So Apple have finally come forward to officially address the reception issues that iPhone 4 users have been complaining about and it turns out, at least according to them, that there is no issue.
Apples open letter describes that the problem is actually with the software and how it calculates how many bars to show depending on the reception in the area, they go on to explain that this was also present in older models of the iPhone because they all used the same formula. The software update will use a more precise calculation that they have obtained from AT&T.
You can read the entire letter here on Gizmodo but the gist of it really is that Apple won't admit that after extensive testing from many different reputable blogs and websites that there is a design flaw with its antenna and while this software update is going to more realistically display the reception of the phone, people who have been experiencing issues are going to continue to do so.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Final Fantasy XIV Specs and Release date announced?
It seems that the official FFXIV website has posted the release date and the requirements for the game and here they.
Release Date: September 3oth 2010
Requirements:
Windows XP
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.0ghz)
1.5GB RAM
16GB HDD space
Geforce 9600 512RAM or equivalent
So there we have it. Personally I'll have to upgrade if I want to play it comfortably (or buy it for the PS3)
Check out the official website for more info (that is, if you can read Japanese) here
Release Date: September 3oth 2010
Requirements:
Windows XP
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.0ghz)
1.5GB RAM
16GB HDD space
Geforce 9600 512RAM or equivalent
So there we have it. Personally I'll have to upgrade if I want to play it comfortably (or buy it for the PS3)
Check out the official website for more info (that is, if you can read Japanese) here
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
iPhone 4 issues
So the iPhone 4 has sold 1.7 million in 3 days probably making it the fastest selling phone ever created but this time around Apple have been getting a lot of complaints, the majority being that the phone loses reception if held in a certain way. Personally I can't imagine how a flaw as huge as that got through Apples QA processes. It's not as if you have to hold the phone in a very awkward position to replicate it, most people are going to notice the problem.
Apparently the issue is because the silver band which covers all sides of the phone is actually the antenna when it comes in contact with skin it dampens the signal, this isn't a problem in most phones because the antenna are usually on the inside of the phone.
Steve Jobs has given mixed responses to some people who've emailed him, he has supposedly said that it isn't an issue and not to hold the phone that way, most recently he said that it isn't an issue and to "stay tuned". Another "fix" is to buy a bumper case which Apple sell which covers the sides of the phone in rubber.
People speculated that this means that Apple are going to release a software update which will resolve the issue but I wonder if this is even possible? I was considering picking up the iPhone because its specs are impressive and the phones design is beautiful but until this issue is fixed or even officially addressed by Apple, there's not a chance a lot more people are going to pick it up.
For potential buyers, best case scenario; It can be fixed via software update. Worst case? Next years model will fix it. People who already own it, I would return it and demand my money back.
Another problem I've heard about is the phone shatters very easily when dropped due to the new glass that in the design. Apple have gone on record saying that it's less likely to scratch but the materials used to accomplish this actually weaken the overall integrity of the glass as a whole which means it's less likely to survive a fall than older models.
So at the end of the day, buying the bumper case which Apple are extorting $30 for seems to be required if you want the phone to work and survive which is a pity because the new design is too nice to hide.
Apparently the issue is because the silver band which covers all sides of the phone is actually the antenna when it comes in contact with skin it dampens the signal, this isn't a problem in most phones because the antenna are usually on the inside of the phone.
Steve Jobs has given mixed responses to some people who've emailed him, he has supposedly said that it isn't an issue and not to hold the phone that way, most recently he said that it isn't an issue and to "stay tuned". Another "fix" is to buy a bumper case which Apple sell which covers the sides of the phone in rubber.
People speculated that this means that Apple are going to release a software update which will resolve the issue but I wonder if this is even possible? I was considering picking up the iPhone because its specs are impressive and the phones design is beautiful but until this issue is fixed or even officially addressed by Apple, there's not a chance a lot more people are going to pick it up.
For potential buyers, best case scenario; It can be fixed via software update. Worst case? Next years model will fix it. People who already own it, I would return it and demand my money back.
Another problem I've heard about is the phone shatters very easily when dropped due to the new glass that in the design. Apple have gone on record saying that it's less likely to scratch but the materials used to accomplish this actually weaken the overall integrity of the glass as a whole which means it's less likely to survive a fall than older models.
So at the end of the day, buying the bumper case which Apple are extorting $30 for seems to be required if you want the phone to work and survive which is a pity because the new design is too nice to hide.
A year old!
It just dawned on me today that the blog must be a year old by now, checking back on the posts it seems I was right, officially we a year and and 18 days old! I know that I've have been neglecting things around here a bit in recently months but I can't believe that it's been going for that long.
Here's to many more!
Here's to many more!
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Alpha Testers Guide Appears Online
A lot of information has been leaked regarding the current Alpha testing phase of Final Fantasy XIV thanks to http://ffxivjourney.blogspot.com/It seems to be all the information that Square Enix passed out to the current testers to help them along with playing. There are also a few videos to check out which reveals a bit more information about how things are going to play out.
First things first, it looks like one of my main fears has happened, something that was a main problem for me in FFXI. I didn't see any mouse movement while using the menu systems which suggests that, like XI, you'll have to use keys rather than a cursor to navigate through them. This is something that really annoyed me and it was very close to being a game breaker in XI.
Another thing that I did notice and I wasn't really surprised was the "invisible walls" which is a big issue in all Square Enix games has reared it's head here too. Places where you expect to be able to walk or fall down is really a wall. It seems to be an accepted practice for them which is why I wasn't surprised.
I also wasn't surprised that it doesn't look like the player will be able to jump either :(
I still have high hopes for the game, this is only alpha footage which is very obvious so it's almost expected that we'll see a lot of changes.
Make sure you check out http://ffxivjourney.blogspot.com/ for all the information, if some of the videos don't work, as I suspect they won't once Square Enix gets wind of them, you can see the majority of the information here on Kotaku
Friday, 2 April 2010
Is the iPad worth it?
It seems like every tech site on the internet is covering the imminent launch of the iPad which for those of you in America is only a few hours away. I've been keeping an eye on the news in the last few days and I've read some of the reviews so I've decided to weigh in and give my opinion on the matter.
I'd be lying if I hadn't thought about ordering an iPad for myself, I've been quietly waiting for Microsofts Courier to be officially announced and released since it was leaked last year and as of right now the iPad is probably the closest thing to that, but I've been burned by Apple before which is why I've decided to wait. I got caught up in the hype of the iPhone when it originally launched back in 2008 and picked one up.
The phone was epic for it's multi-touch gestures and accelerometer but that was it really, no app store, poor iTunes connectivity and very buggy software. A year later they released the 3G and then the 3GS slowly adding new things. If they'd have released the 3G/S first, I probably wouldn't be writing this now. That is why I'm going to wait because I'm sure the same thing is going to happen with the iPad too.
Apple made a huge mistake not allowing flash support on this device. I think they got away with it on the iPhone (barely I might add) because it was a mobile phone but the iPad is supposed to be a Tablet PC. Apple have effectively blocked a good chunk of the internet thanks to this move, something which has downright stopped me from ordering one. I've seen some of the tech demos out there for HTML5 and it really is looking impressive but until it takes off and becomes widespread, the iPad is missing something too big to ignore. It's my opinion that the only reason Apple choose to block Flash is because of it's development capabilities. Why would you bother going through the process of getting your application approved by Apple when you could just post it online with Flash and let people use it that way?
I know a lot of people will tell you that Apple products are ridiculously overpriced and that you're paying for the brand name, not the actual product and they're right, $500 is a lot of money for what is, in reality a glorified iPhone/Touch XL. My main reason behind considering one is the application development, something I will definitely be playing around with in the near future and the possibilities open up even more with an iPhone XL, more space to do cool things.
In the end though I will be waiting until the iPad G or whatever the next iteration is going to be called comes out some time next year with the improvements and lower price tag before I think about getting it again, maybe by that time the Courier will be released.
So is the iPad worth it? No.
I'd be lying if I hadn't thought about ordering an iPad for myself, I've been quietly waiting for Microsofts Courier to be officially announced and released since it was leaked last year and as of right now the iPad is probably the closest thing to that, but I've been burned by Apple before which is why I've decided to wait. I got caught up in the hype of the iPhone when it originally launched back in 2008 and picked one up.
The phone was epic for it's multi-touch gestures and accelerometer but that was it really, no app store, poor iTunes connectivity and very buggy software. A year later they released the 3G and then the 3GS slowly adding new things. If they'd have released the 3G/S first, I probably wouldn't be writing this now. That is why I'm going to wait because I'm sure the same thing is going to happen with the iPad too.
Apple made a huge mistake not allowing flash support on this device. I think they got away with it on the iPhone (barely I might add) because it was a mobile phone but the iPad is supposed to be a Tablet PC. Apple have effectively blocked a good chunk of the internet thanks to this move, something which has downright stopped me from ordering one. I've seen some of the tech demos out there for HTML5 and it really is looking impressive but until it takes off and becomes widespread, the iPad is missing something too big to ignore. It's my opinion that the only reason Apple choose to block Flash is because of it's development capabilities. Why would you bother going through the process of getting your application approved by Apple when you could just post it online with Flash and let people use it that way?
I know a lot of people will tell you that Apple products are ridiculously overpriced and that you're paying for the brand name, not the actual product and they're right, $500 is a lot of money for what is, in reality a glorified iPhone/Touch XL. My main reason behind considering one is the application development, something I will definitely be playing around with in the near future and the possibilities open up even more with an iPhone XL, more space to do cool things.
In the end though I will be waiting until the iPad G or whatever the next iteration is going to be called comes out some time next year with the improvements and lower price tag before I think about getting it again, maybe by that time the Courier will be released.
So is the iPad worth it? No.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Official Final Fantasy XIV YouTube Channel is up!
Square Enix have opened up a Final Fantasy XIV YouTube channel which can be found here
There's only one video up at the moment but it's full of new gameplay (new to me anyway!)
The video brought back a lot of memories of FFXI to me. I think with the races being the same in both games, it just all seems very familiar but new at the same time. The locations shown in the video looked very promising, everything looked very grand and with what I'm imagining will be the theme song to the game being played in the background I'm sure it will be epic.
Unfortunately I had no clue what they were talking about but thanks to ZAM you can get the translation here
I hope that the game is still set for release this year, I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on it
There's only one video up at the moment but it's full of new gameplay (new to me anyway!)
The video brought back a lot of memories of FFXI to me. I think with the races being the same in both games, it just all seems very familiar but new at the same time. The locations shown in the video looked very promising, everything looked very grand and with what I'm imagining will be the theme song to the game being played in the background I'm sure it will be epic.
Unfortunately I had no clue what they were talking about but thanks to ZAM you can get the translation here
I hope that the game is still set for release this year, I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on it
Thursday, 25 March 2010
See you soon STO
Star Trek Online has been a success, at least in the eyes of Atari and Cryptic Studios. I don't think the same thing would be said by a vast majority of the initial player base, myself included. I don't think it's a failure, but it definitely needs some work!
The game has been launched nearly 2 months now and while Cryptic are still pushing out content updates like the recently released Season One which adds new PvP maps, more missions and a few other things you can find out about here
I've decided to cancel my subscription to the game for a while. My reason is being is that I can't justify the cost of a monthly subscription when there's so little to do. While the first taskforce mission was a lot of fun to play, in reality (for the moment anyway) it's the only real piece of endgame content available.
Another reason, which might not have played a part in my original decision to cancel the subscription, has definitely helped me in not regretting it. Charging real cash for in-game items. Aka - Microtransactions. I've made my opinions clear on the MT subject and they've officially become a reality today. Charging $4 dollars so you can create 2 more character is ridiculous. While I can understand stupid cosmetic things like new uniforms or bridge layouts, charging you to make more characters??
It's always been my opinion for an MMO that the first thing the developer should be concerned about is how they're going to keep people playing the game. Allowing the player to create more characters so they can play as different classes or factions usually does the trick for a while, it gives the developer enough time to build on it's existing end-game content. Cryptic, in their infinite wisdom decided to only give 3 character slots (5 if you bought the lifetime subscription)
I think it's very cheeky to ask a player to pay a fee on top of a monthly subscription for a slot to make a new character, something I think Cryptic (and any other company that does it) should be very ashamed of. I don't care that more characters take up extra server space. This is why you pay a monthly subscription in the first place!
In the end it's the long time/loyal player base who are the ones being targeted here. A new player isn't going to worry about multiple slots, retraining options and god knows whatever other ideas they come up with, it's the end-game players who need to consider them which is eventually what happens. I think as long as Cryptic keep game changing items out of the C-Store, people are most likely just going to accept these charges, but if Cryptic do cross that line...Game Over
I know I sound very harsh, that just goes to show how strongly I feel about it I guess but I don't want to say I'm finished with game forever because it's not true. You'll never see me using the C-Store, if they can continue to add more missions and new types of end-game content I would definitely come back to play them, but until then I'll watch from the sidelines so I don't miss anything and wait for the right time to come back.
The game has been launched nearly 2 months now and while Cryptic are still pushing out content updates like the recently released Season One which adds new PvP maps, more missions and a few other things you can find out about here
I've decided to cancel my subscription to the game for a while. My reason is being is that I can't justify the cost of a monthly subscription when there's so little to do. While the first taskforce mission was a lot of fun to play, in reality (for the moment anyway) it's the only real piece of endgame content available.
Another reason, which might not have played a part in my original decision to cancel the subscription, has definitely helped me in not regretting it. Charging real cash for in-game items. Aka - Microtransactions. I've made my opinions clear on the MT subject and they've officially become a reality today. Charging $4 dollars so you can create 2 more character is ridiculous. While I can understand stupid cosmetic things like new uniforms or bridge layouts, charging you to make more characters??
It's always been my opinion for an MMO that the first thing the developer should be concerned about is how they're going to keep people playing the game. Allowing the player to create more characters so they can play as different classes or factions usually does the trick for a while, it gives the developer enough time to build on it's existing end-game content. Cryptic, in their infinite wisdom decided to only give 3 character slots (5 if you bought the lifetime subscription)
I think it's very cheeky to ask a player to pay a fee on top of a monthly subscription for a slot to make a new character, something I think Cryptic (and any other company that does it) should be very ashamed of. I don't care that more characters take up extra server space. This is why you pay a monthly subscription in the first place!
In the end it's the long time/loyal player base who are the ones being targeted here. A new player isn't going to worry about multiple slots, retraining options and god knows whatever other ideas they come up with, it's the end-game players who need to consider them which is eventually what happens. I think as long as Cryptic keep game changing items out of the C-Store, people are most likely just going to accept these charges, but if Cryptic do cross that line...Game Over
I know I sound very harsh, that just goes to show how strongly I feel about it I guess but I don't want to say I'm finished with game forever because it's not true. You'll never see me using the C-Store, if they can continue to add more missions and new types of end-game content I would definitely come back to play them, but until then I'll watch from the sidelines so I don't miss anything and wait for the right time to come back.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Final Fantasy XIII Review Scores
I've been certain for the last few years that it's very hard to trust the scores that websites and magazines give to high profile games, simply because I'm convinced they are payed off in some sense to give it favorable reviews. Today IGN wrote what I thought was a very fair review and gave it a score it deserved. Unfortunately they picked a game I had the high hopes for to give a low score.
I've already had people come back at me with saying that 8.3 isn't a bad score for a game. Normally I would agree; A lot of people and a lot of developers would be happy to get above 8 but I don't think there has been a numbered Final Fantasy that has ever gone below 9 on its first-time review (remakes don't count!) which what upsets me I guess.
From what I've gathered, there isn't really a "Bad Guy" like Sephiroth. There aren't any NPC's to interact with and no towns to explore. Basically, it seems like they took out all the RPG elements (much like Bioware did to ME2) and have made it more of an action game.
Yeah I know this post doesn't really have a point, you might say that this is my way of venting on the subject. I just read EDGE's review and they gave it a 5/10. Stating the same issues I mentioned above :(
The game isn't out till Tuesday and I'll definitely be picking it up regardless of bad reviews. I just hope that I enjoy it as much as I have the others in the franchise, it can't be much worse than Final Fantasy X-2....can it?
Expect a review once I get my hands on it!
I've already had people come back at me with saying that 8.3 isn't a bad score for a game. Normally I would agree; A lot of people and a lot of developers would be happy to get above 8 but I don't think there has been a numbered Final Fantasy that has ever gone below 9 on its first-time review (remakes don't count!) which what upsets me I guess.
From what I've gathered, there isn't really a "Bad Guy" like Sephiroth. There aren't any NPC's to interact with and no towns to explore. Basically, it seems like they took out all the RPG elements (much like Bioware did to ME2) and have made it more of an action game.
Yeah I know this post doesn't really have a point, you might say that this is my way of venting on the subject. I just read EDGE's review and they gave it a 5/10. Stating the same issues I mentioned above :(
The game isn't out till Tuesday and I'll definitely be picking it up regardless of bad reviews. I just hope that I enjoy it as much as I have the others in the franchise, it can't be much worse than Final Fantasy X-2....can it?
Expect a review once I get my hands on it!
Friday, 26 February 2010
STO Suggestions
So STO launched about 2 weeks ago, I was going to write a review but I don't think it's really possible to fully review a game which is never meant to end, so instead of that, I'm going to give my suggestions to make the game better.
Ditch the Memory Alpha Crafting System
I hate to come off like I'm being mean for no reason, but whoever thought that Memory Alpha was a good idea needs a good kick up the arse. Cryptic have never been very good with crafting, Champions Online has suffered the same fate and City of Heroes/Villains is no better off either.
One thing that people have been begging for pretty much since Cryptic took over development was a full and interesting crafting system and while there is Tribble breeding for the Federation, what we really want is to craft consoles and weapons.
More Scripted Episodes
Right now I'm only a second grade Captain in-game and I've heard that content can get very thin towards the Admiral rank, my experiences as a Commander were pretty bad, I found myself with no missions other than the repeatable Cluster and Deep Space Encounter ones. While procedurally generated content is good for filling in gaps, it is in no way a replacement for scripted missions. Some of the "Episodes" have been amazing, it really did feel like being in an episode of Star Trek, while the procedural content is fairly boring. (Does anyone else notice that the Galaxy seems to be overrun by lava bleeding trees??)
Raid Groups and Missions!
I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there are a lot of other people out there who hate the Crystalline Entity with a passion thanks to being grouped with morons who don't pay attention. Cryptic really need to implement raid grouping, so that Fleets can group together and take on Fleet Actions privately. So far, the only real benefit to joining a Fleet has been to use a Fleet Bank and have the use of a fleet channel. It seems that the new "Raidisodes" being released soon are still only 5-man instances which is very disappointing.
Speed Ground Combat up again!
During Beta, Ground Combat was fast and furious, until they decided to try and slow it down to keep with more traditional MMO pace. I personally prefer it faster, for a sci-fi MMO I think it needs to feel like everything is happening quickly, as it would in a real gun-fight, having to wait for a 1 second cooldown between shots just feels wrong.
Tweak Exchange
I'd like to see more options on the exchange. I think they need to add sub-sections to the weapons tab so that we can search for turrets, cannons, phasers, distrupters individually. As it stands now you need to know the name of an item to search for it. New players specifically aren't going to know whats going on (I know I didn't anyway)
Conclusion
I can't think of any MMO that hasn't suffered from problems during launch (Yes, even World of Warcraft!) so it would be unfair to say that STO isn't living up to my expectations. I plan on giving Cryptic another month or two before I make any final decisions on whether I'll renew my subscription, if they were to implement some of my suggestions above, I think it'd go a long way to making the game as popular as it deserves to be.
Ditch the Memory Alpha Crafting System
I hate to come off like I'm being mean for no reason, but whoever thought that Memory Alpha was a good idea needs a good kick up the arse. Cryptic have never been very good with crafting, Champions Online has suffered the same fate and City of Heroes/Villains is no better off either.
One thing that people have been begging for pretty much since Cryptic took over development was a full and interesting crafting system and while there is Tribble breeding for the Federation, what we really want is to craft consoles and weapons.
More Scripted Episodes
Right now I'm only a second grade Captain in-game and I've heard that content can get very thin towards the Admiral rank, my experiences as a Commander were pretty bad, I found myself with no missions other than the repeatable Cluster and Deep Space Encounter ones. While procedurally generated content is good for filling in gaps, it is in no way a replacement for scripted missions. Some of the "Episodes" have been amazing, it really did feel like being in an episode of Star Trek, while the procedural content is fairly boring. (Does anyone else notice that the Galaxy seems to be overrun by lava bleeding trees??)
Raid Groups and Missions!
I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there are a lot of other people out there who hate the Crystalline Entity with a passion thanks to being grouped with morons who don't pay attention. Cryptic really need to implement raid grouping, so that Fleets can group together and take on Fleet Actions privately. So far, the only real benefit to joining a Fleet has been to use a Fleet Bank and have the use of a fleet channel. It seems that the new "Raidisodes" being released soon are still only 5-man instances which is very disappointing.
Speed Ground Combat up again!
During Beta, Ground Combat was fast and furious, until they decided to try and slow it down to keep with more traditional MMO pace. I personally prefer it faster, for a sci-fi MMO I think it needs to feel like everything is happening quickly, as it would in a real gun-fight, having to wait for a 1 second cooldown between shots just feels wrong.
Tweak Exchange
I'd like to see more options on the exchange. I think they need to add sub-sections to the weapons tab so that we can search for turrets, cannons, phasers, distrupters individually. As it stands now you need to know the name of an item to search for it. New players specifically aren't going to know whats going on (I know I didn't anyway)
Conclusion
I can't think of any MMO that hasn't suffered from problems during launch (Yes, even World of Warcraft!) so it would be unfair to say that STO isn't living up to my expectations. I plan on giving Cryptic another month or two before I make any final decisions on whether I'll renew my subscription, if they were to implement some of my suggestions above, I think it'd go a long way to making the game as popular as it deserves to be.
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