Quantcast

Forums | MacLife

You are not logged in.

#1 2008-11-19 9:52 pm

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

360 NXE

Any impressions to share? I'm enjoying the 1680x1050 support at last, only two years late. Avatars... can't take 'em too seriously, tho kinda fun. (Check out Pato's cool).

Halo 2 now runs for me at that res, letterboxed 16:9 no less, and headshots etc. seem rather easier. Coolness.

Now Sci haz even more to worry about. http://homepage.mac.com/oatmeal/MAF/maxes/worry.gif


wink


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#2 2008-11-19 11:55 pm

Arch Rival
A case of the Mondays
From: The old [MA] forums
Registered: 2004-06-30
Posts: 300

Re: 360 NXE

Loving the Netflix streaming, but personally enjoyed the old "blade" look over the new crossbar style.  Interested to try out saving a game and playing from the harddrive.  Like the new in game pause menu (what pops up when you hit the 'Xbox' button in-game).  Themes aren't quite as cool I don't think, a lot of screen gets taken up by the silvery deck in the main menus.  Have only played some Rainbow Six Vegas 2, seemed fine there.  Have run into a couple of erros while in the Marketplace where some items wouldn't load, both ones where nothing ever showed up and ones where a legitimate error number came up.  Do like the ability to queue up downloads from the xbox website.  Am really hoping MS gives us a full web browser on the 360 soon though.


that which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
Xbox Live Gamertag: Zeke42

Offline

 

#3 2008-11-20 2:30 am

elpato84
is Heavy Weapons Guy
From: red team
Registered: 2002-05-25
Posts: 3306

Re: 360 NXE

I remember hearing about this, thinking, well, they'll at least try to differentiate from the Mii channel.

Turns out, not a bit.

What it needs: Flip-flops, clothing color customization.


"I personally think that with the budget they've planned, Halo [the movie] will be a failure. I think Halo will not make the money back in the end."
-Uwe Boll (made the films: Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, Bloodrayne, Far Cry, Postal)

Offline

 

#4 2008-11-20 6:32 am

Donkey Butter
jerk face
From: over yonder
Registered: 2005-12-14
Posts: 2444

Re: 360 NXE

so far I think it's alright but I don't do anything on my xbox besides play games.

Offline

 

#5 2008-11-20 7:52 am

mrreet2001
Member
From: NW Ohio
Registered: 2005-05-25
Posts: 4333
Website

Re: 360 NXE

wait  ... when did it come out


2.66Ghz QuadCore-Nehalem w/24"LED CD ---2.2Ghz BlackMB---15" 2.4Ghz MBP(work)
Dual 2.3Ghz G5 (4G Ram, 2x 250G HD)(10.5 server)--- 400Mhz G4 PM (10.4 Server)
1.5GHz Powerbook---1.6Ghz G5 iMac
"So he fels down in a poisoning gas."

Offline

 

#6 2008-11-20 9:52 am

TheMouthOfSauron
Member
From: The Pas, MB, Canada
Registered: 2002-02-25
Posts: 659

Re: 360 NXE

I like the new UI. Don't care for avatars but I guess they had to do it since the Wii and PS3 both have them.

Installing games to the hard drive is awesome. I installed Mass Effect because it's constantly reading the DVD so I figured that, of the games I own, it would benefit most. Now there are almost no stalls due to loading. The disc has to be in to play but it only reads it briefly when you launch the game. Mass Effect takes about 6 GB. Not all games benefit; there's a warning when you launch Halo 3 that performace will degrade if you install to the hard drive (as Bat posted in another thread, I think), but I think any game that does a lot of DVD reads could potentially benefit.

I may have to bite the bullet and get the 120 GB HDD...


"Infinity is not a number! Infinity simply describes the way in which this [function] does not exist."
-Alex Chigogidze

Offline

 

#7 2008-11-20 10:42 am

MacZiMiZer
Jack of All, King of None
From: US of A
Registered: 2001-10-25
Posts: 1551

Re: 360 NXE

sounds like Wii + PS3 OS concepts?


8/7/04 Wiz, never forgotten
In loving memory of my Grandmum Shirley.
"Are you the one who keeps tellin' me to beware?  Cause I'll tell you where to be!"
[MA]BlakBantam [MA]PvtCrim Roncanear        -STEAM-    -PSN- PrvtCrim

Offline

 

#8 2008-11-20 12:19 pm

LLEVIATHANN
Itch you can't scratch
From: 22 Acacia Avenue
Registered: 2001-03-14
Posts: 7158

Re: 360 NXE

mrreet2001 wrote:

wait  ... when did it come out

Yesterday.

I likes it. Only thing so far I didn't care for is the new friends list. Before easy to see who was on and what they were playing. Now having to scroll through is a PITA. Good that the old list shows while in game so that's ok.


Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed. - Mark Twain

Offline

 

#9 2008-11-20 1:22 pm

mrreet2001
Member
From: NW Ohio
Registered: 2005-05-25
Posts: 4333
Website

Re: 360 NXE

How long has it been talking people to download / install ?... Just curious.


2.66Ghz QuadCore-Nehalem w/24"LED CD ---2.2Ghz BlackMB---15" 2.4Ghz MBP(work)
Dual 2.3Ghz G5 (4G Ram, 2x 250G HD)(10.5 server)--- 400Mhz G4 PM (10.4 Server)
1.5GHz Powerbook---1.6Ghz G5 iMac
"So he fels down in a poisoning gas."

Offline

 

#10 2008-11-20 1:24 pm

LLEVIATHANN
Itch you can't scratch
From: 22 Acacia Avenue
Registered: 2001-03-14
Posts: 7158

Re: 360 NXE

mrreet2001 wrote:

How long has it been talking people to download / install ?... Just curious.

Less than ten minutes for me and that included locking my box up twice.


Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed. - Mark Twain

Offline

 

#11 2008-11-20 5:02 pm

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE

Took a little over 5 for me, I think; my Box didn't lock up. I did make sure to clear some demos for space the night before. It's a 128MB DL. Took longer to make an avvy.

So far I'm enjoying the new res support the most (19"- 22" LCD owners rejoice). Don't know if I'll be installing any games to the HDD on this original 20GB drive, but it'd sure make the box quieter as noted.


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#12 2008-11-20 8:09 pm

Deadguy
Member
Registered: 2005-08-19
Posts: 362

Re: 360 NXE

MacZiMiZer wrote:

sounds like Wii + PS3 OS concepts?

Pretty much. Another Microsoft "Innovation"

At least it doesn't look like something designed by a 14-year-old anymore. That blade interface was crap on a stick.


Current Toys:
Mac Mini Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz, 2048MB RAM, 60GB HDD, iPhone 3G (8GB), Sony PSP, Sony PS3 (40GB), Asus EeePC 701 Surf 4GB

Offline

 

#13 2008-11-20 9:19 pm

Donkey Butter
jerk face
From: over yonder
Registered: 2005-12-14
Posts: 2444

Re: 360 NXE

I don't like that the new welcome screen covers up half the background image.

Offline

 

#14 2008-11-21 12:34 am

Aqua OS X
Shark Sandwich
From: Oakland, CA
Registered: 2000-06-05
Posts: 12669

Re: 360 NXE

Well, I just downloaded it tonight. I like many of new features, and it gets my vote for "prettier," but it has some  interaction design flaws. I've definitely had a few moments of frustration trying to find various features.

For example, let's take the active download screen. I hunted for that for 10 minutes before I gave up. Latter on I found it was hidden within those old-style blades containing redundant functionality. That's a findablity no no. Why doesn't the screen for downloading Marketplace content have a prominent pane in the Marketplace?

I could go on.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if MS gets starts funneling more folks into the Marketplace. This thing was clearly designed make marketplace content more predominant in UI's hierarchy. So in that respect, they'll probably rake in some $$$ from the new experience.

Offline

 

#15 2008-11-21 5:39 am

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE

It also seems designed to be more friendly to non-hardcore types, who were likely fine with the old system. Widening the potential market.


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#16 2008-11-21 5:44 am

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#17 2008-11-21 7:18 am

mrreet2001
Member
From: NW Ohio
Registered: 2005-05-25
Posts: 4333
Website

Re: 360 NXE

Over all I think I like it more ...
I really like the miis err avatars...
but some of the menu navigation is unintuitive ...

like how you copy the game to he hard drive ... yeah I would have thought of that...

and on the last system couldn't you play the dvd/hddvd/game from any pane, or am I mistaken. ..

.and there is at lease one situation where you are deep in the menus and if you choose avatar it opens the avatar "program" and when you leave it ... you are in a different location in the menus.

I don't like what they did to the themes either ... If they allowed us to stretch the images so that half of it wasn't hidden it would be better. Oh and why the hell is the hot-rod theme yellow ... yeah that matches my face plate REAL well.

Last edited by mrreet2001 (2008-11-21 7:19 am)


2.66Ghz QuadCore-Nehalem w/24"LED CD ---2.2Ghz BlackMB---15" 2.4Ghz MBP(work)
Dual 2.3Ghz G5 (4G Ram, 2x 250G HD)(10.5 server)--- 400Mhz G4 PM (10.4 Server)
1.5GHz Powerbook---1.6Ghz G5 iMac
"So he fels down in a poisoning gas."

Offline

 

#18 2008-11-21 2:44 pm

LLEVIATHANN
Itch you can't scratch
From: 22 Acacia Avenue
Registered: 2001-03-14
Posts: 7158

Re: 360 NXE

Well hell! Due to licensing issues Columbia Pictures (AKA Sony) won't allow Netflix to stream their movies to the 360. WTF Sony! Streaming to a Windows (AKA M$) machine is ok but not a 360 (AKA M$). confused


Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed. - Mark Twain

Offline

 

#19 2008-11-21 4:29 pm

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE

LLEVIATHANN wrote:

Well hell! Due to licensing issues Columbia Pictures (AKA Sony) won't allow Netflix to stream their movies to the 360. WTF Sony! Streaming to a Windows (AKA M$) machine is ok but not a 360 (AKA M$). confused

Sony makes PCs, too. They even run Windows, but PS3s don't.


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#20 2008-11-22 4:58 am

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE

The compatibility list is updated for November. Quite a few titles are listed as new, but I'm not sure all of these are new as of the NXE. (No, Levi, no original Mechassault. Lone Wolf only).

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwar … eslist.htm


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#21 2008-11-22 5:13 am

NightCougar_37
For Gallia!!
From: The back of my Twilight Drake
Registered: 2001-07-22
Posts: 9140

Re: 360 NXE

Well its not that bad of a new interface. Some stuff is nicer. Though what I do not really like is the avatars. Think those should be really optional. I couldn't find one I liked at first, then even when I did...just didn't like the choices that came with them. Maybe if they add special avatar upgrade items to give them more choices in clothes/etc, I might change my mind. Right now, just think they're a little stupid.


http://www.xboxlc.com/cards/sig/blueice/NC37.jpg

Offline

 

#22 2008-11-22 6:11 am

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE

There're already reports more customization is coming.


::goes to [s]laugh[/s] look at NC's new avvy::


Does it haz a Mohawk? big_smile


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#23 2008-11-22 6:17 am

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
Royal Wombat
From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: 360 NXE

TheMouthOfSauron wrote:

Not all games benefit; there's a warning when you launch Halo 3 that performace will degrade if you install to the hard drive (as Bat posted in another thread, I think), but I think any game that does a lot of DVD reads could potentially benefit.

I may have to bite the bullet and get the 120 GB HDD...

Halo 3 and the NXE - Things to Know
Over on the Bungie blog, there's an interview with Mat Noguchi about how Halo 3 uses the Xbox 360 cache features, and how this affects you with respect to the new 'copy to disk' feature of LIVE's NXE (which is now available to all LIVE subscribers). We've discussed this recently - but this interview provides many more details as to how it all works. The important take-home message, though, can be summarized in a sentence: if you play Halo 3 multiplayer, and you use the 'install to HD' feature of the NXE, not only will your load times be slower, but you will degrade the experience of everyone you play with. Bungie advises that Halo 3 players do NOT install the game on their hard drive.. (Louis Wu 18:16:09 UTC)

http://halo.bungie.org/news.html?item=24545

So in conclusion, please be aware that installing Halo 3 to your HDD will actually result in longer load times and thus a less optimal experience than if you run the game from the disc drive. This happens due to the way Halo 3 already uses a HDD to cache data and once you do an install, you are copying between two different areas of the same drive as you are loading a map.

http://admin.bungie.net/News/content.as … ;cid=16252


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Offline

 

#24 2008-11-22 9:21 am

MacZiMiZer
Jack of All, King of None
From: US of A
Registered: 2001-10-25
Posts: 1551

Re: 360 NXE

Believe me, they'll find plenty of crap you can pay $1 to add to your avatar.

And as to Bat's Halo 3 NXE update....   lol


8/7/04 Wiz, never forgotten
In loving memory of my Grandmum Shirley.
"Are you the one who keeps tellin' me to beware?  Cause I'll tell you where to be!"
[MA]BlakBantam [MA]PvtCrim Roncanear        -STEAM-    -PSN- PrvtCrim

Offline

 

#25 2008-11-22 10:26 am

Aqua OS X
Shark Sandwich
From: Oakland, CA
Registered: 2000-06-05
Posts: 12669

Re: 360 NXE

Anyone else notice that you can't change your old avatar, which is now dubbed something akin to a "Profile Picture," without signing onto Live.... despite the fact that your old avatar pictures are -still- saved on your HDD?

Bug.

Offline

 

Board footer

Powered by PunBB 1.2.6
© Copyright 2002–2005 Rickard Andersson