Apolyton Archive  |  Preserved copy of the Apolyton Civilization Site and its forums as they stood in September 2005. Read-only; nothing here can be posted to or replied to.  |  Forum index |  About this archive |  The 1998–2001 UBB forums
Today on Apolyton WARDELL INTERVIEW PROMO A.C.S. HISTORY CHAPTER 4 GET CIV4 /w FREE PLUS! A.C.S. PHOTO GALLERY GET A.O.M. V1.1
Apolyton Civilization Forums
main| civ2| civ3| civ4| smac| ctp2| ron| moo3| galciv| galciv2| alt| about|
ApolytonPLUS | register | search | faq | new posts | pm (-/-) | upload | members
hall of fame new! | civgroups | civgroups news | interviews | the column | radio | chat | directory | news | store | PLUS
Apolyton Civilization Forums : Powered by vBulletin version 2.0.3 Apolyton Civilization Forums > Miscellaneous > Archive > Off-Topic-Archive > The X-Box is here -- Are you ready? ;)
Show a Printable Version | Email This Page to Someone! | Receive updates to this thread | Report this to Apolyton news!

bottom of page
  
If you were going to buy a console in the near year, which one would it be? (Time out:0 days after 14-11-2001, 05:10)
Xbox
Gamecube
Playstation 2
Dreamcast
View Results [Edit Poll (moderators only)]
Author
Thread   
Pages (10): [ 1   2   3   4   5   6   7     >> ]
< Last Thread     Next Thread > Post New Thread     Post A Reply
Mankind is offline Mankind
Warlord
Poland
Oct 2001
time: 06:16
  Old Post 17-11-2001 15:50
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#91 Report this post to a moderator
Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote:
Originally posted by Asher



Why does it not surprise me that you're a Linux zealot?
[quote]
And what this has common with iXiBox ?!

[quote]1. Xbox is released, fully, in North America
2. Microsoft is NOT talking about the XBOX2 next year, that's a complete and utter lie

blablabla
quote:

3. Sony's CEO said the other day that the PS3 is aimed for possible release in Christmas 2002 (read: next year). They said the Xbox is forcing them to reduce the console lifecycle from the 5 years to a shorter timespan. You're getting your companies confused here...

blablabla
"sony is NOT talking about the PS3 next year, that's a complete and utter lie"

quote:

Once again we are blessed with intelligent conversation from the Linux zealots. Joy.

Once again we are blessed with silly conversation from the Micro$oft-fan

and also i ain't talking to you about Linux!

quote:

But then again, ALL consoles crashed in that form. PS2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast, etc. But instead of displaying the error, those ones simply freeze up.

never heard of it

quote:

I've also got a 4.1 digital sound system for my computer.
Computers and consoles are good for different kinds of games. It's much more fun to sit down with your buddies and play a game of Halo/Dead or Alive 3 than it is and play a game like Civilization III. However, I find both genres very good, but for different types of games.

then be glad that but something you know !

Asher is offline Asher
King
Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
  Old Post 17-11-2001 15:59 Visit Asher's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#92 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote:
Originally posted by Mankind
"sony is NOT talking about the PS3 next year, that's a complete and utter lie"

I beg to differ:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/n...2825262,00.html

An excerpt:
quote:
In a recent interview with The Financial Times, Kunitake Ando, president and CEO of Sony, said that the Microsoft Xbox, which comes with a hard drive and Ethernet adapter out of the box, could force the company to transition to the PS3 earlier than intended.

"The biggest threat to the PlayStation 2 is that the Xbox changes the industry's life cycle," said Ando, who feels that it is unclear whether the current PS2 business model is sustainable and that its console life cycle could be reduced to three years as a result.

Given his comments, it is not surprising that Ando feels that Microsoft has replaced Nintendo as the biggest competitor for his company's games division. "Nintendo's GameCube has been a disappointment in Japan, they have sold only a third of what they had hoped," he said. "The PlayStation 2 is viewed by gamers as the games console to own."

Research for and development of the PlayStation 3 is already under way. Sony has partnered with Toshiba and IBM, as part of a combined $400 million, five-year investment, to develop the technology for the PS3.

My bad, Christmas 2003 not 2002. Still, the original plan was 2005.
(Who ever said MS didn't encourage innovation?)

quote:
Once again we are blessed with silly conversation from the Micro$oft-fan

and also i ain't talking to you about Linux!

Funny how I assumed you were, since you said: "besides the best console is on Linux".


quote:
never heard of it

Something tells me you haven't heard of a lot of things.

Last edited by Asher on 17-11-2001 at 16:17

Wiglaf is offline Wiglaf
King
Cambridge
Dec 2000
time: 23:16
  Old Post 17-11-2001 20:03 Visit Wiglaf's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#93 Report this post to a moderator
Put an end to popups!

quote:
My bad, Christmas 2003 not 2002. Still, the original plan was 2005.
(Who ever said MS didn't encourage innovation?)


christmas 2003? that'd be something.

and once MS takes over the industry (it will, with the resources it has - even mighty nintendo couldn't have 1/5 of the xbox's marketing budget), the problem will really kick in, as it will in a few years in the computing sector when windows is nearly 100% dominate.

mactbone is offline mactbone
Prince
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Sep 2001
time: 23:16
  Old Post 17-11-2001 21:14
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#94 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

I have a PS2, well sort of, it's me and my brothers and I decided I really needed to study this semseter so it's at home.

First, Madden 2001 was the worth the price of the PS2. Seriously for any football fan this was the version to play. I played the version for PC and it sucked, keyboards suck for sports games and it didn't have a good feel to it. The only reason why I would get it for computer is the roster updates. Madden 2002 has better graphics and gameplay, but when they tweaked franchise mode they made it lose some of it's shine. Which is why NCAA 2002 is the new reason to own a PS2. For years the only problem with the NCAA series was poor graphics, but this year they used Madden 2001 as a base model and voila graphics that make you feel like you're on the field.

A guy down the hall is buying a Gamecube so I'm going to check it out. Right now my gut tells me Gamecube is the long shot to win the console war. Pokemon and other kiddie games will keep it afloat while old-time gamers will be intrigued by a new Metroid and other exclusive Nintendo games.

X-Box, my second choice for a console. Microsoft will end up being as controlling as Nintendo when it comes to what games can be produced. This I predict. The biggest reason I'm not getting is money. The reason I have a PS2 is becuase I got it for Christmas, so I didn't spend any money.

Wiglaf: If you hate consoles and Microsoft so much, why bother posting in this thread?
Also, would you like to play Madden 1992? I've got a copy if you're interested. I'm sure you'd love playing a game that's so innovative. Nevermind it never had a franchise mode, the graphics suck, and the ai stinks to high heaven.
I do have to say that the RPGs I most enjoyed were all on SNES. Part of that could be because I'm getting older and don't have as much time to play games. Such is life.

mactbone is offline mactbone
Prince
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Sep 2001
time: 23:16
  Old Post 17-11-2001 21:20
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#95 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Wiglaf: Granted, Sony made a bigger splash with the PSX than anyone thought (considering Sega was in the crapper and Nintendo was top dog) so I understand how MS could really leap into consoles, but remember, even if MS does edge out the competition, it will never go away.

Three last words - Sony no baloney!

Lonestar is offline Lonestar
Prince
AECCP Dark Lord of the Sith
Aug 2000
time: 00:16
  Old Post 17-11-2001 21:45 Visit Lonestar's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#96 Report this post to a moderator
Inflate your Upload Space

quote:
Well, Xbox is the 1st console I ever heard about, that crashed.



Gee whiz, I wonder why those demos keep on crashing? could it be because.......

It's in a plastic container, with no air moving in helping the cooling fan? Nahh.....

Whatabout those at home that are crashing? Could it be because they are craming it into the littloe slot in the entertainment center that had the N64 or PS1?

Nahhh....

It must be Microsoft's Fault! It has to be!!!! Viva Linux!

Pffffff, I'd now like to add my own little statment about the Xbox(which I am taking a break from playing)

Number of Stores w/Xbox on thursday in CS: 6
Number of Stores w/Xbox that sold out before noon: 6
Cost of finding one in a Walmart in a even more Boondockish town(w/Bundle) $400, half a tank of gas.
Getting the last one in that Walmart, while dozens of Baylor Bears were looking for one Priceless



And Halo ain't a bad game either.

Asher is offline Asher
King
Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 02:10 Visit Asher's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#97 Report this post to a moderator
Got spare money?

quote:
Originally posted by MacTBone
First, Madden 2001 was the worth the price of the PS2. Seriously for any football fan this was the version to play.

Did you know the Xbox is getting Madden 2002?

Great comments, btw. I agree with you on the vast majority of points.

mactbone is offline mactbone
Prince
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Sep 2001
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 04:03
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#98 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Yeah, I heard that, but I was playing Madden on a nex-gen console LAST year.
There's also MGS2!

Eroberer is offline Eroberer
King
"Myths which are believed in tend to become true"
Jan 1970
time: 00:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 04:19
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#99 Report this post to a moderator
Full PM-box? Change here!

The X-Box version of Madden 2002 is better, according to reviews. =)

Wiglaf is offline Wiglaf
King
Cambridge
Dec 2000
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 04:39 Visit Wiglaf's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#100 Report this post to a moderator
Get a bigger avatar today!

quote:
Wiglaf: If you hate consoles and Microsoft so much, why bother posting in this thread?


if you love consoles and adore microsoft so much, why in the hell are you here? jesus.

quote:
Also, would you like to play Madden 1992? I've got a copy if you're interested. I'm sure you'd love playing a game that's so innovative. Nevermind it never had a franchise mode, the graphics suck, and the ai stinks to high heaven.
I do have to say that the RPGs I most enjoyed were all on SNES. Part of that could be because I'm getting older and don't have as much time to play games. Such is life.


Madden has come a long way in ten years, I'll give it that. yet after all this time, the gameplay is still crappy when it comes to play variations and every new version makes millions based on the name alone. so you really can't fault EA for rehashing the same thing they did the year before, I guess.

Such is life, or whatever.

quote:
The X-Box version of Madden 2002 is better, according to reviews. =)


according to reviews, Fever is terrible and Madden is another tweaked port. hooray. it'll probably sell well, though, because the target audience is moaning brat kids who get mommy and daddy to buy a $500 console for them every christmas, or whatever the fad is.

mactbone is offline mactbone
Prince
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Sep 2001
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 05:02
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#101 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Alright, let's compare Madden to any other Football game. Hmmm, there's 989 Sports Gamebreaker... wow, that game sucks, they can't even rehash a game right. That's IT. Now, compare PS2 version to PC version. PS2 has better graphics. PS2 has Madden cards. PS2 has easier multiplayer. PC has online play. PC has updates during the season.

Now, last year's PS2 to this year's. 2002, graphics better, corners play the ball, your recievers play the ball even if i's not for them, salary cap introduced, after first yeear there is expansion and realignment. Hmmm, I'd say it's a little different, plus you can import draft classes from NCAA 2002.

How can a football game not seem like a rehash when it has to be a football game? Even updating rosters is something all gamers like, and besides that they always add something or tweak something.

Urban Ranger is offline Urban Ranger
Apolyton Duke of Off-Topic

Donate to the Red Cross
The City State of Noosphere, CPA special envoy
May 1999
time: 13:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 11:17
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#102 Report this post to a moderator
Suffering from ads?

Wraith,

I completely agree with you with regards of Glonk on M$ issues. You can prove that he's wrong 10 times over, but he'd keep evading real issues, dropping contexts, and be generally underhanded.


Glonk,

Who cares? All the best games are available for the PC. The nVidia chip is coming out for the PC also. You can get better resolution graphics on a PC, and Creative's new Audigy kicks arse in the audio department.

As for console market goes PS2 will take the high end and the Gamecube will take the low end.

November Adam is offline November Adam
Prince
Calgary, AB, Canada
Jul 2001
time: 22:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 11:31
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#103 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

One thing that should be pointed out in this argument is cost. Wiglaf you keep saying you won't throw your money away at consoles. True? I'm not sure if it's your point or another pro-pc ers, that pc's will always have better graphics. No argument from me on that. The problem is cost.... vs. game quality/quantity.

Say you get a new pc, you can play games on it for what 2 years before you start running into the minimum recommendation levels. So that means you gotta spend about a thousand to upgrade to play the latest and greatest.

With a console you have a shelf life of what 4 -5 years? Within that period you don't have to upgrade, just that the games start to look dated.

It all comes down to the almighty dollar, if you got it, get it. If you don't you have to make descisions.

Ramo is offline Ramo
King
Austin, Texas, USA
Oct 1999
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 11:40 Visit Ramo's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#104 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Personally, I'm looking forward to a beefed up version of nVidia's nForce mb. *drool*

Who needs a goddamn X-Box with one of those??

quote:
And Halo ain't a bad game either.


Bah! You can't properly play a fps with a gamepad. You need a mouse! Foolish Aggie.

MORON is offline MORON
Warlord
Vancouver, Canada
Jun 2001
time: 13:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 12:28
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#105 Report this post to a moderator
Increase the size of your Attachments

PC forever

Asher is offline Asher
King
Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 12:34 Visit Asher's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#106 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote:
Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I completely agree with you with regards of Glonk on M$ issues. You can prove that he's wrong 10 times over, but he'd keep evading real issues, dropping contexts, and be generally underhanded.

UR, not once have you proved me wrong about anything. Hell, the MS issues are all opinion anyway, there is no right or wrong. Just goes to show you how arrogant you really are. Now, about proving someone wrong, see my next comment:

quote:
Glonk,

Who cares? All the best games are available for the PC. The nVidia chip is coming out for the PC also. You can get better resolution graphics on a PC, and Creative's new Audigy kicks arse in the audio department.

Wrong.
The Nvidia chip is NOT coming to the PC. Xbox's a modified GeForce 3 core. That is, it's running at 250MHz (even the brand new Ti500 is 240MHz), it has TWO vertex shader pipelines (PC counterpart has 1), AND it's not limited by the AGP bus. In other words, the PC card is fed at 1GB/s, the Xbox is fed at 6.4GB/s. Not only that, but the OS is designed and specialized to run games. No overhead for anything else.
The next video chip on the PC from Nvidia is not going to be what the Xbox has either (Next PC version is NV25, GeForce 3 is NV20, and the Xbox's is NV2A)
Oh, and the Xbox is giving me 1920x1080. And it's not on a 17/19/21" monitor, it's on a 36" Trinitron HDTV.

And about the sound cards:
True, the Audigy does kick ass (I have one). BUT:
It does NOT encode to Dolby Digital 5.1 (Xbox does).
It does NOT support 64 3D audio channels (Xbox does, Audigy does 32)
It does NOT support 256 channels (Xbox does).

quote:
As for console market goes PS2 will take the high end and the Gamecube will take the low end.

That's what you really hope for, isn't it?
It seems Sony's worried now because Xbox IS taking the high end. That's why they bumped the PS3 up two years.
Why do you think the people who made Oddworld scrapped their PS2 development and fled to Xbox? They liked the extra power.

Last edited by Asher on 18-11-2001 at 12:45

Asher is offline Asher
King
Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 12:36 Visit Asher's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#107 Report this post to a moderator
Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote:
Originally posted by Ramo
Personally, I'm looking forward to a beefed up version of nVidia's nForce mb. *drool*

Who needs a goddamn X-Box with one of those??

Still won't hold a candle. The PC is saddled by the restrictive AGP bus, the 'general' OS, and the lack of one extra vertex pipeline in the GeForce 3.

Hell, a GeForce 3 Ti500 (1 less vertex pipeline, 10MHz slower than what's on the Xbox) costs MORE than the Xbox itself. And it sits on a slow bus...

It'll be a while before the PC can crank out the graphics the Xbox can.

Ramo is offline Ramo
King
Austin, Texas, USA
Oct 1999
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 13:03 Visit Ramo's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#108 Report this post to a moderator
Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Doesn't matter, as long as it can get somewhat close. And I can wait to upgrade (my P2 450) as long as Halo isn't released for the PC.

quote:
10MHz slower than what's on the Xbox


You probably can't overclock the Xbox, though...

Asher is offline Asher
King
Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 13:06 Visit Asher's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#109 Report this post to a moderator
Increase Your PM Length

quote:
Originally posted by Ramo
You probably can't overclock the Xbox, though...

Wouldn't do you any good, all Xbox games run fine on the stock hardware.

And you can't actually overclock a 240MHz GeForce 3 either, that's already at the physical limits of the chip. A few more MHz or so, maybe 250MHz max...still missing half the vertex pipelines the Xbox has though.

Mankind is offline Mankind
Warlord
Poland
Oct 2001
time: 06:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 17:18
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#110 Report this post to a moderator
Xbox defencer? , micro$oft fan? Full PM-box? Change here!

ok not important

i'm not saying xbox is bad console , just when micsrosmurf entered on console gaming market he spoiled everything
[now new consoles will appear 3-4 years not 4-6 years]

and maybe micro$ofty will favourably surprise us?
perhaps will add to xbox bouquet of flowers? or freshener to toilet?

Wraith is offline Wraith
King
Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 20:03
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#111 Report this post to a moderator
Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

--"About the hardrive, the nice thing about the X-box having it built in this is good cause then all games developed for it will beable to take advantage of it."

Not really. There are some X-Box features built in that no one's taken advantage of yet (espeically as regards resolution). If the basic use of the hard drive is just for save-games, then it really isn't a big deal. I also don't see any real bonus to being able to rip CDs to it. Only moderately interesting use is downloadable demos, but knowing MS that'll be a subscribtion based service (or at the very least require a MSN or whatever account), and I wouldn't be willing to pay for demos.
It also brings up the interesting possibility that MS is including it so they can patch the console. If they put as much effort into their console OS as they have into their other software, they're going to need it.

--"Maybe Microsoft didn't want the problems that PS2 had, so they shipped out extra."

Could be, but the retailers are going to hate that. If that's the case prices will be driven down quicker than they want. Of course, I do recall reading about Microsoft's practices towards the launch of this, so it might well be the case that everyone able to currently sell the thing has contractual minimum sale prices for x months.

--"Sony WEGA XBR 36""

Ah. Well, direct-view is the best choice if you're going to be doing a lot of console gaming on it, but it's hardly tops for image quality.

--"Say you get a new pc, you can play games on it for what 2 years before you start running into the minimum recommendation levels."

However, it is also useful for more than just playing games. You can do quite a lot with a decent gaming PC. A console's just for games.

--"Oh, and the Xbox is giving me 1920x1080. And it's not on a 17/19/21" monitor, it's on a 36" Trinitron HDTV."

Except that your monitor does not have the resolution to display that. No direct view HDTV does. You need to get into the high-end of the 8" CRT projectors (or 9" CRT projectors) to get the full 1080i resolution.

You're also wrong about current X-Box games outputting in 1080i. Not a single launch title (or planned title that I'm aware of) supports this resolution. There's been quite a bit of talk about this on various home theater forums. Most games support 480p, no one really expects 720p or 1080i to ever actually happen in a game on the X-Box.
I should also note that while widescreen is a feature, not all games support it. Very few so far, actually. There's also no indiciations on the packaging anywhere to show which games do and don't support it, so you won't find out until you get home to try it out.

--"Still won't hold a candle. The PC is saddled by the restrictive AGP bus, the 'general' OS, and the lack of one extra vertex pipeline in the GeForce 3."

You won't be able to see a noticable difference on a high-end PC. The X-Box's display is far more limited than you seem to think at the moment. It's nice, yes, but not overwhelming.

Wraith
You could be replaced by an infinite number of monkeys

Wiglaf is offline Wiglaf
King
Cambridge
Dec 2000
time: 23:16
  Old Post 18-11-2001 20:26 Visit Wiglaf's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#112 Report this post to a moderator
Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote:
Alright, let's compare Madden to any other Football game. Hmmm, there's 989 Sports Gamebreaker... wow, that game sucks, they can't even rehash a game right. That's IT.


there's nfl2k2 for all consoles, nfl fever by microsoft, nfl blitz by midway, etc, etc. find out what you're talking about, then post. the bottom line is that EA has been cranking out the same garbage for the last several years with only minor improvements, and now other companies, like visual concepts, are starting to do it to their products too.

again, console gaming is boring and immature. really, you generally get a lot more depth and originality with a PC, and that's just for the videogame uses of it. personally I don't buy a computer for games alone...if I did, then I could see where you're coming from with the price issue.

as it stands, Xbox is having a pretty bad launch anyway. thank god.

Asher is offline Asher
King
Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:16
  Old Post 19-11-2001 01:23 Visit Asher's homepage!
Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
#113 Report this post to a moderator
Inflate your Upload Space

quote:
Originally posted by Wraith
Not really. There are some X-Box features built in that no one's taken advantage of yet (espeically as regards resolution). If the basic use of the hard drive is just for save-games, then it really isn't a big deal.
(snip)

That is one of the most common uses of the hard drive on the Xbox...let's list some more:

  • Rip your own audio CDs to make ingame audio soundtracks instead of game music
  • Install add-ons such as new characters, levels, etc.
  • Don't need to use those pesky memory cards (although the Xbox controller has 2 slots in the back for items, and 8MB memory cards are for sale if you want to have the data portable)
  • Caching: Games like Halo already use this. Instead of waiting all at once to load a level from the DVD, it loads it silently in the background and caches it on the hard disk, so loading times are <0.5s in-game.
  • Many more

    quote:
    Ah. Well, direct-view is the best choice if you're going to be doing a lot of console gaming on it, but it's hardly tops for image quality.

    Sure beats our old 27" CRT Toshiba.

    quote:
    However, it is also useful for more than just playing games. You can do quite a lot with a decent gaming PC. A console's just for games.

    A console is also a mere fraction of the cost of the PC.

    quote:
    Except that your monitor does not have the resolution to display that. No direct view HDTV does. You need to get into the high-end of the 8" CRT projectors (or 9" CRT projectors) to get the full 1080i resolution.

    Erm...you're saying the Sony WEGA XBRs cant do "full 1080i" when the manual and spec sheet says yes, and you can watch 1080i signals on satellite fine?

    quote:
    You're also wrong about current X-Box games outputting in 1080i. Not a single launch title (or planned title that I'm aware of) supports this resolution. There's been quite a bit of talk about this on various home theater forums. Most games support 480p, no one really expects 720p or 1080i to ever actually happen in a game on the X-Box.

    Well, the Dashboard supports 1080i (for what it's worth). The visualizations are quite nice like that. (For those with the Xbox, during music playback hit Y and then X, it'll zoom in full-screen on the music visualizations)

    quote:
    I should also note that while widescreen is a feature, not all games support it. Very few so far, actually. There's also no indiciations on the packaging anywhere to show which games do and don't support it, so you won't find out until you get home to try it out.

    I think that the HDTV games will come out more in a year or two. HDTV sets are becoming more and more popular, and game companies do want more killer titles. The games out right now are merely launch games, I'm sured MS was riding them to get it out by Nov 15th, so they may not have had time to add in widescreen/780p/1080i support.

    quote:
    You won't be able to see a noticable difference on a high-end PC. The X-Box's display is far more limited than you seem to think at the moment. It's nice, yes, but not overwhelming.

    Care to elaborate?

  • Asher is offline Asher
    King
    Calgary, Alberta
    Nov 1999
    time: 22:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 01:23 Visit Asher's homepage!
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #114 Report this post to a moderator
    Increase the size of your Attachments

    quote:
    as it stands, Xbox is having a pretty bad launch anyway. thank god.

    Where do you pull that from, oh wise one?
    The Xbox is getting some really great reviews (newspaper gave it 4 out of 4, etc).
    There's 200+ announced titles in development, and it quite clearly is better than the PS2 in both the audio and visual department. There's nothing like playing Halo in Dolby Digital 5.1. Or those DOA levels like Forest...*drool*

    Wraith is offline Wraith
    King
    Austin, Texas, USA
    Aug 1999
    time: 23:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 02:30
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #115 Report this post to a moderator
    Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

    --"That is one of the most common uses of the hard drive on the Xbox...let's list some more:"

    Of these, I mentioned two. Caching actually sounds useful, but level load times don't really bother me anyway. The add-on bit has potential, but for good and evil. I really don't want console games to get to the release-first-patch-later state that's common among PC games. This has been one of the prime attractions of console games, no need to worry about constant patches.

    As far as cost goes, the X-Box (with your add-ons and whatnot) runs around $500-$600 for a launch bundle, right? I can make a decent PC for that cash. For twice that I can make a high-end PC. If we're just talking upgrade...

    --"Erm...you're saying the Sony WEGA XBRs cant do "full 1080i" when the manual and spec sheet says yes, and you can watch 1080i signals on satellite fine?"

    That's exactly what I'm saying. All HDTV manufacturers make that claim for their direct view and RPTVs, and they can't back it up. They'll accept 1080i input, but that doesn't mean you're getting the full 1080i on the screen. Direct-view sets are physically incapable of dipslaying the full resolution (thanks to shadow-masks and their variants). RPTVs are better, but the only one on the market that might actually resolve it fully is the Pioneer Elite line. All manufacturers use various weird measurements to get their claimed numbers, but most of them don't even have the internal bandwidth in the control logic to pull it off. Even assuming a full 1080i input signal (not common at all) it'll get slightly downgraded internally unless you're using one of the really expensive front-projection models (and I think some of the digital solutions are capable of it, but there are other problems there, especially regarding US availability).

    --"Well, the Dashboard supports 1080i (for what it's worth)."

    Right, since it is a feature of the X-Box. It's just something that hasn't been taken advantage of yet.

    --"I think that the HDTV games will come out more in a year or two."

    I don't. Graphics right now, even on the X-Box, are very much memory bandwidth limited. Going from 480p to 1080i is a huge increase in required information, and therefor bandwidth.
    In addition, apparently the chip used in the HD Pack (the CX25870, if the forums are correct) doesn't even have the full 1080i capacity itself. Instead it upscales XGA (1024x768 vs the 1920x1080) input, which is extremely odd considering the nVidia chip can apparently output the full 1080i.
    Realisticly, developers are going to be optimizing for the majority. Most people do not now, and for the life of the X-Box will not have, displays that can take advantage of anything over 480i (and the difference between 480i/p to the developer isn't much). HD penetration is not that great compared to SD penetration, and then you have to consider that most people with HD sets aren't going to game on them (because of burn-in).

    With Halo, apparently the game itself is only 4x3, but all (or most) of the commercials show it 16x9. I think MS is really pushing a false advertising suit here. If they had bothered to set a standard for widescreen support on the packaging they'd be in the clear, but they didn't.

    --"Care to elaborate"

    The limits of the AGP bus probably aren't even going to come into this. X-Box has other limitations, probably most important being that although there is hardware AA it requires developers to take advantage of it. Between a high-end PC using good AA (latest Radeon or GeForce) and the X-Box it'll probably come out in favor of the PC. PC displays have other advantages (vSynch OFF, for instance ) that'll help.
    Looking at it optomistically, X-Box games will be almost all in 480p at most. Even if there are some 1080i or 720p capable games, they aren't going to be until third or later generation. X-Box is not unique among consoles for 480p support, so this isn't a very big advantage.

    --"There's 200+ announced titles in development"

    Announced title count means nothing. How many of them are interesting? Titles like "Judge Dredd" and "WWF Raw is War" really don't get me going.

    Wraith
    Resistance is useless! (If < 1 ohm)

    Eroberer is offline Eroberer
    King
    "Myths which are believed in tend to become true"
    Jan 1970
    time: 00:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 02:32
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #116 Report this post to a moderator
    Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

    quote:
    Originally posted by Urban Ranger
    As for console market goes PS2 will take the high end and the Gamecube will take the low end.


    I sure hope that is a bad excuse for a bait and not your real thoughts.

    Asher, what do you think the chances are of the X-Boc replacing my need to upgrade my PC?

    How does Halo play with a gamepad? Auto-aim?

    faded glory is offline faded glory
    King
    This trash talking 2 bit dope dealer is about to learn respect for the law
    Jan 2001
    time: 05:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 02:37
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #117 Report this post to a moderator
    Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

    This X-Box is going to make Bill Gates filthy rich!

    mactbone is offline mactbone
    Prince
    Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
    Sep 2001
    time: 23:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 02:40
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #118 Report this post to a moderator
    Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

    OK Wiglaf, one of the reasons I didn't mention those games is because to this point they haven't been on the same console as Madden. Let's go with it though. NFL2K2, comparable graphics, franchise mode, but no salary cap, realignment, expansion, and no real physics wrt the ball. Yes, I have played it, yes I did play gamebreaker and Madden. Madden in Madden gets old at times, but for the first couple of days is very entertaining. I think the problem you have is that you must not like playing sports games, because from everything I've played and seen, consoles whoop PCs when you like sports games.

    You already said that Madden has gotten better in the last ten years, right? OK, we've seen the franchise mode, and all the features that have arisen from that, we've seen exponentially better graphics, balls that don't bounce predictably, AI that can stop you, players that don't quit until the play is dead, play designers, practice mode, two-minute drill, and other things I can't recall right now. What more do you want? There's only so far you can go until it stops being about football and starts becoming a game about something else.

    Asher is offline Asher
    King
    Calgary, Alberta
    Nov 1999
    time: 22:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 02:55 Visit Asher's homepage!
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #119 Report this post to a moderator
    Full PM-box? Change here!

    quote:
    Originally posted by Wraith
    As far as cost goes, the X-Box (with your add-ons and whatnot) runs around $500-$600 for a launch bundle, right? I can make a decent PC for that cash. For twice that I can make a high-end PC. If we're just talking upgrade...

    Well, your figures would be right if you were talking Canadian funds.
    I got a the Xbox + 2 games for $599.99 Canadian. That's like $370US.

    quote:
    With Halo, apparently the game itself is only 4x3, but all (or most) of the commercials show it 16x9. I think MS is really pushing a false advertising suit here. If they had bothered to set a standard for widescreen support on the packaging they'd be in the clear, but they didn't.

    You are correct: Halo is 4x3 most of the time. In the cinematics, it switches to 16:9.

    quote:
    The limits of the AGP bus probably aren't even going to come into this. X-Box has other limitations, probably most important being that although there is hardware AA it requires developers to take advantage of it. Between a high-end PC using good AA (latest Radeon or GeForce) and the X-Box it'll probably come out in favor of the PC. PC displays have other advantages (vSynch OFF, for instance ) that'll help.
    Looking at it optomistically, X-Box games will be almost all in 480p at most. Even if there are some 1080i or 720p capable games, they aren't going to be until third or later generation. X-Box is not unique among consoles for 480p support, so this isn't a very big advantage.

    True, Gamecube supports 480p. I don't believe PS2 does, though.
    And what's wrong with having the game companies turn on/off anti aliasing? This isn't a PC: If it runs fine in their testing labs with AA on, they'll turn it on. If it gets really choppy, they'll turn it off. It's in the hands of the developer because there's no real reason you'd need to toggle it on or off on a console.

    quote:
    Asher, what do you think the chances are of the X-Boc replacing my need to upgrade my PC?

    How does Halo play with a gamepad? Auto-aim?

    I don't think it changes the needs of a PC upgrade. It's not going to stop me from upgrading to a 2.2GHz Northwood w/ PC1066 RDRAM in the summer. It all depends how you play and what you play. I like both PCs and consoles.

    Halo works pretty well with the gamepad. I use the left analog joystick to control strafing (left, right, fore, back) and the right analog joystick to control aiming and looking (up, down, left, right). Right trigger is gunfire, left trigger is grenades, A is jump, X is reload/pick up new weapon, Y is change weapons, the white button is toggle flashlight/nightvision. To some degree, it does have auto aim. It is 'forgiving' (at least on the first difficulties I've tried) in that if you're not completely aiming right on them, if the aiming cursor is red it'll hit. That being said, you can still aim and hit 'critical' points. Some of the enemies have shields, and these shields have a little hole at the side where they shoot out of. If you hit in the middle of that hole, you'll hit them. If you get headshots, it's almost always an instant death, etc.

    Eroberer is offline Eroberer
    King
    "Myths which are believed in tend to become true"
    Jan 1970
    time: 00:16
      Old Post 19-11-2001 03:11
    Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
    #120 Report this post to a moderator
    Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

    So you have to either stop strafing or aiming in order to jump? Is there any way to make it so you can do all these at the same time?

     
    Pages (10): [ 1   2   3   4   5   6   7     >> ]
    < Last Thread     Next Thread > Post New Thread     Post A Reply
    All times are GMT. The time now is 05:16.
    Apolyton Time is 00:16.
        top of page
    Rate This Thread:
    archivepost
    Forum Jump:
    Forum Rules:
    You may not post new threads
    You may not post replies
    You may not post attachments
    You may not edit your posts
    HTML code is ON
    vB code is ON
    Smilies are ON
    [IMG] code is ON
     




    Contact Us - Apolyton Civilization Site - Support Us!

    Building a better Apolyton through better information. Click here and take our poll!
    Non-US visitors, click here!

    Powered by: vBulletin Version 2.0.3
    Copyright ©2000, 2001, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.

    Page generated in 0.0817 seconds (91.12% PHP - 8.88% MySQL) with 34 queries
    Page Loading Time:

    Support Apolyton: Amazon USA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR |
    Support Apolyton and get FREE PLUS, Buy from Chips&Bits: Galactic Civilizations | Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition | Call to Power 2 | Civilization: The Boardgame | GURPS/ Alpha Centauri | Alpha Centauri | Civilization IV | Civilization III: Complete |


    Front Page | Civilization IV | Civilization III | Civilization II | Call to Power II | Alpha Centauri | Master of Orion III
    Rise of Nations | Galactic Civilizations | Galactic Civilizations II | Misc
    Alt.Civs | Civ I | C:CtP I | About | News | Directory | Apolyton Store | Forums | Chat | Columns | Interviews | Newsletter
    Scenario League | CSC | Clash of Civs | Spanish Site | CtP Maps | Cradle of Civ | WesW's Ctp1/2 Site | Civ3 Haven

    apolyton.net | apolyton.com | civilization2.net | civilization3.net | civilization4.net | civilizationiv.info | calltopower.net | galciv.net | galciv2.net | moo3.net