Quake3World

they are actual hdds, you can replace them with 200gb drives and store full games on them

They come with the ability to download games on the HD out of box!? (with a big enough HD obviously)

well no you need to h4x0r the bios so it knows it can run from the hdd

the devkits have this out of the box though

Ahhh... Yeah I figured that'd happen anyway. Too bad I can't haxor my GameCube though.

I should probably start looking at buying one of those Xbox's though, maybe I should find out if anyones been out stealing some and get one for cheap

o'dium wrote:Well either way, I think a HDD should of been standard with all 360's. A LOT of people do, and pretty much every dev is disgusted they did it this way, but can see the point ($$$).

Yea, I was wondering about that - I mean if one system doesn't have it - what good will it be for any sort of development? I doubt developers will make a game that can't play on a no-HDD system will they?

To folks in game development - what kind of specific in-game features will not having gauranteed HDD access impact in the development process? What kinds of things could be there with a HDD that can't without one?

Does the original XBOX use the HDD much for in game stuff - or is it pretty much just for save games and updates?

brothers got 1 coming on release day

**rubs hands**

MKJ wrote:well no you need to h4x0r the bios so it knows it can run from the hdd

the devkits have this out of the box though

Wait wait wait...so theres no gibson at all?

I'm still pissed off that I waited too long to reserve. I figured 60 days before release would be plenty of time to reserve one - was blown away that every single one was already taken, especially considering the $400 tag on the HDD model.

tnf wrote:

o'dium wrote:Well either way, I think a HDD should of been standard with all 360's. A LOT of people do, and pretty much every dev is disgusted they did it this way, but can see the point ($$$).

Yea, I was wondering about that - I mean if one system doesn't have it - what good will it be for any sort of development? I doubt developers will make a game that can't play on a no-HDD system will they?

To folks in game development - what kind of specific in-game features will not having gauranteed HDD access impact in the development process? What kinds of things could be there with a HDD that can't without one?

Does the original XBOX use the HDD much for in game stuff - or is it pretty much just for save games and updates?

i'm sure they use it as a swapfile(xbox). i guess they figure they can shove everything into 512mb's memory on 360.

one reason for this "may" be the fact the 360 has 3 cores. it should be able to grab data from the dvd in the backfround without affecting whats on screen(ie no jitters, pauses).

tnf wrote:I'm still pissed off that I waited too long to reserve. I figured 60 days before release would be plenty of time to reserve one - was blown away that every single one was already taken, especially considering the $400 tag on the HDD model.

It's new, it's shiney, it'll have halo and it's coming up to christmas. What else did you expect from the unwashed masses?

the original xbox used the hdd for swap files, take splinter cell CT for example; it preloads all textured on the harddrive before it plays to decrease loading times and stuttering. 512 mb or not, stuff like that is always great to have.
it also increased the longetivity of the xbox. having no hdd will pretty much mean the games will hit their limit earlier than with a hdd

i think games will come out that have a hdd requirement. you'll be forced to upgrade.

Sears, BestBuy and Walmart will all have them available when the open on Tuesday. I'm probably going to take Tuesday morning off to get one, but it is going to be a battle.

I'm a techno-junkie, so I must have these shiny new things.

Besides, I am looking to phase out my PC gaming habit (sad after buying the LCD monitor, new mouse, new HDD for gaming within the last two months...but that's life), so I want something that will look good to play in absence of the PC.

Why don't you wanna game on the pc anymore?

It really has to do with convenience and time and comfort. I just bought a nice new computer desk so my gaming rig is in the living room now where it can also be used by the wife for her stuff - she wanted it somewhere that it could be used aside from the guest bedroom - even though we have 2 laptops as well. That was kind of nice because I don't have to feel like I am off in solitary confinement when playing games on the PC...which is what it felt like in the guest bedroom. But when I play a game now I want to do it for relaxation and enjoyment as I don't have the time to keep my skills sharp on something like quake anymore. I thought q4 would bring back my competetive online gaming nature, but it really didn't. And it was really just FPS games that I built my machine for. I just find relaxing on the couch playing a console more enjoyable than sitting in front of a computer - even though I'm missing out on the superior graphics that I get on the PC.

I really should have thought about this before dropping the money for my LCD monitor, but oh well.

I will probably get PGR3 with the 360 and spend most of my online time with that for the next many months.

Going to have 3 people at 3 different stores working for me to get a 360....hehe...

Oh I see... spoiled white guy. =p

Yeah, I really don't feel like spending money on upgrading the pc, so I'm probably gonna get an x360. I love sitting on the couch and all that too. Seems like playing on the pc these days is too much of a hassle.

You getting your students to skip classes so they can hunt down an xbox for you? =D

Talked to the guy at Sears here in town...they are getting 2 platinum systems and 4 core systems. The guy said it was up to Sony when they get more, and we spent the next 5 minutes arguing about who made the Xbox 360. I finally got him to change his mind and agree it was M$.

lol