_Atti_

I think you are right, i also never heard of any paid games (offline) that have been actively disabled yet, but it does not seem implausible to me. I bought the first version of the Quest VR headset. When it started out, still as Oculus, it was stated that no facebook account will be necessary. After a few years i had to create an account with facebook nonetheless, but then it was still separated as an oculus subaccount. Then after a few more years eventually i got the message that now i have to merge this account to be a regular Meta account or i will loose my library of completely offline and functioning games. They shipped the headset with a fully working gallery software that was able to display 360 spherical stereo images. The gallery program simply crashes on startup since in about 2 years down the line. Reviews left on the product page reported the same. Decrepit. They also shipped it with a small introductory game called Bogo. It was removed from the library in 2023 and well.. remotely disabled. These were 'free' - so what can you do - not even this proposition would defend against that i guess. I ask though if it were so hard to offer a chance to keep the library of completely offline games and opt-out of further updates? or maybe try an update and revert, keep a snapshot on an external storage. We can still do these on a Pc, but i fear without regulation it will last as long as the sanity of the next guys heading the industry. *Update* Just found out that Bogo was brought back to availability some time after its shutdown.

While all the quality of life improvement on game preservation that this would imply is nice, i think the key takeaway is the part that says: "prevent the remote disabling of videogames by the publishers " So as not to actively disrupt usability - Which should not be a technical problem, the worst it implies is that one should revert to at least being able to run the game in the launch status on systems it was meant to be run on. For disc software that is literally to not allow for 'disabling remotely'. for online bought, it is conserving for access -or allowing users to conserve for access- a working launch or/and a designated patched/stable version. For example i do want to retain the option to be able to play an original version of a game after its been remastered.

Yeah, I find it understandable people are disappointed given what the expectations were. I felt it as well. Marketing, although they tried warning this will not be another Skyrim, still basically advertised that the main difference will be a hub-based half open-world and a more action centered combat. Which led me, and i guess many, to think that this will still be primarily an RPG with a good lean on immersive aspects. They also did not quite quell comparisons to Dark Messiah, another vastly different game. So yeah, was a big surprise that it's void of much meaningful interactivity. I find the end product to be more of a classic 10 weapon fantasy first person shooter interwoven with a Point and click game's narrative depth. So yeah unfortunately all that entails among other things meaningless loot at the level of booster pickups, or simple point scoring. But i don't think its result of derailed development or a happy mistake. As for what it is, it's much better designed, far from a late afterthought. I think why i brought this up here in this forum is that the base layer mapping, the level dressing and the loot placement is really fun and well done.

I am playing Avowed and increasingly felt that there is something to behold here. I wonder if the game will keep up with this quality later, but they seemed to have hit a sweet spot especially with how the maps are dressed. The geometry of maps themselves are easy to read yet invite exploration. The lighting really 'shines' in these setups and the decor is just the right amount between realistic amount of clutter, game logic, and storytelling. Although at first i was a bit disappointed that it does not really follow in the more serious roleplaying footsteps of Pillars of eternity, i came to like it. Its rather like playing a more story-driven Hexen. Quite archaic gameplay, like collecting health potions and finding secret rooms. And while i generally hate games that ditch role-play for flexibility, for this Hexen style bash-em-up, being able to switch from a magic wand to a mace to a pistol ,with as much limit as Duke Nukem would have, is great. ( Some shots i made while playing, not really with intent to demonstrate anything, but i think most marketing shots of the game does not do justice to the actual quality there-in: https://postimg.cc/gallery/gc5qpqq )

I guess you can only play to earn, if your 'playing' creates value. Most of the schemes involving this phrase thinks that skipping the value creation is somehow enabled when cryptocurrencies are involved. I don't think people are particularly against games designed for players to earn money, they are against the deceit that these efforts are anything else than gambling and pyramid schemes. I would not worry about the phenomena in this form getting anywhere big, like lowering interest in actual games. Its a self felling tree.

Hey, Just thought i share this with you http://explore.moobels.com/ I just come across this company, they scan historical items from museums to present it. They are using Sketchfab to present them. It might be worth looking around if other projects like this lay around, there is really good inspiration and study potential in these models, next best thing to viewing them in the museum.

Is everything ok with your cables? I once had purple/pink hued screen and it was because of bad cable. In linux have you tried setting the same resolution as windows lets you to see if the problem persists? you can set custom resolution/refreshrate : http://askubuntu.com/questions/377937/how-to-set-a-custom-resolution

Blender is really good. I've been using it for like 3 years for architectural works both student and real jobs. I personally think it has really good interface, sure its not something one can learn by him/herself but it is so well documented and free tutorials are plenty it can be learned quite easily in a few weeks to a good level. I've tried my hands at 3dsmax in the past(also a little taste of lightwave), and while it maybe technologically more advanced, from my experience its just not as slick and quick-to-use as blender. You can feel the freedom coming from it's open source nature while using it. Its those 'ah, they did think about That too..' moments that make it so loveable.

Yea,from what i've gathered, the various side-gig mini-arcades partly induced the fall of the business as they made the phenomenon far too common. Spreading out customer-base too much that ended in prices rising to a level where it wasn't a viable regular entertainment option anymore and became more of a 'from time-to-time' activity. Also these mini-arcades couldn't keep up with the technological advance of machines as gaming wasn't their main profile which slowly led people to the image of arcades as 'something that might amuse a little child..'. By the way, there is something that was easier back then. I remember having a place in our small town where children and adult played Mortal Kombat together. Cant imagine eight year olds ripping each other's spines in public ( and in the game) could go down without a scandal anymore So because of that and what Demagogue mentioned: There might be a need for separation between the more controlled public attraction spaces and the 'lairs' of regulars where even custom content may appear. We had a similar place in our little town (pop. 4000) too. It closed about 3-4 months from start. The problem with it was that it was really small with only about 6 computers, but the interest was explosive, it was also very expensive and it was pay by entry/hour not use of computer/hour. So it was usual that the fastest/strongest children played and everyone else just stood around and eventually got bored of never getting a chance at playing. At that price people stopped attending to spectate, and only few remained that wasn't enough for business. So in a nutshell it was a wrong model.

Thanks for the insights! So strong multifunctionality is important to keep it in business.I will keep thinking of things to make the idea better that way. I think it may be a bit less expensive to keep up a place like that nowadays than previously. Technology got more efficient. Online services make software update/maintenance easier. If internet cafees can exist i think this may not be that much of a stretch either if balanced carefully. VR occured to me also. Also other experimental and expensive gaming ideas. I would try to put the emphasis on playing here being a different more pleasant and social experience than at home rather than that it costs less. Prices cannot be easily beaten, almost everything is cheaper at home in the long run. I was thinking along the lines of longer term tickets, like Gyms, instead of pay per use. As for board games, my point would be that playing at home or organizing it privately in the Plaza or in a library, while it can be really fun and homey, it may not be the best option when presented against a full fledged space designed for it. Empathizing again on the community part of the idea that it could also possibly bridge a gap between the users of various types of games so it would boost itself. Also some games are better if played against new and changing 'enemies'.Meeting new people could be a lot easier with a place like this to back it. Where would you image this would work better? in dense city areas or at a more quiet but still well accessible periphery?

Hey, I am opening this thread out of curiosity and to gain some insight on what people think of gaming in community outside the internet. I am doing my diploma-work next semester in architecture, and the goal is to design a building of choosen function, preferably a function that stand close to us, or have special interest in. I am thinking of designing an all-around place where one can go for a session of community gaming(be it computer,tabletop or a hybrid), to house competitions and events,a limited shop that sells (gaming)culture-related stuff (mostly 'on order' basis) . I am not thinking of dark rooms with computers and tables and a bar, but a conscious design that is convienent, and tries making gaming in a community a viable option to sitting at home, to make it a different experience. So how would you feel about a place like that in your town,or is it there already? Do you think many people would be interested in using it? Any experiences with places like this? (even from older times) My impression is that the time has come when something like this could be sustainable again. Whenever i read about some tabletop game, there are always a handful of commentators wishing they knew enough local buddies to play it with. Cooperative games and team based games are more popular than ever, but no headset is the same as yelling at each other in the same room. Cloud gaming, steam and other online services makes your own content and data accessible. I've heard friends who complained that they are bored of their social activities generally consisting of getting drunk.That they wish they could go somewhere that interest them, yet makes it possible to be in a close personal community. So , do you think the need for places like that is a real need, the lack of them a problem, or has time passed over this concept and its all about mobilephones and online activities now?

Video still shows the pissing image while saying 'now i've got others to do the hard work'..of what? pissing 'up against buildings'? Sure sounds hard.. Even if the message is that the hard work is robbing..that makes Basso doing what? Bumming around the city..That makes me eager to steal back the life to it..I am with the city guards at this point.. I think the problem that plagues productions these days, is that they do things by prescribed recipes and just throw in all the cheap ingredients that substitute the real flavour..

The method i described up there isn't relying on Ai seeing the light. Wouldn't that kind of simplification of the problem work?

Well this happens most likely because of: -player lantern -player carried lightsource -physics induced movement of lightsource The third can be ruled out in most situations because the noise alerts the guard anyway. I dont know exactly how TDM scripts or code works, but maybe a variable could be turned true if player activates lantern, or while frobbing a lightsource type object. When this variable is true then all AI would perform an extra distance check of the player ( even if one a half sec) , if its within a certain radius the guard would perform a quick turn-around. If player is there he will see him and gets alerted, if not he turns back and continues. Walls or doors would present a problem, but if the distance is reasonable and as long as its a simple turnaround and not an instant alert its not that big a deal.

It is obviously scam.