thats true tom.
And after some experiences with the running of swamp
test yesterday and a few other things I can see that as nice as my
old dependable wrig is, its on the extremely low end.
So yeas soon I may have to upgrade this piece of junk I have depended
on, for the last 8 years or so.
its just the way it is.
At 10:27 AM 3/28/2013, you wrote:
Hi Charles,
That's a good question, and one I've been experimenting with using my
game engine. It can be done, but like everything else in life you need
to practice at it to get good at it. In a way good hand and ear
coordination isn't much different than good hand eye coordination
provided the audio environment is up to the task.
Regarding hardware I think most people have at least a standard 5.1
channel stereo sound card. The AC-97 chipset, which is on a lot of
Realtech and Soundmax cards, comes with many standard HP, Compaq,
Del, and Gateway computers. Point being if you have purchased a
computer in the last five or six years chances are you probably have
an AC-97 based card which can do 5.1 surround sound. Its not necessary
to go out and buy a Creative Labs Soundblaster Autegy IV to get basic
surround sound these days..
Besides its possible to get a decent headset for $99 or so that has
5.1 surround sound capabilities. These usually plug into a standard
USB port, and have a built in sound mixer for doing advanced sound
processing. So while on the high side I don't consider $99 to $150
for a decent headset too utterly expensive or beyond reason for an
advanced gaming experience.
That said, I think the biggest issue is some audio games don't update
the state of the audio fast enough to accurately use sound for precise
jumping. Its not that they can't but just that game developers aren't
forcing the CPU to give more real time processing as it can be
slightly intensive to update the 3d position of every sound every 20
milliseconds or so. That's only 50 frames per second, but some of the
top end video games are running at 60 frames per second but eat more
CPU power do to the amount of graphics they have to process at that
rate so it equals out in the end.
Basically, what I'm saying is its more than possible for a blind gamer
to do the same kinds of moves as Lara Croft doing flips, rolls, swan
dives, jumping over traps, crawling under swirling blades, etc even
without a state-of-the-art computer setup. It might be less accurate
to have a standard set of headphones and speakers, but I feel most
people who have upgraded in the last few years probably have a system
that is fast enough and has enough surround sound capabilities to pull
it off in audio. It really just takes practice to develop good hand
and ear coordination.
How I can say that with assurance is based on personal experiences
with games like Super Mario. In the beginning when you are learning a
game you need time to practice good hand and eye coordination, to make
the jumps, and in that game a lot depended on if Mario was big, small,
or normal sized and so on. However, at some point when playing I built
up a type of muscle memory that I really didn't think about it and
reacted out of instinct or perhaps habit rather than focusing on the
act of jumping itself. I think in time hand and ear coordination will
work the same way. At some point a conscious act becomes an
unconscious reaction based on doing it over and over and over again.
On 3/27/13, Charles Rivard <wee1s...@fidnet.com> wrote:
> How can the moves you mention here be accurately judged through
sound rather
>
> than eyes? We would need good hand/ear coordination, and some of
that might
>
> be hard to represent with the capabilities of the soundcards
and/or machines
>
> that some blind people can afford.
>
> As for Shades of Doom, one thing that throws me is when I hear something in
>
> front of me, I face it and move forward, only to bump into a wall. I know
> it's on the other side of the wall, but the idea seems weird at
first. It's
>
> just something I have to keep in mind when playing, I suppose.
> ---
> Shepherds are the best beasts, but Labs are a close second.
---
Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org.
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
---
Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org.
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
