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Pothole Studios
Welcome to Pothole Studios!
We are a group of people who make machinima videos with Halo 2 and other games.
At the moment we have one series in the works, "Spatial Madness" a macinima filmed with Sims 2.
The Pothole Studios crew hopes you enjoy your stay.
Any game Mod Uploads are now open! Want to send us a Game Mod that YOU have made? Then Click Here!
We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.
Good News! Star Trek online is now... FREE TO PLAY!
So head on over to www.startrekonline.com get the game!
Create your character and send a message to @DazzaJay in game and you will receive a Fleet Invite to the "Icarus Factor" - The official Pothole Studios STO Fleet!
-Dan
comments? | | Score: 0 Posted by DazzaJay Wednesday, January 18, 2012 (06:16:33)
Two months ago the Swiss Government decided against taking action on piracy, after a year-long study found that piracy had no clear impacts. Some publishers lost money. Some publishers gained money. And overall, people kept spending more on entertainment. Piracy’s net effect on the Swiss economy: nil.
Compare this to what we do know. We do know that combating piracy is expensive. It costs money to design DRM. It costs money to monitor for infringement. It costs money to prosecute offenders.
We also know that gamers suffer. DRM makes games harder to play. DRM allows publishers to discriminate against regions, driving up the price of games for Australians.
So we have a situation where the impacts of piracy aren’t known, yet real costs are imposed by the ‘solutions’. Clearly, it’s time for a rethink. Here are three alternatives... they’ll at least be less whacky than spending millions on a problem that no one understands.
Games as a service
One approach is to sell games as a service, for a monthly subscription. Examples include MMOs like Star Wars: The Old Republic, and services like Xbox Live. The main advantage of these services is they are too expensive to copy, so are largely immune to piracy.
The disadvantage, of course, is that the huge expense means the bar is high to new competitors... and it’s getting higher. It cost EA three hundred million to make The Old Republic... and people still find things to complain about. We’re not going to see many new gaming services.
Games with added value
As the Swiss found, piracy doesn’t reduce the proportion of money people spend on entertainment: it simply shifts it to items people believe give the most value. That people buy added value is older than dirt: it’s a classic marketing strategy. But to work, the added value must do two things: It must give the buyer something they value. And it must give that value at a price point that seems lower than what it’s worth.
The gaming industry struggles with both these points.
First, people don’t value cheap promotional items. I remember the days when every game came with a cool paper manual, and you didn’t have to buy a collector’s edition to get it. Now manuals are five glossy pages explaining the apparently confusing concept of WASD, and collector’s editions come with fake leather journals.
Second, too much is charged for this content. Collector’s editions range from $100 to $300. When you’re paying this much for the extras, you’re not getting any added value. You’re just buying something new.
Added value won’t completely reduce piracy, but the games industry has a long way to go. Rather than spend so much on DRM and enforcement, maybe they should take a harder look at whether charging $150 for a collector’s edition with a novelty can opener is really the best way to encourage people to buy.
Games with no DRM
Some companies are experimenting with DRM-free software. These are games without any CD keys or registration servers, so you can copy them at will. This has several advantages. First, games with no DRM cost less to make than those that have DRM. Second, gamers may be more willing to buy a game with no DRM, seeing it as added value. Third, games without DRM tend to run smoother, and with less technical problems for those gamers that buy them legitimately. This increases the appeal of these games beyond the principle of being DRM free.
But do these benefits outweigh the added vulnerability to piracy? After all, The Witcher 2 was sold without DRM, and was still pirated heavily.
Without hard numbers on piracy’s impacts, it’s hard to say. But the best argument for DRM-free games is that the few publishers who have tried it are still doing it. CD Projekt is still committed to DRM-free games despite its losses from piracy.
Stopping piracy isn’t the answer
The biggest problem with software piracy is that it’s hard to measure. This had led to hardline approaches justified solely on philosophy. Anti-piracy Legislation like SOPA is promoted on hot air. DRM is done because “piracy is theft, and theft is wrong.” Yet these approaches do have impacts on legitimate gamers—impacts that can’t be justified by philosophy alone.
The more sensible approach is to change the perspective. No one should be ‘stopping piracy’. Rather, publishers should work to make the highest profit. If they ask the right question, they may find that they earn more by making good games, giving added value to their customers, and not spending money on pointless DRM.
Good News Everyone!
Pothole Studios now has an STO Fleet, in preparation for the F2P update for Star Trek online!
If you want to join the Fleet, you can either message @DazzaJay in game, or you can post in the Pothole Studios Forums.
If you have a subscription, you can join now! but if you are waiting for F2P, then you will have to wait until the game goes F2P.
The Fleet Emblem is coming soon Vote for the emblem you want!.
The Fleet Uniforms are finished, and useable, but optional, no one will make you wear the Fleet uniform.
The Fleet Uniform, if you choose to use it, is the canon Enterprise-E Movie style uniform. Preview: Tactical - Science - Engineer
See you on the Federation Front Lines!
comments? | | Score: 0 Posted by DazzaJay Wednesday, December 14, 2011 (05:29:16)
Bachelors N Spinsters Bush Bashin' & Kangaroo Flattenin'
VoVillia has converted our BnS Ute into Sims 2!
So if you want the most Epic Smashin, Bush Bashin, Kangaroo Flattenin, Piece of Holden Awesome in Sims 2, now you can!
Download this epic ride now, follow the simple instructions and HAVE FUN! in The Sims 2.
Note: REQUIRES NIGHTLIFE EXPANSION PACK!
Props to VoVillia Corp, Who did the convert:
comments? | | Score: 0 Posted by DazzaJay Monday, December 05, 2011 (03:48:54)
Grand Theft Auto 5 Announced!
Yeah! Official trailer has been released!
Watch it here:
Follow its topic on the forums for analysis,here!.
comments? | | Score: 0 Posted by xMAR99 Wednesday, November 02, 2011 (16:20:38)
Turkeylicious Honking.
Been at work for a few hours now, Finally found and fixed the issue with Teamspeak's Query port.
Either way, PS TS3 is Completely Online!
Don't miss on this one, this may be the final beta test prior to a stable release. Just grab the latest 1.1 nightly from www.nightly.mtasa.com and join the beta test server! It will be held at 19:00 UK time (GMT +1 W/Daylight Saving).
Current time in london: http://tinyurl.com/54oye
Also if you're lost about what to do to get the 1.1 build, post in the forums or join the official beta test IRC channel at #mta-pubtest @ irc.gtanet.com.
Admins, don't forget your clan tags when joining to make it easier for us to find each others between 100+ players!
See you there!
Original MTA team post: http://tinyurl.com/4yohfjj
-MAR
comments? | | Score: 0 Posted by xMAR99 Wednesday, August 24, 2011 (15:30:58)
Touching things is fun!
Google Plus support has been added to the site! Don't forget to +1 us! (On the bottom tool bar)
Dont forget to add Pothole Studios to your Circle! >Pothole Studios on Google Plus<
Google Plus is currently "Invite Only" so if you need an Invite, then simply Sign in to This site with a Pothole Studios account. Then click This Button: to send a Direct Message to DazzaJay, who will send a Google Plus invite to the Email Address you signed up here with!
(Dont have a Pothole Studios Account? >Register!<)
Don't know what Google Plus is? then Here's a video!
comments? | | Score: 0 Posted by DazzaJay Monday, July 18, 2011 (02:51:06)
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