On the Ball: Scanning, for Fun and Profit

[raankh]

Considering how easy it would be to introduce active choice and variability in the mining mini-game I find it rather surprising how bad it turned out. Especially considering BioWare's talk about getting it right this time; they certainly did with the other mini-games in my opinion. Few games are as remarkably relaxing yet active as simple Memory. I think the designers got the length of them just right too.

Sure, since I had a level 60 ME1 character I wasn't really troubled by shortages early on so could focus on building stocks. But that only lessened the tediousness of random scanning. Why not just spend an afternoon doing research on how satellites are used today to find minerals and build an interface around that. You could use a variant on a simple planning problem for gameplay (like Towers of Hanoi or Tapper [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapper]). Should be casual work for the people at BioWare, considering the level they are at.

Just SOMETHING to make it quick and appealing rather than dull and monotonic.

I guess BioWare knows best though, they're the pros and all.

 

[baconfist]

The scanning wasn't too bad on pc since I could adjust the speed of my mouse by pressing a button on my mouse. The fact that I didn't know how much minerals I needed made me scan practically every planet in the galaxy to depleted, and that did take a very long, very boring time.

 

[Fursnake]

I haven't even made it through the game yet and I have mined so many planets to "Depleted" I feel like a one man, planet rapin' machine...sucking the galaxy dry of its resources. While the scanning/mining is kind of tedious, I play ME2 on the PC so it doesn't bother me so much, still kind of boring though. I came up with an easy technique to scan planets without much effort, I put the mouse cursor in between two lines of latitude, move the cursor along the latitudes to the right edge of the planet and hold it there with the scan button held down so planet rotates faster and I get a complete 360 scan of the latitued line then move down to the next one and repeat. Also, using a trackball mouse made the scanning easier. The scanning is still about as boring as driving the Mako was all out annoying.I would swear the Mako itelf was drunk everytime I took it out for a spin.

 

[GeneralGrant]

Yeah it was definitely the worst part of the game. On the other hand, I didn't find myself really needing to do it that often. I scanned maybe 10-15 planets fully and that gave me enough to fully upgrade all my weapons. It was quite rare that I even bothered to use the element zero stuff.

 

[hyperdrachen]

On the Ball: Scanning, for Fun and Profit

Mass Effect 2's mining minigame actually made me miss the Mako.

Read Full Article

When you play through the game again you keep all your upgrades so you won't need to choose whether to upgrade your gun or save people....your gun will be upgraded at the very beginning.

It tells you this when you finish the game. Only communists don't read the notices at the end of games....commie.

Perhaps commies read the notices but they actually read the whole thing, you keep all your weapons, but you do not keep thier upgrades like extra ammo and weapon damage only the new guns themselves. Check your second game your missing stuff. Loved the game but yeah the first time i scanned a planet it felt silly, I'm hard pressed to miss the old mako, but considering the rightious revamp the combat got it would have been nice to see the mako get the same treatement. Having the commander of the ship manually play with the scanning gun makes less sense in ME2 than it would have the first time. You got a whole goddamn crew, Get Kelly on that buisness she doesnt do anything with her day but tell you what you could find out from somone else.

Problems with the mako:
Planets,I understand the game was a huge undertaking and the optional or sidequest planets were generally bonus content considering what else you got on the main arch, but they were there, and they were involved in quests so kareening across a hightmap generated mountain range with garbage physics for the vehicle i'm doing it in are painful, The mako had inexplicably low grip for those 6 offroad tires.

Design, The mako's design makes little sense if its supposed to be some adverse terrain rover, its too low to the ground has huge overhang past the front wheels, lacks adequate suspension travel and really ought to have all wheel steering. I get that they didint want this thing to look like a warthog ripoff but the hogs a dream to drive, some things are quite simply par for the course.

Roleplay, the mako took everything but your highest electronics skill and threw it out the window. Your crew did nothing but give you a repair stat, assuming you were not the engineer, in which case they gave you nothing. It would have been nice to see your combat members blasting shots out of side mount turrets or taking over the turret while you focused on driving... don't give the computer the wheel theyre bad at it of course. Something to make me feal like that thing is combat proper and crewed would have been nice.

Mako sections were a cool concept but painful in the weakness of thier execution, main story planets were fine, still had the physics problems but not the retarted terrain to navigate it with. I miss them a little but i think what I and most miss about it is even though they were crap they made the game feal bigger, you got more of a sense that you could go anywhere in the galaxy. But I constantly bring up rose tinted glasses, when you really get down to it the areas that are in ME2 are for more varied and rich. ME1 had alot of square surface but it was all covered with the same 3 bases, and filled with the same 20 pirates "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

So yeah bring back the drop truck but please, no mako, not as it was. If you pay attention to the codex entries in the game they elude to a ground vehicle for ME2 though. Edi mentions it as well. It's called the hammerhead. I'd bet were getting it for our cerberus keys.

 

[hyperdrachen]

Is noone playing games on PC anymore...? I mean I'm reading articles all over the web and especially on some sites from gaming enthusiasts for gaming enthusiasts and I keep reading "Left Trigger this", "Right Analogue Stick" that... it is getting rather tiring...

And not only that but some of those "gaming experts" even get to be outright ignorant...

Other than that I agree with the article, I had my own little whine about it over here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.175197-Mass-Effect-2-PC-Pro-Contra].

I am but I build my own PCs and gaming wise, unless your a professional builder getting your parts at wholesale, or factory prices its hard for the PC to hold its value proposition for many. I game on my PC and my xbox, and I actually have a controller setup for my PC(wireless 360) I enjoy playing on sticks. I enjoy my PC games as well but I nabbed my 360 for 300 bucks My PC rig has about 600 in it. Granted my PC does alot more than my 360 but for games, while it does crunch polygons a bit faster and shinnier, It doesnt do alot to increase the enjoyment of the games especially the single player variety. PC gaming didn't wane in popularity in the face of consoles due to some conspiracy, It's simply more accessible and for those like myself who aren't intimidated by the opened ended PC platform, there are still enticing things about the console run. That said, if somone doesnt get serious about digital distro by the next console generation I'm gonna be wishing it would die. Most of the consoles have taken baby steps and the 360 lets you buy full 360 games digital but its not done right til you can buy it on launch day. I do not give a damn about game retailers I want it digital and at a discount. Yes i do have a STEAM altar in my closet what of it?

 

[hyperdrachen]

That said, if somone doesnt get serious about digital distro by the next console generation I'm gonna be wishing it would die. Most of the consoles have taken baby steps and the 360 lets you buy full 360 games digital but its not done right til you can buy it on launch day. I do not give a damn about game retailers I want it digital and at a discount. Yes i do have a STEAM altar in my closet what of it?

I'm not a proponent of the "Digital sales" thing, unless it actually DOES have something to be gained from.

As it stands, STEAM is usually A LOT more expensive (40%+) than Online stores and even Retailers. I usually order from amazon.co.uk or game.co.uk because they have new games or games not even released yet (Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2 PreOrders) for ~30? while STEAM sells them for 50?.

Slightly older games like "Batman: Arkham Asylum" can already be gotten for 14?, guess what STEAM offers it for? Right 50?

It's my money I'm not stupid enough to waste it like that xD

Another thing with STEAM is that all your games are bound to an account. When I played L4D or TF2 etc. more often there'd always be days where I'd meet with a few friends online, get into a voice-chat getting ready to play and oh see there... STEAM is down, the Frindslist is down or both of em... well better luck next time.

I also witnessed it more than once that people actually lost their accounts for extended periods of time. In one case for example it was someone that didn't have enough money on his CC to pay and he got suspended (unable to play ANY of his games and it took STEAM Support over one week to get it fixed), another one was recently when a guy I know used a VPN Tool to download the (in some countries not "allowed") Demo of Aliens vs Predator to try it out before he buys it and not only did they remove the Demo but again STEAM suspended his account (with ~500? of games on it mind you) and it took him several days and pleas to get it back...

Personally no thank you, I buy whatever games I can not get any other way (like the new Monkey Island or most Valve games e.g. L4D, Orange Box, CS:S, TF2 etc.) but I'd rather stay with my hardcopy of the product that no "platform" can take from me on some sort of whim or because they think I broke some of their rules...

Digital distro should never be the only option but I want to have the choice to hold to it exclusivly myself. Your price figures are a bit dishonest. Your comparing oddities like used games verses a new digital liscense. Yes its a smarter buy, thats not steam ripping you off though your not comparing apples to apples, steam simply is not set up to sell you a used game. Otherwise steam games are most of the time 10 bucks or 15 percent cheaper than thier retail box counterpart on new releases and dirt cheap on old stuff that you'd be hard pressed to find at all. Yes the games are bound to your account its a good way to preserve my right to download games I've purchased, unlike the sleazy digital distros like Spore(before it was on steam), which offered to charge me 10 dollars to honor my liscense should I need a redownload I promptly gave that the finger and went the retail route, prolly should skipped the game on principle. It also cuts down on piracy.

I understand and have to agree that since this is an account of things you have purchased full ownership of they should not be able to deny you access to those things you own. However Its hard to buy the vilification of steam for banning users who are clearly breaking IP laws. Your CC example confused me, steam access is free, what couldn't he pay? I can see banning the rights to downloads and community tools but you should always be able to access your software that belongs to you. But for me this is irrelevant. Because I don't do things that might make people "think" I'm breaking thier rules, though your first example seems to be more in the line of, actual illicit conduct, I've not once had my account called into question, I've been on steam since it came out. For the vanilla user like me that simply wants a convinient quick direct to my PC purchase, skip the jerks at gamestop, not to mention thier malignant for the devs market approach, and to always own my copy of that game. Sure I can't trade it in but for 1 I saw a discount at the counter of 10-15 dollars on a new game. Trade in usually garners about 20 bucks, dock off the increased tax money and gas and disdain for the retailer and I'd say that 5 dollar differential is covered.

Don't get me wrong I think digital distro needs a few kinks worked out but i think steams got it pretty close, and keep in mind I support this always being voluntary, and there are definitly more of you than me. Sony and Toshiba thrive on the outcome of the solid format war so the hard copies not going anywhere, It' might soon be a 100gig flash stick but it will be there. But I like digital, usually its a nice discount, and more money gets to the devs instead of the pawn shops like ebgames. I know retailers generally only make about 5 dollars gross profit per new game sold, vs the 30 they make reselling used games(a lost customer to the people who actually made the game), games weigh very little take up nil space, and sell themselves, I don't see that the retailer is entitled to 30% on that. I know not everyone can afford it I'm not trying to stomp on thier options, but I want to support the devs, I want permanent ownership of my games that can't be lost in any flood/fire/move/ and I want it 20minutes after its release.

Lastly? Ordering unreleased games from amazon? Wonder if these 'fell off a truck' further the release dates are legally binding so somone might "Think" this is breaking the rules. That might account for the price gap. Sorry this clashes hard with your anger at steams rules.

Edit:sorry misread didn't notice the preorder in there. But in light of that, preorders on steam often include additional discounts. I'm starting to wonder if UK steam is just different. It doesn't sound like were talking about the same service at all.

Also Maybe I'm lucky I see steam services down once in a very blue moon. They gotta do maintanence sometime, but again this falls under consumer freedom, I don't think you should have to conform to my system, but I damn sure should not have to conform to Eb games system which here in the US is the only system, they've all other game stores in my section of the country, and every other national chain. The only things outside EB are the big retailers like wal mart, best buy etc. Everywhere else that sells games has joined the pawn shop extravaganza, I'll pass thanks.

 

[hyperdrachen]

snip

Wait... what? Did you just take my post and turned everything I said around on me even though I was right?

Okay I'll start again more specific:

The issue with the Credit Card was that he ordered something (e.g. a game) and couldn't pay up in time because of a miscalculation. If you don't believe me try it... buy something and mistakingly give them the wrong Paypal or CC Information and see what happens to your account:

There's actually a page listing up the details of when they disable accounts I found: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5406-WFZC-5519

It lists:

Piracy or Hacking
This includes using an unauthorized ("hacked") Steam client to access Steam, attempting to register fake CD Keys or attempting to register a CD Key which has been published on the internet.
Payment Fraud
Any fraudulent credit card use, credit card chargebacks, or Paypal chargebacks (regardless of when the transaction occurred).
Redeeming Fraudulent Gifts
Never accept a gift from an unknown user. Any accounts tied to a redeemed gift from a fraudulent source may be disabled.
Hijacking or Sharing Accounts
Do not use Steam accounts which you did not create.
Account "Phishing" and Deliberately Deceptive Activity
This includes contacting other users outside of Steam or over the Friends network under a misleading screen name or e-mail address (i.e. "Steam Admin", "VAC Administrator", "You Won Free Game Gift") and requesting password or account information.
Buying, Selling, or Trading Accounts
Accounts which have been bought, sold or traded will be disabled. This includes any other accounts in your possession at the time of the sale or trade, regardless of whether those accounts were also sold or not.
Violating Steam's Subscriber Agreement or Rules of Online Conduct
Please see the Steam Subscriber Agreement and Online Code of Conduct if you have any questions about the policies which govern Steam account use and account termination.

Remember they don't only make the Account "inactive" but actually disable it, literally making all the money and time you spent on the games go *poof* because you cannot login anymore after that (unless you clear up the issue)... they can't do that if you own the games phsyically, I don't think they would burn down your house because of it xD
In some cases when say someone Hijacks your account and does any of that using it, it is up to you to prove to Steam that it wasn't actually you or you are how to say... fucked

Lastly? Ordering unreleased games from amazon? Wonder if these 'fell off a truck' further the release dates are legally binding so somone might "Think" this is breaking the rules. That might account for the price gap. Sorry this clashes hard with your anger at steams rules.

I clearly stated they are Pre-Orders... You can Pre-Order games on Steam and on Amazon (directly, no resellers), STEAM always is considerably more expensive, I see that you don't seem to believe me or take me by the word so here are a few examples:
Use the currency converter at http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ (always Up-2-Date) to check the prices, at the moment 1 GBP equals ~1.15 ?

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (29? on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0021AEKOY/] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/901297/])

Aliens vs. Predator (20? on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002BA52KA/] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/34200/])

Bioshock 2 (25? on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-2-Bioshock-PC-DVD/dp/B00175SOS2/] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/8850/])

Borderlands (15? NEW over Resellers on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0026IBHII/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1266486707&sr=1-3&condition=new] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/8980/]

Dragon Age: Origins (17? on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-Dragon-Age-Origins/dp/B002BWONIU/] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/17450/]

Mass Effect 2 (30? on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mass-Effect-2-PC-DVD/dp/B001RIYMIA/] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/24980/]

Batman: Arkham Asylum (20? NEW over Resellers on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B001PO5NHU/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1266487116&sr=1-3&condition=new] and 50? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/35010/]

Heck, even their own Orange Box is much cheaper (12? on Amazon [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Half-Life-Orange-Box-PC-DVD/dp/B000RO0OKU/] and 30? on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/sub/474/]

They're all new and sigilated... I don't buy used games AND you pay for the actual medium, handbook and everything else while Steam should be cheaper cause there is no material cost..., if you for some reason still don't believe me just check yourself with any game you want lol
This is Europe mind you, it is probably the same in the US but I don't know of any Shops or Sites to check because I don't buy from there... also Valve also gets a large portion of the price like any other retailer

I appreciate the clarity but for 1 the entire list of violations you gave me seem completely legitimate to me. I already acknowledged your gripe about then denying you access to your games that you've already bought but even passed the fact your informed of that in the ToS, I personally would have expected that for the noted violations. The CC one sounds a bit harsh as you described it I would think generally insufficient funds would cause a denial of sale.

But on the account hi-jacking, as I've said on the forums of MMOs I play, spare me. The boogiemen out there using thier Movie Hacker skills to steal your info is so rarely the actual case. These hackers are generally clan members or so called friends that people give thier account info to, and in turn they abuse it. Totally understandable for an account based service to scrutinize a claim that it was somone else abusing your acount not you.

As far as the prices go, It is not the same in the US, not even remotley I can only assume this has to do with some sort of shortcomming on Valves part to offer the prices your Euro based distributors can. PC games are hard to come by here, the more console focused gamestores stock only the big PC exclusives, and the PC stores have miserable stock, and know not what a price drop is, games wise. For instance I stepped into Tech Advanced, local hardware store, to find Command and Conquer 3, for $60, can be had on steam for $20.

It certainly sounds like theyre failing to be competitive in Europe, and for that shame on them. But I don't support most of the policy end of your argument, aside from what sounds to me like a system in need of refinement of thier billing department. Your presented list of bannable offenses don't seem like a problem to me. I cannot speak for them past thier written state, niether I or anyone I know, have been wronged by them.

Lastly this began from a cry for me for proper digital distro on next gen consoles. Of course I don't want some failboat system that jacks your games if you cursed at somone, or some other arbitrary violation. But digital distro affords alot of advantage to devs, and people with demands like myself. I want the option there. I'm not proposing it be shoved down others throat. From what your telling me steams a big dissapointment on your side of the pond, but over here it mostly seems like the hackers crackers, and retailers have a problem. For me its been great for my PC gaming. I appologize for assuming that your examples of account stripping unjustly were the same excuses I've heard from people that I personally know cheat the system on a regular basis with CC scams and game cracks. That's just my bad.