Very good article that is much in line with my own experiences with the system. It was actually surprisingly good, partially because I didn’t actually think they’d be able to pull it off. The latency is noticeable, but not game-breaking. The visual quality is very inconsistent, depending on the amount of motion from frame to frame, though for slower-paced games, it’s quite excellent. The biggest point of contention was the pricing. The prices were basically no different than a physical copy of the game, which pretty much defeats the point, particularly since even if you outright buy the rights to the game, you are still obligated to continue paying the OnLive subscription fees to retain access to that game.
The tech is early, but shows potential. The business model is completely ass-backwards, but that may be a result of resistance from publishers (due to pressure from retailers). It will be interesting to see where this leads.
I think, because of the limitations of cloud-based gaming for the more hardcore PC crowd, some client-based gaming will be necessary. In the case of PC gaming, games need to run locally so that they can be remixed (mods, user created maps, etc). Although in theory this could be done in the cloud, we have the problem of user created content being taken down at the whim of some publisher. Also, for games being played on a laptop or portable device, gameplay is unavailable when the network is out of signal reach. For these reasons, there will continue to be a need for improving the stability of games than run on a local system. Not necessarily the framework idea that I mentioned earlier, but better standards for video cards, cleaner APIs, etc.
Abadd: You mentioned the iPad, this is actually a really good example. Google are also planning a simplified tablet device. I can see these sorts of devices really taking off as they’re ideal for consuming content. For people who like the create content (or tinker with it), the iPad has in no way replaced the PC or Mac. But for the consumer of content, something like the iPad is ideal.
The iPad approach is the best of both worlds, in a way. Rich client applications that synchronise data with remote services. This way, data can be accessed both online and off. I think we’ll be seeing more of this approach on devices, rather than everything taking place on a remote server. I can also imagine a SteamPlay-like service where you can play games locally on your PC/laptop, then log into a terminal elsewhere and play the same game in the cloud without having to download it.
Sega should have delayed the release of the Dreamcast until now :D[/quote]
The DC didn’t support BB out of the box, and I remember lots of experts saying MS were off their heads making the X-Box BB only, and and not also supporting narrowband.
A friend bought me a copy and I loved it so much I completed it in a day.
This is really well made and has a happy ending for once which has been a bit unlike Blizz lately.
The map making potential here has a wide scope for storytelling as well.
People may find the story a bit “cheesy” but I think Blizz were clever here by giving most people what they wanted.
There is a mission like the one in Warcraft 3 where you can try to either save infested civilians or wipe them out. By choosing the good option you can see why Raynor is different from Arthas.
Awesome music (the Terrans have the whole futuristic wild western theme going on, while the Protoss and Zerg are darker and more mysterious in delivery), great graphics and real time cinematic quality cinematics, and there are some pop culture and some past SC references if you know what you are looking for.
I don’t like how they changed Raynor’s past to give him more of an edgy background when originally he was meant to be an ordinary man placed in an extraordinary situation, however. Par for the course I guess?
I am GLAD this was so successful. It’s not perfect but what is? It’s mostly about the story for many players, but anyone looking for a challenge can find it here as well. The hardcore scene is massive as always like the SC modding/online community was a decade ago.
Oh, and, compared to C&C4, SC2 destroys it. It’s way, way more fluid.
The custom maps for this are going to make SC2 last forever as well.
Just awesome.
IMO.
IMO.
IN MY OPINION. Let me just stress that a few times. >:)
