T_Immortalus
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Posts
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Joined
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No need to jump on me. Geez.
1) The support people accused my end of the connection between my computer and the game servers of having packet loss in the same report I gave them that also showed packet loss on their end.
Either both ends have packet loss as shown or neither does.
So there.
(FYI, the ISP for them, alter.net, is owned by the same people who own my ISP, and most of the hops between my end and the servers are owned by them. It's not surprising that the same ISP has packet loss on both ends.)
2) My computer I built new using some rather new parts in September 2010.
I said "pretty much max out Oblivion" because I haven't played it in a while and was giving a conservative estimate for my time with 60 fps playing it. I can't recall the exact settings, but it sure looked a hell of a lot nicer than city of Heroes.
3) OF COURSE, I'm comparing a finite game with a game that has ongoing development. That is the point.
The developers keep patching patching patching patching patching patching patching patching patching patching patching......and not actually FIXING the problems that creates. They just fix things when they become unbearably bad.
So, City of Heroes performs a hell of a lot worse than it should. Just look at World of Warcraft, which ALWAYS plays better than City of Heroes despite it being Blizzard's first MMO and Cryptic and NCSoft having made many more.
You would think "experienced developers" would have the better performing program, but that is definitely not the case with City of Heroes.
And no, you can't argue it was because of increased funds available, at least not before launch. Cryptic likely had more resources and making a program run as good as possible is essential to making as much money as possible.
Cryptic either intentionally rushed CoH and left it broken or were completely inept, and City of Heroes is paying for it now.
Contrary to popular belief, people don't need "experience as game developers" to know when the code of the game is a steaming pile of crap. They just have to see the evidence in the visible output(i.e. the game doesn't play right).
There would not be all the bugs and inefficiencies if the game was properly coded, especially given its age. -
Sadly, certain effects in this game are massively inefficient, thus causing huge graphics strain.
I actually used to crash every time my gravity controller was using gravity powers on the same enemy that an electric control player(both of us customized bright colors for powers) was using powers on the same enemies.
I have not tested it in months, but it was every time due to them both being very inefficient effects.
Luckily, electric control and gravity control are both not that common, so I haven't crashed due to them being combined, that I am aware of, since shortly after issue 18.
Though, it looks like your video card driver is way out fo date. You should look in the sticky at the top of these threads for the "safe AMD/ATI drivers list" for which ones to update to, if your card supports them.
If your card does not support a newer driver then you need a new card, which is likely the cause of your issue.
Check to see if your monitor has updated software as well. Your reports don't show the max resolution fo the monitor, probably because the system can't detect it properly due to out of date drivers or no driver at all. -
Confirmed that the original mission is definitely impossible to complete on a new character brute without stealth.
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Quote:Tell that to everyone learning to use one, or enjoying it, on a smartphone(which is much smaller than a tablet) with features such as "swipe" that put words together for you based on which letters you "swipe" over.Originally Posted by Ironblade
I never said they were the best possible. But they're a hundred times better than any interface a tablet offers. I assume you're joking with the examples in the previous paragraph. An onscreen keyboard would be absolutely horrific and an incredibly stupid and useless interface. And I'm sure you realize this.
I really don't see a problem with the larger tablet screen having custom onscreen keyboards instead of the bulky standard 104 key keyboard that has to be carried and connected and can't be changed.
Yes, there will always be a niche market for the standard keyboard, but it is no longer essential. -
Quote:http://www.razerzone.com/swtor/keyboardOriginally Posted by UberGuy
I think there's a future in dynamic keyboards like that, though there are issues with them. Having the keyboard on the main display is a huge waste of screen space, and is only really reasonable on a tablet or phone. But "keyboards" that are themselves a dynamic thing, perhaps with a screen of its own instead of actual keys (or real keys, but with variable labels) seems like a reasonable future device. A world completely without separate character input devices, though, strikes me as unlikely.
customizable numpad area at least, on the other versions of the same anyway
There was also a completely OLED keyboard a few years back maybe that was a prototype with estimated retail of $2000 or more, I think.
As for the keyboard taking up the whole screen....it would be hidden most of the time and only come up when you either "touch" a text field to enter something or press a specific icon/button so you still have most of your screen viewable and only the necessary part when typing.
Consider it like making your keyboard magically disappear from your desk when you don't need it(at least when you have some other method for interface like a gamepad).
AHHAH!
http://www.razerzone.com/switchblade/about
That has a completely customizable keyboard. it's only a prototype/concept, sadly. -
Quote:Not yet.Originally Posted by UberGuy
You apparently live in a world where every computer can be configured however you possibly could want or need it without digging into its settings.
But remember, computers used to take a whole room to do things our calculators can do 100 times better now.
And actually, I was just talking about an on-screen keyboard that could move keys around or display different languages rather than having a physical keyboard you need to manufacture/buy that way and can't change even one-tenth as easily.
That's actually currently being done and will only improve from here.
Edit:
As to the point by Father Xmas about sysadmins and programmers....
There will always be a "niche market" for keyboard, but, for most applications and users, a touchscreen interface with custom on screen keyboard will be better.
It would not surprise me if many sysadmins and programmers actually prefer tablets for 2 reasons:
1) They wear out keyboards and, especially, mice fast, so a touchscreen would at least likely last longer and bet better than the mouse in some ways.
2) A custom keyboard with the functions they want to "copy paste", or whatever, available quickly at their fingertips would be a great improvement over the old way of doing things.
If people want speed and "handiness"(that's a word! odd) then a tablet looks very appealing for the same reason those "Toughbooks" had a market. -
Quote:1) You're being a jerk for the sake of being a jerk again?Originally Posted by Father Xmas
T, this current rant is an example of you being argumentative for the sake of being argumentative.
I also think you've spent too much time being exposed to Hollywood's idea of "advanced computing interfaces" and assume that there's actual research behind their designs rather than the fact quietly typing at a keyboard doesn't make exciting or interesting television or movies.
2) I wasn't the one who even started the argument, other than posting my opinion that Windows 8 supporting a touch interface is a good thing in my opinion and then defending that opinion.
Somebody else had to attack it, and then they attacked the facts I posted(which may not be true yet due to technological limits but will eb true int he future).
3) Google "Dragon". That is a "voice to text" program that has WAY too long an ad on TV.
There are a lot of people working on similar.
4) Google "Siri", which is Apple's voice interface.
5) Does your smartphone not have "voice texting"?
Those things in #3/4/5 are just the latest iteration of voice recognition and conversion to text.
They're getting better, and they will eventually be perfect.
You know how I know that?
We, as humans, can convert our words to visible writing because of a set of rules we have in our brains about phonetics and things such as "i before e except after c" rules for spelling.
Computers have the capability to convert text into sound. They have had it for a long time, as my childhood spelling computer toy proved.
They just have to work on interpreting human accents and anticipating which letters you mean in situations like "Cathryn/Kathryn/Catherine....etc"(which humans definitely still have trouble with as my last name prove. My last name is common and simple, but they always ask me how to spell it. LOL) or allowing you to choose as they currently can.
Believe me, if you don't see voice interfaces becoming much better very quickly and even likely holding a conversation(pretty good version of this showed on Nextworld(?) a few years back) with you then you definitely don't have any idea what technology next year will hold let alone farther and don't know what people want or are making happen.
Arthur C. Clarke said it best.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws
And here I am, not a distinguished or elderly scientist, only commenting on small advancements in current evident technology, and you are saying it is unlikely and even impossible?Quote:When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
The truth is stranger than fiction.
Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E...uter_interface
Brain interfaces have already been done, but they are very primitive so far.
They're coming. In fact, there is a "gaming controller" hat which reads brain waves and came out in 2005(?).
Edit:
Brain gaming....
http://www.emotiv.com/store/hardware...-neuroheadset/
As you can see, I keep up with new and interesting technology, at least barely and I still have seen some pretty crazy things. -
His video card and/or driver probably can't handle the game.
I seem to remember older ATI/AMD drivers having this problem where the screen would have "artifacts", which seems to be what he is describing. -
Quote:Exactly.Originally Posted by UberGuy
"I use a computer to create new things a computer can do."
"I use a computer to manage computers."
You don't "use one computer to computer the same computer".
"A computer computers a computer."
A noun "nouns" a noun/object.
My point is that all computer users are computer USERS.
It doesn't matter how they get a computer to do something, just that it does that thing and does it as good as possible.
If every computer always worked perfectly and everything was programmed already then nobody would ever need to work with the settings or code or the hardware.
The reason you do need to work with the settings or code or hardware is because "the computer doesn't work perfectly".
So, anybody who says "Windows 7 is better than Windows 8 because I can get into the settings to change things easier" is ignorantly forgetting that they "NEED to get into the settings because it doesn't work right".
Also, I know for sure that Windows 8 will allow you to get into the settings and tweak them however you want, but it won't need that as much as Windows 7 and every other version of Windows needed it.
Windows 8 will be better by virtue of NOT needing tweaking as much.
If not, then it will be worse.
But, I am not calling it worse simply because of the display on the screen or user interface being touch input when that is just "a different way to interact with a computer".
It is not "a different way the computer runs programs" because it runs programs the same way as always.
Edit:
This topic is done. Bye. -
Quote:Do you think of a computer as a work of art?Originally Posted by UberGuy
Like I said, if your grasp of this stops here, this is why you think these interfaces are fine.
Do you think of it as a "universal constant" like gravity?
Do you think of it as a brick that is always solid and always performs the function it needs to?
Seriously, a computer is a really advanced hammer.
As a system administrator what is your job?
"My job is to USE A COMPUTER TO............"
As a programmer what is your job?
"My job is to USE A COMPUTER TO............"
Fill in the blanks.
No matter what anybody "does with a computer" they are just "using the computer".
They don't fondle the computer as if the hardware itself turns them on. They don't expect it to move without them making it move.
A computer is a brick until you USE it to do something, anything.
Look at it this way....
Is "computer" a verb? Is it an action word?
No, it is a "noun". "Nouns" get "verbed".
"Nouns" are "verbed" for an "object".
(Edit: Yes, "verbed" is actually in the place of an adjective, but an adjective is often just the past tense of a verb.)
"Computers" are "used" for "programs".
(Edit: Yes, "used" is an adjective, but the point was that "computer" is never a verb or adjective, because it is not an action you can do.
You would never see this sentence:
"A computers is used for a computer."
That sentence doesn't make sense, except in the inevitable reply of:
"What do you use the computer for, though?"
It's an unfinished thought because a computer is not used "just to use a computer". That's like "using a hammer just to admire a hammer".
Either it's a tool or you're infatuated and obsessed with the hardware.
Edit:
This is why we take computer use for granted and don't think about it while posting on these forums, until it stops working.
We don't care why it works or how it works so long as it does what we want when we want.
That goes for people who make hardware and programs as well. They don't make the hardware and programs just because they like coding and building entirely, because nobody would buy a piece of worthless metal or a program that just turns the screen green instead of staying black.
Computers are used for other things. -
I've heard 3 or 4GB for Windows.
Although, that would then be a fault of City of Heroes since my computer is 64bit and has plenty of room for the usage.
My CPU monitor breaks down all the cores of the CPU into their own monitors. None of them show increased usage, sadly.
You're right about my GPU monitor, but it still doesn't make sense when it is tracking at least the processor and the processor is the main issue when it comes to performance. In fact, I would think the processor would hit it's limit in real time rendering long before the vram would, and the opposite in pre-rendered things like movies(which run smooth as butter for me in HD, FYI).
City of Heroes really does behave oddly, especially considering I can pretty much max out The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion on this computer. -
Quote:1) Use a stylus for absolute precision.Originally Posted by OmnipotentMerlin
Touch screen is not better then a mouse and keyboard you fail on the capabilities of the tech man. Touch screens can't pinpoint as accurate as a mouse aka less precise, go out of calibration alot, damage easily, require more cleaning, more expensive, and you would have to have a huge screen to say play a RTS. Oh and most games don't even need a mouse. Space and flight use joysticks, FPS use a mouse, and almost everything else you can just use a keyboard. The best thing for a touch screen laptop is for note taking and that is debatable, since some people can type faster then write legibly.
I am not saying that those touch screen monitors are a bad idea. But you will use the touch part very little.
Now I am trying to imagine someone multiboxing using a touch screen monitor. That would be funny to watch.
Try that with a mouse. I wonder how well that will work? It won't.
If you need precision in situations where a stylus is "not worth using" then that situation is designed poorly.
How would you like a keyboard that was so small that you would mash 5 keys at one with your pinky finger?
They intentionally designed those to be larger because "precision is necessary, small size is not".
The only time a mouse would be better than touch is the same time a stylus would be better than a mouse, and the stylus would use a touch interface.
2) They don't go out of calibration at all if they are properly designed, especially later methods that sense per pixel where your touch input is.
3) Actually, multiboxing would be much easier with a touch screen monitor, if only 2 monitors, because you can just click an action on the screen.
Either way, you can still put on screen shortcuts, like the power bars in CoH, to activate functions on each computer.(Edit: This would be easier than current "keyboard shortcuts" as well due to their visibility on the screen. You could even use a sort of "always on top" function like Windows 7 widgets to overlay your shortcuts/binds on the power trays in City of Heroes very easily. The only games that would suffer from touchscreen multi-boxing are games like racing and FPS that require precise individual control for which multi-boxing fails anyway.)
The keyboard was just built for typing.
The mouse was just built to approximate touch because touchscreens didn't exist until well after computers. -
Quote:What is the system admin or programmer attempting to do? Just interface with the computer for no apparent reason?Originally Posted by UberGuy
No, it's not. A system admin or programmer is interacting with the computer itself. An end user is interacting with the computer to get at something else.
No, they are trying to get the computer to DO something, which is "an end result".
They would not be on the computer for the reason they are if everything was already programmed and working properly. they would just be "using the computer" for a different reason.
The computer is a tool. Whether your objective is to use it to do something or make it do something. It's a method of getting stuff done. -
I have to respond to this misconception.
Quote:That is every user, even programmers.Originally Posted by UberGuy;4184897What touch and camera interfaces are great for is what most people [Iwho aren't dedicated computer users[/I] actually use computers for. Most of them are computer users as a means to an end. Their goal is to use the computer to get at something, like photos, movies, messaging, etc.
NONE OF US are after a computer for the "simple joy of entering 1s and 0s".
Take us on this forum for example. We use the computer to post on the forums, find information, share information, play the game....etc.
The computer is a tool, not the end result.
The only difference is how much people want to do that which a computer enables. Those who "just want photos and movies" just use it for photos and movies but they are no different than those who need to write reports or want to play games.
Whether you admit it or not, a computer are always a tool to reach a goal, a means to an end, something you need to use because you can't magically do something impossible or difficult in the real world.
I computers were "the point" then we would hang them on our walls as "art" and never "USE" them.
Edit:
Yes, touch interfaces are more precise because you can hit the spot you want "the first time" instead of trying to move a mouse pointer to something and overshooting, because you wanted speed, and having to move back, which is all caused by the interface method having to simulate an identical size area tot he screen.
If a mouse was really precise then you would need desk space for it the exact same size as your monitor.
Also, "fingers have trouble with small icons"?
Yes, so do your eyes. If anything is too small for finger precision then it is either improperly designed or is best done with the computer doing it for you through inputting measurements or it is art that is best done with a stylus, not a mouse.
Yes, touch is a better interface than a mouse, especially for precision when you combine it with a pointed stylus of some sort. Any time it is not more precise is when the objective on the computer is improperly designed. -
I admit, the dirty screen is an issue, but that can be lessened with clean hands and a clean cloth/shirt sleeve as well as a button to deactivate the touch interface when you want to wipe it off.
Also, it's not like a screen is dust and dirt free after a day or two anyway. Monitors are always pulsing with electricity, creating static and attracting dust. You have to clean them often even if you don't touch them.
Otherwise, the arguments of "oh you have to move your arm 2 ft" are faulty.
1) Tablets are not very wide.
2) Your hands are usually right on it so not that far.
3) You can move your arm relatively easily a long distance versus trying to restrain it to absolute precision.
4) Yes, a finger touching a specific spot on a screen is almost always faster and more precise than a mouse.
By the way, setting a mouse to cover a long distance with a short movement screws the precision of short movements.
I actually have a trackball mouse that makes both precision and quick movement(via just spinning the ball) both very easy, but it's still not as good as a touch interface.
Even the more ergonomic thumb-operated trackball becomes painful to use after a while.
This is because that is not an interface we humans have evolved to use. We tried to fit the interface to us without allowing for the natural touch that we evolved with.
How many of you see a fruit on a tree and your first reaction is to reach down and front of you and move your hand in a small lateral motion to approximate the large vertical motion you would need to grab the fruit?
This is why tablets are even somewhat usable for very young kids who have never touched a keyboard. They already know how to reach out and touch and link their actions with the reaction on the screen directly at that point. There is no learning curve because it is instinctual. They can then devote their learning to the shortcuts and functions of the device rather than trying not to make easy mistakes with the interface.
FYI, I can't wait for "voice to text" especially. I seem to take every "ing" word and type it out as "ign" the first time, even when tryign(intentionally left this one) hard not to, because of the way I type, the way I find best, and the position of the keys on the standard keyboard I have. Luckily, I have a "slim keys" keyboard so that I'm not pressing even more keys accidentally or in the incorrect order when I try to depress a key even farther than I already have to.
I'm good at hitting the right key, as all humans without motor control issues likely are, but when the key moves beneath our finger as we tap it then we don't always adjust perfectly. This is why slim keys are helpful and why a lot of extra letter typos happen.
I want good voice software(which is getting there rapidly) to replace the need to type, even if I would still need to press one button to initiate it and select where I want the words to go.
Edit:
I'll let the topic drop though.
We're all seeing what people want by where technology is headed and it will only pick up steam. If you hate it then you'll just have to be one of those people that makes a workaround and pays extra to get back to "the old ways", all because they are not willing to change or learn new things. -
Quote:Oh, that I knew of but thought nothing of it because my character was offline. I expected everything to toggle off.Originally Posted by Grouchybeast
He means toggles running on characters when you log out still being running when you log back in. The game will now be recording toggle state and restoring it on log-in.
I guess it does help when you get disconnected(boy this game is suffering that a lot more than it used to, aside from really bad past times they had to fix) int he middle of a fight and log back in still alive due to your toggles staying up. -
I don't know if this is an actual problem.
For one, all pets behave a certain way, whether we like it or not, when in defensive mode. They wait until the first attack actually lands on your character or them(sometimes ignoring attacks to themselves, which is a bug, I hope) before they will attack anything and then will stop attacking once that enemy has stopped attacking and/or ran away a bit.
Pets also seem to have trouble with knockback locking them into a "can't attack" period longer than they used to, but this is likely a physics bug.
Other than that, all I can say is report it as a bug in game. -
Quote:I've never seen any ads in any of these forums, not even the all access ones.Originally Posted by Rajani Isa
Unless you like having ad blurbs interjected into your forum threads - but personally I don't.
And I hate the ones for shoes. They are never big enough offerings for my feet anyway...
For one, who would advertise to a small segment of an already rather small population game?
Yes, City of Heroes probably doesn't have more than 200 thousand players, of which only maybe 10 thousand are active on the forums and maybe 50 thousand actually read the forums. I think those are conservative numbers.
If you want to advertise it is much more logical to do so on something with a lot wider reach.
Edit:
Also, why does your forum avatar change every time I change/refresh the page?
I thought I was going crazy at first. -
Quote:The mods just let us report posts for them to review. It's called "self-policing".Originally Posted by Rajani Isa
Not forum trolls, so much as forum spammers. Limiting the ones Free Plays have access to limits the forums that need constant or extra-frequent mod monitoring.
I don't see a problem when people are willing to click the report post icon. The posts are then easy for them to find and check at a glance. -
Well, City of Heroes is....odd, to say the least.
I did some testing on my own computer recently.
I have a CPU load and temperature monitor and a GPU load and temperature monitor.
I increased my world detail setting to see what it would do.
I also turned on reflections.
Both of those settings actually decreased(yes) the load on the GPU, without increasing the load on the CPU, but my frame rate did lower.
I increased Ambient Occlusion, after turning it on, and shadow settings and saw my GPU load jump but remain well within the limits and my frame rate dropped.
By the way, try opening options and your graphics settings tab with "showfps" enabled. You will see a huge frame rate drop just from that tab of only text and buttons being open.
That's definitely not supposed to happen in a well made game.
City of Heroes is really using system resources oddly.
I also wonder why the frame rate drops despite my CPU and GPU still having plenty of room for more resource usage. That has perplexed me.
(Edit: I also have 8 GB of ram. This game is not using my system to its full potential and yet the frame rate drops. It should not drop until I'm actually pushing the limits of the system.)
By the way, I suggest everyone run pingplotter, google it, to see how good their connection to the game is.
The GMs had me use that to the server address of 64.25.36.4 and claimed that my end had packet loss. I knew this, but what I didn't know was what pingplotter would show in later tests around 3am CDT
Apparently, the game has packet loss on their end as much as my end(ncsoft-gw.customer.alter.net), and within 2 hops at what is listed as "dfw9.alter.net".
It seems their ISP also has trouble on their end or they are cutting cost by cutting what they pay for internet, blaming us customers for the reduced performance, and that doesn't mesh well with the game's shoddy network code.
It was surprising how much of the red spikes in the netgraph in game, and how often, were caused by their end despite them blaming my end completely. -
Quote:Or just "Edna Mode" since her last name is oddly fitting for it.Originally Posted by Sailboat
We'll call it the Edna Mode option.
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Quote:Since when have toggles every turned off on their own and not because of being mezzed or zoning?Originally Posted by EarthWyrm
I just combined an Enzyme Exposure and a Synthetic Enzyme Exposure on the test server. Worked fine.
Unrelated, the new feature where you don't detoggle after 15 minutes? Really nice. I logged on test earlier this afternoon, probably 5 or 6 hours ago, and turned on all my toggles. When I logged back in to check this, the toggles were still running.
I have never ever seen a "time limit" on toggle powers. -
Quote:Then they can open up access to the archetype forums.Originally Posted by Erhnam
Posting in the AT forums seems a VIP perk. I wouldnt start posting builds in Player Question, you may very well risk getting banned from the forums
I don't see why they restrict them anyway. The only ones that should be restricted are a few select special forums for VIPs only or company interaction with the customers.
Really, if a forum exists then it likely does because many players, no matter how much they pay, have a use for it.
The only forum that should be VIP restricted probably should have nothing but "VIP only content" in it, like an "incarnate forum" where only incarnate stuff can be talked about.
But anyway, this is all because the NCSoft people were afraid of the possibility of letting in any old forum troll despite the fact that this game isn't really big enough to attract that many of them and you can always ban them, even such things as IP bans to threaten, or even use, to keep the peace. -
Quote:Why does it need to be "an empty desktop" when the device is designed to be used?Originally Posted by Rajani Isa
Win8 seems to me that Microsoft is trying to unify their platforms like Apple has been, without Apple's though of keeping the Desktop a Desktop.
Your desk is only empty when you're not using it.
If you are using your computer then you will inevitably want programs running which will most likely be the ones you want right up front on the screen as an icon you can quickly tap.
If you are not using your computer then don't have any need to look at a background picture.
Hell, my desk in real life is rarely empty. I keep my most used things on top of it. All that stuff cover up most of the "desktop". It actually reminds me a lot of the screenshots of the first screen for Windows 8. All my most used things are sitting in their proper place(including my mouse and keyboard) waiting to be used.
The only difference is that windows 8 will clear everything else off the screen in a flash when you select the one thing you want to use. That takes a bit longer with an actual desktop. -
Quote:What is more of a waste of "screen real-esate"....a huge background picture that has no functional parts or your most used functions making up the "background"?Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
That's the thing. It's NOT more concise. Nor more obvious. What it definitely is, is a waste of screen real-estate.
You brought the word "waste" into this.
It's more of a "waste" to have unused space than a bunch of shortcuts.
Essentially, Windows 8 is just taking out the top layer, the "start" button itself, to show the menu of things that would normally be hidden under that little icon.
I would only see that as a problem if you could not configure which options were visible "on the top layer", which I very much doubt is the case.