Terpfen

Agreed. I think a poster on Bluesnews said it best:

Deal. And on a side note, I'm eagerly awaiting HL2. Valve is reportedly preparing a version to ship to Vivendi for publishing approval.

It's silly if you want a general-purpose weapon... Doom 3's shotgun, as a gameplay implement, works just fine. The shotgun is immensely powerful, but balanced out by its extremely short range. This is like the flashlight issue--there are no gun-mounted flashlights because id wanted to emphasize atmosphere, not realism.

Well, in terms of the context--weaponry--nearly all of HL2's weapons exist, or at least look real. Doom 3's machine gun does not look like a modern machine gun--HL2's equivalent, likely an assault rifle, will probably be an AK-47 or M16A2, both of which are fairly real, I'd say.

This is my last successive post, I promise... Bandai wouldn't get "bored" enough to make Endless Waltz kits, they'd get greedy enough. The 1/100 HG Wing Gundam Zero Custom is the best-selling Gundam kit of all time. It's Katoki's most popular design, and can often be found in the top 5 section of Japanese "favorite Gundam design" polls. Given that 85% of the kit is already molded--see MG Wing Gundam ver. Ka--all Bandai needs to do is to mold a new backpack and the wings, which can be done in a negligible time period. MG Wing Zero Custom wil come out--even if this rumor is false, it will come sometime soon. Bandai cannot resist recolors. The question is, will they make more Endless Waltz kits? Yes, they will--because Wing Zero Custom will sell more than enough to persuade Bandai to go the Endless Waltz route. The only question is, "How long after the MG Wing Zero Custom's release will it take to get an MG Tallgeese III?"

The B-Club conversion kit is out of production. You can get a recast (out of stock at both e2046 and Hobbyfan; add it to your wish list and they may order another recast run at some point), you can get the G-System 1/100 Hi nu (Hobbyfan MAY still stock it, or you maybe able to order directly from G-System if they still have a kit hanging around), or you can wait for B-Club to reproduce their (overpriced) conversion kit. Or you could scratchbuild.

No. The Hi nu Gundam has been passed on to B-Club. The only way to get an official Bandai Hi nu Gundam is to buy the MG nu Gundam and the B-Club conversion kit. General rule of Bandai thumb: if it's put out by B-Club, it'll never be available in plastic. Meaning: no MG Hi nu. Not even a plastic Hi nu. The only other 1/100 Hi nu options available are: 1) buy the G-System kit, or 2) scratchbuild your own.

You can do a 1/48 resin kit the same way you do a 1/100 resin kit: you use properly-sized pins, an appropriate amount of glue, and you make sure you know what you're doing. The fixed-pose nature of resin kits also helps. As for telling the difference between a recast and an official kit... pricetag is one. If you're paying $30 or so for a 1/8 figure, it's a recast. The second is packaging: recast sites will package the resin parts in a bag, include Xeroxed instructions (if any came with the original kit), and will usually be contained in a small plastic shipping container. That's how e2046 packages, at least. Quick visual guide: Original. Recast.

It's an id video game... gameplay mechanics are more important than realism. There's always Half-life 2 if you want true realism.

Doom 3 has a per-pixel hit system for animation purposes. But as far as actual locational damage goes, it's in, but it's not as important as in more realistic games. For example, you can kill a zombie in 2-3 pistol shots to the head, or 5-6 to the chest. I hate saying this, but the overall point is that you're some weak human against demons and their spawn, so id tried to keep things challenging.

The point isn't whether or not the games are good--the point is, we're getting them, good or not. It used to be that games were filtered for multiple reasons, be they content, graphics, marketability, or any other number of factors. Restrictions now are loosened to the point where the market, not the marketing department, is deciding which games come over. Ten years ago, we would not have gotten Xenosaga or Xenogears. Ten years ago, we would not have gotten a game even remotely related to anime. Ten years ago, we were playing games like Judge Dredd instead of games like Vampire Savior or Burning Rangers. The last game I can remember that fell victim to the "it's too Japanese" filter was Goemon, when Working Designs attempted to bring the latest game in the series to the US--and Sony blocked them. That's it. The problem with Macross games coming over here is the same problem with Macross series coming over here. Don't blame the video game market for Harmony Gold's shortcomings. And, if you'll notice, I didn't point "at Megaman of all things." I pointed at Megaman as an example of a dying genre. Megaman Legends and the X series have gone 3D. The 2D platformer is a dead genre on consoles--yet we still got the most recent games in that dead genre. Even the 2D fighter is dying, if you've read recent statements from Capcom and SNK. Now, if the demand is more for Macross games than for certain obscure games, then that's fine--but, people, don't frame the debate in terms of "We aren't getting any of the really good series," because this is demonstrably false. Frame it in terms of "Some idiot company is using their copyrights to prevent Macross games from being domestically released." No more replies from me.

You're still talking about Macross. And didn't we just get Robotech: Battlecry?

No, I'm saying we get a lot of games in nearly every genre, and I cited two niche genres to prove the point. Or do you not think that shooters are a niche genre?

You can always change your voter registration--something I did two years ago.

A better moral may be, "Don't mess with criminals."

All your OpenGL and Direct3D settings are Advanced Display Properties menu. Right-click the desktop, hit Properties, hit the Settings tab, hit Advanced. Alternatively, you could use a third party program like Powerstrip. Actually, I recommend that. It's much easier to tweak settings that way.

Believe it, because the context isn't the distribution of Macross, it's the availability of video games. Two different concepts. I'm not disputing that there are games that don't get imported. I'm disputing the idea that genuinely interesting, quality games aren't making it here. Most of the games we're missing out on are games like Xenosaga Freaks, which is a mascot game (note that we got Xenosaga, which ten years ago wouldn't have been translated.) What else are we missing out on? Primarily sims, be they dating sims or railroad engineer sims. Hell, we even got Incredible Crisis a few years back, and we've gotten games in genres that are practically dead here--like shooters. We've gotten R-Type Final, are getting Gradius V, have gotten Ikaruga, Einhander, Xevius 3D/G, and a whole lot more. We've even got compilations of 2D platformers, a dying genre even in Japan--Castlevania Collection and Mega Man Anniversary. We aren't missing much. ... You mean like how they supported CDs and DVDs, both of which are recordable media? I can't imagine, either. Expect Microsoft to use HD-DVDs. Nintendo hasn't said anything, but they'll either use another proprietary format, or regular DVDs.

You've got mipmap coloring enabled. Disable it.

Journey to Jaburo was so bad that anything with merely slight improvements would seem like a Godsend. However, Zeonic Front also sucks. Encounters in Space especially sucks. There's not much you can say to convince me that LWC somehow avoided sucking. It's like Madden games: if every game prior to this year's version sucked, why should I buy the latest one? Disgaea isn't overrated, IMO. It's actually quite underrated. It would be overrated if it hadn't been translated--import lore would've put it nearly on par with the Saturn version of Grandia. As it stands now, the game was excellently done, but only a moderate success. Yes, it's popular because of a lack of games in its genre--but it also happens to be a damn good game in its genre. Kind of like Final Fantasy Tactics. Chalking Disgaea's success up to anime fandom while praising Sakura Wars--perhaps the most cleverly disguised dating sim on the planet--is an odd double standard, IMO. You also missed, or at least didn't acknowledge, my point here: games that had no chance of being translated before are now doing so. If Disgaea had been a SNES, Saturn, or PSone title, it never would've seen the light of day here. Citing Sakura Wars as proof that importing is still a necessity is a fallacy.

You missed my point. If a gun sounds powerful, then in all likelyhood it should be powerful. Basic logic dictates that. If you make the guns sound weak, then the guns will likely be weak. The point of Doom 3 is that you're some isolated, feeble Marine up against the forces of Hell. Everyone else in the base is dead--yet somehow, with these dinky weapons, you keep living. Accomplishment.

Super Metroid had English text options as well. Difference is, SH2-4 and SM weren't given those options with the intent of cashing in on importers. I agree on the key Gundam games not getting translated, but I have to dispute their quality in the first place. If LWC runs on the same engine as the other games, is developed by the same team as the other games, has the same presentation and missions as the other games, then it's going to suck like the other games, and no amount of what I call "importer's lore" is going to make it not suck. LWC, Sakura Wars, and Giren's Greed are not that big a loss. IMO, if we hadn't gotten Disgaea, that would've been a far bigger crime than not getting Sakura Wars.

This thread is amusing... maybe it's just the nature of living in suburban South Florida, but I've shopped at Wal-mart, Target, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Circuit City, Best Buy, Gamestop, and Electronics Botique. I've never had a problem with any of them. Of course, my shopping methods may be a bit arcane: I learn about the products online, decide which I want to buy, decide whether or not online purchasing is suitable (for example, purchasing major appliances such as TVs should be done in person), and then I go and buy it at a store that has it, be it online or physical. Of course, I also have Tech Bargains bookmarked, so maybe I'm just savvy like that.

The Japanese branches don't cater to importers either, otherwise games would have English text options (and with the storage space available on current consoles, it's quite possible.) Complaining about regional lockouts is beyond me these days. Sure, it was annoying back in the SNES and Saturn days--no Dragon Quest V and VI, no Star Ocean, no Tales of Phantasia, no Creation of Heaven and Earth, no Shining Force III eps 2 and 3, no Burning Rangers, no Radiant Silvergun, no RAM packs, no high-quality Capcom fighters. Back then, importing was a legitimate tactic. But, nowadays, is there any game that doesn't get translated at one point or another? Importing is crucial only if you're impatient. For the more obscure games, Working Designs not only translates them, but includes massive amounts of swag for far less than the prices of Japanese version limited editions.

You're fighting against the hordes of Hell. The weapons were designed so that they aren't exactly overpowering--it takes upwards of six bullets to kill a simple zombie--but that you somehow got the job done anyway. So, despite your dinky weapons, you still kick Hell's ass. The point is to create a sense of accomplishment, and it works.

Other way around... HD-DVDs hold 30GB on a dual-layer disc (meaning, the most the format can hold). It is compatible with current DVD players, though. Blu-Ray holds 27 GB on a single-layer disc, 50GB on a dual-layer. Would you have to buy new DVD players and drives? Yes, but I'm sure the new drives would be able to read old DVDs just fine: for one, if Blu-Ray becomes standard, current DVD laser prices would drop like a rock.