Thread: Microsoft Kinect (formerly Natal)

  1. #1
    Ecologist
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Utah.
    Posts
    1,291

    Microsoft Kinect (formerly Natal)

    YouTube - Microsoft Kinect - Lifestyle Video - Xbox360

    This looks dumb. If this is what families do for fun,
    I'm going to pass on ever having a family.

    Obviously not for those of us who have downstairs
    neighbors and aren't jerkholes.
    Last edited by Cheeze-It; 06-14-2010 at 12:18 AM.
    Staying away from General.

  2. #2
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    As dumb as the Wii gadget.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  3. #3
    Ecologist
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Utah.
    Posts
    1,291
    Quote Originally Posted by Mario F. View Post
    As dumb as the Wii gadget.
    with 10x the input lag.
    Staying away from General.

  4. #4
    Make Fortran great again
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    1,413
    Please don't feed the (Wii fanboy/anti Microsoft because they're taking Nintendo's idea and making it better) troll.

  5. #5
    Ecologist
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Utah.
    Posts
    1,291
    So I just watched Microsoft's e3 Keynote.

    The exercise game for Kinect looks pretty awesome;
    better than Wii Fit, anyway. The ability to navigate
    the UI with voice and and gestures seems really rad.

    The best thing about their keynote was the new
    Metal Gear Solid game exclusively for XBox 360. My
    God, that game looks amazing.

    Two more keynotes to go (Sony and Nintendo tomorrow).
    While I'm most excited for Nintendo's announcements
    (new Zelda, woot! New 3D handheld, woot!), their
    presentations are kinda sorta boring.
    Staying away from General.

  6. #6
    Just a pushpin. bernt's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    426
    Zelda never disappoints.

    I'm getting really excited for the new Deus Ex too - I don't know if it's supposed to be out this year or next but it looks very interesting.
    On that note so does Portal 2 (I think ready by the end of summer?) since it's going to be an actual full-blown game and not a two hour romp through Aperture Labs (not that there was anything wrong with that, but we all wished there was more). But now I'm just listing new games and that makes me feel like I'm trying to sound like the cool kid on the block. I think I'll go play a bit on my PS1 if you don't mind.
    Consider this post signed

  7. #7
    Ecologist
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Utah.
    Posts
    1,291
    Portal 2 got delayed until next year.
    Staying away from General.

  8. #8
    Ecologist
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Utah.
    Posts
    1,291
    Oh neat. Metal Gear Rising is not exclusive for 360.
    It's also coming to PS3 and, more importantly, PC!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKU_od-oN8o
    Last edited by Cheeze-It; 06-14-2010 at 05:49 PM.
    Staying away from General.

  9. #9
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Inside my computer
    Posts
    24,654
    I never really like Microsoft or Sony's presentations since they're so full of crap games. Hehe.
    Anyway, Kinect (no idea why they changed the name) looks pretty bad. The lag is a killer. Sorry, Microsoft, you just wasted a lot of money on this. If only you had been able to eliminate the lag you maybe could have accomplished something, but...
    But let's see what Nintendo has in store
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  10. #10
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    The lag is merely a technological hurdle. Eventually will be dealt with. What worries me about Kinect and the Wii gadget technologies is them being used as colored glasses to what are essentially low quality games. It's already a day for celebration when a good game hits the streets these days. But with a new toy to distract from deficiencies in game design, gameplay and story, I suspect things will only get worse.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  11. #11
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Inside my computer
    Posts
    24,654
    The last part you mention will probably get better with time. The first I am not so sure.
    Nintendo was able to show that the motion controller really did work, but Microsoft has failed to demonstrate that the Kinetic thingy really works. At least from what I've heard. Have to watch all that later.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  12. #12
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    Well, Kinect is a huge step forward Elysia. It can eventually motion-capture your entire body to an inch precision. I mean, we can forever discuss lag. But that's entirely missing the point.

    I'm however slightly curious as to exactly what lag are we talking about. I'm not at E3 (duh!), but the videos I've been seeing have ranged from discernible movement with 0 lag, to not being able to make out what is happening between the "actor" and the game. I'm yet to see a video where this lag is actually showing.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  13. #13
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    There's however something more troubling to me than this supposed lag. In the link below you will see a video where the actor from Cirque de Soleil is clearly not playing the game. He is imitating the player character, not controlling it. The first time I saw it my jaw dropped. Is this a joke? I'm not into this whole motion-control thing. By far. But even I felt offended.

    But then I had to collect my thoughts. I just can't believe Microsoft is lying about a non existing technology on E3. That would be a shocker. So here's what's happening:

    - The video is just showing us a bit of that presentation. It actually ran for far longer than that. We are seeing a rather dull moment when Kinect is actually not taking place. The actor is just getting in sync with the game character and getting ready for when the battle takes place and Kinect kicks in. This technology does require players to sync with the game characters since a motion-control technology will nudge players into doing this. Especially for combat scenes.

    - Microsoft apparently announced this was footage from actual game play. I'm not sure if this means the actor is just showing the audience what the gamer did. This is one of the explanations I read somewhere. But I don't find it convincing. You don't throw in a new technology at E3 with a pre-made video footage and bad acting, the same you don't go to a rock concert to hear your favorite band do playback. You'll get angry. I'm more inclined to the first explanation.

    Here's the video: Get A Look At Kinect's Star Wars Game
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  14. #14
    Master Apprentice phantomotap's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    5,108
    O_o

    Wow. That's got to be a kick in the teeth for everyone who was looking forward to the demonstration.

    *shrug*

    Maybe the lag goes both ways!?

    Soma

  15. #15
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    8,446
    Ok, about the lag/latency I was pointed towards this article on Eurogamer. It's quite a good read in fact. It also explains a lot of what's happening behind the technology.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Problem building Quake source
    By Silvercord in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 07-11-2010, 09:13 AM
  2. Apps that act "differently" in XP SP2
    By Stan100 in forum Tech Board
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 08-16-2004, 10:38 PM
  3. Another Microsoft joke
    By Panopticon in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 02-02-2003, 12:53 PM
  4. Microsoft rulling
    By Sentaku senshi in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-02-2002, 03:50 AM
  5. Retaliation towards witch king\microsoft
    By Koshare in forum Linux Programming
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 10-19-2001, 04:54 AM