The freshmen keep getting younger
Went to Micro Center to look for stuff, didn't find any. But I did pick up Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, which is the third and newest game in the series. Besides the "it was there" factor, I skipped right to this one because of the online play feature.
Of-Volity-interest note: It uses a readiness system a little like Volity's. Well, online games have done this years, actually; I got the idea for Volity's readiness system based on daerr's description of how Mechwarrior online games worked. It's not quite the same as Volity's system, though... when you're set ready, nothing can unready you except yourself, and the game starts only when the person who set it up presses their start button. This is the model that I think I've seen most often, online; Volity's is a departure from this. I think it's one that makes sense, but... we'll have to see how well it works in the real world.
Another Volity note: I really like "quick play" features, which I've seen in just about every network PS2 game I've tried. I would like Volity clients to be able to do this... and it's something which I think is completely doable through already defined service discovery and bookkeeper queries. Something for later.
Anyway, my first experience with R&C online didn't go too well. When I hit "quick play", I was dropped into a game setup screen with one other player, named "Ghost!!!!". When I left and re-selected "quick play", there I was again. Well, OK; I joined and waited. I got to see some people come and go, but didn't actually get to start playing; my ghostly friend never got around to hitting the start button.
However, I did have my USB headset plugged in, so I got to eavesdrop on my fellow players. And again, I am reminded that the video-gaming world is larger than me and my friends: every voice I heard was that of a little kid. I mean, young enough that I can't say if they were boys or girls. Kids playing video games? What next! Yeah, I know. Here is a partial transcript:
kid2: Ghost?
kid1: What?
kid2: Gonna start?
kid1: ...
kid2: [leaves]
jmac's deep booming voice: Uhhhn, are we waiting for more players?
kid1: ...
kid3: [enters]
kid3: Hi Ghost!
kid1: Hello.
kid3: Wanna buy a helmet?
kid1: How much.
kid3: It's worth 40K.
kid1: Yeah how much.
kid3: Eh, since you're [something] I'll give it to you for 35K.
kid1: That's still a rip-off!
kid3 and kid1: [Game-specific-lingo-heavy jibber-jabber about the value of this helmet]
jmac: [sets status to "unready", then hits the "exit" button]
one of the kids [from behind the "are you sure you want to leave?" screen]: I like waffles! Waffles are great.
Something about the timing of that send-off just made me bust a gut.
In the unlikely event that someone reading this plays that game, I am online as "Zendonut". Say hi.
Of-Volity-interest note: It uses a readiness system a little like Volity's. Well, online games have done this years, actually; I got the idea for Volity's readiness system based on daerr's description of how Mechwarrior online games worked. It's not quite the same as Volity's system, though... when you're set ready, nothing can unready you except yourself, and the game starts only when the person who set it up presses their start button. This is the model that I think I've seen most often, online; Volity's is a departure from this. I think it's one that makes sense, but... we'll have to see how well it works in the real world.
Another Volity note: I really like "quick play" features, which I've seen in just about every network PS2 game I've tried. I would like Volity clients to be able to do this... and it's something which I think is completely doable through already defined service discovery and bookkeeper queries. Something for later.
Anyway, my first experience with R&C online didn't go too well. When I hit "quick play", I was dropped into a game setup screen with one other player, named "Ghost!!!!". When I left and re-selected "quick play", there I was again. Well, OK; I joined and waited. I got to see some people come and go, but didn't actually get to start playing; my ghostly friend never got around to hitting the start button.
However, I did have my USB headset plugged in, so I got to eavesdrop on my fellow players. And again, I am reminded that the video-gaming world is larger than me and my friends: every voice I heard was that of a little kid. I mean, young enough that I can't say if they were boys or girls. Kids playing video games? What next! Yeah, I know. Here is a partial transcript:
kid2: Ghost?
kid1: What?
kid2: Gonna start?
kid1: ...
kid2: [leaves]
jmac's deep booming voice: Uhhhn, are we waiting for more players?
kid1: ...
kid3: [enters]
kid3: Hi Ghost!
kid1: Hello.
kid3: Wanna buy a helmet?
kid1: How much.
kid3: It's worth 40K.
kid1: Yeah how much.
kid3: Eh, since you're [something] I'll give it to you for 35K.
kid1: That's still a rip-off!
kid3 and kid1: [Game-specific-lingo-heavy jibber-jabber about the value of this helmet]
jmac: [sets status to "unready", then hits the "exit" button]
one of the kids [from behind the "are you sure you want to leave?" screen]: I like waffles! Waffles are great.
Something about the timing of that send-off just made me bust a gut.
In the unlikely event that someone reading this plays that game, I am online as "Zendonut". Say hi.