Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[hanser]

Hi Jeff,

Fantasia seems to be released this year. Is there any chance that the 1982 Soundtrack will be included as an alternative?

[abintra]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

When they did it, like with so many movies they DID think they were doing it right I'm sure. But it's been about 5 years since the redo, 3 generations of tech.

What technological improvements have been made over that time that causes quality masters that were created then to already become outdated?

How long, and what future advancements are needed, before studios can create a master that reflects an ideal print and not have to worry about redoing them every few/several years?

[Jeff Kleist]

Don't know on Fantasia, If you can't tell how backed up things are there, it's been 2 weeks of waiting on Ponyo. I need to wait for the que to clear

What technological improvements have been made over that time that causes quality masters that were created then to already become outdated?

How long, and what future advancements are needed, before studios can create a master that reflects an ideal print and not have to worry about redoing them every few/several years?

Standard Moore's Law applies. There are always better tools, better compression algorithmns, better filters etc etc. The latter is subjective, but I would say that anything more than 5 years old can probably be improved upon is a good rule of thumb. How MUCH it can be improved, and whether that level of improvement is worth the expense would be the question.

[Jeff Kleist]

Oh and Merrick, I just played the AvP demo with a friend, it's a blast. I'm still waiting to see how the single player shakes out, but there's a lot of love in that demo. It's the best movie game since the original Riddick solely based on that impression in terms of quality and fidelity to the source material. The vibe is right. I just hope the rest of it doesn't suck

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Oh and Merrick, I just played the AvP demo with a friend, it's a blast. I'm still waiting to see how the single player shakes out, but there's a lot of love in that demo. It's the best movie game since the original Riddick solely based on that impression in terms of quality and fidelity to the source material. The vibe is right. I just hope the rest of it doesn't suck

Well, I wouldn't say it's a movie game. More like the comic book, which was based off the two movie franchises. The games actually predate the awful Paul Anderson film, which scrapped the comics' concept that it takes place in the same timeline as ALIENS, with the Colonial Marines.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Oh and Merrick, I just played the AvP demo with a friend, it's a blast. I'm still waiting to see how the single player shakes out, but there's a lot of love in that demo. It's the best movie game since the original Riddick solely based on that impression in terms of quality and fidelity to the source material. The vibe is right. I just hope the rest of it doesn't suck

Thanks for that! I might actually end up getting that game.
February has all of the sudden gotten nice for gaming with Bioshock 2, Dante's Inferno (its receiving review grades in the 7-8 range, but I played the demo and had a lot of fun so Ill pick up the Divine Edition for PS3. Heavy Rain coming soon, too.

Bioshock 2 is getting very good reviews, although Im getting a little miffed that not one of the reviews I have read thus far comments on the length of the game in comparison to the first.

[Jeff Kleist]

Shorter or longer?

Right now I'm thinking I'm holding out waiting for AvP reviews before I decide which to get, continuing to wish I hadn't blitzed Mass Effect 2.....

On the upside, I got the collector's set ( the DVD that came with it is totally worthless BTW, but the art book and the steelbook are nice), and apparently that was hugely limited (they cut off pre-orders on it after about 2 weeks).

[aygie]

February has all of the sudden gotten nice for gaming with Bioshock 2, Dante's Inferno (its receiving review grades in the 7-8 range, but I played the demo and had a lot of fun so Ill pick up the Divine Edition for PS3. Heavy Rain coming soon, too.

I got the Heavy Rain demo yesterday and have to say I like it a lot. The graphics are fantastic and I love gameplay but patience is key, its all about story not your typical type of game.

I'm not going to get Dantes Inferno, God of War is just round the corner and I know it will blow Dante out the water.

Maybe Star Ocean and White Knight Chronicles + i'm still loving MAG

[DenonCI]

I picked-up "Far Cry 2" a couple a weeks ago and while the graphics are great, the gameplay is one-diminsional and I'm getting bored fast (20% complete). I'm holding out hope it gets better, but thus far it isn't that good. Granted, I paid $19.99 for it so it won't be a huge loss

[Jeff Kleist]

Definately interested in how heavy rain turns out. I played fc2, and yes the whole world trying to kill you got awful boring. My save glitched 15 hours in, returned it to gamestop because it's impossible to continue

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Definately interested in how heavy rain turns out. I played fc2, and yes the whole world trying to kill you got awful boring. My save glitched 15 hours in, returned it to gamestop because it's impossible to continue

Yeah, I was disappointed in Farcry 2, too. The thing that was annoying was that enemies kept reappearing even after the outpost got wiped out. In addition to it being not all that interesting. I got it on PC. The game had a lot of good ideas, but it just didnt come together as well as it could have.

I am hoping that Bioshock 2 is longer than the first one. No review I have read thus far comments on that.

Aliens Vs. Predator may well be a game that I end up getting if reviews say its a lot of fun.

[DenonCI]

My next game is going to be Bioshock.

The only games I can get into on my PS3 and XBOX 360 are the EA Sports games...for first-person shooters, I have to have a keyboard and mouse

[Q?]

Hey Jeff, just wondered why the US Lost season 1 and 2 are region free but season 3 and 4 are region locked, then season 5 region free again?
A mistake on their part or what?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

continuing to wish I hadn't blitzed Mass Effect 2.....

Here's your standard 'no spoilers, please' request; I'm still finishing the first one, right now, in anticipation of playing it.

[Jeff Kleist]

I believe 5 was the first one launched simultaneously with Europe. 1 and 2 were catalog titles.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

My next game is going to be Bioshock.

The only games I can get into on my PS3 and XBOX 360 are the EA Sports games...for first-person shooters, I have to have a keyboard and mouse

I used to feel that I could only play FPS on PC, but the problem is that these games are now made with consoles in mind and they just dont feel right on a keyboard and mouse. Its difficult to explain.

Example was Wolfenstein. I bought the PC version and ended up having to hook up my controller to get the right feel for it.

Rage and Crysis 2 are games that I do plan on keeping on the PC as long as I have the hardware to give them justice when they finally do come out.

Its kind of frustrating to see the PC genre get *****slapped the way it is.

[DenonCI]

PC gamers are certainly the minority these days. I bought my first PC in order to play X-Wing and haven't looked back. I won an XBOX 360 from a radio station and bought my PS3 for Blu-rays, but combined I've bought less than 10 games between the two systems!

[Jeff Kleist]

All of the PC games that are also on console are direct ports of the 360 version with varying degrees of alteration.

What killed PC gaming was first the ease of piracy, but second it was the hardware *****s. You lose the people on the fence because they're dropping so much money keeping their hardware up to date that it tips them over the side. The answer to PC gaming isn't crap like OnLive, it's to make sure that the expensive box today is the midrange box 5 years from now. It's probably too late to bring it back now.

I'd love to see all the consoles allow mouse play, and get stuff like Total War out there. I'm very sure that PS4 or X720 could handle it.

There has bee talk about reviving XWing for Live Arcade or PSN BTW

[Jeff Kleist]

People are always asking why classics are lacking and even vanishing from DVD. Here's a good piece I just ran across

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_14336557

Now I do think that as he says, the post 70s stuff will be much MORE relevant 20 years from now than stuff from the 60s are now, he's still right that fundamental changes in society create a disconnect with newer generations

[DenonCI]

Xwing vs. Tie Fighter would be awesome today now that there's adequate bandwidth for online play. That was a game ahead of its time. Imagine 64 players fighting in a space sim with "Kill the Capital Ship" instead of capture the flag