Profile of CombatMuffin

They are putting in modern PC grade hardware so its basically going to be a PC minus all the maintenance, virus softwares, and hardware installation......etc.

Part of what you say is true, another part not so true. I understand why the add the netflix stuff, and the sports. They are trying to reduce the risks involved in console making, by not relying solely on videogame sales to earn back a profit from consoles, effectively reducing the lifecycle of the console. That could mean, you'll be buying more consoles from them.

As far as the whole virus stuff, this is not true. ANY single computer device can be riddled with viruses and hacks, but like mac devices, some are harder to distribute or simply don't hold key information to hack. What are you going to hack in an xbox? His achievement history? Now, though, you can hack his skype conversations, or spy someone's home by itnerfering with the webcam, which will prove interesting in the security world.

Next up: technology. People need to realize, that when a console comes out, it is weaker than the PC. All of the technology wrapped up in the newest consoles have subpar hardware (though not by much, I admit) to the average gaming PC. 6 months later, the PC has evolved with even better hardware. Its a tradeoff, but developers are always hard pressed to make console games. While they don't have to worry about optimizing for different hardware, they have to find clever ways to deal with the extremely limited memory consoles have. This is the reason why consoles have sucky textures, sucky loading times, and sucky Level of Detail. The games that "dont" are form very, VERY clever developers that spent unreal amounts of effort going around it. It is not easy.

Cross platform compability: forget it. Won't happen. They don't want you buying or playing with other consoles. Microsoft even had a legal clause, where if a Playstation or Wii version game, had any features that the Xbox versions didn't, they would remove your license to release that game on Xbox.

Its the reason why Gabe Newell kicked xbox away.

Like I said, its not a bad thing, its just something I feel is changing the gaming industry into something I don't like. Others might like it, and thats cool.

oh and sidenot, get rid of the death on retreat it is just nonsensical if i am running for my life i am building up heat in my body, adrenaline pumping at thought of safety you are unlikely to die whilst on the home run.

You will actually die a lot faster. The heat generated by your body will not be enough to warm you up, you will be wasting precious energy that can be used to focus on survival and, the best part: you will sweat. Sweat will freeze, and you will actually get colder and die faster.

As for Nullist's comment, I still disagree, and this time, because you simply are not seeing the tactical possibilities.

A unit wouldn't get negative modifiers so that it is useless. Like I said, there are thresholds. But if you reduce their combat effectiveness by a good 15-25%, then it is harsh enough so that fighting against an optimal unit will most likely have you losing. There's still criticals, there's still combnied arms, and there's still positioning and cover.

Evne if a unit was hampered by freezing temperatures, you can still use it: it can scout. It can cap. It can occupy a building, so that the enemy doesn't use it against your other troops (regardless if it heats you or not), you can recrew weapons that will help your push, heal other ostheer units or merge conscripts. You can still use special abilities: such as molotovs and At grenades, which get no penalties.

So no. They are not standing around being useless unless you can't figure what to do with them. They are temporarily weakened, but in the right circumstances, still very useful.

Besides, in the latest build, you can build bonfires during blizzards, making Tycho's point even stronger: there is no excuse for a player to lose men to the cold, its not really a useful mechanic.

Sometimes optimization works best for higher end systems, sometimes only for lower end systems (maybe not as low as mine lol).

Surprisingly, CoH2 loads faster in my PC than vCoH.

Just saying that making the AI good is dependent on the devs and not the machine.

But yeah, new XBOX seems to be just a voice command remote control for TV.

It does come down to the devs, but the devs are completely limited by the hardware. Since the consoles are almost entirely dedicated to fancy graphics, most of the firepower is directed towards GPU intensive operations, and very little processing power in comparison, which in turn leaves very little resources available for A.I.

With all the new added crap into the Xbox system, the hardware will have to devote even more resources into the dashboard. Updating your damn tv shows, incoming skype calls, etc. M$ will also have to devote precious resources into debugging stuff that is not even related to videogames at all.

This is NOT a a next gen videogame console. Its a next gen home theater that happens to play videogames.

I completely disagree. Dying from Cold is not the only way to force players into decision making.

If cold penalties are harsh enough to weaken your combat capabilities, severely, then that will be incentive enough, simply because you will lose any engagements with the enemy, because of the cold. That is incentive enough.