what may happen when the REAL world gets to that fuedal stage,.. and the simulations are,.. the Matrix,.. within these simulations exist 2 worlds,.. a supposid REAL WORLD ... and the Matrix,.. inside this simulation, the machines or AI are trying to recreate a human,.. and that is the purpose of the whole simulation - to create AI that can reproduce a human exactly as they are in the REAL world. emotions,.. and the power of choice.. all in tact.
I cant remember how many iterations the architect told neo he had been through, but i think what happened this time,.. is that they succeeded in creating from a program,.. " the one " who is the first 100% replica human being, created solely by a program ( the matrix ).

I think what the Oracle and the Architect are up to,.. is trying to build a form of artifical intelligence thats so advanced,.. it can be human.

now ill put on my headphones and continue to listen to my crazy trance....

Oh but my favourite 2 parts,.. was when the dock was breached and all APU's just opened fire on that one opening,.. man that looked soooooooooo cool.

Also the punch that smith copped from neo.. very playdoughy!

Just saw it last night and I was absolutely amased and disappointed at the same time. The movie was absolutely EXCELENT.

The Dock Breach scene had to be one of my favorite action scenes EV-ER. Full stop. I loved how they just showed the whole thing from start to finish, instead of the usual, show one bit, pause, show story, pause, come back to cool action, pause, so on. The CG was excelent this time (perhaps they got some ex Square guys to work on it?), but I did have one small gripe with the effects. The scene where all the APUs unfold does look cool, but they could have changed the animations for all of them just a little. all the unfold animations were exactly the same speed, just offset a little and a few were mirrored. I t would have been nice if a few would have unfolded a little quicker/slower than others. Add in a bit of natural randomness.

My major bitch with it was the ending. for a six hour long film (all eps), the ending was just not there. There is a difference between letting people think about parts of an ending, and just not putting one in. I definitely think that there will be a part 4 (word is that Animatrix 2 is in the making).

I liked it a hell of a lot more than Reloaded, but I really didn't think much of Reloaded either.

I like your idea of what the Matrix really is HazarD. I would also like to hear other people's ideas.

My personal idea (after Reloaded anyway), was that the real world is actually part of the Matrix, hence why Neo could down the sentinels in real life. The real world was created as a sort of firewall to stop the humans from actually realising what the real world is. When the architect talks about there being six other 'the ones', they are people who have managaed to break through six layers of the firewall. So if every new 'the one' they are able to breach through another firewall and get closer to the actual real world. Then the question is, how deep is the Matrix's firewall? My thoughts anyway.

hey now thats a cool theory as well fits in well with " .... and ill show you how deep the rabbit hole goes... "

I think all coders wud have a good perspective on what the matrix is,.. ive heard so many different oppinions and ideas,.. i think its pretty cool how a single concept , that goes quite unexplained throughout the story, can create so many ideas,..

" TO THE WACHOWSKI BROTHERS! "

The Matrix universe is a lot like the Star Wars universe to me. The movies aren't that great, but the whole idea just rocks majorly. I loved the Animatrix the most so far just because of the short 'Beyond'. What happens when the Matrix craps it :)

i agree...the storyline and Matrix universe itself is a lot better than the movies...but don't get me wrong, I LOVE all of the movies...but like the others have said, Revolutions wasnt all it was made out to be, even though it was great

The Animatrix has some kool stuff in it, like The Kid's story and Beyond, which I liked because they give more background into what the Matrix is...

next, to get the comics!

I was dissapointed by Revolutions..

It had good parts.. But I found myself constantly wishing that something cool would happen.. It had far too many 'cave dance' scenes.

I kinda felt that they left the whole merovingian thing unresolved.. They spent alot of time developing him as a character - and true, his main role was to develop the storyline - but I would have liked to have seen the character played out better than he was.. I'm sure there are gonna people who think otherwise, and have valid reasons :) But you can't sway me.

Revolutions didnt have any 'cave dance' scenes. Or are you refering to scenes that lack pacing and excitement? I didn't think there were many of those either. Reloaded is probably the most rollercoaster of the series -- massive highs but some extreme lows.

I too wish the Merovingian had a greater part to play in the 3rd movie (I was hoping that he'd be a previous 'One') but in the series, everyone fulfils their purpose so it's not all bad, I guess. I sort of refer to the 2nd movie as thought and the 3rd movie as action. There's very little complexity to the third movie.

As for the unfolding APU's - considering that they are mass produced, surely they'd all unfold at the same speed and have the same way of unfolding? If there were different APU's, the there would probably be some differences there. Although, perhaps with some APU's having rustier joints than others, this could be possible.

They really lost me with Reloaded. I basically felt Neo was indestructible, and therefore boring to watch (for longer than 10 mins anyway).

In Revolutions they obviously addressed this and challenged Neo on so many different levels, which is great (and obvious) from a story point of view. The CG was all good, but I was really in it for the story.

The only thing i found myself missing from Revolutions was a little more matrix gun-fu AND OR kung-fu. That whole, jack in, do a mission, get out mission structure is very exciting. But its pretty obvious the W brothers stuffed everything matrix related into Reloaded so they could focus on the battle for zion.

As Aven said, a good ending is very important. I love being left with a question that starts fist fights, or with a mind altering concept (like the matrix). The Matrix's ending was fantastic, Reloaded's was crap (the architect? Piss-off). And Revolutions' was pretty good (possibly too symbolic).

BTW. At the end, didn't the architect tell the oracle that everyone would be released / unplugged? I was sure i heard that...

All in all, I accept the matrix as a trilogy. :)
cheers

Damn cool, I don't know what all these people who say it's absolute rubbish are on about. Perhaps they want it all laid out for them like a typical dumb Hollywood movie with a happy happy, joy joy ending. Bleh... some mad CG in it, though I thought that they did go a bit wanky/overboard with some stuff... like the Smith fight at the end.

I think I'm going to have to watch it a few more times and do a fair bit more pondering though. =]

BTW: Does anyone know where in the last two movies was the part about the 'most complex filmed sequence, ever' thing that they were bragging about was?

Even if the APUs are all the same and made from prefab parts, there is a great chance with something of that scale, to have weaker joints in some areas. Although it is set far in the future, their workman ship is kinda cruddy (well compared to the machines). I remember with all my Technic Lego that if I had the exact same one as a friend that had the pnuematic systems, the timing in the movement would ALWAYS be different. And Lego is made out of prefab parts as well. As I said though, it really is just a little bitch pick, but it just really stood out too me as I watched it.

Smeg proved my point as to me thinking that the final fight scene in Revolutions could be sumed up with three letters. D-B-Z. THe made a character so damn powerful, that they then had to make an equaly powerful enemy, and how do make two beings that can destroy entire worlds fight? Not too easily.

Reloaded annoyed me as it's love story was just really weak. I love a good romantic film, but Reloaded just didn't do it. At least Revolutions canned that and kept the romance to a minimum.

I thought the pace of Revolutions was really good. They had a solid section of action, then a solid section of slower paced film. It wasn't chopping and changing all the time, so that was okay.

Yeah Smeg, the architect did say that. That is why I am dying to know what happens after Revolutions. Is the Matrix just a game that will be played for fun? Is that how they plan to tie in the Matrix Online game? I just hope that the humans are turned into the machines bitch. Especially if the Animatrix telling of the history is correct.

I am fairly firm in my belief that the 'real world' (Zion et cetera) was in fact, real. Of course, that's a belief and no amount of persuasive argument could sway that. I can't really find anything that points to that world *not* being real, I mean Neo could easily have some form of 'wireless' connection to the matrix after all, the machines are able to reprogram the human brain to accept an AI etc we are talking about way more advanced technology than we have at the moment. There's also the possiblity that Neo is in some way, a form of physical evloution that the machines must control - you 'breed' that many humans and it's only a matter of time before there are changes.

It's just a belief, I can easily see the argument for it being a machine created world too.

I thought Reloaded didn't really have an ending, at the same time, if it was an ending, it's not 'crap'. The architect posed some interesting questions.

I'm surprised they didn't do more with the Merovingian, they did say that he was alot like Neo once, but he's been around alot longer than the 'One'. I would have liked to know how he transformed from an AI sympathetic to the plight of 'choice' to a hardline predeterminist.

I think the third one lacked moments of major characters being 'hard core'/'hard'. When Morpheus bashes through the wall to tackle Agent Smith in the first Matrix movie, even though he knows he's not going to win, and he's just buying Neo time - it sends tingles down my span -> I think 'that guy is cool' - everyone was pretty soft in the last couple of movies.

Neo was especially soft in the third movie - 'I can't do it' wasn't in his vocab in the first two, but obviously he picked up some bad habits from sissy-girls.

They used too much of the minor characters for my liking...I didn't really care about that black chick with plastic tits 'doing her part' for Zion, and the little kid piloting the APU or whatever (did they have to throw in the incomplete training cliche?). I just wanted to get back to watching Neo do something useful...

At the end, the architect said he might release the people from the matrix who wanted to be released.

My thoughts are that Neo was supposed to end the 'idea of the matrix' - and that is, to give control back to the humans. The Wachowski's tried to make us sympathise with the machines, but overall, even the Oracle is there to ensure that machines keep surviving (even at the cost of humanity).

I would imagine that Neo is alive, seeing as everyone else who was infected with the Smith virus came out smelling like roses once whatever happened happened - it's easy to assume that Neo did as well.

I felt unsatisfied with the ending, because the machines are just machines - do they have 'honour' (the movie did pose the question about the possiblity of machines having connections/emotions) and as such - do they feel they need to keep their promise to Neo? In this way, Neo did nothing but perpetuate the matrix. Which to me, isn't an ending, it's just like a short story that took 6 hours to tell. No real beginning nor end, just some messages that are explained through settings, emotions and actions (with flashy special effects etc)

What ticked me off was that the message in the end was a mix up of inevitability and hope.

There was hope that somehow Neo was doing the right thing, then there was the inevitability of the breakdown of peace and the eventual triumph of the machines of the current incarnation of Zion.

id like to say my bit :)

i loved the zion fight scene. thought it was incredible.

and um i think the real world is still not real. u can break stuff like neo does in the real world. and what wireless connection ? how does that work ?

um and the world at the end where the girl makes the sunrise well i think thats another matrix on top of the one thats ment to be the "real world" cos u still cant make a sunrise in the real world.

um yeah the APU's should all move different because the move depending on how u lift your arm. and people all lift their arms at different rates.

i rekon the real world is nearly back to being all nice and beautiful. because the machines started on solar energy and with all this chaos going on in the martix they would start to fix up our ozone so they dont need humans at all any more.

and i thought that kid was cool :) hes ganna be like the next leader of zion. and is he meant to be that kid from the animatrix that jacks him self out ? cos neo says he didn?t save him or something. And in the first one don?t they say that the guy that started zion got him self out somehow ? maybe the kid is ment to start the next zion ?

does the architect really say he will unplug everyone ? i thought he said something like he wont attack the humans like he promised not to. and the oracle asks how long the truce will last ? that doesnt finish a movie. a truce never lasts and we will be back where we started.

Um and if its all an exercise to see what choice is. Well I don?t follow. Like the architect tells us about the chemicals that create love. So are they looking for someone that has a deficiency in these chemicals so they chose different options ? is that what choice is ? I dunno, im confused

i hope there is an animatrix 2. still have unanswered questions

Oh yeah and I dunno if neo would be alright. Like he wasn?t infected the way everyone else was. And we don?t know that everyone else was ok do we ? just the girl, which is a machine that can make sunrises and the other two. Like all the humans could be brain dead.

Wireless connection?

That means he would have to have a send/receiver thing mounted on the back of his head. And all the other people would want one too?.

And it would have to be powered ?

And it would mean the matrix would know where he is at all times.

And if he can use it to send info to the matrix that tells them to make the sentinels near him explode. Well if u can do that from the matrix y doesn?t he just jack in and make the robot city explode ? or all the sentinels in the world explode ?

quote:

And it would mean the matrix would know where he is at all times.

The Matrix does know where everyone is at all times. Well not at ALL times, but given enough time, it can track anyone down. That's what the agents do.

quote:And if he can use it to send info to the matrix that tells them to make the sentinels near him explode. Well if u can do that from the matrix y doesn?t he just jack in and make the robot city explode ? or all the sentinels in the world explode ?

Did you not see Neo wipe out an entire legion of sentinels at once? he took out what looked like thousands at once -- but sooner or later, he was gonna get tired.

I think the most important Animatrix story in terms of understanding the trilogy was 'matriculated' where humans convert the machines to their cause, not be reprogramming them but by giving them a choice. They saw 'reprogramming' as no different from the brainwashing that the machines did in creating the Matrix. Bear in mind that the machines are 'AI' and as such, are sentient life forms. Wiping them out is tantamount to genocide.

BTW - the game says that Neo exists in both worlds as a part of his consciousness stayed inside the Matrix when he went to see the Architect. Hence, he ended up in both worlds.

Here's to hoping another animatrix shows up. The online game is set after the trilogy so it'll be interesting to see what happens. I reckon it'll be a group of zealous humans trying to hunt down the machines, thus starting the events of the Second Renaissance all over again...

quote:Neo was especially soft in the third movie - 'I can't do it' wasn't in his vocab in the first two, but obviously he picked up some bad habits from sissy-girls.

I disagree. Neo in the first movie was "what is real? who am I?". In the second movie he was like "I am the One, but I don't know what to do" and in the third he was like "I am the only one who can do this and I know what needs to be done." I think the character arc of Neo was well done and could probably be summed up as 'Discovery. Doubt and Self Belief.' His only doubting phase was in the second movie - he needed to have some sort of weakness -- self doubt was good choice.

ok ive seen it 2wice now,.. i went in with a purpose of figuring out what happened to the oracle and why she needed a new body,.. after reloaded,.. but i forgot to pay attention,.. anyone fill me in here ?

i'm not too sure, but i sorta got the impression that she had to give it to the Merovingian or something so that he would help the little indian girl (Sati). Damn, now I need to see it again too...

Also i gotta say, APU's are stupid, why would you not think of putting some sort of shield or armor between you and an enemy when building a weapon? You have this big beefy APU, that offers no protection to the driver at all. Some stupid little kid could just come along and pelt a rock at the drivers head, knocking him/her unconscious, thus disabling the APU. Stupid APUs...

That is a VERY good point Tachyon, but like with every idea, style will always win out over practicality.

As for the new Oracle. The original Oracle died in real life. After she died, people started talking about a 'curse' of the Matrix. Aaliyah died (she was posibly going to play Jada Pinket Smith's Role?), Keanu's wife died in a car accident here in Australia (one reason why Reloaded was delayed for so long), and the original Orical died (sorry I don't know the actress' real name). I was actually really supprised when I saw reloaded and the Oracle was still in it. I would like to know when 2&3 were shot. That's why they made up a new story to try to explain the Oracle's new appearence.

Does anyone know of any movies where Seriph (the actor) actually fights? He was screwed twice in the Matrix, and I really want to see him fight.

I went to see all three in a row with a couple of mates, and the experience was awsome (now i'm waiting to do it for lord for the rings!) the second movie is still my favorite though. revolutions idnt end how i expected it to. i figured that the matrix would still exist in the end, as there are millions of poeple still plugged in. i figured they defeate the machines and take control of the matrix so they can gradually get people out. either that or neo would become what he was 'supposed to be' in that he would do as the other 'ones' did, willingly or not, and the whole process would start again (though i DID NOT want this to be the case, that would have been disapointing).

my biggest critisims were:
it started off very slow. VERY SLOW. after such a great 'leave you hanging' ending in number 2, you left waiting thinkning: come on, get on with the bloody story! the part with the train station and all that was no more than an excuse to go into the matrix (which there wasn't much of, unfortunatly), and there was very little point to it. excepot finding neo of course, and was pretty uneventful i felt. but they did slip in that bit with the machines and their daughter with raises a few ideas, but meh. it was still drawn out and in the way of the real story. and i still cant figure out how he got into the matrix in the first place.

everything else i liked, except the final fight with smith. well, it was great, but the huge 'force explosions' or whatever i thought were taking it a bit far. and while that face punch looked cool, and i liked it, it was a bit much don't you think?

the ending was meh. that's all i can say. nothing really ended one way or the other. so neo did a deal: i'll save the matrix for you if there is peace between the machines and humans. but i couldn't help but be left feeling that they would just as easily backstab him classic badguy style. there was verly little in the story to make me believe they would keep their word.

and how long can trinity keep talking with three great big poles stuck through her?!?!?! that was kind funny actually. you knew they werent comming back once they went to the machine city alone. well, trinity i though maybe, but after neo was blinded i knew he was a gonna for sure. is he alive at the end? i dont think so. as far as i figure it smith pretty much became like a virus, and after assimilating neo the machines used this to 'delete' him i guess. bering that neo is this allpowerful being type thing i guess that would be how they are ablet o do it, it wouldnt be very interesting if they could do it with just anybody from a film stand point anyway.

anyway, i thought it was an awsome movie all in all (and thank god the sfx dont look so fake as they did in reloaded - those mechs were so cheesy in that one) and i'll be going to see it again very soon!

quote:Originally posted by Aven

That is a VERY good point Tachyon, but like with every idea, style will always win out over practicality.

As for the new Oracle. The original Oracle died in real life. After she died, people started talking about a 'curse' of the Matrix. Aaliyah died (she was posibly going to play Jada Pinket Smith's Role?), Keanu's wife died in a car accident here in Australia (one reason why Reloaded was delayed for so long), and the original Orical died (sorry I don't know the actress' real name). I was actually really supprised when I saw reloaded and the Oracle was still in it. I would like to know when 2&3 were shot. That's why they made up a new story to try to explain the Oracle's new appearence.

Does anyone know of any movies where Seriph (the actor) actually fights? He was screwed twice in the Matrix, and I really want to see him fight.

Aaliyah was going to play Zee - Link's woman. No big role. In the ETM game, the Oracle is the new actress (who was still very good, but didnt look as 'grandmotherly as the other one). In the game as well as the movie, she says that the new body she found was the price to pay after the Merovingian found out she helped the humans. Her old shell was deleted. The Mero runs the underworld where all deleted/rogue programs exist.

Getting a new actress and writing an explanation as to why she looked different was a good idea -- after seeing Revolutions, it's pretty obvious that the Oracle plays a much bigger part than the previous movies.

quote:the ending was meh. that's all i can say. nothing really ended one way or the other. so neo did a deal: i'll save the matrix for you if there is peace between the machines and humans. but i couldn't help but be left feeling that they would just as easily backstab him classic badguy style. there was verly little in the story to make me believe they would keep their word.

It was kinda 'meh' to an extent but consider this: the cycle of the Matrix is broken: having a One, keeping humans under control, when they break that control, control them again by giving them a prophecy that leads them to an inevitable decision. Now Zion is still alive and their is no need to start Zion all over again with 16 females and 7 males. Humans are free to be if they choose to be - just like Cypher in the first movie.

Anyone else out there would liked to have viewed this as one movie (minus a few scenes) but have an intermission, like in the old days?

Thanks for telling me who Aaliyah was going to play Jonathan, I never actually heard who she would be. The way they were talking about how they signed her up, and making such a big deal about it, I thought that she would have had a larger part in it.

I would like to see more movies run at longer times with intermissions. I can quite easily sit down and relax for six hours. Getting up half way through to go for a leak. I really hope that Hoyts does something like that for all the LoTR films when number 3 comes out. I would definitely be up for that :D

It probalby could have been edited to fit into the second film, more likey just a marketing thing that it became a trilogy, sounds better when you add the words "DVD set". [:P]

Saying that I'm glad they made a thrid installment and I enjoyed it immensely.

I tend not to go into movies with my reviewer goggles on, it seems like no one wants to just escape in movies nowadays. Everyones too busy picking faults, relax I say, enjoy the film for what it was, 2.5 hrs of escapism fun with lots of wire - fu that you paid 12 bucks for.

Did laugh at alot of the corniness in parts though but it all added to the comic feel of it.

Question: Why does every movie have to live up to some gargantuan epic proportion these days? It feels like every movie has to be Ben Hurr or its crap, even over the top action flicks.

Indeed - I try to go the movies now just to be entertained.

A pity I can't do that as much with my games...

I think they left the eding just a bit open for the 4th matrix,
Matrix Reactivated, hahaha

I don't think that Neo doubted himself, he just couldn't find direction. When he was faced with a confrontation though, he was very head-strong and committed (in the first two movies). I always thought Neo's power comes from his mind, his belief in himself. Sure he had alot of direction in the third one - and knew what he had to do - but when it came to doing it, he (often) sissied out half way through.

And the wireless thing is just a point, it's not what I believe and I don't think it's that plausible - all I'm saying is that there are a myriad of ways of explaining Neo's ability to interact with machines without him being jacked in.

Of course, the Wachowski's were kind enough to let us use our imaginations with that one. Some people figure out interesting ways of interpreting the matrix within a matrix concept, other people figure out ways that the real struggle was real.

I would personally say that Neo has some form of physical connection to the machines. Whether you want to call it telekinitis or just some freak of evolution, he has that ability, and it is what makes him unique, and what makes him a threat to the machines (which is why they developed the matrix, to control this evolutionary process).

Damn that sounds cool. Now just to find out battery life, with specs like that I'm guessing 10-15 mins.

If the battery life is over 5 hours, sign me up for one (at any cost.)

I thought the Nokia N-Gage design looked nice, but it was the usability that was the major problem. The article doesn't mention how big the PSP actually is - the concept is a bit misleading because, well, it makes it look small like keyring! [:)] Looking at the button sizes and the amount of space you'd need for your thumbs, that thing is gonna be pretty big. The specs are pretty kick arse, and probably overkill. Dolby 7.1 multi-channel audio, with 3D sound?? On a handlheld! Two hours' of *DVD-quality video* on a relatively tiny screen! I'm sure you could probably do something like 20 hours with stronger compression and not see too much of a difference [:)] Wireless networking, and phone - well, that just puts the final nail on the NGage coffin.

Sony is touting it as the walkman of the future, but I wish they didn't use their own media disc for it. You won't be able to burn your own music discs or movies yourself [:(]

I saw the Dolby 7.1 spec and laughed. That is EXTREME overkill. Niether my home ent system or comp has that :p

The video compression is also overkill, but I think that they just have that level of detail IF people want it. If you only have the ability to encode movies at one set bitrate (ie VCD), that would just be stupid. It is an MPEG-4 codec based system, so with any luck, that should mean that it will support DivX, XviD and other format (fingers crossed).

I REALLY hope that they do have the ability to use Sony Mem sticks in them. That way you could have your own mp3s or whatever. Plus it would be a fantastic way to store saved games. Just imagine how many saves could fit on a 1gb stick (drool).

My main concern is that being a Sony product, what will the price be like? Personally I think that their portable equipment is very hard to beat (unlike all their other products), but they often have a price to match.

I think the 7.1 spec might be dropped. Remember that Xbox had some parts of it scaled down and other components were given an increase in power. Sony are the hype masters, so I think everything should be taken with a pinch of salt. There is going to be some sort of a catch somewhere.

The Magic Box has some size comparisons of the PSP and other handhelds. [url="http://www.the-magicbox.com/game110603a.htm"]It's not too big actually[/url].

hah, the guy putting a picture of a concept in his pocket? hilarious

btw, I downloaded the trailer for [url="http://www.innocence-movie.jp/information/trailer/tokuho1/480.mov"]Ghost in the Shell 2[/url]. Awesome!

Wow. It makes me glad that I procrastinated so much when thinking of that set. I love the Alien series (except for Res), but tat set always looked so dodgy. I will most defenitely be seeing Alien on the big screen.

A dl a preview of GITS 2 a while back and it did look very nice. I'm just glad that they decided to keep the same animation style. Also, if you haven't heard of it, you may want to hunt down the fan subs for Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. VERY nice.

My mate has the Aliens Legacy DVD set and is quite a big fan. He's not going to be too happy when i tell him about this new release! :P

I'm gonna get Ghostbusters on DVD this week. Woo and Hoo.

I had completely forgot that Ghostbusters had been released on DVD (and I know that it was ages ago as well). Just bought Waynes World Collection the other day. I still have to have a look for a Predator boxed set (I'm not sure if any actually exsist).

So many DVDs, so little shelf space (sigh).

I was dissapointed recentley when i was going to purchase the aliens boxed set for around $60, i figured at that price the set was a steal... but i was too late and was told that it had been 'deleted' (from their database i guess). I suppose that has something to do with the new boxed set. (bet it won't be $60 though!)

Wayne's World Collection - that's new to me. Strange to call it a collection, there's only two movies (actually two films using the same jokes).

Yeah. It's just that it comes in a little art box. It was the first time I had sen nuber 2, and I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as 1. Still funny, but just not as good.

I also really want to buy all the Farscape boxed sets, but I really want to know how the Aus versions rate against the US ones. The US versions have twice as many DVDs in each set. The Aus version of season 1 has 4 discs, yet the US version is 8 discs. Does anyone know what the difference is?

More discs.

quote:Originally posted by Aven

The Aus version of season 1 has 4 discs, yet the US version is 8 discs. Does anyone know what the difference is?

4 Disks?

Sorry couldn't resist

Pantmonger

Edit (beaten to the punch line by less then a min)

There is a REALLY good website out there which catalogues all the new DVD's out and details on the extras they have. I'm sure there are a few websites like that around, but there was this excellant one I visited a few times (unfotunately I can't remember the website [:(])

btw, yeh, I agree - I'm glad they stuck to the same style with the Ghost in the Shell sequel. Have you seen the Manga? It looks like hentai. Can't wait for Ghost in the Shell - Innocence.. sure is a lot of 3D CGI though.

Speaking of Predator, the Alien VS Predator movie trailer is out. There's a script website that has the movie script already (I haven't read it), but the guys are saying it's going to be a pretty crap movie. [:(]

I'm pretty sure that the features on the Aus and US version are the same, so I wonder if it is a quality thing? I know that the US versions do look very nice. Not too sure about the Aus ones. Pants, do you have a DVD-ROM at all? If so, could you load it up and see what the bit rate is?

I have the Collected Edition for GITS 1. Unfortunately I passed up on the oppurtunity to buy all eight comics when I was much younger (yeah I'm kicking myself). I only have one issue of the GITS2 commic. They seem to be taking their sweet time releasing them. Plus I think that a lot of collectors are jumping on this bandwagon, so they are more difficult to get (like the Transformers comics). I saw a VERY short clip of Innocence, it also looks like the animation style of GITS1 right?

You really should try to find the FanSubs of Stand Alone Complex though. Can I post sites to FanSubed anime? They aren't classed as illegal, but some people have 'issues' with them.

Went into EB the other day and bought the final DVD for FLCL, including the box for the 3 DVDs. Kinda pissed off as they also have the boxed set to Fruits Basket that has just been released in Aus. I bought the first DVD from the states for AUS$70, and they have the whole Aus boxed set for $120 (crying). I really didn't think that it would make it over here.

A link for all the Zim fans here as well. http://www.animeondvd.com/news/pr.php?pr_view=262 :D

Reading the article it seems that they are going with the PowerPC chip so that it is not similar to Intel's offerings and so people can't make cheap PC's out of the Xbox. It wouldn't be that different to program for really, since the chip is an equivalent of an Intel type chip (well reversed endian, but yeah), and the graphics / bus will be similar to other offerings.

I'll just wait and see what the official word on this is before I start learning G5 opcodes ;-)

Maybe someone at teh AGDC might know what's going on?

I'm probably wrong, but i think the powerpc are RISC cpu's, so coding assembly for them should be an easier task.
Also, the main thing (afaik) that made PC ports to xbox easier had nothing really to do with the cpu, but rather that the xbox api was (a slightly modified) version of directx 8, so as long as the pc title used directx, they didn't have to rewrite the entire render system. The usual issues with console ports, lack of memory (virtual) etc.still apply to the xbox so, i don't think the cpu swap will particularly affect the ability to port that much, as long as xbox 2 still uses a windows/directx based api.
CYer, Blitz

I wonder if this would lead to the posibility of Windows ever becoming available for Macs then...

I don't think it's worth bringing Windows over for Macs, seeing as it's a pretty small market.

It must be a large enough market if Microsoft decided to release Office for Mac OS.

Windows NT used to be available for PPC, MIPS and Alpha as well as x86, so it's really not going to be an issue for them to port the kernel. It seems a bit silly though that the only reason they'd be switching to PPC would be because of people whacking linux on xbox's, as linux runs on pretty much every processor. I'd say it's probably more for performance and thermal reasons than anything.

But really, the biggest issue with this is what about backwards compatibility? You'd think that being Microsoft, ensuring backwards compatability would be paramount. But then the rest of the guts are going to be by ATI, so who knows what they're thinking? I think it's to say though that it'll kick ass. =]

Aven: Why the hell would you want to run Windows on a mac instead of OS X? =] (Yeah, I like them)

Don't worry, I wouldn't. It's just that Windows does have the best app compatability. That's why I don't run Linux. Chances of me buying a Mac a fairly slim anyway (price), so that doesn't really bother me :) I was more thinking long the lines of Microsoft trying to venture along another route. Windows, gaming, consoles.... where to next?

quote:Originally posted by Aven

It must be a large enough market if Microsoft decided to release Office for Mac OS.

That's because Microsoft realised that they actually make money on the Office market rather than the OS market!

So the more OS's that run Office, more people use it, the more "standard" it gets etc. Therefore eventually it will be the only Office package out there etc.

I don't think using a different chip is going to affect their ability to make the xbox2 backward compatible. I'm sure the ps2 emotion chip is nothing like the ps1 chip.
They'll find a way, even if it's just plain emulation?!?!
CYer, Blitz

The PS2 is backwards compatible because it has the original one inside it on a single chip called IOP (in case you didn't know).

Well yeah I did know that Shplorb, it actually handles the input on the PS2... and there's two of them actually, same as the two sound processors.

And yeah, if the new PowerPC type chip is powerful enough then the x86 instructions could just be emulated, even if there's a small hardware converter.

Now I wonder though if anyone will install MacOSX on the new Xbox?

i think i posted that link a while ago when someone asked about hosting.

I just noticed that there were a few people talking about being able to post their pics, so i thought i would put the link in an easier to find place. That way even blind people like yours truely can stumble across it.

I remember reading a few years ago, that once a game has become 10 years old, it can become freely distributed. PC Powerplay had the full version of Ultima 4 on one of their cover discs. I would be interested to know if this still exists. I always waited for id to release Doom for free at it 10 year aniversary. Instead they released the Doom chronicals package. I bought that instead :P

Unfortunately, [url="http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1383026,00.asp"]Sega have different plans[/url]..

quote:"Sega today opened the official page for its soon-to-debut "Sega Game Honpo" service, a new subscription-based retro-gaming site where players can download and play an array of 16-bit games on their PCs. Starting November 20, Japanese gamers will be able to subscribe and play a growing selection of Mega Drive/Genesis games via the site, and Sega will gradually expand the library of games offered on a monthly basis."

Would be worth it for Gunstar Heroes and PuyoPuyo. $15 is a small price to pay. I guess it beats having to pay $100 for seven Sonic games crammed onto one disc. I will be interested to know if they are ports, or if Sega have made their own emulator for it :)

quote:You're stuck with me now *cackle*

And damn happy 'bout it too [:D]

Big congrats and about time - I remember when you where saying you intended to do it but could never be bothered to just do it; just not being bothered to do it I think that makes you automatically more Australian than people born here [;)]

uh oh,
the invasion has begun... or something.

anyway... have a woo & yay
[img]http://www.members.optushome.com.au/hmmklord/wooyay.jpg[/img]

um, what planet where you from originally

(don't mind me, currently walking the thin line between coding burnout and being draged off to dance with brazilian friends as they don't know any guys in australia that can dance)

yay Jacana!

Have you done the citizenship ceremony yet? Its a bit of a yawn, did it when I was younger with the folks.

Anyway, welcome to Earth. [:P]

woohoo!

congrats to Jacana...[8D]

now to be a true aussie, you need an old crappy ford or holden lying in your 6 feet tall grass on bricks. add to that a VB box lying near your front door and that you are on the dole, and you would be a model aussie. mullet may be going a bit too far though...

congrats though.

Actually I think Joel was talking about the right way to prove I am ready to be an Aussie.

I have been up for citizenship for a couple of years now I have just been too lazy to bother - couldnt' be stuffed dealing with Immigration :)

It kinda ruins the fun tho - I can't run around and tell people I am an alien now!

As sad as it sounds (I know there are a lot of people who are struggling to get Aussie citizenship) I am not overly fussed about the ceremony. I am really trying to avoid the Australia Day one. After being here for almost seven years (about 1/4 of my life) here is home as much as "home" is home.

quote:You're stuck with me now *cackle*

That sounds like a threat!

If you couldn't get citizenship, I'm sure anyone here can offer you a sham marriage so you can stay in Australia. [;)]

quote:Have you done the citizenship ceremony yet? Its a bit of a yawn, did it when I was younger with the folks.

Where did you come from previously, Malus?

New Zealand!! boo haa ha. We are taking over!

I've only spent limited time there though, I grew up in Papua New Guinea and then Oz, been here for nearly all my life.

"Bah".......what was that?! [:P]

quote:Originally posted by Souri
If you couldn't get citizenship, I'm sure anyone here can offer you a sham marriage so you can stay in Australia. [;)]

Now that sounds like a threat to the whole male population of Australia!

Just wanted to say its all official - signed, sealed, and delivered :) Can't deport me now!

Had the ceremony at 2:30pm today. It was interesting.....

interesting good.... interesting bad.... interesting I would rather stick my finger in an electric pencil sharpener... help us out a little :)

Good to hear that you are now one step closer to that mullet :D

Cheryl is going for a fem-mullet? Oh dear. [:)]

damn right - hot red fem-mullet at that ;)

It's only fitting that we all call her 'Shazza' from now on.

Ninja had already started the Australian nickname Chezza if I remember right [:)]

*tries to run away from the conversation but gets her feet tangled up in her thongs and spills her VB stubby all over her singlet*

Quickly Chezza. You're almost to your torana... Oh that's right, It's sitting on bricks in the middle of your two metre high grass :P

Ah too much fun can be had with this thread :D

Congratulations!

<< Insert witty remark here >>

Did you have to give up your american citzenship, if I may ask? <- Just curious [:I]

Best wishes for your OZian future

greets
the guy from berlin...

I don't know how it is with America, but for me I still hold Polish citizenship, and Australian too.

So I'm just waiting till they join the European Union and I'll have free entry into almost all of Europe :-)

Hey Sylvius... how was your trip to the AGDC 2003 and Australia!

beside the grapic and character animation stuff. I think better AI would change the game a lot for the better. This would be able to add charcter to them nodes walking around in the game now. Also inside building would be cool to have more of.

A more real world would be cool, tree that you are able to run down, grass fields which you can mow down which will grow back after time (project ego kind of stuff).

Oh, I think the game layout could be change alot to, now the way it is you olny go and do the mission to get to other parts of the city, maybe if there was more of a BioWare RPG element to the game and a real story would add a hell of alot to the game. which has not real charcater to it, just a lot of cool fun shit to do with no real direction, which is very good, but I think the mission could have had more character development.

Not to kock GTA, but the game isn't that good, the concept is the real winner and also anyone could have putted it off a game as good if they had the chance. (just think about it how under developed is the game conparted to what it could have been)

i didnt play GTA 3 that much...but it is a very fun game...

i think that in the next GTA, you should be able to use almost any object you find as a weapon or tool...that would add greatly to to fun factor from my perspective...

Well, I think the tongue-in-cheek humour has to stay, it's an integral part of the series that does not take itself seriously.

It'd be good if they could get the graphical detail to a level like those cool illustrations (I dont want to see the series go ultra realistic -- boring!) that complement the game. Perhaps a new setting or maybe head back to London? They could make it an online type game where you form your own gangs etc under the guise of major corporations or something.

As Doord mentioned, AI improvements should occur and perhaps more people in the street, it seems a bit bare for a bustling metropolis. Although, I think Vice City had a lot more character to it than the first, from what I heard. Probably a result of giving the main character a well known actors voice (Ray Liotta). With AI improvements, you could be able to hold up a bank (maybe with another person in 2 player link up mode?) and keep the people under control etc. The improvements in AI will open up new ways to play.

massive mutliplayer
mass gang wars. :)

i haven't played gta3 too much at all, but i was a big fan of number one and less of a fan of number two.

i definitley agree that the humor MUST stay. number one was great because it just didn't take itself too seriously. nuber two destroyed that element for me. this also means that the violence shouldn't be made even more 'realistic'. as much as people want it to be more believable, dont have the ability to use a pedestrian as a human shield or anything like that. keep ot simple.

i definitely agree about the massively multiplayer aspect. one person hijacks a school bus, 20 other pile on, rock up to a gang war and everyone piles off this little bus with weapons drawn. different 'job' possitions would also be nice. the ability to be a cop, and have to stop gang warefare and single killers from breaking the law. build up so that you can make it into the SWAT and really kick arse.

i wont complain about graphics/sound/ai quality as those things will ALWAYS improve. hell EA keep on releasing sports games just because of better technical improvements and new roster changes. a more alive world also fits into this. GTA3 was made with middle ware, so you can't expect it to be anywhere as powerful as the HL2 or Doom3 engine. it will come with time.

I reckon a different setting could work quite well too - eg cyberpunk (think Deus Ex meets GTA :) or far-future sci-fi.

Heck, the game concept could even work in a medieval town - but perhaps wouldn't have the same appeal without the
fast vehicles. "Grand Theft Warhorse", anyone? ;->

That said, I think the humor works so well because it's got a lot of real-world and movie material to draw on.
Perhaps this would get lost in the translation to another setting.

As Jonathan mentions, the robbing a bank idea seems like a great addition to the gameplay - although then I
guess we'll get silly gits robbing banks in real life claiming that GTA made them do it rather than taking
responsibility for their own actions...

So who else reckons that the guy who does the indian talkback radio announcer voice in VC sounds
like Hank Azaria? I'm not sure if it's just the similar accent that's being attempted that makes
me think this (ie similar to Apu (spelling?) in the simpsons)...

I wonder how much multiplayer will show up in GTA series. It's possible that they'll do GTA Online (supposedly, they already are) but the online market is a lot different from the casual gamer who makes up most of the GTA sales. It's the game that nearly all people who have a PS2 have played. ie - the casual gamer are not the demographic who'd make up the market for the online game.

Something that I wish was in Vice City would be the ability to replay any of the missions, after you have completed it of course. There are some that I would like to play agian, but I cant be arsed completing others just to get to it again.
Hopefully they could use this small feature in the next one.

One of the things in GTA2 that I think they should bring to the 3D versions is the ability to use a truck to tow trailers. It sounds useless but it could be cool for missions. You also could tow cars on the trailers in GTA2 and if you found a trailer with a car already on it, it meant the car had a 'Kill Frenzy'.

I think something that would add to the game would be a Criminal ranking system. Not like the police most wanted ranking. Meaning instead of just being a grunt for some crimelord you should be able to become a crimelord yourself by completing certain missions. or by building your own organisation from the ground up e.g. stealing cars and selling them 'gone in 60 seconds' style. This might also include organisations like the emergency services. Perhaps you could even become a Pimp...

I would like some more interaction... Once you complete the missions there isn't much else to do aside from causing a bit of havok for the hundredth time. I want to be able to have a round of golf on the VC golf course, I wanted to go into the arcade and play some old-school 80's games.

It would also be good if you could build yourself up as a gangster, make your own decisions instead of working for everyone else. Something focussed around a livable city that you can work in, slowly take over from other gangs in your own way, would be a nice change from the normal mission format.

I think some race type events would be cool. Steal a dirt bike and you can enter the supercross. Steal a race car and enter a nascar or Indy type event. Steal a speed boat and enter a water skiing event. Steal 4x4s, monster trucks etc. etc. Ofcourse you shouldn't be able to do the events without the right vehicle and the vehicles you need should be rare or even one of a kind.

quote:Originally posted by Happy Camper

I think some race type events would be cool. Steal a dirt bike and you can enter the supercross. Steal a race car and enter a nascar or Indy type event. Steal a speed boat and enter a water skiing event. Steal 4x4s, monster trucks etc. etc. Ofcourse you shouldn't be able to do the events without the right vehicle and the vehicles you need should be rare or even one of a kind.

Vice City had this to a certain extent. You can race other cars around the city, and there are motorcross timetrials and demolition derbys... Even a nascar style oval race but on dirt. I still want to be able to pull up at the lights next to some ricer and have a proper drag in my custom car :)

Happy Camper: I doubt if you stole a vehicle it would make sense that you could legally enter it in any sort of event. [:P]

In GTA 3 I prefer to get the diablo and an uzi, change my character model to the spanish gang members and go loco cruising the town listening to hip hop doing drive bys lol.

what if you stole the cars put them into your garage and leave them there for a couple days. they get stripped down etc you come back get the car then you can enter those races? :)

quote:I still want to be able to pull up at the lights next to some ricer and have a proper drag in my custom car :)

or find a nice cliff edge and play chicken[:)].

chicky run. chicky run. yay high school high. i think you could take most elements from that movie and put them into a GTA game quite successfully.

this may becoming to boonerish or indepth. but the ability to actually rip parts out of cars and make your own twisted device of destruction would be amusing.

I wanna save anywhere, and I want more variation in missions. Missions that can take between 15 minutes to hours to complete. For a game that's known for it's openess and free roaming, it's a bit of a shame that you drown as soon as you're in water. Let the character swim for chrissakes! Underwater missions?! Why not! I want Rockstar to embrace the mod community and release tonnes of tools themselves. Let the community add vehicles, objects, suburbs, islands, entire continents to the map!

I have no clue on how it all works, but it would be nice if there was some sort of easy scripting scheme where you can add new responses pedestrians and people react to every event.. let it trigger off an animation sequence you made. Let the community in on it, and we could have a huge database of these things to randomly choose from. At the moment, it's very predictable what the crowd does when you, say, shoot someone or commit a crime. More consequences for your actions! More interactivity with objects.

I agree too about nothing left to do once you finish the game. So, more side missions and tiny activities, and perhaps a random mission generating routine. You'll have the story mode with preset missions, and those random missions as a side mission. Make an experience scoring scheme so you can level up your status with every completed mission, ala Elite and Frontier. (You can darn well play that game for a loooong time). Heck, throw in some trading and transporting elements in there as well.

GTA3 - money wasn't really a motivator in the game. You can buy guns, and that was it. In Vice City, it's slightly better, since you can buy property too. Give money a better use in the game. Money would be good for purchasing skill upgrades? Weapon handling and other attributes? Stuff that helps with gameplay..

I want street names, house numbers. [:)] Elite had the potential for two hundred and eighty-two million million galaxies, complete with names for every solar system and planet, using a [url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,1064107,00.html"]a simple algorithm[/url] on a BBC Micro, I'm sure they can come up with a similar suitable idea for GTA. I want all those 100 story buildings you see to be fully accessible!! More vehicles on roads and larger crowds in busier areas. Peak hour traffic.

I agree with everything you said Souri. A random mission generator would be great. One thing that annoyed me with Vice City was that I didn't like islands as much as the first. In GTA3 there were hills, overpasses, tunnels, everything. The third island was particularly nice with the huge dam and hills, cliffs etc... In VC everything is flat. They also claimed that VC was three times larger than Liberty City. Well it was, its just that about two thirds of VC was water and that huge beachfront. Give me a bit of variation in the landscape and I'll be happy. I want to go out of town to somewhere with a bit more open land.

Give us some mod tools as well... I'd love to make a GTA: Australia![:)]

Oh yeah, go the kingswood.

quote:Originally posted by Malus

Oh yeah, go the kingswood.

Hehe, I can just see it. Cruisin around in your HQ Kingswood Styleback ute, with a carton of beer slidin around in the tray as you go around corners! [:p] Or maybe even a Cattle dog in the back too!

That seems to be the current fad at the moment, duplicating real locations in games in great detail. The Getaway (London), True Crime (L.A), Project Gotham Racing 2 ([url="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/driving/projectgothamracing2/preview_60759…"]Sydney[/url], Yokohama, Washington DC etc).. I would absolutely love a GTA:Sydney [:)]. Something about walking/driving around in a game which you live in real life appeals to me.
There's a bump in the road for developers doing real life locations in games though.. Sony had to pull a level from Syphon Filter 4, after [url="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/31/1067233371688.html"]some protest from politicians in Quebec[/url].

Just read the PGR2 link Souri. I like the quote on the second page (the page about Yokohama).

"After consulting Microsoft Japan, it was recommended that we should consider Yokohama for inclusion in Project Gotham Racing 2. Their advice proved to be first-class. Yokohama has some great raceable streets around some wonderful, easily identifiable buildings, [and it also has a] world-class skyline."

I bet I can guess what they were up to when they weren't working :D

Ever since I was young though, I thought that Sydney would make a great city to race in (any game will do as long as it has vehicles). Just the fact that it is a grid based city that then has some odd streets coming off at odd angles and looping back onto themselves. Plus, how wouldn't want to fly down Market St, onto Pyrmont Bridge, dodge all the monorail pylons and then fly back onto Union St and then onto Pyrmont Rd. That would just be fun :D

It seems so crazy to me that developers think this way.

You can never have the city look perfect, so you will fall short. Yes, most gamers familiar with the city will say "hey wow, i know here..." but what about the rest of the world? Why not just make up a city rather than spend however long the Getaway team did trying to emulate the real thing.

However, that interesting side-effect of young kids knowing their way around cities they've never visited is rather intriguing...

cheers

It's the realism aspect. Some developers aspire to realism and others aspire to abstraction. Both are equally worthy goals and are capable of advancing the artform of videogames.

I imagine that the modelling of London for the Getaway was a USP (unique selling point) and to my knowledge, it's never been done before? At least, not on that sort of scale. I think it was a good idea, videogames should grow in both directions.

quote:Originally posted by smeg

It seems so crazy to me that developers think this way.

You can never have the city look perfect, so you will fall short. Yes, most gamers familiar with the city will say "hey wow, i know here..." but what about the rest of the world? Why not just make up a city rather than spend however long the Getaway team did trying to emulate the real thing.

However, that interesting side-effect of young kids knowing their way around cities they've never visited is rather intriguing...

cheers

I think you would find that copying a city would save time, you don't spend time disigning a city which will work because it is done for you. Art directon/concept is much easyer because you have that all disgned also.

and you can just take photo's for textures.... :P
CYer, Blitz