Comments for YAY! it's Andrew!

Comment on Bloody Fun Day by Andrew Pellerano

Andrew Pellerano — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:59:54 +0000

Have no fear we are currently working on a version for the iPhone

Details will be posted at urbansquall.com when we have more information about it.

Comment on Bloody Fun Day by Cameron

Cameron — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:59:16 +0000

You should bring this game to the iPhone!

Comment on The Age of Reality Work by Sean

Sean — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:58:52 +0000

Nicely put! I guess everyone has to be careful of these types of contests. I tweeted about it to spread the word

Comment on Vista “Enable Advanced Performance” Benchmark by Olive White

Olive White — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:39:58 +0000

Really useful informations, i make photographs and i do have to optimize my hdd reliability not to get corrupted data. I have performed a reliable configuration using several HDD with one for OS, one for data (2 striped hdd), one for backup (external e-sata). I do recommend this way to do instead of shadow copies.

Comment on The Pirate Google: An Unfair Comparison by andy

andy — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:28:00 +0000

The issue The Pirate Bay wants is the complete destruction of copyright. I think that’s going a bit too far, but now that scarcity isn’t an issue in the age of the Internet, copyright does need a rethink.

For example, there used to be a substantial cost to stamp, package, ship, and sell a CD at retail. However, we now have limitless digital copies that are “good enough” quality for the masses available off iTunes; scarcity isn’t the issue, but what people value things at. Similarly, a boxed copy of software can be distributed online with all the data on the disc, the CD keys, and the manuals for quite a bit less than the retail (but sometimes costs more — an aberration I don’t entirely get).

That said, I still stay away from torrents. There’s no way downloading stuff off of a sketchy website can be a good idea in the long run.

Comment on Vista “Enable Advanced Performance” Benchmark by Andrew Pellerano

Andrew Pellerano — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:47:49 +0000

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.04.windowsconfidential.aspx

Please read the source article. There are specific programs that will be sped up because they take advantage of the Windows bug this check box toggles.

Maybe the internet’s opinion has changed in the year since I’ve written this article, but originally this check box was being touted as a “Vista tweak” by every performance enhancement guide around. My intent with this article was to reverse those feelings by showing people the truth behind the check box.

If you think this feature is going to increase the average user’s average Windows speed, it isn’t.

Comment on Vista “Enable Advanced Performance” Benchmark by RobertD

RobertD — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:33:52 +0000

Oracle custom written stored procedure, mostly write operation, striped across four disks, using Oracle ASM.

I would never risk data corruption in a real environment, but for testing, it helps to speed things up, especially as my test machine is rather lightweight.

14 minute run, now 6 minute run. I reset the database and tried it again, 6 minute run.

Seems like it does something to me.

Comment on Misreading the Player Feedback Loop by Andrew Pellerano

Andrew Pellerano — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:26:46 +0000

There was an article at Gamasutra today about this very topic.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3947/intelligent_mistakes_how_to_.php

From the article:
“As I found with the “positional play” in snooker, random outcomes that happen to favor the computer are perceived as being intentional. If the ball ends up in a good place, or the poker AI makes a lucky call and wins on the river, it can be perceived as unfair or even cheating.”

Comment on Misreading the Player Feedback Loop by Raitendo

Raitendo — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:28:41 +0000

I couldn’t have agreed more to the points you made in your post. Thomas and Jim’s points are hard for me to grasp since what you’re asking for is in no way a dumbing down of the game, as you wouldn’t actually remove any of the existing modes. Which… is very obvious, and should go beyond saying.

Comment on Misreading the Player Feedback Loop by Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:26:52 +0000

To me we aren’t debating whether Zilch is a good game or not. We are debating whether it is so bad that it deserves to have it alleged that the developer has no respect for it’s players as your title suggests. This game in no way deserves to be made an example of anything poor. Including “Misreading the Player Feedback Loop” which as I’ve noted is grossly unfair considering the guy modified the game in direct response to feedback, explained his algorithms and AI strategies, and even released his source code for review. The only things he could have done further would have been including an in game strategy guide that explains every facet of statistics and winning tactics, or rigging up an AI strategy that deliberately loses games to first time players. Neither of which I think is reasonable or necessary… and neither of which I think would have increased his Kongregate ranking or the overall experience of the average player.