Ask X3F: Friendship edition

This week on a newly rejuvenated Ask X3F, we tackle wireless internet stealing sharing, erratic Xbox 360 sign-in problems and the ability of the Xbox 360 Fancast to turn people into (extremely) minor internet celebrities. We also discuss the practice of borrowing games from friends. It's a tricky road to travel. Personally, we've seen some of our best games lost to the abyss thanks to untrustworthy friends (thanks for losing Earthworm Jim, Joey!). However, it can also be a great (and cheap) way to experience games you wouldn't otherwise. Delve dee into this week's edition of Ask X3F and uncover its secrets. No, seriously. Delve.
Got a question for Ask X3F? Maybe you have a story or some information you'd like to share? Send it all to ask [att] xbox360fanboy [dawt] com.
Got a question for Ask X3F? Maybe you have a story or some information you'd like to share? Send it all to ask [att] xbox360fanboy [dawt] com.
Dear X3F,
I have my settings on my Xbox 360 to automatically sign me in and go to the dashboard. Now, when I go to play any game it always asks me to sign in. If I am playing the same game I last played it does not ask me to, but every time I switch disks it asks me to log in again. It is very annoying, why does it do this and is there any way around it.
Thanks much,
PhilipJFryrish
Mr. Fryrish, you have us completely befuddled. Our first question would be if your gamertag does automatically log in like it's supposed to. If not, it's possible that you have the wrong gamertag selected as the default. That still doesn't explain why you're apparently being signed out everytime you switch games though. If anyone out there has a solution for Phillip's problem, drop it in the comments.
Hey guys,
Was wondering if you thought it would be a good idea to add "Gamerscore Completion Percentage" (GS Completion %) to Gamercards. I propose that it answers the question: Do you have a high Gamerscore because you've bought/played a ton of games, or is it because you've spent time trying to get most/all the achievements for each game? Mygamercard.net already has this data tracked on their site and I think it's a good added dimension what the Gamerscore represents.
Sean
GT: BreakShooe
An interesting idea to be sure. In fact, we'd be surprised if someone hasn't already worked this functionality into any of the various online gamercards available (or is at least planning to). It's doubtful that Microsoft would ever include this feature in the official gamercard design though. Gamerscore is a neat idea, but it's more than likely that the majority of 360 owners don't really care about it (though some care too much). Furthermore, if they do care about it, they probably don't want to be reminded that they haven't ferreted out every last achievement in the games they own. As a general rule, you don't want to make your customers feel bad about using your product, you know? There's no reason why some enterprising creator couldn't make such a gamercard themselves though. Get to it, internet!
hey guys,
today i went to my local eb to pre-order Rock Band 2 special edition for the 360. So when i got there i ask the guy if i could do just that and he said that the special edition isn't coming out till late October while the disc itself and only the disc is shipping September 14. Is this a mess up on there computers or is this legitimate?
If rumors are to be believed, the Rock Band 2 dates could be correct. As it stands, even the official Rock Band store says the Special Edition bundle will release on October 19. Of course, no official release dates have been announced, so it could release earlier. Still, considering the evidence, it doesn't look good for those interested in the Special Edition.
Here's a poll I'd like to see the results of on X3F, based on MS's Megaton (tm) E3 announcement....
Will you be buying Final Fantasy 13 for your 360?
: Hellz yeah! I love me some scantily clad wizard girls.
: That filthy Sony franchise? Never!
Cheers now,
Jonman
GT: Spiffing Wotwot
P.S. Some chap I was playing Catan against the other day recognised my gamertag from emails being read out on the Fancast. What's the one below Z-list internet celebrity? It seems I'm one of them now.
A fantastic idea! A Final Fantasy XIII poll shall be made! Stay tuned. As for your celebritization, we must say that we are positively amazed. Said amazement is twofold. On the one hand, we're amazed that out of all the people on Xbox Live, you were matched with someone who not only listens to our podcast, but also pay attention to them. On the other hand, we're amazed that we have at least two listeners. Good news all around!
Hey there!
My Friend has a lot of 360 games, a library practically, a lot of those games he doesn't even play anymore, he basically has it, tells me and "the guys" he has it and lets it collect dust. Anyways we're in a band together so I go to his house a lot to practice. One time I ask him if I could borrow Call of Duty 4, he refuses, and I'm thinking well ok fine. But when I got home I got thinking and thought, why won't he let me borrow a game for a week. I can understand if he was still playing it, but he had been telling me it sucked. So ya, what should I tell him?
Thanks,
puerco
Puerco, from the sound of things, your friend is what is commonly referred to as "a jerk." Now, it's possible your band mate (let's call him Kevin) is just really protective of his stuff. Frankly, we get antsy when we see our friends grab a handful of french fries and then grab one of our controllers without wiping their hands. We don't like greasy mitts on our stuff, dig? Anywho, maybe that's what Kevin is like. We don't know. It's also possible he just takes satisfaction in knowing that he has something you don't. Of course, looking at both sides of the issue, it's possible you may not be a reliable friend. Are you klutzy? Are you prone to comically falling over, destroying expensive game discs as you tumble?
Whatever it is, he's obviously not keen to give his games away. You might try asking really nicely. Do you have any games that he doesn't have? Perhaps you could trade. You might ask him why he won't let you borrow it. Start a discourse.
We get the feeling that something isn't right though. After all, he did say that Call of Duty 4 sucked.
Hi,
I browse the web on my laptop through an unprotected Wi.Fi connection somewhere in my neighborhood, my question is if I can access Xbox Live connecting my 360 to the laptop or do I have to connect the console directly to an Internet source (ethernet, wi-fi, etc)?
Thanks in advance and keep ut the good work.
- ashn0d
First of all, you should think about getting your own internet access and your neighbor should think about protecting his network. That said, it is possible to share your laptop's internet connection. There are some guides on Internet Connection Sharing on Xbox.com, but they are all for using wired connections. After some Googling, we turned up a few results that may help you. Essentially, you'll be turning your laptop into a router. (Frankly, I hate routers, so I'm not going to try to explain the process in detail here.) If anyone out there has an easy guide to doing this correctly, feel free to post it in the comments.
That's it for this week, folks. Keep sending your questions to: ask [att] xbox360fanboy [dawt] com.





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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Fierod @ Aug 19th 2008 6:36PM
thanks for answering my question! =D
But I'm not clutzy at all And it's pretty pointless to trade with him, just because he has every game I have =/
Shashwat @ Aug 19th 2008 9:16PM
A tip. Does he have a brother. My friend has a brother who is really nice and makes him give me games. If he has a brother try to ask him to give it to you.
Fierod @ Aug 19th 2008 9:56PM
No he is a lone child =/
mattclarkie @ Aug 20th 2008 4:41AM
I have no issue with lending to someone, but everytime I have lent something the person has turned into a jerk and I have been made to feel like a douche for wanting it back.
Apparantly you are worse than Hitler if you lend something, and then expect it to be returned. I waited 3months for Halo to be returned, and it turned out they never played it because they were playing with a Gamecube they borrowed and never gave back.
Jimmy James 70 @ Aug 19th 2008 6:43PM
At the risk of self-promotion, I just wrote a blog post about Goozex, the game-trading service. It's directly relevant to your post. http://downthehillwego.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-love-goozex.html
legendtaker117 @ Aug 19th 2008 8:27PM
Playswitch.com is better in my opinion, then goozex. I tried both, and find Playswitch to be much more easier to use.
Delgado @ Aug 21st 2008 2:59AM
I'm not sure how your post is related to anything on this, but I'll also heartily recommend Goozex.
Goozex has way many more users than Playswitch, thus a higher turnover of games and more likelihood that you'll get what you want.
diplomatshomie @ Aug 19th 2008 6:53PM
i still my cousins internet becuz my marketplace downloads are quicker and i keep my internet on private lol
diplomatshomie @ Aug 19th 2008 6:55PM
steal*
DaMan09 @ Aug 19th 2008 7:20PM
Internet Sharing for:
Mac OS X:
http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2007/04/26/xbox-live-via-a-mac-laptop/
Windows:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-your-laptop-as-an-XboxXbox-360-wireless-adap/
DBoyFlex @ Aug 19th 2008 7:47PM
I don't lend too often cause I have had friends lose games before. It was unfortunate. Then I had to pressure them to pay me back by either buying a new copy or giving me cash. Both are awkward and I now avoid that at all costs. Plus, I am the anal french fry guy and take care of my disks etc. I have had friends do to disks in a few days what it takes me to do in a few years. Sorry, friends. No lending to you.
emirabal @ Aug 19th 2008 11:50PM
IM WIT YOU, DONT TOUCH MY SH** WIT UR DIRTY HANDS
Stinger503 @ Aug 20th 2008 12:03AM
Me too. My Oblivion got so badly damaged after lending it out to two friends, the 360 no longer thinks it's a disk. So there's 90 bucks (Special Edition) plus all the dlc I bought (which is all of it including Shivering Isles). And my friends got to play the game for free. Good trade.
ashn0d @ Aug 20th 2008 7:30AM
Thanks X3F for the answer and DaMan09 for the Instructables link. I'll try that tutorial
dylan @ Aug 19th 2008 8:05PM
I absolutely love the gamerscore percentage idea, at least on a per game basis, I find if I have over 60% complete on a game, I look back on it as a game I enjoy. This is why I won't be getting Gears 2, despite playing through the story on co-op and solo and playing about 20 online games, I only have 80 gamerscore on it, which shows me that the game is built for much more serious gamers, with much more time on their hands than myself, hence no interest in part 2.
DBoyFlex @ Aug 19th 2008 8:28PM
Interesting thought process. I guess when cash is tight, whatever helps narrow choices down helps. Good perspective.
mattclarkie @ Aug 20th 2008 4:45AM
By playing through the campaign on my own once, and doing 1 online game I got around 350gs. I can't see how you only got 80.
Boff @ Aug 20th 2008 9:22AM
Yeah I was thinking that.
I've got 670 after a few co-op playthroughs, and I hardly touched the online. Hoping to remedy that with Gears2 though ;o
Halwende @ Aug 21st 2008 10:31PM
MGC do a gamerscore completion which you can see on your "My Page" eg. my card is: http://profile.mygamercard.net/Halwende
They do a completion leaderboard too: http://www.mygamercard.net/completionlb.php
M. Dizzy @ Aug 19th 2008 8:17PM
Maybe you should try 360voice.com they track how much of a completionist you are. I don't have a single "complete" game on my profile. but I'm cool with that because I'm not going to sit around playing Gears of War 24/7 to get the "Seriously!" achievement.
Boff @ Aug 20th 2008 9:26AM
I think Just Cause was my first 1000/1000. Ah the memories! You never forget your first time!
Actually I think that was my first and ONLY time so far!
DemonGSides @ Aug 19th 2008 8:36PM
The internet sharing thing; when I can't reach the ethernet to my xbox *(living room is too far away)* I just plug an ethernet from my laptop, place on floor, connect other end of ethernet to the 360, and bam, i've got LIVE access, and its just as fast as normal.
Clinton oxendine @ Aug 19th 2008 9:22PM
well i know its possible to share internet with 360 on laptop ive done it before it normally goes as fast as normal but my ISP clearwire sucks to begin with
RomeoDude @ Aug 19th 2008 9:40PM
The easiest way I know of to get a 360 online using a laptop's wireless connection would be bridging the connection. If you're using a Windows computer just go into control panel and click on network connections. Click on your wireless connection, then hold the control key and click on the wired ethernet port so both the wireless and wired icons are highlighted. Right click on either of them and click bridge connections and your 360 should now be able to use your laptop's wireless connection to connect via your ethernet port. I'm not completely sure about this, but you might need a crossover ethernet cable for this to work.
Ben @ Aug 19th 2008 10:01PM
PhilipJFryrish, you could try to delete your profile (but not the saved games... I doubt you'd want to do that) and then recover it over XBL. It takes a long time, but that's helped me when I've had profile problems before. It's possible something got corrupted at some point, and recovering would give you a fresh start. You won't lose anything, either, so it won't hurt to try.
Sentox6 @ Aug 20th 2008 12:47AM
The profile issue is truly strange; taking a stab in the dark here, is there multiple controllers connected to the console? When the 360 auto-signs in at startup, it binds the profile to controller 1. If you load up a game and use any other controller connected to the system, you'll have to sign in a profile for that controller...
Bluemanrule @ Aug 20th 2008 9:40AM
Along those same lines, if you have a Rock Band or Guitar Hero controller plugged in, it can also cause issues as well.
ivan @ Aug 20th 2008 8:48AM
Stealing or "borrowing" Internet wireless signals is illegal, so even though its not protected please do not use other people's Wifi signal cause the penalties for it are pretty severe.
drunkenlizard @ Aug 20th 2008 12:08PM
Yeah I've been experiencing the first problem myself lately more or less, i have my primary profile on a memory card and its set as default and auto log in. But that doesn't always happen, and occasionaly i have to sign in againwhen I play a game, but not always. This only happens on my 360's with more recent updates so I'm guessing something got goofed in one of those updates and microsoft just hasn't gotten around to fixing the issue or even acknowledging that there is one. Hopefully with the fall update this will be resolved. :D
mernmern @ Aug 20th 2008 12:05PM
If you want to lend games and other items out, but you are afraid you might not get them back because you might forget who you lent them to, you could try the following site for tracking your items. It seems cool, but perhaps it is more for the anal retentive types.
It allows you to use your webcam as a barcode reader.
http://www.getlibra.com/