Darkblue

Looks interesting - might give it a go.

Good to see others looking forward to this game. I pledged last year and am now the proud owner of an Origin 300i !! Just a heads up since the last post in this thread - Star Citizen funding is now approaching $45,000,000. The Dog Fighting module is due to be released any time now for testing by pledger's etc. See you in the Verse!

I played Graw 2 a lot when it came out, I seem to remember a lot of co-op going on but not much pvp. Is this still the case? I remember playing the multi-player demo for this game which was pvp based etc. I'd like to get back into the pvp scene a bit but I'm not sure what game to go for - any suggestions? Thanks - Dark.

Sorry to hear this, hope they all find new positions soon. PC gaming is in a dark place at the moment - can only hope that things change for the better - sooner rather than later.

Nice to see someone else here plays Eve, I've played Eve since retail in 2003 and have to agree that yes, it does have a steep learning curve. It has the most tactical pvp that I have experienced so far in a computer game though. Simply the number of options available to you as a pvp'er are immense. Couple that with a good FC and your all set to have some fun. It's funny, the first thing that got me interested in Eve was a screen shot of one of the stations, I read the accompanying article and was surprised to find that CCP were actually saying their game would not be for everyone - there are no teenage console gamers in Eve. It's definitely a thinking persons game.

You've hit the mark here on a number of points. It's not restricted to GR though, it's right across the board for all game types currently. There are exceptions, and it's these that keep me going as far as single player/multiplayer games go. It's really sad to see game communities break down and disappear when not given support by publishers. This attitude reminds me so much of why we are the 'use once, throw away' society. I think to be honest, publishers are just getting super lazy, rather than it being purely a financial thing, as has been mentioned in this thread before - there is still plenty of scope in GR/GRAW. Ground Branch sounds interesting, I wish them success - the sad thing is, if it is successful how long will it be before one of the big publishers moves in and 'aquires' Blackfoot? Thus saving all publishers the trouble of getting themselves up to a high standard and competing with each other, not least for the benefit of their customers (us) I might add.

I live in Shropshire close to the heli training center here, never seen activity like that before. Just seemed odd for them to be doing that kind of activity so close to the road - but as you say maybe not.

On another forum, far far away *cough*, there has been quite a heated discussion concerning such things as UFO's. This vid was posted as indicating a British military interest in crop circles. http://tinyurl.com/354by6 Disregard the commentary on the vid for now and just look at what these helicopters are doing. Any thoughts on why army helicopters would be flying so low and whats with following people down a road like that? Is it even legal to be that close?

Devs don't always get a lump sum deal with a publisher. A development studio comes up with a game idea, and pitches it to the publisher, looking for financing. Publisher says "sure, we'll put up $x00,000 to you guys to develop the product, then when it goes retail, we take X0% of each unit sold." They also want a ton of creative control, thinking they know best what will sell the most. The dev studio also has to pay for engine licenses, to the tune of $100K. And if you want to port the game to the 360, you're going to pay Microsoft another licensing fee, AND more X0% of each unit sold. S0, the devs still get a percentage of the sales, but eveyone else has taken a huge chunk of it. Any start up dev studio will typically seek publisher support, because they cannot move forward without the financing. But they pay a heavy price, in control and dollars. There does seem to be a trend of development studios having a go at it, and pulling it off, which to me is a very good thing. And yes, BFS is currently moving forward without a publisher, which gives John complete creative control, which is also a very good thing. I've been having a think about the games Ive enjoyed in the past compared to how I feel about some of the games available today. I looked at some of the history of those games developers, and I think it compliments some of the points you have made. I also think it gives quite an insight into what typically happens to developers who make a name for themselves. Typically, they get bought out by publishers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_Glass_Studios http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_Software http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Storm (IMHO Ion Storm made the ultimate RPG pc game - Deus Ex) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Entertainment#History Its interesting when you see it put together like that - you can see the pattern. I dont see publishers as evil. They are in business to make money. I do however see gamers/consumers as stupid and gullable. After all the console is only here because gamers buy the games... Looking on the bright side though, there are these companies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethesda_Softworks ( Elder Scrolls series) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2K_Boston/2K_Australia (BioShock) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_software I know none of these do tactical shooters but it is at least a spark of hope.

I'm glad this topic came up, makes me feel less isolated now. To me this 'downgrading' of games feels like a snowball rolling down a hill with no way of stopping it until it reaches the bottom. And most folks I speak to can't seem to see it! With re to funding for development why don't some of the pc component companies get more involved. Motherboards/gfx cards/sound cards/power supplies/cpu's/ - all of these areas surely have a large customer base in pc gamers? Self Publishing for developers - I had really big hopes for STEAM and saw it as the answer to distribution at least.

Quick update on this - the alterations have been approved by the local council. A local council showing some common sense for once!

Signed. I have also linked both the article and the petition page to another forum.

To be honest, although that list is valid there is one thing missing, and its the absolute bottom line in why I dont touch console games - its the limitations that a console puts on a game. The best illustration I can think of is the sequel to Deus Ex - Deus Ex Invisible War. What a disappointment it was to many fans who expected more of the same but instead got a chopped up and shruken mess. I'm not against people who like consoles or console games, but I am against publishers who seek to ruin pc game series. The recent gag on GRIN by UBI was an interesting move and it makes you wonder what it was UBI were trying to achieve. Thats open to speculation for now - but when you talk about change the only change I have seen in recent times is a steady downwards spiral in general for pc games. Sad but true.

I don't go anywhere near console games - Ive seen too many excellent series totally nerfed by this thing. Why cant people see that consoles are a step backwards - why would anyone prefer a tv screen over a purpose built monitor, why would anyone prefer tv sound over a purpose built sound card? Not to mention everything else thats wrong with the damn things. The worlds gone mad...

Yes did some more searching - there is quite a bit on youtube re Blackwater. I wonder how the regular military feel about having mercs in the same area. Its been posted before? Sorry, should have checked further down the threads.