#making them playable on current hardware is enough for me

[supermonkeyball2]

cool that mgs3 is being remade i hope they do well. it makes sense as the obvious pick for a remake tbh, it has the most mechanics that i think make sense in modern games. im worried they're gonna make it feel too open world though. also i hope they remake the other ones, as much as i love it, 3 is probably my least favorite of the mainline MGS games (excluding 5 i consider that a spinoff lmfao). not that i think 3 is bad i just like the others a lot more.. mgs2 is prob in my top 5 all time best games ever

[dreamatia-stories]

Design Notes: The Original Ten Peggle Masters

If you follow my main, you might know that Peggle Dual Shot for the DS has a mechanic known as the Bonus Underground. Each playable Master that made it in (Marina got axed, presumably due to hardware limitations) has a unique background and layout, and most notably for this project, different colored Gems to collect.

Why is this notable? Because I made sure that all ten of them got that color somewhere on their design for OoD. If playing Magic Pengel has taught me anything, it's that colors bring meaning to life, and also that I'm drawn to bright things like a toddler.

And I figured that while I'm explaining that, I might as well explain the rest of the choices I made. Note that I'll be using avatars from Recolor as "concept art", so some details may be off.

This'll be a long post, so bear with me here.

Bjorn's Gems are Orange, as reflected in his hat, jacket, and shorts. His glasses being orange are a complete coincidence, though; that element was actually taken from his appearance in Blast!

(Funnily enough, earlier drafts from before Blast's release had Bjorn getting his eyesight damaged in a fight with Fnord; in the current lore, he's always had nearsightedness that he actively hid with his magic for...Fnord's-eyepatch-related reasons)

His outfit is a little out-there, but it's definitely grown on me. I wanted to go for more RPG Hero than Superhero, specifically an agile spear-wielder. Horses are pretty fragile animals, and a having a jabbing weapon rather than a traditional heroic sword serves as a nod to his horn.

The biggest change I made from the concept when drawing is probably his hat, which loses its brim and gets a horseshoe instead of a star. My goal with all the Institute Masters is to hide a horseshoe somewhere in their design to tie them all together; it's gonna be harder for some Masters than for others.

(The Academy has its own insignia: a flipped horseshoe resembling an omega, as seen on Fnord's eyepatch in canon.)

Jimmy's Gems are Blue, as seen on his jeans and elbow pads. Not many places I can hide a theme color on an already-clothed Master, but thankfully our favorite gopher (who I thought was a guinea pig for years cause science) is consistently pantsless.

While there was no getting rid of his iconic hat, I did give him some protection from impacts in his elbow pads. I gave him jeans to look more like a Rad Cool Kid(tm), but apparently it's recommended skaters wear them due to being wear-and-tear resistant.

While I'm pretty sure it's just weird artifacting from cranking up the saturation slider in Recolor, it kind of looks like he's got green patches or leggings, the latter of which I would definitely wear if I was forced to wear jeans for whatever reason.

If I had to add a horseshoe, it'd probably be some kind of charm on his hat.

Kat Tut's Gems are Cyan, which can be seen, uh...everywhere.

I'm not gonna lie I had ZERO ideas on what to do for KT. I knew Recolor had an "Egyptian Headdress" item (which I'm not sure were actually a thing in Ancient Egypt) and went from there. I do like the silhouette of the headpiece, though.

I wanted something light and show-offy, since Kat Tut is an acrobat and a performer, and well...something definitely happened.

This is probably the most likely to be subject to change, even if I do like the flowy shapes.

Splork's Gems are Yellow, as seen in his overshirt and shoes.

I originally wasn't the biggest fan of Splork, but I think designing this look made me warm up to him a little. It's fairly basic by gijinka standards, just with an added bowling shirt and shoes in his theme color.

Splork only has one eye, so I deliberately gave him the Other Eye Syndrome bangs as a nod. The particular hair part I use for said bangs have an annoying layering shortcut that puts a pile of disembodied hair at your avatars' feet, so I have to make a bald version of every Splork I make and photoshop the two together.

If I ever draw him, I very much intend to give this guy his bulk back. We have enough twinks in this project already.

Claude's Gems are Magenta, which I misremembered as a more coral-y shade of pink. At least it stands out more from Warren's purple?

My main inspiration for Claude was essentially just "guy who tries to pick up chicks at the beach". Unfortunately, in my folly it completely slipped my mind that the guy who gives you Flippers might have a reason to be wearing, well...flippers.

At least I gave him some Big Meaty Claws.

Renfield's Gems are an eerie Lime Green.

My idea for Renfield was to somehow combine a suit with a wizard's robe, and I think the execution went REALLY well.

The suit portion was actually lifted from Eyegor; while it hasn't been stated, Renfield is available as a hat/head item for Xbox Live Avatars if you own Peggle, heavily implying Eyegor is a headless body that Renfield normally perches upon.

Despite having left the Institute prior to the New Frontier's formation, Renfield is one of the few characters that actually DOES have a confirmed horseshoe placement: a subtle shape made with the detailing on the back of his jacket.

Tula's Gems are more of a minty Green, which I misremembered as being more vibrant like her stem.

Tula's design was...supposed to be derived from her Blast Design, but when I went back to look it turned out it was COMPLETELY different.

For starters, her hat. I initially gave her a sunhat, but I recently started wondering if it was actually meant to be a bucket hat. Looking at the art, I legitimately cannot tell what kind of hat that is supposed to be. And apparently it's supposed to have a gaudy fake flower charm on it??? Not only that, but it completely clashes with her color scheme??? That is NOT the same yellow as her petals, and that orange is nowhere else in her outfit!!!

Also, her raincoat??? Apparently it's not actually cerulean, but a bright aqua that makes the green of her stem look muddy and the rest of her design look plastic and fake, which is especially egregious since she's an environmentalist!!!

And good GOD, I think Blast!Tula's face is somehow giving me DOUBLE Uncanny Valley vibes. Like, Classic Tula and her flower friends are kinda disturbing since they have detailed human faces on flower bodies, but Blast Tula STILL looks disturbing because of how Not-Tula she looks.

...Anyways, this is "Design Notes", not "Getting Really Mad At Fashion". Let's move on.

Warren's Gems are Purple, which is convenient since his regular outfit is already almost completely purple.

In this concept, I made his suit fit better since he's larger than he is in-game as a humanoid, but I think I wanna walk that back. He's a gambling addict on a teacher's salary, this man CANNOT afford a tailored suit. If the art department had ever seen a rabbit before in their lives then he would've already been peak design.

Also, just for fun, Warren's form is short as hell. Possibly the shortest New Frontier member besides Gnorman and Luna. I'm thinking 5'1" (~155cm), possibly even shorter.

Cinderbottom's Gems are Red.

Not gonna lie, I think I might be less happy with Cindy's concept than Kat Tut's solely because of how I put in the red. I REALLY should've gone for something less bright. Probably need to do something about that hair, too; maybe some kind of gradient.

Among the Institute, Cinderbottom is the most at-odds with Bjorn, even (not-so) accidentally making him violently ill with his smoke in one of the old Blog posts -- now what was that about 'flames only serving the virtuous'?

Anyways, my point is that Cindy is also based on an RPG hero, this time an armor-clad knight with a sword, befitting his noble stature. (I also thought it'd be a neat reversal if The Hero had a lance while The Lancer had a sword.) His green mail is derived from his green scales.

Master Hu's Gems are White.

This one was pretty much as simple as just giving him a white robe. Recolor didn't have any good turbans, so I left it off.

[lizhasablog]

Hello

I just thought I'd take a moment to list the various things I've though about doing/talking about on this account.

My personal life

My life is a mess of a thousand problems. Everything makes me miserable anymore. You've been warned.

I kinda don't want to talk about certain subjects both directly and publicly, but it seems there's nothing like "followers-only posts". That would be a good feature.

My current programming project(codenamed Escape)

Sort of a game to provide a happy place for me to mess around in, although it's yet to reach a playable state. I'll detail work that's previously gone into it, the current state of it, and future plans for it. It's sadly also the only thing in this list that could make for decent picture material.

Reviewing various shows and movies I've watched over the last 5 years

I'll have to do a separate post listing all the things I've watched, assuming I manage to remember them all. Things will likely be grouped with other similar stuff or things in the same series if I don't have enough to say about a single item. I figure I'll try to review stuff immediately after watching them going forward to properly establish my sentiments while they're fresh in my mind.

Pokemon stuff

Mainly Go as that's the one I play the most currently. I also do a bit of Unite playing but my interest has really waned in it. Violet I only really touch for a day every time they do a new promotion.

Computer stuff

Largely programming or software stuff, but also occasionally hardware related things. I guess game systems could be thrown in this category too.

3D modelling software and model/texture hosting sites?

This was an idea I had sort of born out of my inability to find an instance either of these things that I liked. Everything seems to have some major issue. I have a soft spot for sort of medium-poly models; particularly landscapes, home furnishings, and simplistic architecture. While I haven't messed around much in this department, it seems like something fun to review. The modelling software might be better fit for a youtube series though to really convey the thought process using a program and any interface issues.

Reviewing games I play?

Honestly I don't do that much playing of games outside a few comfort games and games I've worked into my daily routine. I have played slightly more games in the last half a year, although nothing that's left a lasting impression.

"Art"/Artists I like?

I mean, yes, it is art even if it's NSFW. Stuff that's just cute/funny images I come across or stuff that's not even remotely sexual I'll just reblog regardless, but I don't know if I wan't to incorporate other stuff into this blog.

Feel free to request specific things to be talked about.

I'll try to tag everything appropriately so people can filter out my various ramblings. No promises though.

[clearskybird]

Assassins creed unity ending

And surely enough, in the case of Assassin’s Creed: Unity even the console releases have reported poor playback with recorded FPS rates averaging in the low 20s.Īnd with Ubisoft’s announcement of console versions being locked at 30 FPS for a more cinematic experience, players were already skeptical before release. That said, it seems a bit ridiculous that it has been apparently so difficult to run the game in a stable manner on PC when the same title is apparently suppose to run without any issues on the Xbox One and PS4, both of which have considerably inferior hardware to most mid-tier rigs. For those less technically inclined, two GTX 980s will run over a thousand dollars alone and are basically the best single-GPU cards currently on the market. However it does bear mentioning that according to the official requirements even a HD 7950 falls short of the minimum listing.Īnd popular Youtube commentator TotalBiscuit even reported that running the game on two SLI’ed GTX 980s wasn’t even enough to get consistently stable performance even with lowered settings. And while my setup is by no means top of the line, my HD 7950 has been able to handle everything I’ve thrown at it until this release with ease running other titles at 1080p at higher settings. In other words it was playable but barely ranging from being sluggish to a glorified flip-book. While much of the furor surrounding its release is specifically due to its technical issues, it is far from the only problem with the game.īut for the sake of full disclosure and to quickly get the technical aspect of the game out of the way, I ran Assassin’s Creed: Unity off an i5-2500k at stock speeds, a HD 7950, with 8GB of RAM at anywhere from 20 to low 40s in FPS (frames per second). However the series has noticeably been on a downward decline, one of which is looking rather bleak with the recent blunder of Assassin’s Creed: Unity which has been universally panned by players and garnered a lukewarm reception from critics.

And yet it has still managed to maintain a certain high standard of quality and consistency across their major releases, of which have become widely beloved by a massive fanbase. With its nearly annual releases, countless other spinoff games and other bits of merchandising, Ubisoft has rather blatantly been milking the property for all its worth. These endings make me dream & even lose my sleep sometimes because as a gamer YES I feel what the character does too! Ubisoft destroyed a wonderful story! Ubisoft needs to address this & give us an alternative ending as an update! Please second this petition in the name of our love & disappointment for Assassin's Creed: Unity.Assassin’s Creed is a somewhat difficult series to properly discuss as it has often contradictorally embodied both sides of the spectrum of what players ultimately want, and what they despise. All of us (AC fans) wanted them to be together in the end so as to see at least one Assassin lead a happy life! So what did we actually pay for if Ubisoft never lets us *actually* complete a game? Secondly this isn't the first time a love interest dies in an AC game is it? Ubisoft should know & respect the fact how gamers get attached to characters (especially romances like Arno & Elise) in a game & the least they should do about it is create an alternate ending or a choice as was given in Far Cry 3 ! I am infuriated at my money being put to waste as a gamer because Elise's death made me feel like I couldn't complete the game! I am very infuriated & grieved. The game's main objective & Arno's LIFE objective was to be together with Elise in the end.

[altalksaboutstuff]

My Top 5 Games of the Past Generation Youtube Script Plus Notes

This is, more or less, the script for My Top 5 Games of the Past Generation video that I just published on Youtube: With the Xbox One and Playstation Four about to head out of the door to make ways for the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5 respectively to lead us into the next generation of consoles were only Nintendo has been sitting comfortably with the Switch, the Wii U has been long gone and Nintendo also recently announced the official end of the Nintendo 3DS line cutting all the ties to this last generation.  With that almost everyone is now releasing their lists of the best games of the current generation, myself included, I couldn't help but notice a lot of same-soundy lists such as Game Informer's top 5 list.  I myself have to disagree with these, not to say that any and/or all five of those games on Game Informer's Top 5 aren't good, important or worth playing just that I don't think they are the best representative of this generation in terms of impact and wide appeal, so much as had the most money backing them. That these games on the list are more the best representative of the biggest Triple A titles.  The games that I had in mind are more impactful on how this generation swayed and set new standards.  I want you to keep in mind that while I liked some of these games, these aren't my personal top 5 of the past generation either but I think closer to what best represents our closing era of gaming, when I say the “best games of the current generation.”

First off I'd like to make an honorable mention of PT.  PT or playable trailer was supposed to be a demo for the new Silent Hill S game that unfortunately never came to be for the Playstation 4 from Konami.  A joint venture between film director Guillermo del Toro and the famous creator of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima, this demo spooked the pants off of everyone and was probably the reason a lot of people decided to buy a Playstation 4.  Unfortunately Konami let Hideo Kojima go under less than favorable conditions and the demo vanished with him in time.  Since then the immersive, first person perspective horror game demo changed the landscape of what survival horror could be.  We then saw Resident Evil VII by Capcom, the Park by Funcom, Layers of Fear by Aspyr and Death Standing by Hideo Kojima's new studio Kojima Productions that were all heavily influenced by PT (this point made more obvious for Hido Kojima's Death Stranding) and the future of Survial Horror / Suspense games seems to be headed there with upcoming games like Resident Evil VIII: The Village.  The only reason this isn't officially on the list is because, well, it was sadly never a game but its influence was too important for me not to mention.

Number 5: Sonic Mania.  Ok so Sonic Mania isn't anything new but it is very important in the sense that it is a major franchise, Sonic, by a well established publisher, Sega, and they had officially given the keys of Mobius to the fandom to make a new game and it was fantastic. While that's oversimplying things a bit errr a lot, since Sega just didn't come out of the blue offering that opportunity.  Rather Sega saw a Sonic game pitched by Christian Whitehead, aka Taxman, who worked on porting previous ports of Sonic games to Mobile platforms. Why I think it is important is that this validating the bridge between fandom and passion projects in world where game hacks and fangames are traditionally shut down almost immediately after gaining the slightest attention.  While Sonic Mania isn't a fangame, its roots were deep from the Romhack community.  This represents cracking the door between what the fandom produces and what the corporate offices allow being available to consumers in a world were popular fangames and hacks result in cease and desist orders - which is why I think is very important to put Sonic Mania as the number 5 game of this console generation.

Number 4: Rocket League.  As of today, Rocket League is a now free to play game for better or for worse.  Rocket League is high-octane fun, blasting balls across various courts and fields such as basketball and football with fast automobiles but what it is most well known for is basically soccer with cars.  Rocket League is a lot of fun to play and has a large audience of  in the streaming and esports field which would be reason enough to put this game in a top 5 but what this game marks maybe even more importantly is cross console online play. While other games have and do continue to have online play across systems, back in March of 2016 Microsoft was very interested in allowing online play between Xbox One and other consoles them being extremely hopeful for Playstation 4 in particular, however Sony was holding out.  Sony was hesitant, citing their emphasis on providing a certain quality online experience but finally came to the party and in 2019 you could finally play Rocket League online with all your friends whether it be on PC, Xbox One, Switch, or Playstation 4. Since then we have had other games slowly roll out this feature such as Wargroove and the trend seems to be expanding.  I hope to see all games adopt this in the future and since Rocket League “birthed” this concept coming to the table for cross console online play for us all to enjoy, this is why I think Rocket League deserves the number 4 slot.

Number 3: Bloodborne/Dark Souls III.  This past generation and hell even to some extent decade, spanning to the PS3/Xbox 360, has lead us to compare every challenging game that comes out to Dark Souls.  Cuphead is the Dark Souls of run and gun shooters, Dead Cells is the Dark Souls of Metroidvanias, Celeste is the Dark Souls of platformers, etc.  While the meme of “X is like the Dark Souls of” is hard to find a concrete start, according to Google Trends this first seemed to spike in April of 2015 around the release of Bloodborne, the PS4 game created by FromSoftware.  While not technically a Dark Souls game, it was made by the same team and the game play and feel is very Dark Souls in the sense that I feel the phrase is used today, in contrast to the first two Dark Souls games.  Then we can see that in/and around October 2017 the trend has risen to its peak a little after a year and a half of the release of Dark Souls III.  While this justification may seem more flimsy and ultimately the Dark Souls brand was established in 2011, I do think Bloodborne/Dark Souls III is more in the zeitgeist, if you will, of the “X is like Dark Souls” comparison that has shaped the conversation of so many games today.

Number 2: Undertale.  Undertale is perhaps the darling of this generation. A game chock full of charm with multiple ways to approach it.  Will you save everyone, sacrifice everyone, or something in-between?  This game does look next gen, current gen or even comparable to past gen games until you hit perhaps the SNES or even late NES.  Maybe a number 2 spot is too high on list – this game didn't revolutionize the industry in ways that the other games on this list did nor was it the first anti-RPG of its kind, that would probably go to MOON, but Undertale just had such a powerful impact on gamers when it came out and became so unforgettable.  I feel like Undertale will be a game that we remember for a long time and to not include it in this list because its an indie game would be a real tragedy which segways me to my number 1 game.

Number 1: Shovel Knight.  Shovel Knight is the indie game that, I think, lead to the current boom of retro inspired indie games we have been enjoying.  A love letter to the NES games of the past such as Castlevania, Mega Man and Ducktales to name a few.  Shovel Knight wasn't the first retro inspired indie games but I feel like the attention to detail in trying to stay as true to what the hardware could run in terms of look, color, sound and pixel art with its overwhelming success showed that there was a market for these type of games.  Its success kickstarter in 2013 also showed that Kickstarter could be used as a viable platform to create indie games for a wider audience without having to rely on that Triple A model of good gaming synonymous with big budget corporate funding.  I firmly believe that we wouldn't have the great retro inspired games like Celeste and Dead Cells or the Kickstarter'd Yooka Laylee and Bloodstained or games that did both like Blasphemous if it wasn't for the hard-work and ingenuity that Yacht Club Games paved with Shovel Knight.

To use a popular Youtube cliché to conclude this list, “At the end of the day” I didn't make this list to put Game Informer or anyone's personal preferences down.  If you believe that they got the Top 5 games of the decade right that's perfectly ok and valid too, to have as your opinion.  I also want to reiterate that those five games – The Last of Us Part II, the Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Zelda Breath of the Wild and God of War are all important to this generation coming to a close as well in their own way.  While this list isn't my favorite games of the past generation, maybe I'll do that in the future, they are my subjective “best games list” of the past generation for what I think they did to the industry and you are free to agree, disagree, pick and choose between my list and Game Informers list or make a completely different list of your own.  I'm personally excited to see what the future of gaming has for us in this coming generation and optimistic for what's both around the corner and late into the next systems' life-cycle.  Happy gaming to you however you play.

Webpages noted: https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/17/21443683/nintendo-3ds-discontinued-lifetime-sales-hardware-software-units

https://www.fandom.com/articles/sonic-mania-just-nostalgia

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/15/15807138/sony-playstation-cross-network-play-xbox-block-response

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/were-ready-microsoft-says-about-xbox-one-ps4-cross/1100-6438654/

https://www.rocketleague.com/news/full-cross-platform-play-now-live-in-rocket-league/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidDAngelo/20140625/219383/Breaking_the_NES_for_Shovel_Knight.php

Games shown/referenced in the video:

The Last of Us Part 2

God of War

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Red Dead Redeption II

Witcher 3

PT / Silent Hill S

Sonic Mania

Rocket League

Blood Borne

Dark Souls III

Undertale

Shovel Knight

Shantae: Half Genie Hero

Cuphead

Celeste

Yooka Laylee

Mega Man 2

Ducktales

Castlevania

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Blasphemous

Dead Cells

Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 8

Moon

Layers of Fear

The Park

Death Stranding

Bonus Footage:

Xbox Series X reveal trailer

PS5 reveal trailer

Also note: I messed up in the original video and said the phrase, “X is like Dark Souls of” spiked in April of 2015 when I should have said first peaked in January to April of 2015.  I noted it in the video but wanted to note it again, sorry.

[nadziejastar]

One of the things I hated about KH3 was how it treated Radiant Garden. It's the most important world in the series with several plotlines running through it and an arc of its own (KH1 a ruin, KH2 rebuilding, BbS flashback to former glory) but KH3 made it cutscene-only and did the bare minimum with it story-wise, it basically became "the place that Ienzo is calling from."

Oh, I definitely agree with you there. It’s a big reason why KH3 felt like an unfinished and incomplete game to me. I actually thought the Disney worlds were great (they even had towns) and I had no major complaints about the battle system. For me, the biggest issue with the game was the lack of an overarching plot and the pathetic “resolution” to the various subplots/character arcs. I’ve heard a rumor that playtesters from 2018 said that Scala ad Caelum was a fully playable world. And there is evidence of that in the hacked data. That would have been a world entirely dedicated to advancing the story and explaining Xehanort’s past. And it was just…taken out.

After BBSV2 was cancelled, Nomura said he was going to incorporate the missing story from that game into KH3, in a condensed manner of course. The missing story would be touched on, but not explored in full detail. That is most likely what the “KH2.9″ thing was all about at the beginning. Of course, the missing story from BBSV2 was never included. I think Nomura was in quite a bind after such an important game was cancelled and the story of KH3 became quite a mess indeed. There was not enough time to come up with a solution.

Nomura said that there were models of Leon and the Fairy Godmother created, but left unused, which annoyed the developers. To me, this indicates that KH3 was rushed and a lot of stuff was cut out. I think Radiant Garden was almost certainly supposed to be a playable world as well. There was a TON of story left to resolve there. Instead of trying to resolve it, KH3 just cut Radiant Garden out entirely, like Scala ad Caelum. I thought the scene where Mickey and Riku figured out that Xehanort possessed Terra was SO awkward.

It felt so strange how any mention of Aqua’s armor and Keyblade was left out. That’s why the spot Dilan showed them was so important, after all. Mickey already knew Aqua was trapped in the Dark Realm and saved Terra. What he didn’t know was where or how it happened, or what became of Terra afterwards. If Dilan told them that the armor was found in the same spot that the amnesiac apprentice Xehanort was found, then it’s all too obvious what happened to Terra.

It seemed like the only thing anyone cared about for 90% of the game was finding enough Replicas for Roxas, Xion, and Naminé. That’s all Ienzo really did, so his scenes were just reduced to Gummiphone conversations. Vexen/Even only joined the organization as a “reserve member” to get access to the Replica project. This made NO SENSE. The organization didn’t need Even’s Replicas to fill out their ranks. If Even conveniently joined the New Organization XIII all of a sudden, they would have just used HIM as the final vessel. They wouldn’t have needed Replicas and they certainly wouldn’t have made him a reserve member. They were only one vessel short, after all.

Ienzo should have told Sora/Riku/Mickey about the armor that Xemnas would always talk to in the Chamber of Repose. And that should have started a conversation about the Chamber of Waking, where Ienzo knew Xemnas’s other “friend” was. Maybe that’s why Aqua’s armor was not mentioned. From the very beginning of KH3, Sora was supposed to know that Ventus’s heart was inside of him (Roxas had Ventus’s heart and that’s why Roxas looked like Ventus—duh) and that Ventus’s body was in the Chamber of Waking. Mickey knew that Aqua hid Ven somewhere only she would know. Sora’s job was to find a way to wake Ventus’s heart, not find him a body. But the only thing that happened in Radiant Garden was the ridiculous subplot of the characters trying to find a body for Roxas and coming up with “Replicas”.

Replicas were NOT needed. Roxas’s real body was in the Chamber of Waking, which was conveniently never mentioned by anyone. And of course, Lea would be able to tell the others that finding that place is impossible, so there was no point in looking. So, the obvious course of action would be to find Aqua first. All of this should have happened either in KH0.5 or at the very beginning of KH3. It appears that at some point, VERY late into development, the decision was made to just forget about the plot of the Xehanort Saga. That’s why most of KH3′s story was simply setting up KH4 with stuff like the Foretellers, the black box, and Subject X. All the important subplots of Radiant Garden were dropped.

Instead of showing Lea’s backstory there, they just made him go back to being Axel and Twilight Town was portrayed as his real home. This wasn’t done because it fit Lea’s character or anything. It was done because there was no time to give him a real backstory in Radiant Garden. And Saïx’s whole character arc was reduced to joining the organization so he could help Even get Roxas a Replica body. That was it. His whole character arc was thrown in the garbage. Isa wasn’t rescued from his possession or given a heartfelt reunion with Lea. All of the drama between Axel and Saïx in Days and KH2 was simply so that Saïx would feel bad in KH3 and then join the organization to get Roxas a body? Yeah, right. If anyone actually believes that, I have a bridge I’d like to sell them.

— And so, is there a possibility that the characters that appeared in that scene will be brought back in the future?

Yeah. The data that Ansem hid inside Sora is a secret related to their resurrection. When Ansem became DiZ and worked from the shadows, he did research on the heart and emotion, but he hid the conclusion of his particular findings inside Sora. There were many who thought that what was hidden was Kingdom Hearts Coded, but that’s not right. In the ending of KH coded, Naminé’s words that DiZ did something to Sora are pointing to the data that Ansem hid. We are planning to make clear the nature of that data in a future title.

The other important plot point of Radiant Garden was of course decoding Ansem’s data that he left inside of Sora. This was about the power of waking, which was supposed to be the MAIN GOAL of the plot, not Replicas. Nomura wanted to make the nature of Ansem’s data clear in a future title. The title being referred to was not KH3, it was actually KH0.5 A Fragmentary Passage.

— Speaking of the KH BbS secret cutscene, Ansem the Wise says that he hid his research results in Sora. This complies with what happens in KH Re:coded when Namine says DiZ (Ansem the Wise) has hid something inside Sora. Is that mystery remaining unsolved?

Yes. Namine added data to the Jiminy Journal in order to convey that the “pain” of those connected to Sora must be healed, but at the point in time Ansem hid the research results inside Sora, he didn’t know that. Accordingly, Ansem’s research results will become the key to healing the “pain” in the future of the story.

The data left inside of Sora was the key to healing the pain of the characters.

— Before the ending, Riku receives research data from Ansem the Wise. In the next title, will that be the key to bringing back the people who are sleeping inside Sora?You could say it’s the key. That data contains the details explaining the way to connect lost hearts.

And it was supposed to explain the way to connect lost hearts.

Secret Report 9: Ansem Code Conspectus, Excerpt 1

First, a vessel for each heart must be readied. Then, a spark of some sort is required to induce its waking. Obviously, the ideal solution is to restore each heart to its own body, but (whatever the case for the two unknown individuals) Roxas possesses no such thing. The same is true for Naminé, who we believe resides in Kairi’s heart. Still, if alternate bodies can be secured for them, all their hearts require to be awakened is that “spark"—people they cared for and who cared for them, who can show them the way home.

Most of the report about Ansem’s Code was useless nonsense about finding vessels for Roxas and Naminé. The only real important thing I saw from that report was the part about the “spark”. That’s what I think Ansem’s code was really all about. A heart simply needs a connection to awaken it. While Riku and Mickey were looking for a way to rescue Aqua from the Dark Realm, Sora was supposed to be looking for the power of waking, which was the necessary “spark” to awaken Roxas/Ventus’s heart from inside of him.

— The press release for KINGDOM HEARTS III unveiled by Square Enix discusses the search for the “Key to Return Hearts.” Is there anything you can tell us about that?

There are two possible meanings of the “key.” One of which is the “hardware” key, which opens doors - this is what keys are in general (laughs), and the other is the “light” key, that opens something else. In this case, it is currently unknown as to which type of key Sora must find. This is the main storyline of KINGDOM HEARTS III - Sora must go on an adventure to find the “key” without knowing what or where it is. But as you know, we can’t really say anything else on the subject (laughs).

That was the “Key to Return Hearts”. And that’s why Sora was travelling to the various Disney Worlds. They were NOT supposed to be useless filler. Sora was looking for some kind of clue about what kind of “spark” would be necessary to awaken Ven’s heart inside of him. That’s why he went to visit Hercules first. Hercules restored his lost powers when he rescued Meg. Then Sora went to Twilight Town, where Roxas/Ventus was from. Most of the other Disney worlds involve someone being restored to life. Rapunzel revived Eugene, Elsa revived Anna, Baymax was brought back to life, etc. These worlds were supposed to give Sora clues about the power of waking.

And what is the power of waking exactly? Well, it is NOT rewinding time to bring people back from the dead, that’s for sure. It is based on what is called “Soul Fragmentation” and “Soul Retrieval”. That is why the power of waking always involved collecting “pieces” of Sora.

And that’s why Xehanort needed to “fragment” Sora’s mind/soul before he could possess him. He became an empty vessel.

The experiments involved convincing the mind to renounce its sense of self.

In other words, dissociation. And dissociation can be induced by PAIN. The person in pain lacks self-awareness, leaving them open for possession. This is no doubt what happened to Isa, too.

Soul Retrieval is a form of healing that one is not able to perform on oneself. Someone else needs to perform this healing on you.

Soul Fragmentation is when part of your soul – that is a part of yourself – separates from the whole and retreats to a non-physical/etheric place. This can occur during periods of stress, trauma and challenge. In the shamanistic perspective, when these parts of our souls are not recovered, we can’t seem to find inner completion or wholeness.

Sometimes the soul aspect can be lost for long periods of time – even over many years, as it will stay absent until the necessary healing occurs to facilitate its safe return to the soul/body. Soul Retrieval is a deeply effective and powerful method of healing and it helps to cement your soul with love and light to empower you and make you more whole again.

As the lost soul fragment integrates you may find a deep connection with yourself and a greater sense of personal power and fulfillment. It can also enhance commitment to your Life Purpose in a way that makes sense for you and your unique gifts and talents whatever they may be.

And while it may sound kind of cheesy, the power of love is basically what is needed to perform a soul retrieval on someone. That’s why it was such a recurring theme in all of the Disney Words. The report about Ansem’s Code was found in Arendelle. And I think it was a perfect fit. An act of love can thaw a frozen heart. That’s basically what soul retrieval/the power of waking is in a nutshell. Aqua needed to dive inside of Ventus and collect all of the fragments of his soul and put them back together. The correct spark to awaken Roxas/Ventus’s heart was Aqua being threatened by Vanitas.

Axel was NOT supposed to be the one to bring Roxas back. I repeat, Roxas was not supposed to be revived by Axel. If that were the case, Roxas’s heart would have woken up at the end of KH2, when Axel sacrificed himself. But it didn’t. Lea was supposed to revive Isa, not Roxas/Ventus. Isa’s heart would have awakened during the final battle. This is why he stopped attacking Lea and he should have been the one to protect him from Xemnas. 

Then Lea would need to heal his soul which was fragmented. That’s what the entire Lea/Isa subplot was all about: healing Isa’s pain. It got NO closure and was instead discarded in favor of a poor excuse to bring Roxas back as a separate character from Ventus, which was not necessary in the slightest. Very, VERY bad storytelling. People don’t criticize KH3′s story because their expectations were too high or because Nomura is incompetent. The story was just BOTCHED. And it deserves to be called out. Fans deserved MUCH better after waiting for so long.

[eusebiahanger10-blog]

AVS Audio Editor Report Audio, Cut, Mix Audio Recordsdata, Delete Audio Elements, Edit Mp3

Bigasoft Audio Converter is an easy-to-use audio conversion tool offers a speedy way to convert favourite songs between virtually all formats together with MP3, WMA, M4A, AAC, AC3, WAV, OGG, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, CAF, etc. When you find yourself coping with any file similar to videos or audios, it is very important think about various kinds of file formats that you're coping with. It is also important to think about the output format of your file. Utilizing the unsuitable file format can destroy the quality of the file, or it could actually make it unnecessarily giant. Some media file formats are lossless whereas others are lossy. As an example, FLAC and ALAC are good examples of lossless recordsdata. FLAC and ALAC maintain the data when they are converted. Due to this fact, in case you wish to convert FLAC file formats, then the best output format to decide on is ALAC and the conversion will make sure that the unique high quality of the file is retained. Changing FLAC to ALAC is easy, and the steps are discussed in the subsequent part of this article.

A part of the Actual codec suite, Real Lossless too hasn't any very particular options that make it stand out. Similar to WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, it was created to fit in a codec suite, but in contrast to WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, there isn't a hardware assist and software program help is restricted. Compression is on par with most other codecs, but it's rather sluggish to encode. Secondly, you don't need an internet connection to listen to your music, and while the Offline modes of both Tidal and Spotify enable you to use it on the subway, it nonetheless needs to be connected to the 'internet sooner or later to get the information. What if your music player does not have apps or network functionality? For cheap music gamers just like the Sony A17 , a set of FLAC recordsdata take advantage of sense. Not solely that, there are 300+ optimized presets in your need in an effort to moreover convert FLAC to iPhone , OGG to iPhone , DTS to iPhone , and so forth. FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), as its title prompt, is a free lossless audio codec. For Dwelling home windows DOS batch customers, it's going to convert all FLAC from the current listing and recurse to keep away from losing the output within the similar listing that the FLAC is in. I put the echo in the command line so it's possible you'll verify the output earlier convert alac to flac than you actually begin processing. So in case you want to use a single file sort and disk house isn't an issue, I would go for AIFF over losslessly compressed file varieties akin to FLAC or ALAC. FLAC stage 5 is normal for some folks, others contemplate diploma 7 to be the baseline, which yields a significantly bigger file measurement. Free obtain and arrange this wonderful FLAC to Apple Lossless Converter - Faasoft FLAC to ALAC Converter. 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Possibly I configured it incorrectly, but when you might want to convert from WAV to MP3, take a look at the final program under, audio-Transcoder.com which worked. APE - APE is a very highly compressed lossless file, that means you'll get the most area savings. Its audio high quality is the same as FLAC, ALAC, and other lossless files, but it surely is not suitable with almost as many gamers. They also work your processor tougher to decode, since they're so extremely compressed. Usually, I would not recommend utilizing this until you're very starved for house and have a player that supports it. Within the first half, the reason why to convert FLAC to ALAC will probably be briefly defined, which should be known before you change FLAC to ALAC. Then, detailed steps of the right way to convert FLAC to ALAC with a powerful audio converter will likely be proven. Simply read and follow it. Select Library > Songs in iTunes and drag the file from the placement you exported it to, into the iTunes window. If you happen to simply want to burn the files to CD , it's best to tug them directly into an iTunes Playlist in the left-hand panel. I have been using file compression and music archiving software program for the reason that in style music fireplace sale that got here along with file-sharing websites like Napster in the mid-'90s. That phenomenon taught me an essential lesson in regards to the value of excessive-high quality music playback versus having enough music on a tool to final through retirement. I discovered myself buying CDs although I had the identical album in a compressed digital format because I knew the CD would sound better. The technology developments in audio converter software now afford us the flexibility to extract high-high quality audio from CDs or streaming companies, and duplicate those recordsdata and convert them to lossy formats, like MP3, to make the recordsdata smaller and playable on cell units. Apple Lossless - Often known as ALAC, Apple Lossless is just like FLAC. It's a compressed lossless file, Alac To Ogg Converter Online Kostenlos although it is made by Apple. Its compression is not quite as efficient as FLAC, so your recordsdata may be a bit larger, however it's fully supported by iTunes and iOS (whereas FLAC shouldn't be). Thus, you'd wish to use this if you happen to use iTunes and iOS as your major music listening software program.

[antiques-for-geeks]

Game Review : Pickaxe Pete

Philips (Magnavox) / 1982 / G7000 (Odyssey²)

“I’ve been lost in this damned mine for what seems like days. I pried off the rotting boards nailing the hillside entrance shut… hoping to fill my pack with enough shiny metal to feed me, my wife and our 7 kids for the rest of our lives… but those boards and warning signs were there for a reason. This place is a death trap! Maybe if I keep going deeper I’ll find my treasure and a way out…”

As miner Pete, you wander a single screen of platforms, connected by ladders and holes. You can only climb up the ladders, and only drop down the holes. You can safely drop any distance, but have no control over the character as you fall, leaving you vulnerable. As in all G7000 games, you only have 1 life. On every other level is a door. These doors can be different colours, and periodically spew out boulders which bounce around the levels. They’ll flatten you given half a chance, so you’ll have to jump, duck or otherwise avoid them. Under normal circumstances if you try and enter a door it will send you flying straight back the way you came.

Pete starts the level with (guess what!) a pickaxe, which is a clear duplicate of Mario’s barrel smashing hammer, and similarly runs out after a short time. You’re completely safe from all harm while toting the ‘axe and rack up points for every boulder smashed. Sometimes 2 boulders meet and smash together, and when this happens they form a single golden boulder that drops straight to the bottom of the screen. When it hits bottom it might drop a new pickaxe, or a key might fly up to the top of the screen. These items  will remain on the level for a short time to be picked up.

In COLOUR!

The pickaxe makes Pete invulnerable again, but the key gives him the ability to leave the current screen via any one of the coloured doors. A word to the wise - the doors are very dangerous, so jumping rather than walking into them is usually a good idea. Even if Pete gets thumped by a boulder mid jump as long as his flailing body hits the door you get to see the next level.

Once you’re through the door a brief close up animation plays of Pete … what is that, dancing? Yes, dancing and slamming the door like a nutter. Then its on to the next level, where a chunk is randomly removed from one of the platforms to make getting about trickier.

Little fish, big fish, cardboard box!

That’s almost all there is to it - the only other element is the colour of the doors. If you travel through a red door you get a screen with red platforms, a blue door has blue platforms etc. But a black door? That’ll send you to a screen where the platforms are the same colour as the background, and you have a real nightmare to deal with.

The G7000 (or Odyssey² for our american friends) is a little celebrated machine these days, and had way less support than its much more famous peer the Atari 2600. Almost no third party software was released in its lifetime. Most games use the same set of predefined characters to save memory, and all of them look impossibly primitive today. Despite these facts it is home to a handful of excellent titles, some of which retain their raw playability today.

Pickaxe Pete is one of the best games for the machine. On first inspection it seems to be a totally stripped down Donkey Kong clone, but it’s actually a really interesting twist on the same formula, where you can develop your own strategy to score points and stay alive. Do you hang around at the top of the level waiting for a key? Or at the bottom for new pickaxes? Do you take the points gained for moving on to the next level, knowing that there will be slightly less platform to stand on every time you do? Amazingly, most of the games on the machine were the work of one man, Ed Averett, and he certainly had a flair for making the most of basic hardware. This is one that deserves to be played and remembered.

Score card

Presentation 8/10

G7000 games came in a nice sturdy clam shell box. The manual sits inside the clear plastic box lid, and the artwork is usually well drawn and enticing, unlike the game graphics!

Originality 7/10

It’s clearly inspired by Donkey Kong, but plays nothing like it. The meat of the gameplay remains fairly unique to this title.

Graphics 3/10

I predict no G7000 game will ever score more than a 5 here! Second generation consoles were originally designed to handle very simple graphics, so what we get here is a stick man character running around on coloured lines avoiding asterisks. There are a few nice touches like the way the pickaxes and keys sparkle before they disappear. The door slamming intermission could potentially cause a seizure…

Hookability 7/10

Has a pretty simple premise, but can be tough and unforgiving.

Sound 2/10

I predict no G7000 game will ever score more than a 3 here! The sounds are etched into my brain from extended childhood play sessions, but they consist mostly of bleeps, bloops and explosion noises. Some of them, for example when you get stuck in a door without a key are actively annoying.

Lastability 8/10

Taken in the context of what was available at the time, this is a very replayable score attack game. 

Value for Money 8/10

I played this one endlessly, which is just as well because the cost of cartridges was such that we only ever got one a year max.

Overall 8/10

Something of a forgotten classic.

[thetapelessworld]

thetapelessworld Interview with Blinksonic

thetapelessworld Interview with Blinksonic

thetapelessworld Interview with Blinksonic

Here is an Interview we did with Sylvain Stoppani of Blinksonic. Blinksonic make 3rd Party Device for Native Instruments Reaktor plugin. BlinkSonic currently have 4 Commercial Products Ruidoz Electrtonic Percussion Mangler, Aetonz Hybrid Polytonal Sampler, Substanz Beatmaking Station, and Voz Virtual Vocal Generator.  Blinksonics Devices are great for all Modern Producers. First I love the Gui’s their modern and easy to use and understand. It’s also very easy to take a preset and turn it into something unique. All Blinksonic Devices are unique and can bring something special to your music productions. And thanks to Reaktor framework its easy to use your own Samples to further customize Blinksonic devices to make original content. These Devices belong in any Electronic Musicians or Sound Designers Toolbox. So be sure to Check out their Products.

https://www.blinksonic.com/

https://www.blinksonic.com/blog/

https://www.blinksonic.com/about/

So on to Blinksonic Interview

What got you interested in music?

Music is such essential and important for me since my youngest age, that I finally forgot what’s kept me interested at the early beginning. Probably the possibility to escape, to let off steam, to express oneself, to mentally visualize kind of images and representations through sounds ... In the auditory field of our perceptions, music and more precisely sounds, are a powerful vector for communication. Whatever the mother tongue, I tend to think that we should not look any further to find a form of audible universal language.

 Do you remember the first piece of music that moved you? And how has that influenced you?

Very early, my parents gifted me a slot-in record player with a whole collection of 45 rpm vinyl disks for kids. I remember owning a lot of Japanese manga music (Captain Harlock, Grendizer, Captain Future ), French cartoon ( still have a strong remembering of the introduction of « The Mysterious Cities of Gold »  anime ) and also some original soundtracks of children's movie like E.T.

It really took me out and it was a great time !

Much later as a teenager, I loved listening/dreaming with headphones to psychedelic rock of the 60s, 70s.

Like many young person who only had access to pop music (before internet), I was fascinated by the ability to play with sounds and turn noise into art as did guitarists like Jimi Hendrix.

I also loved the energy that emanate from some bands, more or less extreme, indie rock and metal of the 90s.

My attraction to the sound is certainly wrought through larsen/feedback screams’ and a lot of sound effects abuse. I always have been fascinated by sequences that suggest emotions not describable via a riff or melodies. The way Sonic Youth was creating chaotic guitar parts on some moments of their tracks, impressed me a lot.

Thanks to my discovery of hip hop, I also have been very quickly interested in the art of sampling.

It was much later that I came across electronic music.

Aphex Twin - Come to daddy is a EP that definitely brings me to this playground as a musician and music lover, as much this record brought together stylistic elements that I loved to hear together.

 What are some of your favorite musicians, composers or sound Designers. and does that influence Blinksonic?

All the early and actual catalogue of Rephlex, Schematic, Skam, Planet Mu, Mego, Ghostly, Raster Noton and Warp Records… Really did my school days by listening to their releases.

I feel linked to Richard Devine which was the first to support me. I love the way he makes beats, this unique techno-organic rhythmical time signatures only him have the secret !

The sound designers who impresse me the most are also both good composers and live performers… I love the very versatile fantasy brings by Otto Von Schirach.

Today however I am a little less connected than before, there’s every month excellent stuff that comes out and it's not easy to be aware.

It takes time and I rather be focused on my own work.

However on artists more or less recent, I like VHS Head, Meat Bingo, Com Truise, Kelpe, Patten, Vaetxh (aka Rob Clouth), Freeform, Cristian Vogel, Baby Kruger and Freeka Tet.

There are many artists I admire for their talent of crafting their own sounds and merging the music with other artistic practices.

I like composer that can tell a story, not only with melodic structure but with the expressive power of sounds.

 What made you decide to start making Reaktor Ensembles?

I mostly use Ableton Live until the beginning (from 2002) and I have always used Reaktor since version 3, to provide myself with sound contents, which I mount and arrange thereafter in Live.

I quickly realized that I had a tool as powerful as it was original. I have almost learned with it more about synthesis and sound processing than on any other platform or hardware instrument.

At first, modifying the existing ensembles, I ended up doing mine. I have always wanted to generate my music from a custom interpretation process .. and Reaktor is perfect for this.

After a lot of experiences and discographic projects more or less discreet and anonymous, I started to find that the diffusion of my creations did not meet the format of diffusion that I wished ..

It was not enough adapted to the way I work and the things I wanted to express in music production. I wished a more interactive diffusion which would include the process of creation itself, and not something locked/achieved in time as a classic EP or LP format. I wanted something that let the structural forms of the composition to be possibly autonomous or manipulable.

That's what led me to release the first version of RUIDOZ° with many presets included .. like pieces of an album that was not completely achieved… A sound material which aims to be eternally modified by end users.

  What makes you stick out from other developers. What is Blinksonic doing that others are not?

Maybe precisely the singular character of this approach. I do not propose an algorithmic killer way to make music but rather an original playable sound environment.

According to the inspiration and the technical level, I think we can use these tools as something serious .. but also as an interactive trip that you open as a video game :D And it’s also a collection of ideas that only wait to be incorporated inside tracks..

Beyond that, I must remain humble, I am new in this field.. lots of things to learn yet..

But I think my main asset is to offer a successful and unique user experience.

Many Reaktor instruments have not been enough achieved at the graphic interface level to become really interesting.

A good instrument is not only an instrument that sounds good. It must be take in hands in the best way possible for taking advantage of it.

The GUI really did the difference even if it can be considered as secondary for a sound making tool. With screen technologies, this the interface which provides this feeling and helps being inspired.

In computer music and in term of algorithm, nothing is really new actually, apart the renewal of graphical interfaces and some new integrations of concepts related to spectrum analysis and processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning. I have the impression that developers are more focused to recycle algorithms on making them more tangible and improving the usability of applications, making them more convenient and easier, more immediate and fun.

 Aside from the visual aspect of my instruments, I think it’s the stylistic orientation suggested and the non academic character that makes the difference and helps my work to meet an audience. I work alone so it's also a form of freedom, with no limit or drastic specifications to respect. I walk through inspiration .. and always with the intention to provide my own arsenal .. for a bit that one day I stop developing to try to use my tools to compose or interpret music again :-D

 What direction do you see yourself taking Blinksonic?

It's pretty vague at the moment, because I have a lot of ideas and it still necessary to choose the good ones .. I would like for example to release album concepts or EP based on Reaktor.

I really like the idea of using Reaktor as a final format for broadcasting a musical work with a graphical interface which aims to manipulate it in real time, play and illustrate the universe described by the music ...

A similar trip to the Demomakers or, I do not know if you remember it, this R3-based application, called « Mewark - Stoderaft » by Lazyfish that NI released for free in the early 2000’s.

At that time, I was fascinated by this futuristic music diffusion concept !

I also dream to be able to produce an hardware effect in a close futur…

 Also gotta say love the Interfaces of your devices. What influenced them and do you also like design?

Thanks!

I am generally influenced by any technological objects that are currently offered to us and I am directly influenced by current trends around what we can call "tablet design" and « industriel design ».  I also love the work on HUD/GUI for sci fi movies.

Today, we all have in hands smartphones and all the user experiences that goes with it, with the most minimalist design possible, infographic that responds to information codes of representations. I am influenced by this and I completely abandon skeumorphic and realistic graphic models. It looks gorgeous but it tends to not be readable and practical as the original emulated hardware are.

Flat design is not just a trend. It really brings something more optimized and kind of technological elegance to applications and well suited for screens.

This said, I am not against bringing back some shadows as « Material Design » suggest it.

In all case, I am very focused on all the possible trends and field of development that can improve the User Experience of an application. So I watch a lot what happens in that domain.

 Is there a designer, Art or Software developer that influenced your GUI's.

I am always amazed by the design work of Teenage Engineering. It must be felt on my own work that they influenced me. :)

To my eyes, it’s truly THE way to of designing. This vision of graphically illustrate technical sound parameters in a scalable way… I love the idea that the symbol or the icon to become the object of control.

In pure software design on audio, I love Sugar Bytes, Sinevibes, Audio Damage, iZotope, FAW, Unfiltered Audio and obviously many instruments edited by NI.

Last but not least, I can’t forget to mention Thomas Hennebert (Inear Display) and Ivo Ivanov (Glitchmachines). I feel also very close to their vision of sound design.

 What are your 5 favorite Reaktor Ensembles (non Blinksonic) that you like or wish you made ?

RAZOR !! This the killer one !! it is timeless .. I dream that someday this synth will be replicated as an identical hardware! It would be crazy!

ROUNDS is an amazing instrument too !

NODE by Antonio Bianca.. it's so small and fine, beautiful, effective and inspiring at the same time ..

The FLOW by Tim exile.. also GRAINCUBE ..

There is plenty which I love and I certainly forget .. SPACEDRONE, METAPHYSICALL FUNCTION ...

Ah yes probably the one that I particularly like .. a very old one, TRAVELIZER from the original library of R4 ... I found it crazy to be able to manipulate a wave file that way when I discover it !

  Do you have a favorite Reaktor Ensemble Developer (non Blinksonic)?

I think that Sasha Lazyfish is above any hierarchy. He invented a lot of things in the early beginning of Reaktor that still inspire me.

I also have a lot of respect for Twisted Tools. They were the first to release premium ensembles with the same quality of a AU/VST plugin. They injected on their instruments and effects such singular method to produce electronic music with always a both forward thinking GUI.

I can not forget to mention Tim Exile, but he’s out of any category… This guy is cracked of talent and naturally inspired !

I was going to forget Antonio Bianca. But it's people everybody knows ! :D

 I love this artist called « Even Iter » whose sharing amazing generative ensembles on the User Library. All ensembles always contain geometrical visualizations of sounds, generated and drawn via Reaktor coding.

 And since the Blocks framework advent, I am keep a lot of attention on COLUGO_ stuffs.

I also have been lucky enough to collaborate with Sandy Small, who has rebuilded in Core most of the structure off my block PROCESSORZ°. 

Sandy is as accurate and logical as he’s brilliant.

 Which BLinksonic Ensemble are you most proud of ?

I think VOZ brings something special, it looks a bit like OUTPUT EXHALE, but the concept is pushed a little further with the ability to randomly change samples from a limited range of incoming notes. This is not my most popular instrument, but it's the one I find the most achieved and powerful .

With this semi modular approach ported to a tone sampler, I regularly discover many new ways to use it and create textures. The sound bank compiles 15 years sound recordings of my voice, so it’s necessarily something special for me. It gives a strange second life to the provided vocal formants.

  What's are some of your favorite hardware or Software gear to process samples?

As mentioned above, and beyond the design aspect, I am conquered by the OP-1 of TE. This kind of "soft" sampler never existed before on hardware , or in any case, not in this compact format . I’m waiting for the OP-Z with the same excitement as kid during Christmas.

As much as I am unconditional of Ableton, I recently put my fingers on MASCHINE, there is room for it to become a complete DAW, but besides that, I think it's the best software sampler on the market today. The functions to handle audio slices, the maneuverability + an app that comes with a controller. I really observe with a deep interest all the coming new features and improvements that will be implement to it.

Otherwise, I watch with attention also New Sonic Art, James Walker Hall is a pure developer  and also SoundGuru « the Mangler » is extremely attractive concept ..

An also ! ... The impossible to forget sampler, but unfortunately only available on iOS: SAMPLR. I can spend hours on it, it's very intuitive and fun to play !

 What are some of your most used plugins and what do you use them for?

I already mention some of them above. As much as I observe and test everything possible that exist on the market, but I keep the same habits, and come back very often to the same tools.

By cons, I also use some additional hardware, like my old subtractive synth CRUMAR BIT 99, a kind of JUNO, very typical eighty sounds and I recently acquired the 2 Nozoïd synthesizer. (nozoid.com) They are amazing !! By the way, for the sound quality but also for their modular design in a compact format. I will never have been able to mount an Eurorack with the equal features for the same price.

  Are you working on something that you would like to tells us about?

I can’t say a lot about it but I hope to come back this next spring with a new concept of instrument. I am actually inside development days, and even if I have my idea, I don’t know myself what kind of sonic craziness it will be at the end ;)

Apart this I will participate to the next NATIVE SESSIONS called FUTURE TECHNIQUES, the 17th February, in Paris. I will perform with my instruments and give a short masterclass.

For Info on Native Session: https://www.native-instruments.com/fr/community/native-sessions/native-sessions-future-techniques-2018/

[legendary]

The New Frontier of Gaming

A Conversation with Cyan’s Rand Miller

Rand Miller has been on the frontline of innovation in video gaming since the 1980s. Founding Cyan in 1987, he and his brother, Robyn, set the stage for a full-on revolution in the computer gaming space. Six years later, Cyan released Myst, which soared past every boundary of what could previously be possible in computer gaming, taking full advantage of the CD-ROM’s massive storage capacities (at the time). Over 15 million sold units later, Myst held the honor of being the best-selling PC game ever for almost a full decade and Cyan became recognized as a video gaming icon, known as game-changers for their innovation in both the franchise and their other subsequent endeavors. Today, it was announced that Cyan is continuing their tradition of pushing the envelope into the next frontier: console-based virtual reality. In partnership with Legendary VR, Cyan is releasing to console to their critically-acclaimed game, Obduction, with exclusive all-new content for Playstation 4 and PS VR. Legendary Backstory got the opportunity to talk to Rand Miller about this exciting next step for Cyan, his thoughts on virtual reality, and the future of the interactive gaming medium. See the full interview below!

Q: Talk a little bit about your time before Cyan. Where did your passion for game design come from and how did you develop it into what Cyan has become? What games inspired you growing up?

RM: I had my first encounter with a computer game in 5th or 6th grade, and it was like magic - like I now had access to magic. The game was simple (a text based lunar landing game), but it set me on a path. I wrote my first game shortly thereafter, and I’ve been creating games ever since. The inspiration for the games have always been related to what media I am consuming. After watching the Starsky and Hutch TV series I wrote a game about driving a Ford Torino with a bomb in the trunk. After reading the book, The Swarm, I wrote a game called Swarms about saving the US from an attack of hybrid bees. After playing D&D I designed an adventure that I could take others through.

Q: Myst, in many ways, was a revolution in the computer gaming space, igniting the CD-ROM as a legitimate gaming platform. What was it in the early 1990s that drew you towards CD-ROM vs. the popular consoles coming out at the time?

RM: My brother Robyn and I had been building worlds for children (The Manhole, Cosmic Osmo, Spelunx). In many ways, we practiced our craft with those early children’s games - testing the water, and seeing what was possible. When the opportunity to build Myst came around, we decided that CD-ROM’s massive storage capabilities (at the time) would allow us to build an adventure large enough to not require starting over. The player would have so much to explore that they could be entertained for hours without the need to build in “friction” that make them start over. It was the size of this new technology that allowed us to provide an adventure that had a slower pace, puzzle based friction, and a rich storyline - and we tried to design the game around the new medium.

Q: Give a brief rundown of what the story of Obduction is for the fans who don’t know. What does the idea of it being a “spiritual sequel” to the Myst/Riven saga mean to you?

RM: For us, the spiritual sequel aspect of Obduction means that it’s not the same story as Myst, but it reaches back and embraces the idea of being thrust into a situation that is completely foreign and perplexing. There is something so appealing to that original Myst feeling of being dropped into the middle of a story and gradually uncovering the details of what went on in this strange world - and realizing that you are now part of the story. Obduction re-creates that feeling better than any Myst sequel can, because it’s new. A strange alien artifact whisks the player away to some crazy alien world that has chunks of Earth scattered around. It’s perplexing, evocative, and mesmerizing - we love that feeling!

Q: Cyan has built an incredibly loyal and passionate fan base over the years and Obduction feels like a true celebration of the fans, as it was kicked off via a very successful Kickstarter campaign. What was it like to bring the fans together and make them part of the process to create a new game?

RM: Having the fans be part of the Obduction creation was a special gift - we’ve described it as having 20,000 additional cheerleaders who stood with us as we created the experience. We’ve always felt a strong obligation to provide wonderful experiences, but crowd-funding seems like it removed a layer of abstraction and allowed the fans to see a bit more of the process - cheering us on and supporting us along the way.

Q:What was your first experience with virtual reality? What was it about Obduction itself or the current VR landscape to make you think that the time was now right to adapt one of Cyan’s games into VR?

RM: I was able to try VR many years ago when it required a file cabinet-sized computer, was pretty grainy, and used a tether as thick as a boa constrictor. It was really intriguing back then, but it seemed so far off. Then when I tried the recent iterations - it blew my mind. There was suddenly a sweet spot that had been hit - of course VR was now within reach of the masses, but there was also a visual quality that passed some kind of threshold, and the hand controls added an almost tangible intuitiveness to interacting in these worlds. All of those things are what we have always been excited by.

Q: What challenges did designing the game for VR present to you compared to your past games? Did anything surprise you?

RM: Performance is always a challenge with VR - especially with our focus on rich visuals. VR requires two high-res screens to be refreshed at a high rate - there is a lot of horsepower driving things. Because our games are visually stunning and not twitch/reaction based, we felt like we could push the quality of the visual bar higher - even if it meant a slightly reduced frame rate. We pushed hard in that direction - and managed to keep the frame rate high enough to provide a comfortable experience for everyone. One thing that surprised us was just how much VR provides a sense of scale. Objects and spaces that we built, that looked fine on a flat screen, would suddenly seem too large or small in VR. Because you’re fully immersed in the 3D VR worlds you are able to gauge the size of things like never before. It’s that intense immersion that provides such a sense of presence.

Q: Do you have any favorite easter eggs hidden in the game?

RM: We have a crazy Russian control panel at one point that is a bit of a red herring. In fact, it’s used to enter into an “easter egg” mode where some of our Kickstarter backers were able to add their own “eggs” to the game. But the number that is used to enter easter egg mode is a fun little easter egg itself - it’s actually a phone number from the British TV series The IT Crowd, - a 20 digit emergency phone number that has a song to help people remember it.

Q: What are you most excited about in the present VR gaming space and what are you most excited about for the future of VR games?

RM: The present space is exciting as a transitional phase - game creators (including us) are starting out by moving what they’ve done on 2D screens into the VR space. But with every product that comes out, VR starts to take on more and more of a life of its own. The exciting aspect of the future of VR is the fact that it’s so wide open to be defined - the things we’ll see as the medium begins to mature on its own will be mind blowing.

Q: One of the hallmarks of Cyan’s games as well as Legendary’s properties across multiple mediums is a love and passion for world-building. Cyan’s worlds have always been expansive and intricate and leave fans wanting to discover more, a tradition that continues with Obduction. Where does your approach to world building come from and how are you able to approach each new game to do the story world justice?

RM: We love rich worlds - games, movies, books, TV - doesn’t matter. Those rich worlds are what help us believe. The details we put into our games are meant to give it authenticity and credibility, so that even tiny aspects support the storyline and draw the player in. We don’t just put a skin on a game-play mechanism - we weave the story, the environment, and the friction in ways that feel valid and real - that support each other. Good, convincing, world-based entertainment should always feel like the story is so much bigger - that the experience you're having now (whether game, movie, book, TV) is just a small window into that much larger story world.

Q: In the way that CD-ROM was a new frontier for gaming in the early 1990s, what do you see as the next evolution or frontier in gaming? Is it virtual reality as it exists now or is it something the public hasn’t seen yet?

RM: I feel very much with VR like I felt with CD-ROM. It’s a technology that at first we adapt our old experiences to - but then learn what new tricks the new technology can bring to the table and begin to take full advantage of it. I’m not sure how the hardware will evolve, but VR has crossed some kind of magical threshold that convinces our brains, more than ever, that we’re actually living these experiences. That’s powerful!

Q: What’s next for Cyan? Are you looking to continue pushing more into the VR space in the future?

RM: We’re aiming to create more and more VR experiences. We are so excited by the possibilities that we already have almost a dozen ideas at various stages - with different degrees of interaction and storytelling, but all of which are meant to transport players to whole new words. Exciting times!

Obduction launches today on the PlayStation® Store on PS4™ with a PS VR update coming soon. The PS4™ purchase of Obduction includes the PS VR update. Obduction PS4™ demo is playable in the PlayStation® kiosks at GameStops, Best Buys and Walmarts worldwide, and will be playable with the Cyan dev team at PAX West in the PAX IndieMegabooth, September 1-4, at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Stay tuned for more updates at www.obduction.com.

[michaelteeuw]

Electrocard Part 3: Writing The Software

Now that the hardware part of my Electrocard is done, it's time to start working on the software side of my electronic business card.

This is a 3 part story. Check out the previous parts here:

Part 1: Designing the PCB. Part 2: Soldering the board.

First of all, it's good to make a list of the desired functionalities. Of course, the OLED screen combined with the 3 push buttons give me a lot of nice opportunities, so most of all, the display will be used to display the important company information for as far as it isn't already printed on the PCB's.

Secondary, it would be nice to display some debug information regarding the battery, the memory and the software version.

And last but not least, it's mandatory to add a nice easter egg to a business card like this. But more about that later.

The controls

Since I have three buttons, and have both primary and secondary functionalities, I want to add a short press and long press feature to the buttons. This is easily done with the help of the clickButton library. It gives me a simple way to add 6 desired modes:

Button A, Short press: Power on / Display the startup screen.

Button B, Short press: Display my company's address.

Button C, Short press: Display my company's & blog's url.

Button A, Long press: Standby mode (also initiated after 30 seconds of inactivity).

Button B, Long press: Debug mode.

Button C, Long press: Start the easter egg.

With the help of the earlier mentioned button library and a simple state machine the user can switch between the various modes, without the need of an complicated user interface.

Controlling the display

Controlling the display isn't particular difficult, especially since there are a lot of example codes and libraries available to control the SSD1306 OLED controlled I've used. I've tried a few of them, and most of them run fine on the ATTiny85 processor. But during the process I found out there are actually two separate challenges.

Control the display by sending an image to the OLED controller.

Drawing realtime graphics onto the screen.

The first challenge isn't extremely difficult. Most of the available libraries allow you to send a 128x32 pixel monochrome image (a BPM converted to a HEX values stored in the micro controller's flash memory) to the OLED controller. It took a while to figure out how to convert the BPM to the correct values, since it depends a bit on how the library reads and writes the data. But after some googling I found a working combination of the TinyOLED library and the LCD Assistant image converter.

This is the same method as used for writing text to the OLED. In stead of one complete stream of image data, every letter has a small portion of data (6 bytes) which is read from the micro controller's flash memory.

The second part is a bit more complicated, and that is mostly due to the limited available memory (RAM) of the ATTiny85 micro controller.

The OLED expects a sequential stream of bytes to control 8 vertical pixels per byte. The 128x32 pixel oled is built up by four rows (called pages) of 8 vertical pixels (1 byte). Each 128 bytes width. In total that adds up to 512 bytes.

If you want to draw lines and shapes on any position on the screen, you'll need to create a buffer for those 4096 pixels (512 bytes) in the micro controller's memory, to which you can draw. After drawing to the buffer, you send the full buffer to the OLED and your lines and shapes are displayed on the screen. That's how most OLED libraries work (for example, the popular Adafruit SSD1306 library).

The problem is, that you'll need to allocate 512 bytes of memory in you micro controller as the buffer. Since the ATTiny85 I used only has 512 bytes of RAM in total, there isn't enough memory to allocate this buffer.

In other words: I can't allocate a buffer. I need to render the drawing while I'm writing all the graphics data to the OLED controller. This turned out to be a BIG challenge. And while I only needed this for incorporating the easter egg, it's something I wanted to solve.

The Easter Egg: Horizontal Micro Tetris!

So, as told, I wanted to add a nice easter egg. I already programmed Pong once. But with the 3 push switches and the width 128x32 pixel screen, i reckon Tetris was better suited. Or to be more precise: horizontal Tetris. The added benefit of tetris is that it doesn't need a high frame rate. And honestly, seeing such a cute little Tetris game on a business card, brings a smile to most people's faces.

Due to the size of the screen, I opted to go for Tetris blocks of 4x4 pixel squares. This way, 8 blocks will fit vertically, and there is room for 32 horizontal blocks. In total there will be room for 256 blocks.

The blocks that are already on screen will be stored in an array called the arenaMatrix. And since each vertical row has 8 blocks, this array will consist of 32 bytes.

unsigned char arenaMatrix [32] = {};

The currently falling piece will be stored in a 4x4 block matrix, called the userMatrix. And since since we only need 16 bits of data, we can easily store this in an integer.

unsigned int playerMatrix = 0;

In other words, for storing all the blocks, we only need 34 bytes of data. Leaving us 478 bytes for additional variables (like the score and the user's piece position) but of course also a lot of other objects and pieces of code that's loaded in to memory.

Since the two matrixes matrices contain every piece of information I want to display on screen during a game of tetris, the render function can "simply" lookup and calculate the bytes of data for the OLED controller on the fly. This solves the lack of the graphics buffer. Or, if you look at it from a different perspecitve: this is an alternative graphics buffer with a 1/16th resolution (since the blocks are made of of 4x4 pixels).

In any way: it allowed me to render tetris without the use of any helper methods like drawLine() or drawSquare(). It all comes down to flipping bits one by one. Which isn't the most convenient, but did teach me A LOT about bit manipulation.

Now, of course, drawing a few matrices to the screen isn't enough to make a playable tetris. It needs some timers to drop the pieces. It needs collision detection to check if the blocks hit an other block. It needs a way to check if a fill line is filled with blocks, and it needs a way to remove the fully filled lines.

The Code

I'd love to run you thru the code, but that would probably account for a full year of blog posts. So to make things easier, I put all my code on GitHub so you can take a look at everything that's in there. Feel free to take a look at the Electrocard Repository.

If you're not familiar with the PlatformIO folder structure, you might want to start at the entrance point of the firmware in the main.cpp file. If you're mainly curious for the Tetris code, check out the Tetris.cpp file.

Fun fact: the full code used almost every byte of flash available in the the ATTiny85 (8KB). Of course, I could work on making the code more efficient, but everything I wanted to be in there is in the code.

Game Over

And with this information, I think this project is a wrap. It was an extremely satisfying and fun project to work on. Both the electronics and the code.

Although I'm extremely satisfied with the end product, there are some things to reconsider if I start a similar product:

Consider a different micro controller. Finding a solution for the limited amount of memory of the ATTiny85 was fun, but having a little bit more memory would probably allow me to add a few nice effects.

If I did have an other micro controller, I'd probably have more GPIO pins, which allowed me to add more buttons, and a nice colorful LED. Every project is better with a LED.

In the future, I'll definitely check EVERY footprint before I order my PCB's.

Work on the software on the breadboard prototype before you finish up the PCB. This would have showed me the limiting factor of the ATTiny85. I would have given me a heads up before I pulled out all my hairs during the search for a solution.

If you have any question or suggestions about this project, feel free to leave them in the comments down below.

[timsim26]

Nintendo Switch - Impressions

So Nintendo’s new console is out and causing quite the stir for both negative and positive reasons. After owning the console for around a month, I can safely say that I am really enjoying it as a gaming console and as a portable device. I have spent the majority of my time playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild (lets be honest who hasn’t?) and the console has really delivered on a lot of what Nintendo promised. There is a lot of great things going for the Switch and it has been fantastic hearing the positive reception from my friends and to see that it is selling just as well as they’d hoped if not better.

What Is Working Well 

The portability of the switch is absolutely incredible and still boggles the mind that I can take games on the go like Zelda and in the future something like Skyrim (cross your fingers everyone). The device’s battery life leaves a bit to be desired, but at 3 hours and around 10 with a portable charger, it is the perfect for train trips and commutes of a short distance. The primary portability use that I have so far is playing my games in bed or when the TV is in use, or I can’t be bothered being in my games room. It gives you more options to keep playing.

I adore the feel of the system and the overall design when in portable mode. The console feels very sturdy and unlike the DS doesn’t feel like I could break it just by holding it. It is comfortable to hold and feels ergonomic unlike other handhelds in the past. I really enjoy the way the thumb sticks are responsive and feel natural unlike the vita and 3DS thumbsticks. The out of the box piece of plastic controller also feels much better and is easy to hold. The original look, made it seem like it was going to be hard to hold, but when both Joy-Cons are strapped into the plastic hold, it feels natural and familiar. Nintendo have finally figured out how to make a controller that makes sense while maintaining their quirky nature

Just like the original commercial, switching the Switch is just that easy. Pulling the switch out to take your games on the go feels futuristic and certainly is something I don’t foresee getting old. Even better is when you put your handheld mode into the simple, yet effective dock to output it to your tv. This concept was definitely something I needed to see to believe and they have pulled it off effectively.

The tablet of the Switch is fantastic to look at. Another doubt that has been put to rest is how are games going to go with a 720 output when so many games are concerned with the highest possible output these days. The tablet of the Switch looks great. The colours are vibrant, the touch is responsive and it is perfect to look at from every angle. It also seems like the perfect size between not being big enough and being too big.

The UI of the Switch is very stylish and easy to use. Nintendo have clearly looked at the competition to see what is working well and how to improve the quality of their Storefront. The E-Shop (lacking music) is quick, responsive and easy to navigate. The way the UI functions as a responsive and organised system gives the feel that the Switch means serious business and should be considered equal to the Xbox One and PS4.

Zelda: Breath of The Wild. What can I say. This game is remarkable and clearly one of the best games ever made. The way everything works together so well, the world reacts to the systems surrounding it and the fantastic gameplay loop that requires patience in combat, planning when cooking and preparing for battles and also one of the most open, engaging worlds ever shown in a video game. This makes the Switch purchase justifiable and 15 hours in I have only just scratched the surface of this incredible experience.

Even Better If 

Obviously one noticeable absence for the Switch is games. Games right now and also games coming in the future right now there are no big titles announced for the Switch coming in the latter stages of the year and nothing in the immediate horizon other than the re-release of Mario Kart. This is a huge problem as the Xbox One and PS4 are completely spoiled for choice right now with huge games coming and consistently releasing all through the year. Games like Mass Effect, Shadow Of War, Prey etc. are expectedly absent from Nintendo’s console and they need something to release in order to keep their loyal fans happy during the holiday season. The recent indie movement and announcement of a bunch of high quality experiences coming to the platform has certainly done a lot to instil confidence and it would amazing to continue this trend if Nintendo cannot get the biggest AAA releases on its platform.

The online community is a massive aspect of gaming consoles these days and currently the Switch has no online community. Coming very soon (so they say) is the Switch’s answer to Xbox Live and The Playstation Network. Nintendo need to release this flawlessly and ensure the experience is user friendly and free of bugs. Releasing this after the console release may benefit them greatly, as they now have a chance to respond to the feedback and criticism. One game a month to rent is definitely not something people are going to be throwing money towards. Currently Nintendo have returned to friend codes. In the globalised world of gaming, I have friends from all over the place from Facebook groups and forums that I want to have on my friend list. Acquiring their friend code is a pain and remembering mine or checking online is a unnecessary hassle. With this you are also unsure who is adding you as names for users can repeat so you can have anything you like. Blake is adding me. I know a Blake, but is this the Blake that I know? This situation should not be occurring in 2017 for an online console. Also it is very, very, very important Nintendo get their shit together and sort out home systems and cloud saves similar to Xbox and Playstation. Right now I cannot take my saves to another console. This downright idiocy and completely frustrating in terms of a user experience. Buying a Switch to have at my parents etc. or simply wanting to log in to a friends and play my games is currently impossible unless I want to start again. Who knows what happens if my Switch breaks and my 100 hour Zelda video game save is lost. These are all very important aspects of the service that need to be fixed or added as soon as possible

As there is with any launch of new hardware, there are currently a ton of technical problems that people are having. Touch wood, I haven’t had anything go wrong with my Switch, however it is definitely widespread news that the left Joy-Con is an issue amongst the community. People have noticed that in a variety of situations the left Joy-Con will lose connection to the Switch and as a result it is causing huge latency issues that have dramatic impacts on gameplay or little dips of control. Watching Link pelt to the ground after walking off a cliff for no reason was definitely an annoyance the first and only time it has happened to me, but this is not acceptable. Hopefully Nintendo can either organise a software update that addresses the problem or they may face re-calling the left joy-cons and replacing them altogether. Another huge issue that has caused the sale of many screen protectors is the fact that sliding the Switch into the dock has caused noticeable scratches to the screen. This would cause me to hurl my Switch into the sun, as the very mechanic that sells the devices has been harming the product. People have been adding soft surfaces to the inside of the dock, adding tempered glass or screen protectors or withholding from the dock altogether as a result. It will be fascinating to see whether Nintendo remake the doc or add something that will keep the surface of the tablet safe. The battery life has also been an issue for people, as Zelda is lasting anywhere between 2 and 3 hours depending on brightness and sound. As a portable this is an issue. After taking my Switch down to Geelong for trips and now a bus trip too and from Canberra for 8-9 hours, I am glad that I spent 100 dollars on a portable charger. The device sucks power up and isn’t really designed to be a take out all day and keep playing kind of device. The Vita and 3ds’ charge make the Switch look terrible in comparison. With the output of the games, I really can’t complain.

One kick stand - really? That is pretty much all that can be said about that. What were they thinking. It is terrible quality too. I fear for my Switch’s life whenever I pull it out. I would not be surprised to see the Switch 2.0 release with 2 kickstands to make it that much sturdier.

So many additional purchases and ludicrously high prices. As mentioned previously the need for a screen protector and portable charger are only some of the extra purchases that I have made for the Switch. A carrier case, microfibre and a pro-controller are all additions that I have made so far with new Joy-Cons a likely buy down the track when hopefully a new Mario Party game is announced . This has added to price dramatically and the need to have these things begs the question, should they have come in the box? Nintendo definitely enjoy profiting from peripherals, however these prices and needs seem slightly ridiculous.

Hopes For The Future -

The Vita was definitely an impressive machine when it launched. It had ridiculously good games both of the Indie and AAA caliber. However it never fully became the AAA machine that many wished it was. The promise that the handheld had originally due to the hope of a new God of War, Portable Infamous and the like came to a grinding halt when Sony didn’t support their machine with exclusive games and massive releases. The Switch will definitely have the AAA support that Sony never gave their handheld and with the notion that this is actually a home console, there is a guarantee that AAA Nintendo games that will be playable on the go in the future. This is terribly exciting if third party publishers can start releasing their games as well in order to develop the best portable gaming ecosystem in history.

Speaking of AAA support, this is the biggest aspect that will either make or break the Switch. The Wii-U suffered with the lack of third party support and games like Watch Dogs, Call of Duty and Assassins Creed didn’t really capture gamer’s interest on the platform due to inferior versions and delayed release dates. It was great playing Assassins Creed 3 months after it had already come out (not). If the Switch is too succeed then it must get developers on board and releasing their games in a timely manner. With the limited power compared to the PS4 and Xbox One and soon to be dwarfed by Scorpio, this is definitely Nintendo’s biggest problem. Without these games, we will again rely on Nintendo’s first party and indie releases for the Switch. Even if Nintendo organise to get older games and ports like they have with Skyrim, the system will have more chance to succeed.   people get on board

The boldest move that Nintendo could possible make is to leave the 3DS behind and move Pokemon to the Switch. After Sun and Moon’s absolutely massive release, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, Nintendo needs to ensure that Pokemon is only available on this platform. I am sure that this will enrage many people, but it wouldn’t be the first time that people have had to move on from a system. A Pokemon game with more processing power and a better quality screen and also the ability to play it at home on your TV would be absolutely incredible and a huge system seller for the console. Nintendo need to strike while the iron is hot after the hype generated by Pokemon Go and this may be the necessary unit mover that the Switch needs.

Open world RPG’s are exactly what the Switch needs. After seeing how people have lost themselves in the world of Hyrule with Zelda, the Switch and Nintendo need to embrace this style  and genre and get as many games as possible that are similar. People are enjoying having something as deep, complex and engaging that can be taken on the go. More of these games will be a great thing for the console.

An obvious need and hope is the fact that Nintendo absolutely bring it with their AAA exclusives just as they did with the Wii-U. Zelda has set the bar at absolutely unreachable heights, however I have faith Nintendo understands how essential it is to release games that are this calibre. If the Switch picks up a larger audience, then these games have the chance to really shine as some of the best ever released just as Zelda has. A new Metroid game, a new Mario, A new Mario Party and a new Smash Brothers and a exclusive Pokemon Switch game are all at the top of my list.

[novastarlyght]

“Psychonauts: In the Rhombus of Ruin” is a Game With No Audience

Today (February 8th, 2017), Double Fine released the trailer for their game Psychonauts: In the Rhombus of Ruin; a game that is not only exclusive to Sony’s PlayStation 4, but requires a PlayStation VR headset in order to play. While not the successfully crowdfunded and still upcoming Psychonauts 2 (which is not a VR title and will be released on both PS4 and PC), Rhombus takes place where the original Psychonauts (a game that ended on a cliffhanger) left off, and is essential to understanding the story of Psychonauts 2, as it takes place after the first game but before the second.

The only problem is that no one is going to play this game.

It should be fairly obvious why if you know the history of Psychonauts, but allow me to explain for the uninitiated. The original game created by legendary developer Tim Schafer and his then fledgling studio Double Fine Productions was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. The first Psychonauts was originally funded and going to be published by Microsoft as an Xbox exclusive, but somewhere along the line Microsoft dropped out of the deal. The game may have never seen the light of day if Majesco had not instead stepped in, giving Double Fine the funds to not only finish the game but release it on additional platforms.

Despite critical acclaim, the original Psychonauts was a huge commercial failure, to the point where it was enough of a loss for Majesco to pull out of the console publishing market entirely. The game would remain extraordinarily obscure until several years later, when its PC port was added to Valve’s PC game digital distribution service Steam. Suddenly, Psychonauts was very successful through this platform by being extremely cheap and easily accessible, allowing it gain a playerbase bigger than ever before. Through sales and Humble Bundles the game would sometimes sell for as low as $2.49 USD. In an article I unfortunately can’t currently locate, Double Fine announced that in its first year on Steam, the game sold more units digitally than its entire previous release history. The first Psychonauts game sold more copies on Steam in a year than it did over several years on consoles and PC without the service.

What Sony somehow failed to realize when financing Rhombus as PSVR exclusive was that the game’s new significantly sized fanbase were not console gamers that regularly buy full price, triple-A titles and hardware. They were PC gamers that enjoy indie games not in the mainstream, and don’t have a lot of money to throw at their gaming hobby. These players put their hours into games like The Binding of Isaac, Undertale and Stardew Valley... not the latest Call of Duty or Madden.

A new PlayStation 4 console currently costs about $300 USD. The Playstation VR, meanwhile, has the suggested retail price $399.99 USD but actually costs anywhere from $718.60 USD to $849.99 USD. The PSVR is several hundred USD more expensive than the PS4 console itself. 

If you currently don’t already own a PS4 or PSVR, being able to play Rhombus will cost you well over $1,000 USD. This doesn’t even include the cost of the game itself.

This is not money the Psychonauts fanbase has to spend, let alone on video games, let alone on a single game. Even those of us incredibly few long-time dedicated fans who played the original Psychonauts back in ‘05 and have been thirsting for more for 12 whole years now (this happens to be the camp I reside in), in most cases, cannot realistically afford something like this. By making Rhombus a game that can only be exclusively accessed by those wealthy enough to afford the latest and most expensive gaming consoles and technology, Sony and Double Fine have essentially stripped the game of its already existing audience, leaving it with no audience at all.

Affluent gamers that frequently purchase new and costly full-price consoles, peripherals and mainstream triple-A games, the market that mostly likely currently owns and will ever own a PS4/PSVR while it’s still relevant, will look at Rhombus with mere confusion, having never played or probably even heard of the original Psychonauts. Meanwhile, PC gamers and quirky/offbeat indie game enthusiasts, who make up the majority of the current Psychonauts fanbase and are clamoring for more Psychonauts games, will be left needing to sell a few kidneys if they wish to acquire even a hope of ever playing Rhombus before the release of Psychonauts 2. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the comments for the Rhombus trailer. Most of them boil down to “Please release this game for PC!”

No one will play this game, and Sony’s decision to use Psychonauts of all things to try and push their VR system may be one of the most incomprehensible in gaming history. If Sony or Double Fine actually want to make any money off of this game, they’re going to need to either port it to the PC (even if it remains VR, PC compatible VR headsets are far more affordable, especially compared to the PSVR) or at the absolute least, remove the VR requirement and make the game playable with just the PS4.

Because even if it isn’t the full sequel we’ve all been waiting for, nothing related to Psychonauts deserves to fail again.

[nerdburglarsgaming]

Over the past few years, I have played a lot of large open world games. Some of which I pumped a huge amount of hours into. I really enjoy games that have detailed character options, but sometimes it goes wrong.  When I play any games that give you control over multiple characters for the duration of the game, 1 character always becomes the golden boy and the others get neglected to the point where they are completely useless in combat in the absence of the primary character.

Multiple main characters are nothing new for video games. Looking back through the history of gaming, having multiple characters was a lot of fun. Games were more primitive as little as 10 years ago. Back in those days, there weren’t as many options for the construction of character traits and skills. If you had 4 characters, it gave you more to do, but this doesn’t work so much anymore. Dragon Age is a particular killer for this. Having played Dragon Age Origins to the end, I obviously played it completely wrong. I had one character who got all the best gear and all of my focus when it came to building a powerful character. The remaining characters got the hand me downs, quite literally. I find a new helmet, this goes to my number 1 character and whoever is next in line gets the old helmet. There is nothing directly wrong with this sort of behavior, but it is a signal of some major problems with the group. When my main character (aka the number 1 in the group) dies in combat, the rest don’t stand a chance of surviving unless they can muster the strength to revive the main character.

Dragon Age Boss Fight

In the real world, groups have leaders, but the group should be functional in the absence of this leader. This is never the case when I have to deal with a group of characters in a video game. The reason this happens is down to character talent trees, loot and other character progression mechanics. These mechanics have gotten so in-depth, that it takes a lot of work to efficiently level up a single character while memorizing what this character is currently capable of doing. Having to juggle all of this for 4 characters results in you having to spend more time in the character settings screen than actually playing the game, this is not my idea of fun! I might unlock a cool ability at some stage for a character, but end up forgetting about it or forgetting how to use it when the time comes for me to use it.

dragon age origins talent tree

Grand Theft Auto V is another game that has multiple characters, but it was implemented differently. As far as implementing multiple characters go, GTA 5 did a pretty good job at it, but I still think it takes away from the fun rather than adding to it. You can play through a few missions, start to get invested in the character and interested in where things are going and then you run out of missions to do. In order to get more missions, you must go play as a different character and progress with them before coming back. Once you do come back, you have sort of forgotten where things left off. In the event where 1 character has a more interesting story, it is annoying having to go and play as someone else before you can progress with the more interesting missions. It just felt like this was slowing the pace down. Extend the length of the story by making you do multiple boring missions before the fun ones come along. GTA V is actually the only GTA game I have never completed. Considering I have gotten 100% completion in most of the games in the series, this was a big let down for me.

Fortunately, multiple playable characters at once are uncommon enough in modern games. Maybe its hardware limitations or maybe they too feel that it is better to focus on building one awesome character instead of trying to build 4 at once and messing it all up. As the character skills and talent management sections get more and more complicated for large RPGs, it will become more of a chore to have several characters to manage. Games like Final Fantasy XV should be revered for the ability to add a group of 4 characters without you ever needing to deal with the headaches of group management in a large scale RPG. I guess for a franchise that was part of the origins of the RPG, it is fitting that this series would be the one that does things correctly.

The post Games With Multiple Main Characters Don’t Work For Me appeared first on Nerdburglars Gaming.

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[workreveal-blog]

How to build a PC for games.

New Post has been published on https://workreveal.biz/how-to-build-a-pc-for-games-2/

How to build a PC for games.

There may be little question that modern gaming is undergoing a renaissance in the mean time. With the cutting-edge technology consoles chugging interminably slowly up-to-date retirement, pissed off gamers are switching updated computer systems with quad-center processors and up-to-date-up updated up to date playing cards that produce visuals of breathtaking fluidity and detail.

However, it’s now not all about images performance. While there are sincerely detracupdatedrs, Valve’s digital download carrier Steam has revolutionalised the video games buying revel in, providing secure, up-to-date updated loads of titles, many of hugely reduced expenses.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of popular online multiplayer titles like DotA, Guild Wars 2 and Tera are most active playable on up to date. Plus There may be the explosive upward thrust of the indie scene, with many small studios ignoring the console systems as updated either in favour of Computer development. If you did not have an up-to-date remaining 12 months, you had no risk of playing great offbeat titles like FTL, Slender and Hotline Miami. You had been out of the loop.

And At the same time as we are up to date updated huge announcements from Microsoft and Sony this yr, we may not see a brand new console till Cup to date bar, with the PS4 much more likely in Spring 2014. Even when those new machines arrive, cutting-edge hypothesis suggests they’re going up to date be built from the equal type of off-the-shelf components you may jam right into a gaming Lapupupdated – except with a gaming Lapupupdated you could switch the key up-to-date out a year later for something extra

So If you’re a new Pc owner, or just need to be updated upgrade your modern-day device, we’ve compiled a manual updated building a decent gaming device for 2013. I have requested several Computer builders for his or her enter, and we’ve got attempted modern look at each excessive-quit and budget options. Right here is going…So let us build a PC for games.

build

Processor (CPU)

For the mind of your up to date updated there are without a doubt simplest manufacturers within the strolling: Intel and AMD. “I might indeed advise Intel,” says James Hannett of Mode7, Crea updates of award-winning strategy sports Frozen Synapse. “AMD processors currently use more electricity and are slower than the Intel equivalents. AMD’s Bulldozer series up to date a disappointment for the current marketplace. Bulldozer’s successor Piledriver turned inundated a massive improvement in a few methods, However, with the aid of then, Intel had moved on as well. Now Steamroller’s been delayed till subsequent yr, and what I hear isn’t always very encouraging”.

In case you up-to-date intel, and might up-to-date it, you’ll be looking one of the Ivy Bridge processors, which are available in three more and more dominant flavours: i3, i5 and i7. “If it’s updated-flight you’re after, the middle i7-3770 line is where it is at,” says Al Bickham at Total Warfare developer, Innovative Assembly. “It’s now not only for games But for other multithreading-heavy obligations, which include video encoding. They tend up to date retail around £230 relying on the clock-speed – they go up updated.6GHz out of the container. But you could nevertheless get excellent performance – and arguably upgraded higher bang on your greenback – from the i5 series. Ivy Bridge i5 CPUs come in dual or quad-center flavours, so if it’s a quad-middle you are after, something like an i5-3570K is a new choice, and around £170″.

And Here comes your first massive production catch 22 situation: do you need up-to-date overclock your up-to-date? Overclocking is when you tweak the settings of the CPU current run at a faster pace than the manufacturer ensures it is strong at. It’s something many experienced game enthusiasts do, and its quality, if you have a properly-constructed machine with lots of fanatics updated, maintain matters cool. In case you head down this path, you’ll want the i53570k and a Z77 motherboard; if that each one sounds a chunk horrifying (it does up to date me), stay with the cheaper mixture of i5-3570 and H77 motherboard.

Some Pc shops are suggesting that up to the time of the variety i3 is now up to date slow up to date updated modern-day video games. However, our panel refutes that. “The i3 3220 can preserve it is personal while paired with a decent up-to-date card,” says Hannett. “However, as it’s handiest a twin middle processor you may find that video games launched within the next couple of years will reason it up to date struggle.”

game

Ah, yes, cores. Currently, most Computers on the lower up-to-date of the market will provide dual-core CPUs, which as Hannett says is sincerely beautiful for most recent recreation releases. But, as 2013 is going on, up-to-date get plenty new Triple-A titles searching out quad-middle power. In case you’re most apt walking indie titles or older finances titles you’ve got downloaded from steam, you up-to-date be up-to-date on twin-core for a great While. But with Pics updated it usually will pay up-to-date think as some distance in advance as your wallet will allow.

On the extremely budget give updated, up-to-date be trying at the least two cores walking at 3Ghz or more. Hannett reckons AMD nonetheless does nicely with incorporated CPUs and that the AMD A10-5800K may be up-to-date. Bickham says, “If you’re on the strictest of budgets, a twin-center i3 up to together with the 3.3GHz i3-2120 will nevertheless do the activity at around £90. And it’s a fantastic overclocker In case you fancy dabbling in the dark arts…”

Current line: The Intel i7-3770 In case you’re wealthy, the i5 2500K, i53570 or i53570k If you’re doing okay, the AMD A10-5800K or i3 In case you’re just about putting in there.

Images card (GPU)

That is the component that does all of the calculations for the game visuals, including rendering geometry and spitting out all those cute computer graphics. According to the updated maximum of the builders, I spoke up-to-date That is in which the massive cash up-to-date pass if you could up-to-date max out on just one up-to-date.

Once again, we’re searching for a two-horse race: Nvidia v AMD, the previous with its Geforce variety, the latter with Radeon. That is a far nearer competition even though and both manufacturers have their acolytes.

“If cash isn’t any item and also you want the excellent proper now, something like the Nvidia 690 is up-to-date for around £800-£1,000,” says Philip Robinson of indie developer Born Geared up video games, which has just launched its visually beautiful area shooter, Strike Match Zero. Boasting 4GB of RAM and a twin-GPU set-up the 690 is a formidable beast – and could need a larger Lapupupdated chassis current house it.

“If you need up-to-date the up-to-date of the line, then I would endorse both the Nvidia GTX 680 or the AMD HD 7970, both approximately £four hundred,” keeps Robinson. “However, I trust the gentle technique is updated for the Nvidia GTX 660 Ti or the closest AMD equal at £230, and then update it 18 months on”. This can sound highly-priced up to date some – my Xbox 360 has pretty a good deal finished the commercial enterprise for 6 years at just £250 (plus £forty a yr on Xbox Live Gold, of path) – But then every Lapupupdated gamer has up to date determine how 3177227fc5dac36e3e5ae6cd5820dcaa up to date have enough money up-to-date be.

Hannett, up-to-date, has his eye on the one’s mid-variety cards: “I might propose either a NVIDIA 660 Ti or an AMD 7870. There’s now not a lot up-to-date them apart so up to date round on charge and bundled video games”.

As for finances alternatives? “right now, you could net a Radeon HD 6870 – AMD’s previous-gen up to date updated up to the time card which handles DX11 video games with aplomb – for the miserly sum of £a hundred, If you keep around,” says Bickham. “This will provide up to date notch body rates at resolutions as much as 1920×1200, and it’s going updated even make a first rate stab at 2560×1600 – the form of decision output by way of 30-inch panels”.

Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry has only written a manual current budget up-to-date cards for Eurogamer. “Less than £100 gets a GTX 650,” he says. “If you can up to date pay for £one hundred thirty, get a Radeon HD 7850 1GB. The Digital Foundry up-to-date has a Radeon HD 6770 that is vintage, However actually outperforms its successor and we were given ours for £70 – a fair bit cheaper than the GTX 650”.

Whatever you pass for, although, test the cardboard’s onboard RAM. Cheaper alternatives will provide 1GB, more highly-priced items, 2GB or more. “1GB would likely just scrape thru for video games in 2013,” says Simon Barratt of FourDoorLemon. “But, I consider you may be making tradeoffs with overall performance depending on the texture nice you pick out without a 2GB GPU”.

That is a crucial up-to-date. Even though your portraits card is necessary, If you’re up to date either updated dial down all those fantastic results and play at a lower screen resolution, you can break out with inexpensive hardware. If you want texture detail at group-to-materialistic tiers up to date terrific, natural tri-linear filtering and dynamic lights on every pixel, compromise honestly is not for you.

Up to date updated line: except you’re a lottery winner, live clean of the ultra up-to-date up to date playing cards, the overall performance hikes aren’t substantive enough updated warrant the £1,000 price tags. At £200-250, look for the Nvidia GTX 670 or 660 Ti, or for just over £100 the Radeon HD 7850 or 7870. On the good buy bucket up-to-date, a Nvidia GTX 650 or Radeon HD 6770.

RAM The quantity of reminiscence your Pc has will affect how quick, up-to-date cope with software program duties. So how an awful lot do you want? “Given that we’re speaking approximately Gaming Computers.

computer

And now not machines designed for severe graphical rendering or in particular reminiscence-extensive packages we don’t get up to date updated pass loopy,” says Nick Tannahill of Firefly Studios, up to date author of the Stronghold Kingdoms collection. “Get 4GB In case you’re on a price range and 8GB If you’re not. Onboard reminiscence is one of the easiest additives up-to-date improve or update, only make certain you buy DDR3 and do not mix one of a kind styles of RAM. Forget about MHz; there is a little distinction among 1333MHz and 1600MHz and price is extra vital”.

[jmsebastian]

Emulation, My Friend

It’s hard to know when game prices will inflate. For popular platforms like the Nintendo Entertainment System, it’s not so surprising that rare or beloved games would steadily increase in price. There were only so many copies printed, so as demand for those copies goes up and the supply shrinks, then inflating prices is the expected result. What is surprising, then, is when games that aren’t even particularly old start going up in price. This happened in the case of the physical copies of Gravity Rush Remastered for the Playstation 4. As of February 2017, used copies have started to creep up to around 100 dollars, about thirty dollars more than the original sale price. One or two on Ebay have more than doubled the original price. While it’s no guarantee that the copies will sell for such asking prices, the listings themselves prove that there is at least a perceived increase in demand for a product that has a finite supply.

What makes this sudden increase in price so strange is that it seems to be limited to the North American release of the game. The original PS Vita release of Gravity Rush currently retails on Amazon for $20.25. The European release of Remastered sells for $39.99. To top all this off, of course, is that the digital release of the game sells for $29.99. The digital release price is especially interesting to me for two reasons. The first is that it is significantly discounted from the original price, less than 50%. For a game of its quality, it’s hard to argue against just how reasonable that thirty dollars really is. The second thing that sticks out to me is that this digital price is likely going to stand for a long time. Since it is an infinitely copyable product, Sony has probably realized what the demand for the game will be long term and has decided to charge enough to where the returns on those sales are still reasonable. While it’s nice to believe that the epic sales that appear on platforms like Steam do a lot of good for developers, (and they probably due from the perspective of number of players) it is hard to imagine that your nine dollars goes very far toward rewarding the developers of said game.

Digital distribution has been mostly great for consumers, especially for those playing on personal computers. Games can be downloaded at leisure, they may take up space on a hard drive, but they don’t take up living space or produce manufacturing waste. Sure, it can be annoying to delete games every now and again to make room on a hard drive, but the promise of being able to download the game at a later date make it a minor annoyance, really. So why, then, are physical copies of a game that was released just a year ago going up in price?

The promise of digital distribution making games infinitely available, and the reality of licensing agreements, companies going out of business, and greed means that the digital golden age is a lot more hit and miss. Admittedly, this is a lot more pronounced for console games. Nintendo, infamously, has made delisting hard to find, beloved games from their virtual console platform a kind of sick sport. Sure, you might be able to download the PC-Engine CD release of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood now, but you might not be able to in a year, or a month, or a week. And once those servers holding those games go down, we can’t ever expect to see them again as the companies that have a financial stake in them won’t deem the costs worth it. Suddenly, spiking prices for a year old release suddenly make a lot more sense.

(Sadly, in a few years, these prices will look reasonable.)

The obvious cure is emulation. For those not familiar, in games, emulation is a method of making one hardware system behave like another. How this mostly shakes out is that an emulator is a software program that makes your computer act like another computer or console. Through emulating a Super Nintendo on my iBook in college, I personally discovered some of the more interesting and unusual games to grace that platform, like Wild Guns. Wild Guns, it turns out, got its own re-release for the Playstation 4. While I can’t speak for anyone else, had it not been for emulation, I both wouldn’t have known about that game, nor would I have been likely to spend money on its remastered version.

(A surprisingly fantastic game.)

By and large, games have been a finite media. As technology advances, the systems that games were designed for become obsolete. The people who understood those systems forget or pass away. Though the data for a particular game may always exist somewhere, the means to interpret that data into something playable can quickly fade away. When consoles break down, or more tragically, when arcade cabinets get scrapped, players lose the chance to experience some truly great games. Even those that aren’t so great deserve the opportunity to be experienced by players.

The trick, of course, is to use the power of emulation for good. While I sincerely believe video game systems and games themselves should be emulated as quickly as possible, it is important to remember that games exist as a business. Financially rewarding the developers that make games is the responsibility of players to a large degree. While I’m not sure I agree that piracy has truly measurable effects on developers and publishers, I do think it’s important to distinguish between using emulation as a method of historical preservation first and foremost. We know already that time is the enemy of all things. It turns out that game companies also have priorities that don’t always cooperate with the preservation of the very things they’ve made. There will be a time when any given game is no longer commercially available. When that day comes, it’s vital that emulation be there so that those games aren’t lost forever.