ryotaiku

[ryotaiku]

image 1: 9x rendering (4K), no filter Image 2: 9x rendering with filter Image 3: 1x rendering (blown up to 4K), no filter Image 4: 1x rendering with filter

Got a 4K monitor recently and decided to try a CRT filter. I always heard these look best in 4K. Tested on Symphony of the Night since people love to show off what CRTs do to the eyes.

I tried out CRT Royale for this, which has has six different phosphor masks: grille, slot, shadow, and lowres versions of the three. By default it's a lowres slot. There's a lot of customization you can do, between adjusting the size of the phosphor mask, adding scanlines, and adjusting the colors & brightness of the filter.

I don't have a real CRT I can compare it to, but I've used real CRTs at CONvergence & Anime Fusion, and the more I use them, the more I think they're overrated. Setting aside their weight, bulk, heat, and power draw, the main issue with "the CRT look" is not every CRT functioned exactly the same. Some of them have a hex grid of pixels (like this filter), some were squares. Some scanned horizontally, some vertically. The argument for a game looking "correct" on a CRT is hard to be on board with when no CRT renders the same.

Doing experiments with filters & screen size, I think the real "CRT look" is just rendering the game at its native resolution. Is it blurry as hell? Yeah, especially on a 4K screen, but it's something you can achieve without needing to shell out the cash for all those extra pixels.

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I wrote a poem

A broken lock, a foreclosed home With unused copper wire Bring cutters, tac-sticks, test for ohms The scrapyard will not inquire

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For the longest time I disliked Final Fantasy XII for utilizing real-time w/ pause combat, but just trying it again it occurred to me that I can just... turn off the pause, and now the game is way more fun.

Really my only objection to RTwP is when they're so complex that they necessitate a pause, and are usually systems that aren't meant to be real-time (TTRPGs...). When it's an original system that you can follow without pausing, it's a good time.

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Rewinding a tape in my new VHS rewinder

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I dunno who needs to hear this but every model of PS3 can play PS1 discs.

Yes, even yours.

[ryotaiku]

Thinking about it, I think my biggest issue with Palworld is despite the controversy surrounding it, the game itself plays it remarkably safe & inoffensive.

Like, the edgiest bits, butchering pals & sweatshop labor, aren't even a significant part of the game. They're just things you can offhandedly do. I don't even think it needs to be edgy, but for a game sold on being everything PETA fantasized about Pokemon, it doesn't really feel like it.

The most creative thing it does is letting the Pals do menial labor for you; gathering resources, farming, crafting, incubating eggs, refrigerating perishables, etc. But everything surrounding that mechanic is just... open-world survival crafting, and you can get that anywhere these days. In much more interesting forms.

Even the pals aren't that special. They're only really useful for the base management, as well as open world traversal, but in actual combat, the thing Pokemon are most well-known for, they suck absolute ass. They can help a little but you're still expected to do all the fighting. It's basically just Genshin Impact with summons.

I have friends who think Palworld is a disgrace to the industry, but all I feel is pity. A mish-mash of mechanics that are technically functional, but don't really complement each other and just kind of exist.

Palworld is what it means to have a game with no soul.

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Frustrated by the lack of OG FFVII wallpapers, I made my own

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Bless competitive multiplayer games that let you disable chat

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Remember kids, the purpose of an emulator is not to port console exclusives to PC. It's to emulate the console hardware. Emu devs are gonna showcase multiplatform titles in their progress updates and it's important to remember the game being shown isn't the point of what they're showing off.

Nooo why are you emulating GTA V you can play that on PC

It's not the fuckin point!

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Harry Potter: It's better for house elves to be slaves and they like it actually

The Magicians: Fairies trick people into giving up their firstborns and commit colonialism in fantasy worlds but even they don't deserve slavery

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Maid RPG looks like a really fun system but I no longer have a friend group who'd be willing to play it. I have no maids and I must clean.

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I've been watching The Magicians as a potential replacement for Harry Potter and it just occurred to me this show is about a hyper-fan of children's fantasy books who finds out the author of said-books is an awful human being threatening the life of the people he knows & loves.

I wasn't even looking for that in particular but holy shit this is perfect.

[ryotaiku]

A useless explanation of reversible covers

A reversible cover is any physical game in which the internal box art (what you see behind the disc) can be reversed & used as a whole alternative game cover. However there's a distinction between a reversible cover and internal box art. It lies in two places:

The game title

A visible spine

The latter is especially crucial because who in their right mind would display a game on their shelf when you can't even see what game it is? Here are some examples.

Exhibit A: The Last of Us Remastered

No game title

No spine

This is not a reversible cover.

Special shout-out to my copy of Uncharted 3, which is a Greatest Hits Edition, and has internal box art... but Greatest Hits cases on PS3 are opaque.

Exhibit B: Bloodborne

Game title is present, but it'd be on the back of the case. This is fine, my Persona 5 Royal steelbook displays the same way. But the real flaw here is there's no spine. Not a reversible cover.

Exhibit C: Marvel's Spider-Man

No title on the cover, but we do have a spine. But considering the cover is Spider-Man, I'm willing to say a title is not needed. This counts as a reversible cover. My only criticism is the Spider-Man logo should be on the front while the Spider-Man figure should go on the back.

Exhibit D: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Here's what we're really lookin for. Title on the cover, the front side of the cover no less, but most importantly we also have a spine. This is a tried & true reversible cover right here. Though admittedly I don't actually like this cover so I've opted not to reverse it. Final Fantasy's gotta have that title on white background on the front or it's just not the same. Stares at the XV & VII Remake covers that use black backgrounds

Appendix: System information

While the title on the cover & spine are the essentials, sometimes reversible covers will still include system information in their covers.

Some examples include:

NieR Automata's reversible cover keeping the PS4 band while leaving out the system info on the back

Dragon Quest XI's reversed cover has a completely different game sell on the back than what you'd see on store shelves

and Stranger of Paradise with its sick-ass reversible cover ruined with an obnoxious health & safety warning already present on the unreversed cover.

What's your favorite reversible cover? Lemme know, but make damn sure it's actually a reversible cover.

[ryotaiku]

The instinctual need to gather the drippy honey whenever I see it

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I tried to record my Omnislash but I forgot I had Counter equipped

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