Home Beta

[Shannon]

I messed around with home last night. Have not got to the bowling alley.... My allotted TV time ran out and animal crossing took over.

 

Other than being a mild curiosity I did not see much point in it.

 

And .59 cent transactions for clothes and furniture. Give me a break! Lame. :thumbsdown:

Edited December 15, 2008 by Shannon

[Atarifever]

I made the mistake of trying Home tonight out of curiosity. I think I'd rather just use the Xbox Live party channel than walk around that stupid Home environment.

I remember right after this was announced someone (maybe a guy on Planet Gamecube's podcast) said something like "why would I want to have to take a walk to turn on a song that's available just from clicking a menu on the 360?" I'm a bit out of the loop on this one, but is it basically a menu disguised as "Second Life" or is there a lot more to it? Are you having to walk five minutes to open a browser game or choose a song from your play list?

Edited December 15, 2008 by Atarifever

[Reaperman]

I made the mistake of trying Home tonight out of curiosity. I think I'd rather just use the Xbox Live party channel than walk around that stupid Home environment.

I remember right after this was announced someone (maybe a guy on Planet Gamecube's podcast) said something like "why would I want to have to take a walk to turn on a song that's available just from clicking a menu on the 360?" I'm a bit out of the loop on this one, but is it basically a menu disguised as "Second Life" or is there a lot more to it? Are you having to walk five minutes to open a browser game or choose a song from your play list?

I don't think we can even play our own music from the game--basically it currently gives us access to stuff we *don't* have on our system. I got to play echochrome--which was great, since there's not a demo at the playstation store and they expected me to buy it on good faith. Good thing I tested it in home--it sucks. Also played ice breaker which is a breakout clone on par with what you'd find in a megatouch machine.

 

basically home (as it currently stands) is a massively multiplayer version of selected 'free bits' of the playstation store. I see sony ads, movie trailers, play small games, listen to selected new music. but the only thing available to buy are things relating to the 'home experience,' not the products being pushed though ads/demos/media.

 

on the up side, Sony's really beefed the speed up over the last few days, and the server situation seems much better at handling the load.

 

Actually, for something that's free, it's not totally awful. I just wish there was more to explore. If I want to hang around half a dozen rooms with people dancing to music I can't relate to--we do have nightclubs here... Overall, if they're gunning for second life, they've missed. There's a good population density, but there isn't any level of personalization, or even fun yet. However 'beta' they call it, this is a full release, there was no 'opting in,' so I really can't hold back on it too much. But given that it's free, I like 'having home' more than 'not having home.'

Edited December 15, 2008 by Reaperman

[HammR25]

I kind of figured echochrome must suck since all of the other machines in the arcade were taken by other people but the echocrome machines had no one playing them. Kind of like a real arcade when those still existed.

[Atarifever]

Here're a few questions that, if the answer is good, could make me want a PS3.

1) When you aren't able to play an arcade game because other people are playing it, can you "look over their shoulder" to see what they're doing (aka steal their tricks)?

2) Is there a way to lay down the next quarter?

3) Does music play in the arcade (real 80s music for example)?

4) Can you talk to other people in the arcade about the arcade games (including talking to the guys at the machine if they want to talk about their strategies)?

 

If this is set up to be like a real arcade, I'd buy the system just to experience a lively arcade again, even one with only mediocre games (At the least I'd hope Nintendo and Microsoft would offer a similar experience if that's the case).

Edited December 15, 2008 by Atarifever

[Reaperman]

1) no, you can't look over their shoulder. all there is to see on the screen is a static image of the game's name

2) nope, aside from standing there there isn't

3) no music in the arcade. just 'arcade ambience' noise in the bowling alley. don't remember what was at the bar but it wasn't music.

4) you can talk to whoever you want--I don't think those machines are an exception but I'll have to see. there's a good chance they can see text/hear voice, I know some of the other interactions like that can (video screen, keypads, etc) --I'll have to see.

 

I'd really like to see them flesh all this out. I see no reason for arcade machines to be single-player. I'd also like to be able to buy my own arcade machine, for personal use at my personal house. Or even buy one and keep it in my inventory so I can drop it anywhere I want (like the bubble machine they give us). I can see myself buying a machine for a few bucks, and getting together with a dozen or so other folks. we drop our machines in a corner somewhere and that could actually be...fun...

 

home isn't a bad idea, and the price is right, but they've simply screwed most of it up. It wouldn't take much tuning to make this a good place, but right as is, this is no killer app. just a kind of neat freebie.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Reaperman

[figgler]

I actually got to mess around with this a bit on the weekend.

My friend is right into it and insisted I come over to check it out. This friend of mine is big on hype and eats up whatever he is told, so we don't see eye to eye on a lot of stuff. He once told me he bought Little Big Planet only after reading somewhere that the Sackboy character was intended to be Sony's next big mascot. That's the reason he bought the game, I am totally serious.

 

So yeah - Home. I guess it is pretty cool for what it is. I am just not wholly sure what it is for. Is it basically an MMORPG where you can watch movie trailers and play minigames after waiting your turn? What's the big picture here? I realise this is 'Beta', but I feel like it's missing something, though maybe I just don't get it since I haven't really read anything about it. Just kind of jumped in and checked it out.

[Atarifever]

I actually got to mess around with this a bit on the weekend.

My friend is right into it and insisted I come over to check it out. This friend of mine is big on hype and eats up whatever he is told, so we don't see eye to eye on a lot of stuff. He once told me he bought Little Big Planet only after reading somewhere that the Sackboy character was intended to be Sony's next big mascot. That's the reason he bought the game, I am totally serious.

 

So yeah - Home. I guess it is pretty cool for what it is. I am just not wholly sure what it is for. Is it basically an MMORPG where you can watch movie trailers and play minigames after waiting your turn? What's the big picture here? I realise this is 'Beta', but I feel like it's missing something, though maybe I just don't get it since I haven't really read anything about it. Just kind of jumped in and checked it out.

Yeah, I have friends like that.

 

The thing about it is that it sounds like a little work would have made it pretty great. Time to be an armchair CEO:

 

Okay, so I'm some big shot at Sony and I want to work on the arcade part of this and here's what I'm going to do.

 

I realize Sony music has tons of music, so I dip into our 80s stuff and fill the arcade with it. Free to listen to for anyone in the arcade (played like on radio so everyone is hearing the same music) courtesy of Sony.

 

Then I take our piles of money and approach Atari and Stern and some others and buy some great, but probably not too expensive, titles, like Warlords, and mix them in amongst the browser games. I make sure Warlords can be played by groups, and that it has a "first to two wins" feature.

 

Then I make it so you can reserve a game by placing your "next play" token on a machine.

 

Then I let other people watch your mad skills while they wait.

 

Then I add some "pay to play" machines, like Street Fighter 2 (multiplayer), Capcom vs. Marvel, and Metal Slug. You can use Playstation store money to play, say, 10 cents at a time. These can't be free, as they are too expensive to flat out buy to give away.

 

Now suddenly I have revived arcades, Ive just done it by putting one online.

 

Congratulations me. A success.

[pmpddytim]

They should just have it so you don't have to wait in line to play a game. As soon as someone walks up to the game and starts playing they should vanish allowing more people to play.

 

Maybe add invites where you and friends can watch each other play and compete for high scores.

 

I think it could be good in time. Need more content though. I won't be buying anything but I'm all in for free arcade games, pool, bowling etc if they fix it where you can just walk in and play instead of waiting in line.

 

-T

[Atarifever]

They should just have it so you don't have to wait in line to play a game. As soon as someone walks up to the game and starts playing they should vanish allowing more people to play.

 

Maybe add invites where you and friends can watch each other play and compete for high scores.

 

I think it could be good in time. Need more content though. I won't be buying anything but I'm all in for free arcade games, pool, bowling etc if they fix it where you can just walk in and play instead of waiting in line.

 

-T

But waiting in line is actually one of its potential strengths. It has to be like a real arcade so people can choose to go visit an "arcade" on their PS3. Otherwise it's just some browser games. If that's the case, why not just have a browser instead of a virtual world?

 

They just need to combine the "waiting to play" nature of real arcades with the ability to pass the time otherwise (watching people play, talking up strategy, challenging someone who is already playing, listening to 80s music, etc). In real arcades you have (I should say had) to wait to play, but there were other things to do and ways to reserve a play. Here they've taken the weakest part of the experience and stripped the rest away.

 

However, just making it a series of browser games you load up by approaching the machine, without it feeling like an arcade would be terribly weak sauce. My computer does that with much better games with a wider selection. Why would that make me want to visit "Home" as opposed to actually just playing at home?

[Mendon]

I'm not impressed with Home, but that's because I'm not into the "social networking" scene. I never had an urge to play Sim's Online and have no urge to go back and dance in Home.

 

One thing I did notice in my short exploration time with Home.... there are some of the rudest and crudest people on there I have ever saw. I used to think the 12 year old's on Halo 2 were the worst of the worst, but the constant flow of sexist, racist, and foul comments and even the names of some of the "Club's" left me shaking my head and wondering how mankind has managed to survive this long. I'm no prude but I couldn't believe the "community" that is forming on there already.

 

 

Mendon

[Shannon]

Yeah well when you have things in real life that would be consider criminal activity taking place in online communities like "the sims online'. One has to wonder.

 

That's why I prefer to just stick to my close little "circle of friends".