Battlefield, XBox, reviews and gaming miscellany

Welcome to jdrgaming.com Thursday, May 02 2024 @ 03:44 PM PDT

New: Server Status page

I just posted a new link in the Site Features section of the left sidebar: Server Status. The linked page describes all the methods by which you can find out what's going on with all the JDRGaming game servers. Check it out!

Update: I accidentally left the new page flagged as a draft. The problem has been fixed. Sorry about that.

jdrgaming.com moved to JRC web server

The JDRGaming web site is now running on the JRC web server, Foghorn. As you may be aware, Foghorn also hosts the TPU Battlefield 1942 server, as well as the JDRGaming Battlefield 2 server and the JDRGaming Minecraft server.

This move solves several problems, including the recent flakiness of the shared hosting (provided by A Small Orange) where it previously resided. However, the move also has at least one negative consequence. Previously, if Foghorn was down for some reason, I would update the JDRGaming site with an explanation. Now, when Foghorn is down, the JDRGaming site will be inaccessible.

To get around this limitation, when the JDRGaming site is inaccessible, I will post status updates on the TPU Facebook page, the TPU Google+ page, the JDRGamingStatus Twitter feed, and the TPU IRC channel on GameSurge.

Previously, when I posted a status update to the JDRGaming site, I would also post links to that update on the TPU Facebook page, the TPU Google+ page, and the JDRGamingStatus Twitter feed. So it's not a very big change, but it does mean that you'll have to remember to check one of those other sources for information when the JDRGaming site is down.

Update 2015Aug29:

The TPU stats were down for a few hours while the move was taking effect, but they should be back up and running with the most recent information now.

The server monitor function has been taken offline for technical reasons. Hopefully that will be temporary.

A couple of months ago, XFire went offline. Because of this, all player widgets and other links to XFire resources have been removed from this site.

BF2 server is down

A recent Linux update on the server is causing a few problems, and the BF2 server is down at this time. I hope to have it back up and running in the next day or so. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Update 2015Jul31 7:27am PST: the BF2 server is back up!

Console games moving away from split-screen multiplayer

A recent post on The Verge reports that game developers are increasingly less likely to include split-screen multiplayer in their games. According to the article, the main reason for this is that split-screen gaming doubles the hardware resource requirements of a game.

In fact, while the hardware resources required for split-screen are greater, the difference is usually not that large. That's because a lot of the work being done by the console only needs to be done once, not multiple times. Of course, this depends on the quality of the programmers and the development process used. If split-screen is added to a game as an afterthought, it's likely to be much less efficient.

But the real reason game producers are moving away from split-screen is pressure from management, which sees split-screen gaming as lost revenue. If I can go to my friend's house and play a split-screen game with him, that's one less game sold. Game producers would much rather force us to each buy a copy of the game and play on two separate consoles. The extra expense involved (multiple copies of a game, multiple consoles, multiple online gaming subscriptions) is great for game producers, but a crappy deal for people who just want to play games with their friends.

In any case, this trend is certainly sad. As noted in the Verge article, some of the best gaming experiences come from playing alongside friends in the same game, while sitting next to each other on the couch. It's a much more social experience than online gaming.

Of course, some games will always include the ability to play with and against friends on one screen. Many sports games, like EA Sports' NHL Hockey series, have always allowed this kind of play, and they typically do it without even needing a split screen. This no doubt contributes to the long-term success of such games.

Game developer CD Projekt Red shows the way

Proponents of DRM and other consumer-hostile copy protection technologies often argue that without this technology, software developers would never make any money. This is demonstrably false. In fact, DRM is - and has always been - about trying to squeeze every last penny of profit from a piece of software, regardless of the consequences. The net effects include software incompatibilities, technical support issues, angry customers, bad press, and (guess what?) lost sales.

Happily, a few game developers are starting to realize that DRM, and the attitudes associated with it, are pointless. Leading the anti-DRM charge is Witcher developer CD Projekt Red. These good people recently released Witcher 3, which has no DRM or copy protection of any kind.

And the result? Witcher 3 is setting sales records, and making a ton of money for CD Projekt Red. But why would people pay for the game when they can easily pirate it? Because most people want to support good work, and are willing to pay for it.

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