Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 332

Destiny Announced, Impire, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fire Emblem, Future Console & PC Tech, Your Emails and more!

This week donation drive supporter Gameguru joins Shawn, Julian and Elysium to talk future tech!

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind. You can even send a 30 second audio question or comment (MP3 format please) if you're so inclined.

Chairman_Mao's Timestamps
00.01.40 Destiny
00.08.22 Deadspace 3
00.10.23 Neverwinter Nights 2
00.10.58 Fire Emblem
00.13.41 Impire
00.16.40 Warlock: Master of the Arcane
00.21.11 This week's topic: the future of PC and console hardware!
00.41.06 Your emails!

Impire
Destiny
Fire Emblem

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Cosmos - Workbench Music - http://workbench-music.com/ - 20:45

Blink - Workbench Music - http://workbench-music.com/ - 40:37

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

Comments

Haven't listened yet, but surprised to not see Aliens CM listed. No one tried it? (Hint: multiplayer is worthwhile.)

I've played some of the single player. Hopefully we can touch on it next week.

Just listened to some of the speculation about new tech and that gaming will be fine on an i5 chip with a modest graphics card. I'm curious about thoughts on the Oculus Rift. Seems like VR will require beefier hardware to keep latency low.

Is it just me, or is Gameguru Jeff Green's audible doppelgänger?

TheGrey wrote:

Just listened to some of the speculation about new tech and that gaming will be fine on an i5 chip with a modest graphics card. I'm curious about thoughts on the Oculus Rift. Seems like VR will require beefier hardware to keep latency low.

I'm still waiting on my Rift.. but at 720P even at 60FPS (lets assume 30FPS in each "eye") to simulate 3D you arent exactly pushing top of the line hardware. With most games a single 660ti+ should provide a quality experience. Naturally the better the hardware the better the experience.

Isn't Nintendo's Wii U deluxe promotion basically Skymiles?

EDIT: Not sure what to think about Destiny. I feel like they're trying to go for something like Planetside, but maybe with the opportunity to do additional games in the universe that aren't shooters (like EVE/Dust). Definitely agree that won't be on the current generation of consoles, much like Watch Dogs.

Jayhawker wrote:

Is it just me, or is Gameguru Jeff Green's audible doppelgänger?

There's certainly a similarity, but I wouldn't call it a doppelgänger.

Jayhawker wrote:

Is it just me, or is Gameguru Jeff Green's audible doppelgänger?

I thought the same thing!

"I'm thinking about upgrading from my old i5." As someone running a rig that's 5 years old, I really hated you for that Shawn. ^_^ Just this month, I was looking at the i5's, thinking about upgrading from my Core 2 Duo, upgrading to DDR3 for the RAM... And then I figured I'd wait another couple of months since we're moving in October and I don't want to sink 600€ in a rig that might get damaged by careless airport crew.
Yeah, looks like I lost that race!

Really appreciated the children and screentime question. My own child is only 15 months old, but I'm already starting to tackle this issue. I'm very adamant about not having the TV on constantly, something I'm often disagreeing with my husband about (he basically turns it on as soon as he gets up, drives me absolutely insane). If I can help it, TV will be kept to a minimum, I too would like to avoid that glassy eyed, open mouthed stare as long as possible.
And of course, the little guy keeps seeing us on our iPhone half the time, so he tries to mimic us and wants to use the iPhone too. He's already figured how to unlock it. Astounding what those little beings can learn, I still can't quite realize it. I'd still like for him to fingerpaint with real paint, draw with real crayons, read books with real paper, but I understand the allure of the digital, having succumbed myself the siren call of iBooks (not much of a surprise when you're on the move every couple of years, a lot of my beloved books had to stay behind in storage). If anything, I'd like to teach him the appeal of both, the ability to make an educated choice between the digital and the physical, and that's what's most important to me.

Eleima wrote:

"I'm thinking about upgrading from my old i5." As someone running a rig that's 5 years old, I really hated you for that Shawn. ^_^ Just this month, I was looking at the i5's, thinking about upgrading from my Core 2 Duo, upgrading to DDR3 for the RAM... And then I figured I'd wait another couple of months since we're moving in October and I don't want to sink 600€ in a rig that might get damaged by careless airport crew.
Yeah, looks like I lost that race! :D

You should wait until the Haswell chips launch. Then you won't be a generation behind on the CPU, or you can grab one of the current i5 chips for cheaper.

shoptroll wrote:

You should wait until the Haswell chips launch. Then you won't be a generation behind on the CPU, or you can grab one of the current i5 chips for cheaper.

Now *there's* smart thinking!! Thank you!! Any ETA on this new hardware, I'm completely out of the loop. Like I said, I'm holding out until after the October move, but the Haswell chips launch in November or December, I'm willing to endure for an extra couple of months (this current rig can't even run Dishonored!! ).

Hmm...

So it keeps sounding like an Ivy Bridge i5/i7 and mid-range graphics card (660/7850/7870/660 TI) is still viable for at least a few more years.

C'mon tax return!

I'd like to say that I also really enjoyed Gameguru's analysis on the tech side of business. It made for some really good discussion. You could even have him back withut bleeding him for cash.

Thanks Shoptroll!! Looks like waiting an extra couple of a months was a good move all around!

Jayhawker wrote:

I'd like to say that I also really enjoyed Gameguru's analysis on the tech side of business. It made for some really good discussion. You could even have him back without bleeding him for cash.

Agreed, I thought he had very relevant remarks. (granted, I am a bit of a noob in the tech department compared to others, but still)

As someone who's in an industry that values good presentation and was taught to hand draft with precision and artistry, I still hold that doing things by hand is indeed inherently better. The tactile feedback that just isn't there with a screen is something many may not be aware of (and the implications thereof) until it causes another problem. In my line of work, that problem usually surfaces before the first computer aided project is even half-done. You just loose a lot of weight and meaning to your actions when a line is just something abstract on a screen rather than a stroke that relates to a real world material, that even though it can be erased, even the erasure mark forever alters the paper, if ever so slightly.

Eleima wrote:

Thanks Shoptroll!! Looks like waiting an extra couple of a months was a good move all around!

Jayhawker wrote:

I'd like to say that I also really enjoyed Gameguru's analysis on the tech side of business. It made for some really good discussion. You could even have him back without bleeding him for cash.

Agreed, I thought he had very relevant remarks. (granted, I am a bit of a noob in the tech department compared to others, but still)

+3 from me too! Enjoyed his presence on the podcast. Looking forward to the other new voices down the road.

I'm right there with you, Eleima, on the hardware front. Running a Core 2 Duo and 460GTX and wondering about upgrading this year. I'll probably wait until after the summer time and see how the tech and prices shake out.

I tweeted at the GWCC a month or so ago, but not sure how often that's checked: a future show idea, if you're running dry and can finagle the scheduling, I'd be super interested in having Rob Zackney on with you guys and discuss getting into the Esports scene as a spectator. Where to watch, who to listen to, fun teams to follow, that kind of thing.

TheGameguru wrote:
TheGrey wrote:

Just listened to some of the speculation about new tech and that gaming will be fine on an i5 chip with a modest graphics card. I'm curious about thoughts on the Oculus Rift. Seems like VR will require beefier hardware to keep latency low.

I'm still waiting on my Rift.. but at 720P even at 60FPS (lets assume 30FPS in each "eye") to simulate 3D you arent exactly pushing top of the line hardware. With most games a single 660ti+ should provide a quality experience. Naturally the better the hardware the better the experience.

I just read an interesting tech blog about VR latency. I don't think you can dismiss the hardware requirements for good, believable VR so easily. It's not just the GPU, everything along the game pipeline can introduce latency and as the blog says, too much latency is what makes people get motion sickness and what ruins the VR. 20-30ms is all that can be tolerated.

http://www.altdevblogaday.com/2013/0...

I was really confused when I heard Dead or Alive 2 and Tegra 4, he was talking about Dead on Arrival 2 (cause I'm pretty sure the Tegra 4 has more horsepower than the original XBox or PS2).

mrtomaytohead wrote:

As someone who's in an industry that values good presentation and was taught to hand draft with precision and artistry, I still hold that doing things by hand is indeed inherently better. The tactile feedback that just isn't there with a screen is something many may not be aware of (and the implications thereof) until it causes another problem.

That should come as no surprise given that we've been writing for thousands of years, cave painting for tens of thousands, and making tools for millions...and only typing for 150. It's genetic.

edit: along these lines, you might enjoy a Ted Talk: "When ideas have sex":
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley...

I spent much of this episode wondering if GameGuru has some sort of gamer Brewster's Millions situation going on.

Sean, the difference between finger painting (or any artwork) on paper and painting with the iPad is that young children need fine motor development. My pre-school aged son has been getting a little physical therapy every week since he was 3 to help him just use a pair of safety scissors or hold a crayon, marker or pen the right way, and he's made great progress over the last two years. As prevalent as tablets may be in our future, you will still have to hold a pen occasionally and write "the old fashioned way."

Whoever is browsing the internet while podcasting, is it possible to mute your mic while you click throughout the entire show? It's a bit distracting.

Draco wrote:

write "the old fashioned way."

Pens and pencils. Pufft. We might as well keep typewriters around, too, if we're going to try to teach kids how to use pens and pencils.

Also, who's to say that touchscreens and controllers aren't good for experimenting with fine motor development?

Keithustus wrote:

Also, who's to say that touchscreens and controllers aren't good for experimenting with fine motor development?

Um... a great many physical therapists? Are you an expert or have any actual knowledge in the area? While dragging your finger in a precise movement does take fine motor skill, using several fingers at once in conjunction is altogether different.

shoptroll wrote:

Isn't Nintendo's Wii U deluxe promotion basically Skymiles?

It's gamification all the way down.

Draco wrote:

Sean, the difference between finger painting (or any artwork) on paper and painting with the iPad is that young children need fine motor development. My pre-school aged son has been getting a little physical therapy every week since he was 3 to help him just use a pair of safety scissors or hold a crayon, marker or pen the right way, and he's made great progress over the last two years. As prevalent as tablets may be in our future, you will still have to hold a pen occasionally and write "the old fashioned way."

This is, I think, the main reason to do some analog stuff. That practice in physical manipulation is a big part of how children learn spatial reasoning and the start to a lot of related logic and mathematical understanding.

Then again, I wonder if a child raised in a digital environment may be drastically better adapted to thinking in ways that seem less "natural" to us who were brought up in an analog world. Who wants to volunteer their offspring for my mind experiments?

Draco wrote:

a great many physical therapists? Are you an expert or have any actual knowledge in the area? While dragging your finger in a precise movement does take fine motor skill, using several fingers at once in conjunction is altogether different.

Physical therapists? Ha. Let's see what scientists think. Here's a sample googling:

http://miriam-mos.blogspot.com/2012/...

http://school-ot.com/fine%20motor%20...

Hmmmmm...there seems to be an underlying assumption behind these and similar articles that hints that young children these days are performing basically no activities besides using touch screens, in which case, duh...they won't have a lot of opportunities to use skills other than their fingertips. So you're interested in the aspects of fine motor development requiring using several fingers simultaneously? Laughs: iPad multitouch.

Your articles just support my point so I don't see what your intention was there. Posting a few links doesn't make you an expert. When you have kids who can't build with blocks or legos well because all they do is touch an iPad, revisit this thread.

RolandofGilead wrote:

I was really confused when I heard Dead or Alive 2 and Tegra 4, he was talking about Dead on Arrival 2 (cause I'm pretty sure the Tegra 4 has more horsepower than the original XBox or PS2).

In terms of polygons per second the Tegra 3 is a bit below the original xBox but Tegra 4 is supposed to be significantly more powerful. I may have to trade-up my Nexus 7 when the new on comes out.

I was just trying to do the 5-second search from scientists, not basing an opinion on what physical therapists think. But I didn't spend enough time to find any real consensus or good background material, which would require a library run. But it was still nice to see that you had limited your claim about fine motor skills to that which requires coordination between many fingers at once, because clearly touch screens and other gaming devices require careful use of index fingers and thumbs very well. So all in all I'm not really disagreeing with you so much as expecting the data available, which to both of a is very minimal, to not be over interpreted. I get really picky about this stuff since I studied neuropsychology and related fields years ago.