New efforts!

[ivanhedgehog]

I applaud your non-lethal neutralization of the locally escaped bear.

Even if the post op consult doesn't go well, I still think I'll be able to sit and play some CoH when it comes back. If I have to, I'll move the computer over by my bed and play. makes me glad I went with a wireless keyboard and mouse.  :)

I managed to play coh from the cardiac care unit after bypass surgery..they had lousy wireless though

[Twisted Toon]

I managed to play coh from the cardiac care unit after bypass surgery..they had lousy wireless though

Currently, I'm running my desktop on a wireless network. Mainly because we've had more "important" things to do than run network cable through the attic to everyone's rooms. Things like kitchen renovations (just a few finishing touches left), bathroom renovations, and all sorts of other renovations. Too bad we can't get the Property Brothers to do the Reno for us. It would probably look better, and be much less aggravating for us when dealing with the slipshod work done on previous additions and renovations. Makes doing new reno work more time and cost consuming.

I swear, not two walls lean at the same angle...  ???

[kiario]

I dont understand, why cant we have our game back already? Sorry, got a little sentimental after watching paragon city tours on y tu e

[Ultimate15]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/237875/New_NCSOFTbacked_mobile_game_dev_brings_East_and_Westtogether.php

...Interesting. Thoughts?

[LaughingAlex]

Currently, I'm running my desktop on a wireless network. Mainly because we've had more "important" things to do than run network cable through the attic to everyone's rooms. Things like kitchen renovations (just a few finishing touches left), bathroom renovations, and all sorts of other renovations. Too bad we can't get the Property Brothers to do the Reno for us. It would probably look better, and be much less aggravating for us when dealing with the slipshod work done on previous additions and renovations. Makes doing new reno work more time and cost consuming.

I swear, not two walls lean at the same angle...  ???

I use a hybrid network myself and much of the building is comprised exclusively of stucco, so wireless signals can be significantly dampened.  So we have a booster in the middle of the building.  It'd have been impractical and tacky to try and have a purely wired network.  The funny thing is the booster is powerful enough the signal goes quite a distance outside the building, thankfully I'm able to secure it.

[Arcana]

I use a hybrid network myself and much of the building is comprised exclusively of stucco, so wireless signals can be significantly dampened.  So we have a booster in the middle of the building.  It'd have been impractical and tacky to try and have a purely wired network.  The funny thing is the booster is powerful enough the signal goes quite a distance outside the building, thankfully I'm able to secure it.

Have you tried something like this: http://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-PLA4205-HomePlug-Powerline-Wall-plug/dp/B005GCSZE0.  I honestly haven't played with power line ethernet in a long time, but I'm told they work pretty well these days provided your electrical cabling isn't too much of a wreck (and if it doesn't work well, I'd be worried about more than signal quality).  They tend to be a bit more stable than wifi and have less latency, although they also tend to be speed-limited (200mb/sec is about what I hear you should expect).  One advantage of those ZyXEL adapters is they support encryption which is particularly useful in apartment buildings and other shared power environments.

[Arcana]

I managed to play coh from the cardiac care unit after bypass surgery..they had lousy wireless though

They should have frowned a bit on you using wifi adapters in the CCU.  The notion that wifi can mess with aircraft systems is basically BS, but the warning about using radio devices in the ICUs and CCUs of hospitals is a little less hypothetical.  Still unlikely, but back in the day many hospitals were reluctant to put nurses stations too close to the equipment for fear the old CRT screens would interfere with the sensitive equipment (flat screens eliminated that concern).

True story: a couple weeks after I started playing CoH, and about the time I usually get bored with a game, I injured my back.  I could basically do only three things for several weeks: lie down, sit down, and play CoH.

And here I am.

[LaughingAlex]

Have you tried something like this: http://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-PLA4205-HomePlug-Powerline-Wall-plug/dp/B005GCSZE0.  I honestly haven't played with power line ethernet in a long time, but I'm told they work pretty well these days provided your electrical cabling isn't too much of a wreck (and if it doesn't work well, I'd be worried about more than signal quality).  They tend to be a bit more stable than wifi and have less latency, although they also tend to be speed-limited (200mb/sec is about what I hear you should expect).  One advantage of those ZyXEL adapters is they support encryption which is particularly useful in apartment buildings and other shared power environments.

We are already using xfinity :), but thanks for the idea.  We aren't in an apartment ourselves, but we've been able to make the system work, I don't really plan to fix it :).  I also have plans for the speeds we do have, go figure.  Oh and our electrical cabling in this house is not good whatsoever, it's a house made in 1947, and while I think the cabling was redone sometimes, not all of it could have, the building is made of stucco after all.  Course the network is in the modern added section of the building, but the rest of it you'd be going through solid material drilling anything.  Very, very solid material.

[ivanhedgehog]

They should have frowned a bit on you using wifi adapters in the CCU.  The notion that wifi can mess with aircraft systems is basically BS, but the warning about using radio devices in the ICUs and CCUs of hospitals is a little less hypothetical.  Still unlikely, but back in the day many hospitals were reluctant to put nurses stations too close to the equipment for fear the old CRT screens would interfere with the sensitive equipment (flat screens eliminated that concern).

True story: a couple weeks after I started playing CoH, and about the time I usually get bored with a game, I injured my back.  I could basically do only three things for several weeks: lie down, sit down, and play CoH.

And here I am.

I asked and they were fine with it. i was in no shape to do anything but breathe in ICU so it was no question there...6 bypasses was a rough experience.

[Brigadine]

They should have frowned a bit on you using wifi adapters in the CCU.  The notion that wifi can mess with aircraft systems is basically BS, but the warning about using radio devices in the ICUs and CCUs of hospitals is a little less hypothetical.  Still unlikely, but back in the day many hospitals were reluctant to put nurses stations too close to the equipment for fear the old CRT screens would interfere with the sensitive equipment (flat screens eliminated that concern).

True story: a couple weeks after I started playing CoH, and about the time I usually get bored with a game, I injured my back.  I could basically do only three things for several weeks: lie down, sit down, and play CoH.

And here I am.

Isn't the frequency's totally different? Plus if something doesn't receive data why or how could it affect a device that doesn't receive anything.

[Arcana]

Isn't the frequency's totally different? Plus if something doesn't receive data why or how could it affect a device that doesn't receive anything.

Antennas designed to transmit at a particular frequency, 2.2Ghz or 5Ghz say, tend to also transmit noise at harmonic frequencies (multiples or small fractional multiples of the primary frequency).  The cheaper or smaller the antenna, the more noise tends to be transmitted at those frequencies.  On top of that, electronic equipment explicitly designed to transmit radio signals also tends to be more noisy in general, albeit usually below the power level of the actual transmitter.  All this is to say that just because you have a piece of equipment that says it transmits at 2.2Ghz and 5Ghz, doesn't mean it isn't leaking significant power at lots of other frequencies for a variety of reasons.

In fact, when I put my iPhone (I've seen this happen for years going back to my Startac flip phone: its not unique to iPhones) on my desk near one of my computer speakers, the speaker often picks up odd hums and squeaks.  And remarkably if you've never seen this before, the speaker makes a very specific audible tone just prior to the phone ringing: the act of detecting an incoming call causes the cell phone to begin broadcasting a stronger signal that my speaker is picking up audibly.  That's something designed to transmit in the gigahertz range of frequencies showing a strong interference signal in the kilohertz range.

Under certain circumstances, that noise can be picked up by the sensitive electronic systems in intensive care units.  Particularly things like ECG monitors that are designed to pick up extremely tiny electrical signals.  Here's a study someone performed on the subject specifically involving cell  phones: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/clc.20459/epdf

I'm unaware of a specific study looking at wifi, but its possible there are analogous effects.  Not generally enough to cause the systems to malfunction directly, but enough to cause some of them to detect the noise and misinterpret it as a monitored signal.  Different hospitals have different policies in this area, and even different policies in different departments.  I was at a hospital once where cell phones and transmitting computer devices were banned in the emergency department but not in the ICU, and another where the reverse was true.

[Noyjitat]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/237875/New_NCSOFTbacked_mobile_game_dev_brings_East_and_Westtogether.php

...Interesting. Thoughts?

Mobile games can go to hell. I'm sick of seeing potentially good games fail and shut down while under developed mobile micro transaction garbage like candy crush continue to surface.

Then again if people would vote with their money this shit would of stopped long ago.

[Mistress Urd]

Mobile games can go to hell. I'm sick of seeing potentially good games fail and shut down while under developed mobile micro transaction garbage like candy crush continue to surface.

Then again if people would vote with their money this pancake would of stopped long ago.

I do vote with my money and playing a sub based MMO. I thumb my nose at micro transaction games and "Free to play" games.

I do my part of voting with my wallet.

[ivanhedgehog]

Antennas designed to transmit at a particular frequency, 2.2Ghz or 5Ghz say, tend to also transmit noise at harmonic frequencies (multiples or small fractional multiples of the primary frequency).  The cheaper or smaller the antenna, the more noise tends to be transmitted at those frequencies.  On top of that, electronic equipment explicitly designed to transmit radio signals also tends to be more noisy in general, albeit usually below the power level of the actual transmitter.  All this is to say that just because you have a piece of equipment that says it transmits at 2.2Ghz and 5Ghz, doesn't mean it isn't leaking significant power at lots of other frequencies for a variety of reasons.

In fact, when I put my iPhone (I've seen this happen for years going back to my Startac flip phone: its not unique to iPhones) on my desk near one of my computer speakers, the speaker often picks up odd hums and squeaks.  And remarkably if you've never seen this before, the speaker makes a very specific audible tone just prior to the phone ringing: the act of detecting an incoming call causes the cell phone to begin broadcasting a stronger signal that my speaker is picking up audibly.  That's something designed to transmit in the gigahertz range of frequencies showing a strong interference signal in the kilohertz range.

Under certain circumstances, that noise can be picked up by the sensitive electronic systems in intensive care units.  Particularly things like ECG monitors that are designed to pick up extremely tiny electrical signals.  Here's a study someone performed on the subject specifically involving cell  phones: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/clc.20459/epdf

I'm unaware of a specific study looking at wifi, but its possible there are analogous effects.  Not generally enough to cause the systems to malfunction directly, but enough to cause some of them to detect the noise and misinterpret it as a monitored signal.  Different hospitals have different policies in this area, and even different policies in different departments.  I was at a hospital once where cell phones and transmitting computer devices were banned in the emergency department but not in the ICU, and another where the reverse was true.

I have seen 1 wireless network that had zero interference of any sort. there is all sorts of interaction between the various electronic devices around us.

[MWRuger]

Mobile games can go to hell. I'm sick of seeing potentially good games fail and shut down while under developed mobile micro transaction garbage like candy crush continue to surface.

Then again if people would vote with their money this pancake would of stopped long ago.

They did vote with their money. The people who play things like Candy Crush are not the people who play MMO's or FPS multi-player. They are a huge, huge market and we are not. They certainly don't consider themselves gamers.

Why in the world wouldn't a company try to replicate the success of Candy Crush as opposed to yet another MMO that performs poorly even in it's target demographic?

[Blackout]

They did vote with their money. The people who play things like Candy Crush are not the people who play MMO's or FPS multi-player. They are a huge, huge market and we are not. They certainly don't consider themselves gamers.

Why in the world wouldn't a company try to replicate the success of Candy Crush as opposed to yet another MMO that performs poorly even in it's target demographic?

Agreed, especially with WoW obliterating most newcoming mmo's. Not that I have anything against wow of course, but its not likely that any other mmo is going to compete or surpass it at this point

[LaughingAlex]

It really bothered me to see Deus Ex: The Fall to even come into existence.  Because it not only violated everything that made Deus Ex, Deus Ex, but turned out even worst than invisible war.  All because it was developed for mobile first.

Ahem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEpfTfgzWp0

That shotgun, um, recoil?  More like wavy zoom effect incurred from being to high on some kind of drug or something designed more to make you sick than any kind of high.

[Arcana]

Agreed, especially with WoW obliterating most newcoming mmo's. Not that I have anything against wow of course, but its not likely that any other mmo is going to compete or surpass it at this point

I think part of the problem is that gaming, and gamers, and game developers, are a pretty insular lot.  We have our own language - and I'm not talking about speaking and writing - that we use to make, play, and discuss games.  Because MMOs are all written with that same language, the good thing is that much like once you learn how to drive you can drive any car, most of us can get behind the wheel of any MMO and drive it fairly well.  The "language" of MMOs is all there: skill trees, power bars, nav maps - the same components are all there.  But I think that design language can stifle creativity and variety.  If you don't like shooters, you probably won't like any shooter.  If you don't like MMOs, the odds are decent you won't like any of them.  Because there are only a few strong gaming genres, they tend to preach to their own insular choirs.  Mobile gaming demonstrates pretty conclusively that game developers had been failing to address the entertainment desires of pretty much 99.9% of all of humanity.  We were always so trivial of a minority - people who really like to play conventional games - its astounding we ever thought we were, or could ever be, a substantial majority.  We are jai alai players wondering what this NFL-thing is.

[Noyjitat]

Agreed, especially with WoW obliterating most newcoming mmo's. Not that I have anything against wow of course, but its not likely that any other mmo is going to compete or surpass it at this point

Wow succeeds where other games fail because blizzard doesn't have tons of mmos like SoE, ncsoft and pwe. Instead they started out with one mmo and fully invested in it using television ads, card games, books and figurines and providing a game with a huge amount of content from the beginning. And they didn't screw around with the first expansion which felt like getting a second game to play with the sheer magnitude of new content to do.

And having one big massive world or in this case massive continents helps too giving you plenty of places to go. I'm not sure what game has the biggest world at this point but back then the only other game I had played with huge zones was starwars galaxies.

I don't know what missingworldsmedia's plans are once city of titan's has been out for awhile but I suspect it or one of the other successors could become just as successful
one day.

[ryuplaneswalker]

Agreed, especially with WoW obliterating most newcoming mmo's. Not that I have anything against wow of course, but its not likely that any other mmo is going to compete or surpass it at this point

That is because half of the new comming MMOs with any sort of a budget ignore the good changes WoW has made in the past 10 years, and don't learn from the mistakes that WoW has made so most of them are "World of Warcraft : Vanilla" which any reasonable person looks back on with nostalgia but with knowledge that there were some objectively poor choices made in the games design.