The Xbox 360 Thread!

[yellowlightman]

Until then, I'm gonna' come back to this thread AGAIN and AGAIN waiting for the next of you to have an awesome red ring experience. HA!

Uh, good for you? Honestly, I'd decided to not post this earlier but given both your original Xbox (which had a very low failure rate) and 360 broke... maybe you just suck at taking care of consoles?

[TheLoneWolf]

Only game system I've had actually fail on me is my PS1.

Ditto. My 200x model PS1 gave out, but to its credit it did last me over 3 years, especially good when you consider that my friends and I played the f**k out of it in those three years. I had no qualms purchasing a new system because I clearly felt that I got my money's worth out of the old system.

My original clunky GameBoy also has a couple of columns on the screen, but I can forgive that because I literally took it with me wherever I went as a kid. It survived so many family trips that I'm just amazed it's still playable some 15 years later.

Back to some 360 news...

Has anyone heard of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD? It's Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, but with sprite resolution that blows Guilty Gear out of the water. Supposedly the game play will be the same, but more frames of animation will be included as well as high res sprites to bring the game into the 21st century. First Halo 3, then Ace Combat 6, now this! The Zephyr can't come out soon enough

[Apollo Leader]

Halo 3... Finish the Fight... September 25th!

As for Super SFII Turbo HD, that was definitely a shocker when that got announced a few weeks ago. 16 years later, Capcom does another major revisal to Street Fighter II!

[JB0]

I'm tempted to mod my 360 so the standard power light is a red ring.

It'd be hilarious.

Why do I have a sinking feeling that my beloved 360 thread is about to be deep-sixed?

Getting back on subject:

The original Prince of Persia gets a total make-over for XBLA. Here's hoping the original is included in the download, too!

If history is any indication, that'll be ported to the PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, GBA, and PS2.

It's good to see the original omnigame still has some ports in it.

Halo 3... Finish the Fight... September 25th!

As for Super SFII Turbo HD, that was definitely a shocker when that got announced a few weeks ago. 16 years later, Capcom does another major revisal to Street Fighter II!

And Son of Prince of Persia still has some miles left too!

Seriously, the resprite is beautiful. Should be done far more often.

Edited May 16, 2007 by JB0

[Oihan]

30% so FAR. Before the next-next-gen consoles hit the scene (in what, 5 years? Maybe less?) I think YOU and everyone else with a 360 will experience the joy of refurbishing, just like I did. And I don't think anybody in their right mind would like to spend money on a core system (which I believe they don't SELL anymore) after their other one red-rings them into an aneurism. Hey - I like the Xbox360 games. Hell, that's why I bought one. But having to get it repaired after barely playing it for a few months? Pffft. I don't have the time for something that problematic.

Only regrets I have are I'll never play Halo 3, or Gears of War 2. And indeed, those are deep, deep regrets. BTW, it was a salesman at Game Crazy who told me Microsoft only puts out the premiums now, my apologies for his uh, confusing the 360 with the PS3. (?)

I think I'm gonna' go with the option EGM posted on their cover for this month's issue - wait before I invest in an upgraded version of the 360, or a PS3. After reading about F.E.A.R. becoming such an awful port for the PS3, I have my doubts as to how well game manufacturers will be able to utilize its capabilities. IF Microsoft can produce a nondefective product Sony's azz may be thoroughly kicked. Time will tell.

Until then, I'm gonna' come back to this thread AGAIN and AGAIN waiting for the next of you to have an awesome red ring experience. HA!

Why don't you troll on some other forum instead? FYI, I still see Core systems at the Wal-Marts here where I live.

[Apollo Leader]

Show me a sign of Beta! Got my Halo 3 Beta download code overnight. Unfortunately I'm at work so I'll have to wait until this evening. Looking on Bungie's site, the number of players who have played the public Beta has gone up to 13,000+ so there are people who have successfully downloaded it and played it in the last few hours.

Let the next generation of tea-bagging commence!

[Chowser]

just got my 360 back temporarily since my brother is in the process of moving out of my parent's place (finally, he's only 27), and am attempting the download now.

ok, just played 2 quick games, now it's off to work, but it seems ok so far, i'm just used to Halo 2. Gotta get used to H3 now. To pick up weapons, you hit the RB or LB buttons now, and to reload, you tap the RB or LB buttons.

I haven't had time to figure out what the X button does yet. I'll try more tonight. I really like the spike grenades. Seems they kinda stole them from Gears. I haven't tried to stick a spike grenade on someone yet.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Chowser

[Poonman]

Only regrets I have are I'll never play Halo 3, or Gears of War 2. And indeed, those are deep, deep regrets. BTW, it was a salesman at Game Crazy who told me Microsoft only puts out the premiums now, my apologies for his uh, confusing the 360 with the PS3. (?)

I think I'm gonna' go with the option EGM posted on their cover for this month's issue - wait before I invest in an upgraded version of the 360, or a PS3. After reading about F.E.A.R. becoming such an awful port for the PS3, I have my doubts as to how well game manufacturers will be able to utilize its capabilities. IF Microsoft can produce a nondefective product Sony's azz may be thoroughly kicked. Time will tell.

Until then, I'm gonna' come back to this thread AGAIN and AGAIN waiting for the next of you to have an awesome red ring experience. HA!

well thats your problem. most people who work at game stores are absolute morons and know probably the least about games out of anyone in the gaming community. its pretty common knowledge.

most of these people were walking down the street in need of a job and saw a mcdonalds and a game store and decided to put an application into the game store. or maybe both. some of the most ridiculous statements i've ever heard about games have been uttered by so called "authorities" who work at game stores.

and for the most part, yes, ports do look worse on the PS3. theres no such thing as "utilizing its capabilities" because technically the 360 has a superior GPU and twice the RAM so what you're seeing is what you're getting on the PS3..... "utilizing its capabilities" lol

[jenius]

I read this yesterday and was thinking "Man, some people seem to think the 360 does nothing but break..." Then I went over to my friends house to watch the Warriors game and he turned to another buddy and said "Gee, sure would like to play my 360 after this... oh yeah, that's right, it broke at YOUR HOUSE." The buddy protested that he was just playing as usual and is started generating error codes and it wasn't his fault. He finished his defense by saying "These things just break, Bryan <another buddy of ours> had his break after two months!"

There you have it, I know exactly two people with 360s and both of them failed. That said, Bryan has had a replacement now for nearly a year with no more problems.

Edited May 16, 2007 by jenius

[GutsAndCasca]

Uh, good for you? Honestly, I'd decided to not post this earlier but given both your original Xbox (which had a very low failure rate) and 360 broke... maybe you just suck at taking care of consoles?

Having them sit on a shelf, man. That really wears them down I tell ya'. Maybe that's why none of my other 15 or so game systems have ever had a problem.

[JB0]

What, you don't have an NES?

and for the most part, yes, ports do look worse on the PS3. theres no such thing as "utilizing its capabilities" because technically the 360 has a superior GPU and twice the RAM so what you're seeing is what you're getting on the PS3..... "utilizing its capabilities" lol

The PS3 has a metric buttload of CPU power, which IS quite relevant.

It's just set up in a fundamentally different way than the 360, so it's difficult to use without explicitly planning for it. It's split up a LOT more than the 360 processor, so if your code isn't VERY threadable it's hard to make good use of a PS3.

PS3 also has massively more floating-point power, while the 360 has moderately more integer power. So if you aren't coding with a heavy bias towards floating-point(which you aren't if you weren't explicitly planning for PS3), the 360 has an edge.

And actually, they have the SAME amount of RAM.

BUT... the 360 has 512 MB of "unified architecture" RAM and the PS3 has 256 MB of system RAM and another 256 MB of graphics RAM.

Again, this results in fundamental differences in approach, and if you aren't considering the PS3 while developing your game, it WILL hurt it when you port from the 360.

And yes, I'm a raving Sony fanboy. That's why I own a 360 and not a PS3D0.

[Poonman]

What, you don't have an NES?

The PS3 has a metric buttload of CPU power, which IS quite relevant.

It's just set up in a fundamentally different way than the 360, so it's difficult to use without explicitly planning for it. It's split up a LOT more than the 360 processor, so if your code isn't VERY threadable it's hard to make good use of a PS3.

PS3 also has massively more floating-point power, while the 360 has moderately more integer power. So if you aren't coding with a heavy bias towards floating-point(which you aren't if you weren't explicitly planning for PS3), the 360 has an edge.

And actually, they have the SAME amount of RAM.

BUT... the 360 has 512 MB of "unified architecture" RAM and the PS3 has 256 MB of system RAM and another 256 MB of graphics RAM.

Again, this results in fundamental differences in approach, and if you aren't considering the PS3 while developing your game, it WILL hurt it when you port from the 360.

And yes, I'm a raving Sony fanboy. That's why I own a 360 and not a PS3D0.

and if you ask me if you aren't talking about the rare big budget, first party title like a Motostorm or Resistance: FoM all this does is hurt the games.

don't make your system a pain in the ass to program for, Sony.

[Dangard Ace]

The occasional anti-(insert Sony/Nintendo) swipe I expect here as I'd expect the same in the Wii and PS3 threads but you guys are straying off topic. Stick to Xbox discussion in this thread.

[JB0]

and if you ask me if you aren't talking about the rare big budget, first party title like a Motostorm or Resistance: FoM all this does is hurt the games.

don't make your system a pain in the ass to program for, Sony.

The Cell is a pain, indeed. But not a LOT more of a pain than the 3-core processor on the 360. And I gather there's some strong pluses in the PS3's approach to CPU memory access.

Separate system and graphics RAM actually has advantages. Not that unified RAM doesn't(both approaches have their uses), but it's not what modern developers are used to.

Besides, pain in the ass hardware worked REALLY well for the PS2.

Never mind that part of what drove the PS1's developer adoption was how incredibly easy it was to use.

Not only was it simple hardware, the dev kits even included C libraries! You didn't HAVE to use raw assembly anymore!

[Apollo Leader]

Got in about three hours of the Halo 3 Beta this evening. Lots of fun! Nice to be able play some Halo with a much more mature and pleasant bunch.

Of course for those who haven't played it, the button arrangement and assignment is fairly different, but once you use it after a bit, it makes sense.

[Chowser]

hey, i haven't gotten home yet to play some more, but what does the X button do now?

if i'm not too tired when I get home, I'll try some more.

[Apollo Leader]

hey, i haven't gotten home yet to play some more, but what does the X button do now?

if i'm not too tired when I get home, I'll try some more.

X controls items such as the force field, the trip mine, and the energy zapper.

[Poonman]

just about every person on my friends list is playing the beta right now.

I have no idea how many so freakin people got it

[yellowlightman]

just about every person on my friends list is playing the beta right now.

I have no idea how many so freakin people got it

Crackdown.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Question for fellow Crackdown players who have installed the "Gettin' Busy" add on as well as the other addons... do you notice a distinct "slowdown" in the loading of the game now? It could just be me but it seems the game is slower to load up and transitions to the "rotating logo" loading screen more often than it used to. I'm just wondering if that is common.

Also I wish they'd add some more guys you could play... I don't like the current set. Too... goofy. Especially the new guys they added. Captain helmet and the amazing neoprene mask guy are almost too goofy for words.

Oh and I plan to DL the Halo Beta thing this weekend just to look at it... don't know if I'll play it that much or not. I'm not that big a fan of Halo.

[Apollo Leader]

Halo 3 Beta extended to June 10th. Since Crackdown players were having a lot of difficulties yesterday, it was decided that the Beta would be extended a few more days.

Here's something I forgot to mention last night, when you use the large gattling gun (their initially mounted to a tripod) or the new multiple-launch rocket launcher, you go from a first person perspective to a third person perspective like in Gears of War.

Again, lots of fun! Can't wait for the final product.

[Hoptimus]

Im gonna try to dl this tonight. I gave up and watched a movie last night instead.

[Mechafan]

I played it last night and had and had fun. I still have to get used to the new controls. With the voice chat my teammates and I had trouble hearing each other. Sometimes I could hear no one.

[Oihan]

I got a copy of Crackdown with the Beta on it yesterday just so I could play the Beta. The MP is more difficult than it is in Halo 2 in my opinion. I believe they got rid of the auto aim. As others have mentioned, the controls take some time getting used to. The game is really fun though, I can't wait till the final product comes out either!

[Ishimaru]

Curses my bro doesn't want to waste $50 on purchasing the game for Beta.

Gotta find a way to convince him.

[Chowser]

argh!!! after only playing 8 games of the beta, it crashed on me, so i decided to play some H2 for a little bit and I found that I am already used to the H3 controls and was having trouble with the H2 controls.

ok, now i'm back home from work, back to H3.

[David Hingtgen]

My 360 just started acting up tonight, emailed MS, will see what happens.

Basically: for the past few months (ever after installing an "update") it's had issues with FMV. No problems loading polys and textures, but it sure doesn't like playing back FMV from the disc. But today I start up DOA4, and it pauses for a moment like it always does during the FMV Team Ninja logo----but then it stops cold. Spools down and the system goes dead slient, and goes to a black screen. Resets itself, and spools back up--and picks up right where it left off in the FMV, as if nothing ever happened.

And I know it's my 360, and not the disc, as I've tried a few of my brothers's games which are fine on his, but the FMV acts up on mine. The latest update (snagged from OXM disc) didn't help the situation, and may have made it worse. It's gone from "FMV minor stuttering" to "coming to a complete halt during FMV playback".

[Oihan]

My 360 just started acting up tonight, emailed MS, will see what happens.

Basically: for the past few months (ever after installing an "update") it's had issues with FMV. No problems loading polys and textures, but it sure doesn't like playing back FMV from the disc. But today I start up DOA4, and it pauses for a moment like it always does during the FMV Team Ninja logo----but then it stops cold. Spools down and the system goes dead slient, and goes to a black screen. Resets itself, and spools back up--and picks up right where it left off in the FMV, as if nothing ever happened.

And I know it's my 360, and not the disc, as I've tried a few of my brothers's games which are fine on his, but the FMV acts up on mine. The latest update (snagged from OXM disc) didn't help the situation, and may have made it worse. It's gone from "FMV minor stuttering" to "coming to a complete halt during FMV playback".

I hate it when updates go bad; have to reformat and all that bs. Too bad you can't do that with the 360...I hope they have a fix for ya.

[David Hingtgen]

If I could, I'd leave it at version 1.0000000, but certain games demand newer versions and auto-update. And it seems mine just plain didn't like the one Oblivion came with.

[Hoptimus]

I am loving Halo3. Its the best of both Halo games with bigger everything. Its gonna be a long wait this summer till September 25th.

[TheLoneWolf]

My 360 just started acting up tonight, emailed MS, will see what happens.

Basically: for the past few months (ever after installing an "update") it's had issues with FMV. No problems loading polys and textures, but it sure doesn't like playing back FMV from the disc. But today I start up DOA4, and it pauses for a moment like it always does during the FMV Team Ninja logo----but then it stops cold. Spools down and the system goes dead slient, and goes to a black screen. Resets itself, and spools back up--and picks up right where it left off in the FMV, as if nothing ever happened.

And I know it's my 360, and not the disc, as I've tried a few of my brothers's games which are fine on his, but the FMV acts up on mine. The latest update (snagged from OXM disc) didn't help the situation, and may have made it worse. It's gone from "FMV minor stuttering" to "coming to a complete halt during FMV playback".

It sounds like the lens on your DVD drive has gone bad. Playing FMV's is the most taxing activing for the optical lens and when FMV's begin to skip, it's downhill from there (unless the disc is scratched). The drive should be able to load polys and textures (for now) because if it gets an incorrect read it can always try again, the seek time should be so small that you wouldn't notice. But with an FMV, if it gets an incorrect read, you'll notice right away because the FMV will begin to skip.

Do you have any other games that use true FMV's? If it is your lens, then they should also skip. If they read fine, then I'm stumped.

[JB0]

It sounds like the lens on your DVD drive has gone bad. Playing FMV's is the most taxing activing for the optical lens and when FMV's begin to skip, it's downhill from there (unless the disc is scratched). The drive should be able to load polys and textures (for now) because if it gets an incorrect read it can always try again, the seek time should be so small that you wouldn't notice. But with an FMV, if it gets an incorrect read, you'll notice right away because the FMV will begin to skip.

Do you have any other games that use true FMV's? If it is your lens, then they should also skip. If they read fine, then I'm stumped.

*twitches*

LENSES DON'T GO BAD!

...

Well, some cheap-ass plastic ones have been known to fog, but that's not the point!

The LENS is the clear piece of glass that focuses the laser.

The HEAD is the entire read assembly, and is almost certainly what you mean.

[CoryHolmes]

*twitches*

You really need to lay off the coffee if you're twitching that badly, you know...

[wolfx]

For the record, my friend's box just 3ROD-ed.....and another friend 2 months ago. I feel afraid for my box now. Its like a timebomb waiting to happen.

[Gaijin]

I'm seeing them die everywhere now. I don'tthink it's just a case of PO'd people on the 'net like with the PS2 dirty disc problem. And that was with systems a couple years old. 360's right out the box sometimes ring of death. It's a little alarming.

So we have:

360 with great games but absolute crap when it comes to build quality so far...

PS3 with great build quality(so far) but still behind in the library (but looking up)

Wii with nice build quality (though more finicky bluetooth with my wiimotes) but only Nintendo titles (hello Gamecube, I thought I sold you!)

Next Gen console gaming= compromised wherever you go. At least until the end of this year.