What Rockstar needs to do in order to make GTA Online a great MMO .

GTA online is a mess; a really big mess. Instead of getting a very balanced multiplayer game that kicks ass and take names, we got a game riddled with inexcusable bugs that remains to be fixed, a broken economy that everytime Rockstar decides to touch, just gets even worse and best yet; a redundant punishment system that while is now partially fixed, still makes enjoying the game extremely difficult to enjoy.

I already made a post awhile back on why I left GTA Online, so this is a post on what Rockstar can do to turn themselves around.

1. Get rid of Bad Sport: Period.
The game has a system in which destroying the personal property of other players can land you on a server filled with other, more cynical players that you don't want to be around (racial slurs and stupidity included). Although Rockstar has reduced the punishment for destroying other players cars, it still exists. Quite honestly, for a game which criminality is a norm; this kind of punishment is unwanted. Get rid of it!

2. Fix your servers!
When you have the world in front of you vanishing and slowing you down; that isn't you, its the server and some other person with a bad internet connection. Ok first off, Rockstar needs to use its money to build a server that compensates more efficiently for those low connection players. Secondly, Rockstar needs to increase its capacity for players since you can't host a social party in game that crashes a day after it launched because of the sheer amount of players that joined. So yea....there's no excuse for this.

3. Patch the glitches! Don't punish the players!
Rockstar has a track record for failing to properly patch games of glitches (See Red Dead Redemption). Their idea of dealing with glitches is to merely punish the glitchers; which the user responds kindly by continuing to exploit the game. With GTA Online, Rockstar attempted to patch up their glitches......4 times....all of which failed to solve the problem...AND THEY STILL insist on punishing the glitchers when they know it doesn't work. Seriously, get a grip and patch these glitches once and for all! Punishing the player doesn't work.

4. Don't kill the only legitament way to make money
When Rockstar drops the earnings for missions and races to make players buy their snotty cash cards; that creates a problem. In game micro transactions are bad enough, making players resort to that or glitching is even worse. That's just greed on their part and will win you no respect from your loyal fan base....or, are you simply telling everyone to go f*** themselves and letting us rot? Speaking of censoring...

5. Censor your game site? Really?

This makes no sense. GTA 5 is probably the single most provocative game you can buy right now in terms of sheer content: There's swearing to the extreme, graphic violence, even nudity; FULL BLOWN NUDITY. So, I would like to raise the question as why Rockstar decided to censor it's "Social Club" (A social service for it's gaming community)? Are we promoting this graphic content to 12 year olds now? Is that how we roll now? GTA is not for children, please stop marketing this game for them.

6. Don't release an Add-On pack that has bad content

The only thing interesting that came with the newly released "Beach Bum" pack for GTA5 was the addition of a faster off-road vehicle; that's it. I'm sorry, but I have no need for redundant weapons or clothing that I'm not going to waste my time with or races that are just carbon copies of each other and only focus on their vehicle additions.

7. Get rid of the micro transaction system

I, and hundreds of thousands of other people like me will never pay $20 for fake money. I will not spend money on some "money card" for GTA Online when I can easily glitch that money. People prefer getting it for free than paying for it and quite honestly, with the cuts to mission payouts and the inability to fix their glitches, Rockstar is asking for it. If and when Rockstar finally kills the glitches and forces it's users to rely on "money cards", then I can see this game becoming one of the worst MMO flops to ever grace our consoles.

And finally.....

8. Cap the rank

At this current point, the level system in GTA Online is far from broken; it's a joke. A player can get to level 1000 (or in technical terms, 999) and earn nothing, unlock nothing; as everything there needs to be unlocked is already earned by level 150. Why Rockstar just left the level system like this is beyond me, but it adds an unnecessary system that offers no incentive other than pathetic bragging rights over a rank that gives nothing back. If you've unlocked everything at 150, cap it there! It's not that hard to do that, Rockstar.

That's it. That's all there needs to be fixed currently; and I say that because I expect more to be broken as Rockstar makes a mockery of itself each time they attempt to make things better. I seriously hope that someone, somewhere in that company can bring some order to this broken cesspool of junk.

4.4 On The Nexus 7

After waiting patiently for the update to grace my tablet; I came home to find it waiting for me. It took a short bit to update before my device proudly displayed the new boot animation before me. At long last; KitKat was now a thing on my Nexus 7!

Android 4.4, otherwise known as the KitKat Update was announced in September and released alongside the Nexus 5 on Halloween (funny how an update named after a popular candy bar is announced on a day that involves eating candy) Lucky users like me who got their hands on the Nexus 5 were amazed by just how fast and snappy the update was; of course this treat was escalated with the Google Experience Launcher, which integrated Google's voice search helper "Google Now" into the homescreen; just by simply swiping to the right or by saying "Ok, Google"(For those who want to learn more about the new update; here's Google's official page for the new update). Of course, the Nexus 5 has some powerful specs to power this device so everything was faster than usual, but many Android users waited to try out the KitKat goodness on other devices, including the popular Nexus 7.

So the update came out for my device, and therefore I was eager to try it out! Once my device was updated, I sat down and gave it a spin!

The first thing that appeared was the homescreen, which unfortunately was not the Experience Launcher I had so come to enjoy on the Nexus 5. Fortunately with a bit of tinkering, I got the launcher "working" on my tablet; though there are still plenty of bugs to deal with and swiping to Google Now in landscape mode is a bit slow but manageable.

Besides that, everything about this update remained quite the same; which I'm glad is the case! 4.4 works beautifully on the Nexus 7: Quick, usable and very pleasing to digest! A transparent notification bar and Android function bar (Thanks to the launcher) was a nice touch along side the new colour change from a light navy blue, to a sleek white-ish grey.

One of the highlights of the 4.4 update is the introduction of a new runtime system known as ART, which apon playing it, speeds up the functions of the device in many areas. However, I've found that this experimental system slows down a few apps in loading time by a fraction of a second...but I hope that Google will eventually implement this new runtime to replace the old Dalvik runtime.

Another new feature that I'm fond of is the new full screen effect for certain apps; this means that I no longer have to see the status bar or the on screen Android keys if I don't want to in order to gain some screen space for watching media. Though some apps already could do this before the update, it's good to know that this is now a standard when it comes for apps that stream or playback content.

Android 4.4 is one of the most sweetest updates to the Android OS yet, and those there still remains some unfortunate users who haven't gotten the update yet for their device; I can only assume that by the end of the month, all selected devices will be able to munch on some KitKat deliciousness!

The Google+/Youtube integration is a good thing; now stop complaining!

This is pretty straight forward; I'm finding that people are missing the point regarding the integration of Google+ comments with YouTube which by itself represents a major improvement to what was the hellish system prior to this.

So why the hell is everyone suddenly up in arms about this?

Need I remind those people that now Google+ comments are being used, there will now be a better way to manage user comments and create more organization for YouTubers to manage their content and connect with their audience. Comments can now be moderated; curbing the need for other users to flag that comment multiple times in order for it to disappear. It's quite the joke that people think that this is the end of the world; it's the exact opposite in the fact that YouTube comments will now have some form of maturity. Sure, you will still have the occasional asshole whom is a total degenerate and makes a ridiculously bad comment, but now it's easier to simply censor that person and carry on with important things.

Let's not forget that Google+ is an amazing platform for sharing content with others...far better in my opinion than Facebook or Twitter; as G+ gives you more creative freedom and the ability to express that creativity on a large, social level. With this integration, we will be able to see a good chance in constructive comments and proper moderation that could give YouTube a second chance in social communication.

So sit back, relax a bit and let the real reality of the situation sink in. You might just like what comes out of this!

The Nexus 5; A quiet release from Google

I'm pretty sure we all had a wonderful Halloween; I spend the day touring the wonderful campus of Loyalist College in Belleville so I didn't have a chance to catch up on the news until later in the day.

So...it seems that the Nexus 5; the successor to the Nexus 4 was announced alongside Android 4.4.

At first I though there was some press conference video regarding this announcement, however the only thing that was available was a commercial. Then I though to myself "I was right all along.."

I made a G+ post in Android's Nexus community page, in which I proposed that Google would make a quiet release of the Nexus 5 (here). Turns out I called it.

Instead of spending alot of money on a major press conference, the Google team simply made a post on G+ that the Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 are official. Then, they begun to post various commercials about the device and updated their Nexus page to include the elusive device. No where was a press conference, nor was their a "Breakfast" event that we were treated with when the Nexus 7 and the Chromecast was announced.

So let me explain why Google did this; it's a thing of genius really.

Google purposely leaked images and content regarding the Nexus 5 (and Android 4.4) to cause a stir within the Nexus and Android community. These leaks cost Google nothing; that's the genius behind it all. The fact that Google didn't even need to spend too much on public press conferences and advertisements meant that they could focus their attention on other important events regarding Google Play and of course, Google+. 

The plan was well executed (if you count all the barbaric and quite repulsive comments made by Android fans to be part of the plan), and it represents a new way of marketing a product; one which social media was heavily used in order to get the word out about the Nexus 5 and create excitement about the product to promote sales. The idea that you can take a few pictures of a product, post it on the web and let the public have at it allows for that company to spend less on actually advertising the product all while answering the 4 P's of Marketing.

So kudo's to Google for a fantastic marketing plan! If only everyone else had your marketing genius!

Cut this Nexus 5 crap already.

I'm getting tired of all of these "Android" fans going apeshit over a product that as far as we know, doesn't even exist yet.

The Nexus 5; the suppose successor to the Nexus 4 has been making headlines in the tech community. Though everything points to the device being a very powerful Android phone, we still have yet to receive any real confirmation from Google; and any rumour made about the device is treated as if it's a sacred script.

It's ridiculous and it's making Android fans look like little children bickering at each other over a product that isn't even a thing yet. What's even worse is the amount of anger and resentment from these kids regarding both the Google Play Event and the Google+ event that happened today. Comments like "WHERE IS THE NEXUS 5!?" or "OMG GOOOGLE ARE FAGGOTS" provide testament to the immaturity and general asshatery that these kids are presenting to the table.

Here is the cold, hard truth; Google is marketing this new device by using rumour and purposely released leaks to stir the community up and excite us. Unfortunately, what this has created is overly hyped up people which expects everything to be related to the Nexus 5.

To those who act like twats about the Nexus 5 and fit in the category which I described, I shall say this:

Get a grip...it's time to grow up.

I'm done with GTA Online and here's why.

GTAV is an incredible masterpiece! It's vibrant, rich in entertainment and above all; carries a unique atmosphere which no other game can reproduce. However, I cannot say the same for the sister game; GTA Online.

Yes, technically the Online aspect is apart of GTAV but in it's own right it can be considered it's own game; a horribly broken game I might add.

Let's start with the bad sport/good sport system. This was implemented in my opinion to control griefing and to curb the destruction of personally bought vehicles. On paper the system is perfect, however when implemented it's a disaster and a threat to the very foundation that made GTA an enjoyable game for any and all.

We'll start by using my example of how I got listed as a "bad sport". I do not go around destroying other players randomly, and yet I do actively hunt bounties down with whatever I can get my hands on; that's apart of the game and it's a system that in my opinion spices things up in the otherwise dull freeroam environment. However, if I decide to drive up next to the wanted player, throw a sticky bomb at their car and detonate it; the game flags me for destroying a personal car and therefore, I get labeled as a bad sport.

Doesn't that seem kinda odd to you? I mean, I rightly claimed the bounty and I used the weapons at my disposal to eliminate him; you could say that I could have just shot him instead of destroying his car, but isn't that far from the point? I should be able to use whatever I have to complete a task that is legitimately apart of the game and not be called out by some automated system that tells me that destroying personal property is bad.

That's another thing I have an issue with; this whole premiss that destroying personal cars is bad. Sure, you put good money into those cars and they can be a luxury item for players, however, when that player take that car out for a joyride, shouldn't they accept the risk that someone, somewhere will walk up and damage or destroy that vehicle with or without provocation? I mean, considering this is a game that takes criminality and general sin to the max, you can expect that behaviour to occur when 16 players a thrown into a freeroam environment to do whatever they please.

One argument that goes against what I'm saying is the fact that there are other game modes for that kind of stuff (deathmatch, GTA races, etc). Here's the thing though, many players will probably not want to do races or death matches, because those players prefer the more open environment. You can't just ignore those players as they make up the majority.

So, how do you fix this? Remove it entirely. There is no compromise to be made here. Quite honestly, it's a system that doesn't belong in the series at all. Players must be aware of the risks associated with using their cars in a freeroam environment and those who destroy them should not be labeled as bad sports and griefers; as labeling them as such for doing an activity that is promoted by the GTA series in the first place just seems ridiculous. 

I can only hope by the amount of hate mail and support messages (not to mention the ridiculous amount of 4chan tainted trolling and idle threats made by script kiddies), this topic will force Rockstar to respond to the situation. However, until then, I strongly urge you to stop playing GTA Online. I will still play offline as that is not flawed in anyway and doesn't deserve to be shunned; however I will focus my online activity to other games.

As for Rockstar, I am disappointed in the conduct that they have taken apart off with this bad sport system. If it were implemented correctly, then it would have been perfect; but it wasn't and players are  being subjected to unnecessary punishment for something that made GTA what it was; an uncontrollable, criminally simulated rampage for a mature audience to enjoy and fall in love with. In all honesty, the message that they are sending is making me think that GTA Online is appealing to the wrong audience. 

A closer look at the Nexus 7 (2013)

There are plenty of reviews out there that will tell you about the latest and greatest of tech products. The new Nexus 7 is one of those latest and greatest product to come out during the late summer. This new tablet is considered a budget tablet by many and yet it is considered one of the best tablets on the market. So, what makes this tablet so great?

Before we look at that, let's look at the origins of the Nexus 7

The Nexus 7 is a joint project by Google and Asus that first made it's debut in 2012. The original model was short and stubby. It could fit nicely in one hand, and with the dimpled, golf ball like back cover, gave excellent grip. As far as specs goes, it was all good; a Tegra 3 processor that for it's time was perfect and a display that wasn't bad, but was good for what it was. However, what's important about this tablet is that it kick started the Android tablet craze and for the first time; challenged the very existence of the iPad the later released iPad Mini.

The Nexus 7 (2012). I call it "The Golf Ball Tablet"

But a year went by; tablets were becoming more and more powerful and the once strong Tegra 3 processor was now showing it's age (quite badly I should add). Samsung was now producing tablets that had a more shock and awe effect. Clearly, by the beginning of 2013, the Nexus 7 was far behind everyone else in power.

Enter the new Nexus 7. Again, a joint project between Asus and Google.

The new Nexus 7: Beautiful, non?

The new Nexus 7 is slightly taller than it's predecessor (by just a fraction of a centimeter) and yet still has the size to make it a portable tablet. Like it's older brother, it can fit in your pocket quite nicely, though it still is awkward when you attempt to crouch down to put on your shoes. Personally though, I prefer to keep my tablet along side my Chromebook in my net book bag.

The new device packs significant changes in hardware, yet has a similar design to it's older brother. Though the golf ball like back is gone, there still is a rubbery-plastic back that makes the device easy to grip. The device also is lighter than many 7 inch tablets; increasing it's portability. It kinda reminds me of the back of a Kindle Fire, though to say that this device is like the Kindle Fire is kinda putting it down. The Nexus 7 has more bite and sass than Kindle's budget tablet.

With a 1920x1200 display at 343 ppi, the Nexus 7 has the best display of any 7 inch tablet. Everything is crisp and clear; images are bright and colourful, videos are sharp and text is print perfect. With that kind of display, you can expect that this device was created for one real purpose: Entertainment. A statement that is further proven by the hardware.

A Quadcomm Snapdragon S4 processor at 1.5 GHz, Adreno 320 Graphics Chip and 2 Gigs of RAM power the new tablet. One may say that the processor is a year old but unlike the Tegra 3, this chip has aged nicely and can still hold out on it's own against the newer Snapdragon 800 series. You get a real sense that just by how responsive the device really is once you start using it. Like the previous generation, you can expect your Nexus 7 to do what you want it to do, without having fear that it will bug out on you.

What this translates to, is that you are getting a very powerful entertainment platform. Gaming is definitely the highlight as it's smooth and responsive. Playing games such as GTA Vice City and Minecraft PE was an enjoyable experience on the Nexus 7; everything was smooth, even at the highest quality settings for both games. The dual band Wi-Fi also delivers nicely with videos and live streaming media. Youtube was a treat on the Nexus 7, as watching videos in full 1080p HD was glorious. Seriously, it was fantastic!

A 3950 mAh battery powers the device, and though it is smaller than the battery found on the original Nexus 7, it does not fail to deliver. Google claims that you can get 9 hours for watching HD content, and so far; this is pretty accurate. Watching the entire Let's Play Minecraft playlist from Rooster Teeth brought the battery down to just under 50%. Gaming however, is where the battery shows it's cards though. Playing Vice City drained my battery to 50% in under 3 hours. It's not optimized like the Nvidia Shield is, but it should be good enough for casual and hardcore gamers alike.

An interesting addition to the tablet is the 5 MP rear facing camera. It certainly isn't suppose to be a selling point by all means, but then again; you're getting a decent camera to use. You get all the camera features found on the Nexus 4, so yes; Photosphere is apart of that bundle. I'm not a fan of taking photo's on a tablet but then again I'm not complaining. You also get the same 1.2 MP front facing camera from before, which is good for your Hangouts, Skype using, and the occasional self photo.

Another addition is the inclusion of dual stereo speakers with a sort of surround sound built in. It certainly isn't home theater style surround sound and one shouldn't expect it to be. However, the sound is still rich and high in quality. I still prefer headphones and I can say with great pride that listening to music is a great treat!

There are plenty of other neat stuff that makes it to the Nexus 7; a notification light, SlimPort compatibility and the movement of the headphone jack to the top of the device to name a few. These minor additions still add up to make the Nexus 7 a great treat.

Like all Nexus devices, the new Nexus 7 runs stock Android; that means no bloatware and no secondary software upgrades. It's basically a blank slate for you to modify to your own personal enjoyment. The new tablet runs Android 4.3 and though the new update doesn't come with many fantastic improvements, it does bring along a few unique features, such as the inclusion of restricted profiling. Other than that, many Nexus 7 users will be awaiting the arrival of Android 4.4, which comes out mid-October.

So with all this power, it raises a question; does the new Nexus 7 beat out the iPad and iPad Mini? Benchmarks show that the iPad 4 does have a higher score than the Nexus 7, but keep in mind that Apple's way of speeding things up is reducing the quality of apps and media to fit the low specs of their products. The iPad Mini on the other hand is totally overshadowed by the Nexus 7's display, specs and design. I don't dig the structural integrity of the Mini and it just feels like it will break apart from one drop. That feeling doesn't exist with my Nexus 7. It feels sturdy and can take some punishment, though I wouldn't honestly trust it to survive falling a meter onto concrete. Then again, most devices wouldn't survive a fall like that anyways.

The Nexus 7 comes in three flavors; 16 Gigs, 32 Gigs and 32 Gigs with LTE. Now LTE does not mean that the Nexus 7 is a phone; it simply gives the user access to the internet without the need of Wi-Fi. Now in my opinion if you live in a big city such as Toronto or New York, Wi-Fi isn't an issue, though I can see an LTE version having some use in a rural area.

As far as price goes, you can expect to be forking over $224 to $344, depending on what model you go with. For a "budget tablet" this is a good price, yet you feel like you payed more for it once you start using it. It's a nice feeling, especially when you didn't pay for a $600 mediocre tablet such as the iPad Mini.

Now, if and when Apple releases their newest line of iPad products and if they will be better than the Nexus 7 is currently unknown, but if they go with the same route as they did with the iPhone 5S, Android users have will have nothing to worry about.

Altogether the Nexus 7 is already shaping itself to become one of the best 7 inch tablets in the market and is definitely a great successor to the original model. It's small enough to follow you where ever you go and it has the power to get anything and everything done when you want it done. I definitely recommend the Nexus 7 to anyone looking to get their loved ones or themselves a powerful device for the upcoming holiday season!