> {quote:title=Panther29 wrote:}{quote}
> So basically now we've got to be careful with our gametap when IE Browser security flaws arise. We'll have to deal with webpage lag. We'll loose the ability to play arcade/video games in a full screen mode, instead we get a box taking about 40% of the screen. The other 60% is gametap news and advertisements. Just look at the bubble bobble picture on the gametap blog. Mac players are now banished. 64 bit users are still screwed. Wow, this is officially the last nail in gametaps coffin. And please don't tell me these features are coming... gametap is notorious for things "coming" that never actually do. If you can't release the new gametap COMPLETE then don't release it at all.
>
> The player was great because it kept everything together, nice and neat and easy to use. Now we'll be filling our browsers full of cookies and whatever else the webpage/games will shove on us. We'll have a new folder on the desktop full of gametap icons. I can't believe anyone would support these changes and i really can't believe the gametap staff would do this. Well you've lost a long time customer here. I've put up with alot of crap changes with gametap, from mergers to game removals and gametap player changes, but this change just officially ended it. Thanks for the many years of fun.

Well that's your fault for using IE. Te he he.

> {quote:title=MarcusMang wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=Panther29 wrote:}{quote}
> > So basically now we've got to be careful with our gametap when IE Browser security flaws arise. We'll have to deal with webpage lag. We'll loose the ability to play arcade/video games in a full screen mode, instead we get a box taking about 40% of the screen. The other 60% is gametap news and advertisements. Just look at the bubble bobble picture on the gametap blog. Mac players are now banished. 64 bit users are still screwed. Wow, this is officially the last nail in gametaps coffin. And please don't tell me these features are coming... gametap is notorious for things "coming" that never actually do. If you can't release the new gametap COMPLETE then don't release it at all.
> >
> > The player was great because it kept everything together, nice and neat and easy to use. Now we'll be filling our browsers full of cookies and whatever else the webpage/games will shove on us. We'll have a new folder on the desktop full of gametap icons. I can't believe anyone would support these changes and i really can't believe the gametap staff would do this. Well you've lost a long time customer here. I've put up with alot of crap changes with gametap, from mergers to game removals and gametap player changes, but this change just officially ended it. Thanks for the many years of fun.
>
> Well that's your fault for using IE. Te he he.

Oh and one more thing, stop crying to yourself into your Super Mario Pillow. Give it a try. Download Adblock Plus. And stop whining.

I HATE FANBOYS! ARGH! [b]Marcusmang proceeds to say numerous curses about fanboys pi$$ing their pants because of changes to a service, throws his laptop across the room[/b]

p.s. I'm looking forward to the new direction. This is the future of PC gaming in a small scale. Look at Kongregate, Instant Action, Quake Live, Good Old Games, need I go on.

Not really, but please, do.

>p.s. I'm looking forward to the new direction. This is the future of PC gaming in a small scale. Look at Kongregate, Instant >Action, Quake Live, Good Old Games, need I go on.

Pray tell, how exactly do you define, "Fanboy?" I yearn for enlightenment.

So, what's to prevent a third-party website from invoking the GameTap browser plugin? And if they do, and there's a security flaw in the plugin, what's to prevent a third-party website from exploiting it?

With a standalone player, there's no way that a bug in the player could be exploited via your web browser, because they are unconnected. But with a plugin installed in your browser, there's always a risk - perhaps small, but still nonzero - that a security flaw could be exploited even while you're doing unrelated stuff.

There's also the possibility that the player plugin could be used by GameTap/Metaboli to evade ad-blocking software, by invoking the plugin on a website and displaying the ads in that. I don't want to see ads while I surf the web. I also don't want to see ads on the GameTap website, especially not since I'm a subscriber currently (apparently, I re-upped last November).

I liked having the standalone player. When I was playing GameTap games, it gave a nice, fast, non-web-browsery way to go through the games and manage the ones I wanted to play.

I do the same thing in my normal websurfing, for similar reasons. I don't like or use Flash, because 99.9% of the time, it's used for ads, so I just removed it altogether (I know there's FlashBlock, but somehow I feel cleaner this way). So when I watch YouTube videos, I download them as a file on my machine using Unplug (which gives me the added benefit of being able to rewatch without digging them up online again), and then I watch them in VLC (which gives me the added benefit of going full-screen at the push of a button). I don't have Acrobat installed as a browser plugin, because there have been Acrobat exploits in the past, and I don't want to inadvertently browse to a .pdf that pwns my machine.

As The Offspring said, you gotta keep 'em separated. (You whippersnappers who don't get the reference can sit on it! ;) )

Anyway, GameTap folks, what's your response to the security issues raised above?

The new plug-in is not flash based. Our security policies and strategies are not open for public discourse for, of all things, security reasons.

@ LC

Let me just ask then, do YOU think this is going to be an overall improvement, when all is said and done?

> {quote:title=bhamilton wrote:}{quote}
> @ LC
>
> Let me just ask then, do YOU think this is going to be an overall improvement, when all is said and done?

Yes I do. I know a lot of you guys love the client the way it is, but for me personally, it was a barrier between me and the games, so when I found out about the new direction I got excited. In terms of my tastes in interfaces, I enjoy a minimalist approach and the new website and launcher definitely appeal to that predilection. Unifying the community, website, and player under one roof is another goal that I, and a number of users have been clamoring for, and the new GameTap website will now be a hub for all of those things.

As a user I wish it could launch with all the features intact, and I assure you we are all aware of how important these features are to you. Some will be easy to implement others will require some development time, but in the end I think it will be an vast improvement.

I'll go ahead and chime in now too with my opinion. I have always disliked the player. I know a lot of people disagree and it did have some nice qualities about it, but overall it was too clunky and unneeded. Anytime I have events and tournaments going I would have to worry about the community being split in half between the client and the web. Everything is going to be a lot easier to navigate, everyone will be exposed to the events since they will be browsing the site to at least some extent, and we are part of a group that is focused on making Gametap great. I'm not saying that being a part of a giant company was a bad thing but we were not always allowed to do the things that were best for Gametap and the community. Now we are, so I have full confidence that everything will continue getting better after the initial hiccups of this transition.
Leaderboard events are going to be coming back with a vengeance too so ya'll better get some practice in during the downtime:)

New subscription details have been posted, read about it .

-Exciting titles from new publishers

Who are the new publishers that are joining?

I am a bit confused about this "lack of save states.". Does that mean that games I have played or an currently playing will not have my saved points in the new browser player (or whatever you wanna call it), and I will have to start from the begining again? I read about the saves to files to new player statement, it all just blows over my head. Is there a support page for this, if it is unsupported the computer illiterate like me can just forget it. Sucks if I will have to start some of my games with many, many hours logged over though.

> {quote:title=bhamilton wrote:}{quote}
> Not really, but please, do.
>
> >p.s. I'm looking forward to the new direction. This is the future of PC gaming in a small scale. Look at Kongregate, Instant >Action, Quake Live, Good Old Games, need I go on.
>
> Pray tell, how exactly do you define, "Fanboy?" I yearn for enlightenment.
>
>


For me GameTap "Fanboys" would be the people who've been with the service for a while and therefore think that they have a say in how things should be run.

> {quote:title=520az_baby wrote:}{quote}
> I am a bit confused about this "lack of save states.". Does that mean that games I have played or an currently playing will not have my saved points in the new browser player (or whatever you wanna call it), and I will have to start from the begining again? I read about the saves to files to new player statement, it all just blows over my head. Is there a support page for this, if it is unsupported the computer illiterate like me can just forget it. Sucks if I will have to start some of my games with many, many hours logged over though.

OK, I'll try to explain it..

First off, this [b]only[/b] applies to arcade and console (Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, etc..) titles. Your Windows save games are safe.

GameTap currently supports two types of saves on console games.. save states and "battery" saves.

Save states are when you're playing a game like Sonic the Hedgehog, pause it wherever you feel like it, and have the GameTap player remember where you left off. This is going away for the time being.

"Battery" saves, also called save files, are save games that are coded into the game.. for example if you play a game like King's Quest and the game itself asks "Would you like to save the game?", then the game itself will remember your progress up to that save point. These will still work.

> {quote:title=westman_82 wrote:}{quote}
> -Exciting titles from new publishers
>
> Who are the new publishers that are joining?

I hope one's LucasArts and there are the Scumm Adventure games (old skool Sam & Max, Day of the Tenticle, Monkey Island, etc)

> {quote:title=macnbc wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=520az_baby wrote:}{quote}
> > I am a bit confused about this "lack of save states.". Does that mean that games I have played or an currently playing will not have my saved points in the new browser player (or whatever you wanna call it), and I will have to start from the begining again? I read about the saves to files to new player statement, it all just blows over my head. Is there a support page for this, if it is unsupported the computer illiterate like me can just forget it. Sucks if I will have to start some of my games with many, many hours logged over though.
>
> OK, I'll try to explain it..
>
> First off, this [b]only[/b] applies to arcade and console (Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, etc..) titles. Your Windows save games are safe.
>
> GameTap currently supports two types of saves on console games.. save states and "battery" saves.
>
> Save states are when you're playing a game like Sonic the Hedgehog, pause it wherever you feel like it, and have the GameTap player remember where you left off. This is going away for the time being.
>
> "Battery" saves, also called save files, are save games that are coded into the game.. for example if you play a game like King's Quest and the game itself asks "Would you like to save the game?", then the game itself will remember your progress up to that save point. These will still work.

So my SpaceQuest and other DOS saves are fine?

The lack of save states applies only to the arcade/console games which have the sort of "Freeze" saves allowed through the client. The saves will still be there, just not accessable for a bit. Your best bet is to take a break and just wait until it gets fixed. (I remember when Save states launched in beta, and I would lose them every few days, trust me this is an small inconvience.)

Just to back Mac up here, I've knowm the GT staff (more than those who post here) for almost 3 years now. And I beta alot and have never found a group of Devs and staff who listen nearly as much as they do. They do seem to have alot of growing pains (especially lately) but business decisions must be made and no one's ever going to like them. And while it does suck that Mac players are getting the shaft on this one in that they'll have to Boot camp, I'm not sure exactly how big of a group that was to begin with. (Since only Intel Macs were supported in the first place.) Here's hoping that Parallel's works.
64 Bit users are no worse off than they were before, except now they have a cheaper plan option (can save $10/year) and it sounds like 64-bit support is finally moving up the priority tree, all in all I'd actually claim that as a (small) net gain for X64 users.

A lot of features are going to go away, and I'm really going to miss play lists, but it sounds like the uberstreamlined desktop ready program is what alot of people wanted, and this team works fast, so the features that have been promised are comming (full screen support, save states, etc.) won't be gone for very long, I'm sure of it.

I've seen versions of GT that never made it into production with all sorts of fancy features, etc. etc. And I can tell you based on all of that that this Dev team knows when they've got a clunker and which versions are the framework for something much better, and although it will seem now that this new player is far inferior, I know they wouldn't release it unless it had the ability to be better than the current player with the right upgrades applied quickly.

> {quote:title=MarcusMang wrote:}{quote}
> So my SpaceQuest and other DOS saves are fine?

If they were saved in the game (and not in the GT client) Yes.

To the folks who are criticizing the update - I think you're venom is aimed at the wrong people here. This is Metaboli's doing. A new company has purchased Gametap and they'll do with it whatever they think is best. You'd do the same if you bought a company. The fact is that they've had success with their Metaboli model so of course they're going to use the same strategies for their new company.

And another thing which the staff and mods for obvious reasons won't comment on - there is a reason Gametap was sold in the first place. I obviously don't know the financial statistics but as you can clearly see Gametap has been slowly dropping features. GTTV is gone, new games are added at a snails pace compared to what there used to be. Does anyone remember when Tomb Raider Anniversary was released on Gametap the same day it was released in stores? That stuff doesn't happen anymore. I think it's safe to conclude that Gametap was not pulling in the kind of profits that the owners wanted and had Metaboli not stepped in we might very well have lost Gametap altogether.

I think rather than accusing Gametap of alienating its customers we should be breathing a sigh of relief that someone else was willing to take it on. Yes it's going to be quite different but keep in mind that this is no longer Gametap, it's Metaboli. Welcome to the new era.

Then again I could be way off base....

> {quote:title=westman_82 wrote:}{quote}
> -Exciting titles from new publishers
>
> Who are the new publishers that are joining?

I won't say anything until everything is finalized, expect some announcements some time after the update.

I sort have already posted this before but my thread with this was locked:
I for one am highly looking forward the new direction of GameTap. This whole browser based gaming is the future of PC Gaming and frankly GameTap is behind in this (Kongregate, Instant Action, Quake Live, Good Old Games, all of those free browser based MMO's)

+ The lack of client will no longer take up memory slowing down my PC
+ My graphics card did funky things to the client every time it's minimized
+ Playing in the browser will actually encourage me to play more console, arcade, DOS games (I mainly play PC games on Gametap)
+ I rarely use save states or external controllers
+ Firefox support!

- The lack of Mac support is stupid ( I don't own a Mac but still)
- THAT DREAMCAST EMULATOR IS STILL CRAP ON VISTA. I WANT MY CRAZY TAXI

> {quote:title=IAMMIKE wrote:}{quote}
> To the folks who are criticizing the update - I think you're venom is aimed at the wrong people here. This is Metaboli's doing. A new company has purchased Gametap and they'll do with it whatever they think is best. You'd do the same if you bought a company. The fact is that they've had success with their Metaboli model so of course they're going to use the same strategies for their new company.
>
> And another thing which the staff and mods for obvious reasons won't comment on - there is a reason Gametap was sold in the first place. I obviously don't know the financial statistics but as you can clearly see Gametap has been slowly dropping features. GTTV is gone, new games are added at a snails pace compared to what there used to be. Does anyone remember when Tomb Raider Anniversary was released on Gametap the same day it was released in stores? That stuff doesn't happen anymore. I think it's safe to conclude that Gametap was not pulling in the kind of profits that the owners wanted and had Metaboli not stepped in we might very well have lost Gametap altogether.
>
> I think rather than accusing Gametap of alienating its customers we should be breathing a sigh of relief that someone else was willing to take it on. Yes it's going to be quite different but keep in mind that this is no longer Gametap, it's Metaboli. Welcome to the new era.
>
> Then again I could be way off base....

Well said dude

>Unifying the community, website, and player under one roof is another goal that I, and a number of users have been clamoring for,

We had that pretty much in the first iteration of the client.

>[b]Metaboli speech[/b]

Sure it may be Metaboli pulling the strings, but in the end, I don't TRUST this company that I know almost nothing about. I haven't seen anything from them until after I looked them up, and even then I can't see how they've done in the past. How can I trust them?

I saw this in one of the blogs, 1. Launch the player or go to gametap.com



So does that mean we'll be able to use the player if we dont want to use the website?

No, the player is going away. Where did you see that info? It may have been referring to desktop shortcuts.