Friday, March 9, 2012

What I wish I saw more of in Mass Effect 3 (Spoilers)

Mass Effect 3 Is most definately one of the most action packed games that I could not stop playing. However at the end it felt a little cold and bitter. Almost as if I've been robbed of the ending we work so hard to achieve.

It made me think, What would have made Mass Effect 3 a better game?

Characters, the game had decent development however I am used to having certain builds and team members.

What I wish was better about the Characters 

Wrex/Grunt
Why weren't they a playable squad member? How rewarding would that have been to have Wrex's ass from the first game to finally be able to be on the same team with him again? Ugh. I would think they would at least give me Grunt. BUTTTT NOOOOOOOO. No Krogan Battle Bank for the most intense fighting you'll ever have in the series.

Good: Dialog Scenes and great story with the end of it all. We do deserve to get an aftermath though. At least a text or something that tells us how the universe is after we control the reapers or destroy all life or when we combine everything -___-.


Prothean - Javik
The only reason I bought the digital deluxe edition was because of this guy. I'm happy I did, Jarvik for the purpose of the story is an incredible element. However to get him you have to pony up 10$ from the normal version. I don't think that's right.
           First off: He was ready before the game was released. Given that everyone has to use origin. This should have been a patch and part of the entire game.
           Secondly: This practice of DLC creation before the game is even released caused quite a bit of anger among players.
           Lastly: He's got to be one of the coolest squad member around. I can't imagine the game without him. Bioware/EA said this DLC is for story fanatics. Well to Bioware/EA, Mass Effect is all about the story. Mass Effect 3 is redemption for all of our hundreds of hours spent fighting the Reapers. Justify our time investment and we'll keep biting.




Tali Zora

Not her actual face, but I wish it was. Common! Don't we finally get to see what she looks like under the mask?! She not only takes it off in ME2 but this time also in 3! DAMNIT I WANT TO KNOW.








Harbinger
I really wish that the showdown between Shepard and Harbinger wasn't simply Harbinger roasting everyone's ass. With this bad guy I wish there was a showdown between the Normany and the fleet versus the Reapers. That woulda been cool. It was really cool seeing all the different fleets fly in to help the fight. It would have been better to see some massive fleet on fleet action like in Star wars or something.

Also I really wished we got to roast his ass. Or at least let Jarvik and Harbinger talk with Harbinger teasing him. That woulda been uhhh awesome.

Either way we deserved to roast this guy.








Rachni Queen
Uhm. Really. War Assets for such a decision? This should have been a huge decision. In conversations about ME1 one of the biggest questions from ME1 is did you save the queen?

There should have been more then just oh yay here are some crappy numbers for your chart to say that you have them.

I wanted to see Rachni fight Reaper Zombies and even Rachni fight Cerberus for the enslavement. I wish that the queen would have an Asari Rep in the War room working with Shepard Similarly to how the Krogan helped the Turians.


Illusive Man
His end has to be the most annoying. In the art concept they have him turning into this giant zombie crap. Instead he's a sad controlled little man with freaky eyes. He also gets taken down by a single bullet.

The Multi Billionaire with freaky cybernetics get's taken down by a crappy pea shooter by a Shepard on the brink of death?

Back to the concept art, He should have been more like Saren; Turning into a freaky shit you have to fight off to get to the catalyst.

Either way it's a abrupt end to the backstabber you want to mess up.





Kai Leng/Rain
My biggest complaint about this guy is that he's too much like Rain from Ninja Assassin. I know he's supposed to be a bad ass ninja with an Asian background but common they don't have to look alike! The entire time I was listening to Kai Leng I would always refer to Rain.




















James Vega
I don't get it. I don't understand who he is or why he's important enough to be on Shepard's team of super heroes. Yes yes, he's an alliance soldier who is on guard duty on Shepard. But really? Gimme Wrex or Grunt instead of this guy. He doesn't even have a loyalty mission or a real backstory. He's just kinda there. Like the random guy I'd never touch because I don't know who the hell he is.


The Catalyst
What. I don't. No. I don't get it. I understand that there's some symbology about the whole story but shiet. Really? That's what you come up with? It's a little ghost thing? Also how the hell is the Crucible supposed to work with this thing? Why does it control the Reapers? What the HELL is this?

We all have ideas and guesses. BUT SHIET. I WANT the actual FINAL say. He doesn't do a good job explaining freaking anything. I still don't completely understand what the hell he is and why he took this form. It's creepy as hell and it's strange as hell. Please someone explain to me why was he a good story plot. He was the catalyst to my entire confusion at the end of the game. Also don't get me started on the Choices he presents.


More Animations depending on what you did. 
At some point I really wish that the Rachni did save your ass. Or Grunts ass back there. Like if there was a good rachni versus bad rachni showdown to save your ass. That would have been cool.

The earth mission
I wish that they showed Turians, Krogans, Asari, Geth, Rachni, Drell and Everyone else you commit with War Assets to fight to the Beam. Or even I kinda wish there was more Earth battles saying that you had to start some sort of super electromagnetic pulse that would knock out some reapers for I don't know 20-30 mins to run towards the beam only to be stopped by a Reaper flitting in.

I wish there was more ship battles to show that who you did side with matters. Where's the famous Turian Fleet? or The Quarian fleet? I wanted to see rag tag mercenary bands

I wish that there was animation showing the Geth helping the Quarians rebuild and some animations that actually showed the building of the Crucible and as you more party's involved it helped.

This is where I wished EA/Bioware was more like Blizzard. At least they'll give us the redeeming feeling of completion.

Multiplayer
This is actually really fun however there are elements they need to freaking fix/add.

More Maps

Different Missions
Maybe some story based battles like EARTH and the final approach. Help Shepard get into the beam. OR Help take back the citadel.

Left for dead anyone?

Fight till you die?

Historical battles anyone?

Text Chat
Seriously? What the hell. Why isn't this in there?

Credit System 
I think Kill count should effect your credits. Instead of Squad score and mission speed. The points you get? that should be the credits you get.

Powers reset 
WHERE IS THIS BUTTON? DID I SCREW UP MY ENGINEER FOREVER?


Co Op
I feel like they said Co Op only because they didn't care to take the time to create this system and balance it. Who said it has to be about fighting the bad guys the entire time. What Krogan and Turians never fought? Turians and Humans never fought?

Also the multiplayer is how you get people to keep playing Mass Effect. You expand it and you get people sucked in. Micro Transactions is okay if it doesn't effect Gameplay. For example Cosmetics would be okay.

I'm out of steam for now, maybe I'll write more later. I just think that they had a star chance to make an amazing Franchise even bigger. They also have a chance to fix it as we're so invested in this game. We want to see it done right. We want to feel good about the 5 years and hundreds of hours playing the game.

The game was about changing the world and saving the galaxy. It began with the choices you make echo for an eternity. While it ends up being. You're damned anyway. If I knew it came down to those three endings and that your choices don't matter. I don't think I would have started.


March 9th 2012. 





4G or not 4G Reblog

4G or not? 


Owners of AT&T's iPhone 4S are a bit confused with the 4G cell signal icon now appearing on their devices after they updated to the new iOS 5.1.
While the AT&T iPhone 4S model runs on the wireless carrier's HSPA+ network, a slightly faster version than 3G, it is not receiving 4G or 4G LTE speeds which are 10 times faster than 3G.
The iPhone 4S does not have the chipset required to access a 4G network. It will run at the same speed before the iOS 5.1 update.
However, AT&T spokeswoman Kelly Starling said "iPhone 4S customers have been getting 4G since day one."
AT&T's company response: "Apple has updated its iOS software to show a 4G network indicator when customers are on AT&T’s 4G network.  Only AT&T’s network lets iPhone 4S download 3 times faster, and only AT&T customers have access to the nation’s largest 4G network covering nearly 250M people."

Cruise Deal - Go to the Caribbean for as little as $299



Confusing? Yes.
While some are calling AT&T and Apple dishonest and manipulative, part of the problem is that the definition of cell signals, known as 2G, 3G, and 4G, is a bit fuzzy.
A 2010 decision by the International Telecommunications Union, an agency of the United Nations that establishes worldwide telecom standards, shows that 4G is an "undefined term" that can be applied to LTE and "evolved 3G technologies."
AT&T andT-Mobile rebranded their HSPA+ networks as 4G.
LTE, which is a true 4G technology, is marketed as 4G LTE.
The new iPad, announced earlier this week, will run on 4G LTE.
Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel
Taken from 
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/technology/blog/os-4g-iphone-4s-att-20120309,0,7617071.story
3.9.2012 3:15 PM 

This is a reblog
I don't take any credit in this repost or claim that it is my words. I'm simply blogging it for informational purposes. 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

C910 Versus C920 (Out of Box Difference)


Unboxing the C920
IMG_0910


Screw Hole (Not in the C910) (C910 on the right)

IMG_0917IMG_0926

In the center is a movable tab that help’s fit the C920 (Left)
How the Tab fits on a Macbook Pro(Right)
IMG_0916IMG_0921

The C910 Not fitting as tight as the C920
IMG_0922


The Red Lens of the C920
IMG_0915


C920 and C910 Side by Side
IMG_0926IMG_0927

My experience with the C910 is that it’s a solid webcam. I haven’t had time to test out the difference between the two or even power up the C920.

The C920 out of box has a bigger lens section. A Better fitting method and it also doesn't have the Blue lights that the C910 would power up when active. (This I guess would remove the blueish hue in low light situations) I personally never had a problem with that though. 

I’ve been asked to do a comparison video but my biggest roadblock is what should I be doing as I do this comparison?

I can’t wait to test it out though.
Performance tests coming up next! 


David

Google Play (20,000 Songs to the Cloud)



Play.Google.Com


At first I was skeptical about what Google Play is.

It looked like a response to Icloud and Itunes as a location to buy and store your digital purchases.

However the more I look at it the more it looks like an evolution as opposed to a response.

I've tried out Spotify, Pandora, Grooveshark and other music streaming service.
I'd dare say that Google isn't doing a streaming service like those listed above.


It's key differences:

1. Web Service : Everything is on the Web Browser, including the music player.
2. Your Music: Up to 20,000 free. More if you pay.
                 To get your songs you can download something called a music manager to sync your songs between your computer and the google cloud.

The Interface : Like I said is within the browser.
It works with my car's on-board music controls and it streams with a slight lag between songs. 



With this said, I think it's a natural progression of cloud computing.
I'll be trying this out a bit more.

Google Play also does streaming Video with what you buy.

David Chiang
3/8/2012