42 replies to this topic

[Spartan 117]

EDIT: Woops on my part there, I just downloaded it.

Well it is still pretty great, the whole avatar thing is a cool new addition along with Netflix

Edited by Spartan_117, 19 November 2008 - 07:16 PM.

[raw shrimp]

Actually you still need the disk to play them.

Having downloaded it a little while ago, I agree with keef. It's not that great.

Edited by raw shrimp, 20 November 2008 - 09:51 PM.

[mystefansdontflystraight]

I downloaded it today. Pretty sick. It is a bit of a copy of the WII with the Miis and all but it's interface seems better and easier to use.

[Yakkers]

I haven't done much with it but so far I really think I liked it the way it was before. One of the reasons I switched from Wii to Xbox was to avoid the annoying avatars and music (the menu music is very similar to Wii's)

[Silencer]

I hate the fucking elevator music. I like the new setup though, it's easier to navigate. Otherwise it's alright.

[Gyrvalcon]

I'm fucking raging over this "update". It's real purdy, sure, but it's kind of difficult to play without fucking sound. I play on a 24" BenQ monitor via HDMI, with my cans plugged into the monitor's 3.5mm jack, and I'm getting nothing. Not in the menu, not in game, not ever. Some people are saying that you can take off the hardrive, boot the system up, and reattach it as a fix, but it's sure not working for me.

Leave it to MS to release unfinished "improvements" that actually just break a perfectly functional system.

<Edit>

I've Macgyver'd together an interim connection by:

-stripping off the protector on the composite adapter, so it can fit in beside the HDMI.
-using 4 alligator clip jumpers to go from the stereo RCA to a 1/4" TRS connected headphones.
-I had to use a paper-clip to extend the alligator clip to get it to fit onto the right (middle ring) channel of the TRS connector.
-It works, but it's fragile, and too quiet due to all the shitty connections. But I'm Live again!

Here's hoping for a patch by tomorrow...

Edited by Gyrvalcon, 20 November 2008 - 02:37 AM.

[MercenaryXero]

It is a proven fact that if you like avatars you are a faggot.

I haven't downloaded it yet, but I want the netflix and the 8-way chat.

[Captain]

I was talking to my friend today about this new layout of the Xbox. He said that Microsoft tried to copy the Wii's configuration and they were sued (or something), then they copied the PS3's configuration (then they had to change that, too) and now they have this, which is sort of a copy of the Wii. He also said that they might make a game that essentially would be a rip-off of Super Smash Bros. with Microsoft characters. Now, I'm just relaying what he said, I don't know how much is true. But if it is, then Microsoft needs some original ideas...

[keef]

It sucks.

[AssassinNF]

It is a proven fact that if you like avatars you are a faggot.

Sucks that all three systems are implementing avatars...

[Grimlock]

I was talking to my friend today about this new layout of the Xbox. He said that Microsoft tried to copy the Wii's configuration and they were sued (or something), then they copied the PS3's configuration (then they had to change that, too) and now they have this, which is sort of a copy of the Wii. He also said that they might make a game that essentially would be a rip-off of Super Smash Bros. with Microsoft characters. Now, I'm just relaying what he said, I don't know how much is true. But if it is, then Microsoft needs some original ideas...

What the hell? None of that is true at all. All three companies used rumble technology in their controllers that did not belong to them, and were all sued for that, but they weren't copying eachother's interfaces. The only thing similar to the Wii that the 360 has now is the avatars. It never copied any other console before nor was it sued for such, and the Smash Brothers game with microsoft characters isnt even a rumor, its just something that some people wish would be made. Ive seen images people have photoshopped as to what they think it would look like, but there aren't any current rumors for it, and microsoft is very bad at keeping secrets as far as new games go. Your friend should really bother at least trying to check some facts.

[Talio]

I'm agreeing with everyone on here who said it sucks. Except the guy who called me a faggot because I like my avatar. Bring it bitch!

[Foamfoot]

I love it how the Wii's firmware is pretty annoying, yet everyone is attempting to follow it's mold.

I do admit that Miis are not as good as some of the other avatar type things on PS3 and Xbox. At least they got something right.

Edited by Foamfoot, 23 November 2008 - 11:50 AM.

[Captain]

I was talking to my friend today about this new layout of the Xbox. He said that Microsoft tried to copy the Wii's configuration and they were sued (or something), then they copied the PS3's configuration (then they had to change that, too) and now they have this, which is sort of a copy of the Wii. He also said that they might make a game that essentially would be a rip-off of Super Smash Bros. with Microsoft characters. Now, I'm just relaying what he said, I don't know how much is true. But if it is, then Microsoft needs some original ideas...

What the hell? None of that is true at all. All three companies used rumble technology in their controllers that did not belong to them, and were all sued for that, but they weren't copying eachother's interfaces. The only thing similar to the Wii that the 360 has now is the avatars. It never copied any other console before nor was it sued for such, and the Smash Brothers game with microsoft characters isnt even a rumor, its just something that some people wish would be made. Ive seen images people have photoshopped as to what they think it would look like, but there aren't any current rumors for it, and microsoft is very bad at keeping secrets as far as new games go. Your friend should really bother at least trying to check some facts.

Yeah, I thought so.

[PC III]

I personally hate it.

[MercenaryXero]

I'm agreeing with everyone on here who said it sucks. Except the guy who called me a faggot because I like my avatar. Bring it bitch!

Lol, I was referring more to the concept of them, not the actual avatars. In any case, I figured how to deactivate them, so my badass gamerpic has returned!

[Silencer]

Lol, I was referring more to the concept of them, not the actual avatars. In any case, I figured how to deactivate them, so my badass gamerpic has returned!

Yea, I never had my avatar as my gamer pic, I kept my Gears one.

[gow2 fan 123]

the new layout is more complicated. I like the old one better.

Edited by gow2 fan 123, 24 November 2008 - 03:31 PM.

[nerfsharpie6]

The NXE is...well its a Microsoft idea. You still have to give them props for trying. And truly the Netflix instant watch is just excellent. The 8-way chat is good for when you are having clan meetings, or trying to talk to friends in different games. But the avatars are a slight rip off of the Mii's, and the fact that there are only 4 games out for your avatars costing 10 dollars a piece.

But sadly...I got...THE RINGS. Thats right RROD. Blast the design team who put looks over reliability.

[Foamfoot]

The NXE is...well its a Microsoft idea. You still have to give them props for trying. And truly the Netflix instant watch is just excellent. The 8-way chat is good for when you are having clan meetings, or trying to talk to friends in different games. But the avatars are a slight rip off of the Mii's, and the fact that there are only 4 games out for your avatars costing 10 dollars a piece.

But sadly...I got...THE RINGS. Thats right RROD. Blast the design team who put looks over reliability.

Haha... I've had mine for a while and with a nice lil' fan for it, nothing has happened yet. Yay...
Effeminate FAIL Viva isn't working... noooooo....

Could someone tell me why viva pinata won't run ever since the update?

Edit: Never mind, disc was upside-down.

Edited by Foamfoot, 26 November 2008 - 01:47 AM.

[HerbieHero]

I don't have a 360 (yet), but I plan on getting one soon and I've played around with both firmwares so I figure I might as well throw in my two cents based on what I've seen. I don't see why anyone's saying this--or any--system menu is copying the Wii, because there's really no similarity at all, at least in terms of menu layout, nor will there be until someone else has the balls to implement an infrared pointer in their controller. It's really more like the Cross Media Bar (aka PSP, PS3, and several high-end Sony TVs, apparently) but turned on its side. Now, I like the XMB and think that turning it on its side makes it even better, but what was so bad about blades that they had to go (for the most part; there was one menu where I saw them make a brief cameo, but don't ask me to remember which one it was)? There was something I really liked about the original blade menu. It gave everything a place. The only change I would have made would have been to use shoulder triggers to move between the blades instead of left/right, so that they could have menus that allow you to scroll the cursor across both dimensions. Sure, you might lose the ability to navigate menus with Guitar Hero and Rock Band controllers, but if they gave X/Y the same functions in menus as LT/RT (or something like that), then even that could be averted.

But enough rambling on the menu layout, now to talk about something a bit more controversial, if it really warrants being called that: the Avatars, or the Miis as many would call them with thick sarcasm. As a Wii owner, I can honestly say that I enjoy Miis, in both concept and execution, so I don't really have a problem with Avatars, apart that they could have been a bit more unique in style. That said, there's one thing that bugs me about the Miis, and that thing is how infrequently they're used in games. I'm not asking all games to adopt the Miis' art style, but WarioWare and Mario Kart showed that you can take the Mii data and interpret it to look a bit different from how it shows up on the Mii Channel. If you could make it look a little different, you could probably make it look a lot different. What if there were a function in the Wii version of Guitar Hero World Tour, for example, that let you "import" a Mii as a custom character? The game could be programmed with Create-A-Rocker equivalents for the different facial features in the Mii Channel and switch in those equivalents (placed as close to their original positions as the system allows), take the closest approximation for hair, eye, and skin colors, and give you that as a starting point, which you could tweak as desired. That would be a hell of a lot more appealing than Mii Freestyle, anyway.

Okay, I'll admit that was a bit of a tangent, but the point is this: I hope that 360 games are capable of doing more with Avatars than Wii games have done with Miis. By "more", I don't mean in terms of quantity; there are plenty of Wii games that have a use for Miis interpreted exactly (or at least near-exactly) as they appear on the Mii Channel, but few, if any, that make more creative use of them. Hell, you could even have an RPG that somehow determines your character's backstory or class or some such based on the Avatar tied to your Gamertag.

tl;dr The new menu is fine, but why get rid of the blades? And the Avatars are fine, if a bit too similar to Miis, but let's not just see them stagnate on the Dashboard.

Edited by HerbieHero, 30 November 2008 - 09:01 PM.

[shoeshine5]

I personally hate it. Particularly the friends menu. It makes everything twice as complicated as it was before.

I like the idea of being able to play a game off the hard drive, but I have a 20gig, and you lose a decent chunk of that just to system data. I rarely have more than 3 gigs available.

[Kalex]

[Tornado13]

I kind of like it. It is more complicated to find thing than on the old menu, but I also like the new features that come along with it. I'm kind of torn. Overall if I had the option to switch back to the original start-up menu, I wouldn't.

[TantumBull]

All the happiness and color that pops out when you turn on the xbox gets a little annoying. Whatever, it's not that big a deal. I spend more time playing games than staring at the interface.