Turbine Spent $20M Developing Console MMO

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smlong

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FPS genere migrated fine to consoles? BS!

People that play FPS games with a hand held controller on a console just don't know any better.
 

virtualban

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With all the variations of joysticks available for consoles, is there any copyright/patent preventing them mapping analog input to a mouselike device?
 

tayb

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[citation][nom]smlong[/nom]FPS genere migrated fine to consoles? BS!People that play FPS games with a hand held controller on a console just don't know any better.[/citation]

Then I guess the overwhelming majority of people playing FPS games just don't know any better?
 

climber

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Cryptic's Champions Online is ready to publication on the Xbox 360 only...

Come on folks, I'm not writing for an online publication, therefore my bad grammar is permissible in some way, a writer for an online publication doesn't have the same leeway, get it right! Try, "is ready for publication"
 

jellico

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[citation][nom]virtualban[/nom]With all the variations of joysticks available for consoles, is there any copyright/patent preventing them mapping analog input to a mouselike device?[/citation]
Not likely. First of all, modern mice aren't analog anymore (if ever they truly were). Your movements are analog and the mouse is the A2D converter. In simple programming terms, a mouse (buttons excluded) doesn't do anything that a thumbstick doesn't do. A thumbstick maps movement along the X and Y axis, just like the mouse. The only difference is that the thumbstick measures the degree of movement along these axis' whereas the mouse movement approximates true position of the cursor on the screen. However, someone wanting to create such an input for a console machine need only write an extra routine to extrapolate the thumbstick equivalent input of mouse movements.

So, as I said, it is unlikely in the extreme that use of a mouselike device could be prevented.
 

Xzar

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PCs are meant to be used 12-16+ hours a day for gaming.

However, consoles are much more flimsy by comparison. Therefore the players of this new MMO will burn out their console pretty fast, especially if they have the same low quality standards as the Xbox 360.
 

ssalim

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[citation][nom]ct1615[/nom]Lotro and D&D are fine games but are far from successful in terms of gathering large subscriptions. Plus, Sony should know a thing about MMO games, EQ, EQ2, SW Galaxies, Free Realms, etc., why have they not created one for the PS3?[/citation]

Because it's too hard to program for PS3, lol.
 

d_kuhn

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[citation][nom]virtualban[/nom]With all the variations of joysticks available for consoles, is there any copyright/patent preventing them mapping analog input to a mouselike device?[/citation]

Probably not... but the operation of a mouse is fundamentally different than a Joystick. Mouse motion directly translates to 2d POSITION changes in the device. Move the mouse 1 inch at 45 degrees and you get X and Y variable inputs linearly related to those inputs (assuming you're not using acceleration). Joystick motion translates into VELOCITY changes in the device, it's a second order input. Push the stick farther and rate of motion increases... push the mouse farther and you position moves farther.

You COULD map the 8bit analog inputs from the joystick to linear positions, but then you'd only be able to position yourself to 256 discrete horizontal and vertical locations (which might work depending on the game), and you wouldn't have an easy way to reset position (like what you do when you pick up the mouse and put it back down on the other side of the pad). That sort of input works well for things like steering wheels in racing games, it wouldn't work as well for an FPS where you want to be able to rotate freely and as far as you want.

On the other hand, the PS3 at least DOES support a bluetooth mouse, so all they REALLY need to do is make the games support the mouse and they're good to go.
 

enforcer22

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[citation][nom]ct1615[/nom]Lotro and D&D are fine games but are far from successful in terms of gathering large subscriptions. Plus, Sony should know a thing about MMO games, EQ, EQ2, SW Galaxies, Free Realms, etc., why have they not created one for the PS3?[/citation]

both turbines games are kinda flops dude.. and sony does now a thing or two about mmos's they know how to kill them till no one wants to play anymore....
 

d_kuhn

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[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]Then I guess the overwhelming majority of people playing FPS games just don't know any better?[/citation]

No they don't. My gaming group included a guy who used a gamepad the first time he lan-gamed with us... he was a console gamer and swore that the gamepad was just as good as KB/Mouse.

He was fodder, he was getting ganked so fast it was sad. I don't think he EVER killed me, I started running around behind him, following him around because even if he saw me goofing on him he couldn't do anything about it. Eventually he got pissed and left. Next time he played he'd learned to use a kb/mouse, now he's the best fps gamer in the group.
 

nitto555rchallenger

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Well from the article, if they do make it free-to-play, then yes I might consider to pick it up. Subscriptions really do suck, why play when in the back of your mind "I can only play till my subscription ends" or "Why can't I get online, oh my subscription's up." I don't mind with Xbox, cuz I can get free 13 months Gold account cards through a friend who works a gamestop. But for a MMO its like working hard and can't show off the achievements without the subscription.
 

trinix

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It's not a superior MMO platform, consoles. I know he has to try and sell the console MMO, but it's far from superior.

For those who think KB can be replaced by a combo system on a joypad, no. Yes you can make an MMO that works with combos, but in the end the MMO games arent about learning combos and executing them, they are about pressing buttons and those take action for you. I'm not waiting to press up up down left right x to execute a backstab. Or whatever strange combo you think about.

Next the mouse. No the joypad doesn't have a mouse. It doesn't work like a mouse. Maybe in 20 years everyone has forgotten about the mouse or mouse and games, but not now. MMO players, the ones who are playing MMO's today, aren't waiting for a gamepad version.

MMO's aren't strong enough to play MMO's. Yes, sure WoW isn't hard, EQ has a PS2 version (yes, soe did make one a long time ago). But if you look at a game like vanguard, not considering the bugs the game has, none of the consoles today could even run it. The graphic power, the big world, it's impossible.

Maybe Turbine will make a great MMO and maybe a lot of people will follow turbine and make MMO's for the consoles, but it doesn't change anything. I will still prefer my MMO on the PC, with a keyboard and a mouse, typing to people and knowing they have a keyboard available. It's highly unlikely to see a computer without a keyboard (they have to replace it with another input device, which is highly unlikely. A Console player will have to buy it and I'm not sure how they want to restrict not having a kb available.

 

dark_lord69

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[citation][nom]smlong[/nom]FPS genere migrated fine to consoles? BS!People that play FPS games with a hand held controller on a console just don't know any better.[/citation]

YES, YES, EXATCLY, THANK YOU!!!
I was playing quake online back when the majority of america didn't even use the internet. Mouse and keyboard worked fine. After trying to play using a controller I realized you can't turn around with a quick flick of your wrist. Controllers make FPS games slow and clunky.
 
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