Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Watch The History Of Psychonauts In This All New 3 Part Double Fine Documentary Series

One of the coolest parts about Double Fine working on a new adventure game was watching the Double Fine Adventure Documentary series. Broken Age was a great game I enjoyed but the documentary series so addicting I couldn't wait for the next installment of. I think it is a great look at how difficult creative work can be and I think the Double Fine crew weathered it well and are better for it. Recently DF dropped the Psychonauts 2 crowd funding project and as part of that released a 3 part documentary series on the original game and way they are approaching the sequel. As with the Double Fine Adventure series this is a very telling look at the process and history of... Read All

Ben Prunty Releases A New FTL Inspired Album "Deep Space Deluxe"

https://f1.bcbits.com/img/a0108197018_16.jpg

Ben Prunty is the composer behind the FTL score, one of my all time most beloved game scores. When FTL got an Advanced Edition he came back with more tracks and he is back at it again with a new FTL inspired album called "Deep Space Deluxe." The album features 6 new tracks that do a great job of capturing the FTL vibe while doing a good job existing as a stand alone work.

You can stream all 6 tracks on Bandcamp right now and buy the whole album for $5.

https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/deep-space-deluxe-ep

Cheerful Ghost GoTY Awards Nomination Thread

We are going to do this years Cheerful Ghost GoTY Awards similarly to last year with a fun new addtion. Please submit your nominations in the comments along with the category they should go in. On December 24th i'll take all the nominations and put out a 3 polls where we can all vote for the winners. Like last year we will have the "2015 Triple A Game of the Year", "2015 Indie Game of the Year" and the all new "2015 Update of the Year". Games that quality for the "Update of the Year" are games that received a significant update or were ported to a new platform in 2015. Games such as Hearthstone(The Grant Tournament, The League of Explorers) & Terraria (1.3 update)... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/19/2015 at 01:43am

Update of the Year: Terraria 1.3
Early Access GotY: Ark: Survival Evolved
GotY Noms: Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 I'd kinda like to nom. Legacy of the Void, but I've hardly played it, which will probably change soon.

I think it'd be cool if some of us made a post on the site talking about our favorite games that we've played this year. This includes games that are new or ages old.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/19/2015 at 01:56am

Thanks Greg. I do plan on doing my own list.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 12/19/2015 at 04:09am

Are we submitting single nominations for each category? If so, my nominations are:

Indie: Rocket League

AAA: Psych! I'm nominating The Talos Principle. Fallout 4 is epic, but it's practically the only AAA game I played this year, besides Destiny, which makes me feel kind of ashamed. I feel like I would nominate Bloodborne, if I had only played it :(. Maybe I'll go rent it tomorrow...

Update: Terraria, especially since it was my first time playing.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/19/2015 at 05:04am

Triple A: Fallout 4
Indie: I was lacking in indie games this year.
Update: Terraria, Hearthstone
Mobile: Fallout Shelter, Hearthstone

Travis Admin wrote on 12/19/2015 at 05:09am

Another Mobile nom: Crashy Road. No, not Crossy Road. That one got all the acclaim last year. :D

Travis Admin wrote on 12/19/2015 at 06:53pm

Oh! A nod for Mobile and Update: Monument Valley. It was released last year, but got DLC this year. Monument Valley is a masterpiece.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2015 at 06:57pm

AAA:

Witcher 3
SC2: Legacy of the Void
Fo4
Fallout Shelter
Mario Maker

Updates:

Grim Fandango: Remastered
BioShock Infinite (Linux port)
Hearthstone

Indie:

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Broken Age
Undertale
Nuclear Throne

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/21/2015 at 08:03pm

Every year GameFAQ's polls become a competition between games, people vote on which is better. Final Fantasy VII usually wins, or at least makes it to the end. This year it was defeated by Undertale. I downloaded the demo and briefly played it.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/23/2015 at 04:38am

I've heard nothing but good things about Undertale.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/23/2015 at 04:39am

Also I don't really pay attention to gamefaqs polls, because they're usually gamed heavily by whichever forum is more popular at the time.

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Fallout 4 - Review of the first 156 hours

Travis gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Travis gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Note: There will be spoilers later in the post. They will be clearly marked, and below the cutoff for the front page, so you'll have to hit "Read all" to see them.

37 days since release.
156 hours on one single character.
Level 82.
All pre-ending quests completed.
All map locations discovered.
All bobbleheads.
All skill magazines.
All endings (each ending is only about an hour of different quests after the point where you start alienating the others).
All settlements unlocked, populated, and supplied. A few built up to over 20 settlers with a ton for them to do.
All companions at maximum affinity.
50/50 achievements.

You might say I kinda like the game.

I'm not even done with this... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/17/2015 at 09:52pm

Wow! I severely edited my spoiler-free review because it was originally so very long and I figured no one would read it, so I cut a lot of it.

178 Hours
2nd play through
5+ new games started
Not all quest completed
Not all locations, bobbleheads, or skill magazines discovered
Not all companions at full affinity, actually I pretty much stick with Dogmeat
I may have all the settlements, but I'm not sure at the moment, I should have all or most of all of them
36/50 achievements

At first, I wasn't fond of the music on the radio stations, but they've grown on me. I like them and find them in my head when I'm not playing. As for the game's score, that, too, gets stuck in my head, which is cool.

Great pics! I don't have a Bobblehead stand! My primary base is in Sanctuary Hills, that's where I started. I did create a building to store my Power Armor sets and another empty building after scrapping some junked houses that have no entrances. I've built more on some settlements, but not very much, usually just the necessary crops, beds, and defense turrets.

Yes, those never-ending Minutemen quests get old. After setting up all or most settlements (or discovering them), I give up on those quests.

Great review! I can't see how this game won't be our Game of the Year.

jaelte wrote on 12/18/2015 at 07:43am

Man, I'm ~110 hours in and I'm not sure if I'm anywhere close to getting to an ending.
I'm level 36
Still have dozens (at least) more locations to visit
Many more achievements to gain (I'm not in a place where I can check that at the moment)
At least a couple more companions to recruit
Only three companions (Piper, Cait, and Preston) at max affinity (I pretty sure Strong hates me)
No clue how many collectibles I'm missing
May be getting somewhat close on settlements started? Most only have 2-3 people; a few have 6-7. Sanctuary Hills is my largest at I think 12 people.

Anyway, as I haven't reached an ending I didn't read your spoiler section, but I more-or-less agree with your praise and criticism. I think this game just hit #2 on hours played for my Steam games (behind Skyrim's [still not beaten] ~180ish hours), but I clearly have a lot more time to put in.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/18/2015 at 11:35am

The highest level I've reached it was 51 or 52. I don't think I ever met Strong. I've now finished the game with two different endings. I'm going back to an older save to get another ending or two.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/18/2015 at 02:51pm

Did you ever get the quest to save an actor from Trinity Tower? That's where you meet strong. When you get close to it you'll pick up a radio signal and you have to tune your radio to it to get the quest.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/18/2015 at 05:23pm

I have the Trinity Tower quest. Took a break from the game to beat Legacy of the Void after that though. Plan on coming back soon! Thanks for the post Travis, I enjoyed all of it and skipped the spoiler parts(for now)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/18/2015 at 07:05pm

No, but I recall picking up the radio station and never listening to it.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/18/2015 at 07:40pm

Yeah you gotta listen to all the radio signals you find, they usually give you quests. Some of them will direct you to an unmarked quest, by finding where the radio station is strongest, basically by walking around. It's a great addition that I didn't address in the post.

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Join Us For the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable Star Wars The Force Awakens Livestream!

Join us on December 23rd @ 6p PST for a special Cheerful Ghost Roundtable livestream where we discuss our thoughts on the new Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. We start each show talking a bit about what we have been playing in video games and then our main event, Star Wars. We will have a spoiler free section and then move into spoilers but fear not, you will be warned before we get spoilery.

You can watch the live stream and let us know by following the URL below and clicking "Yes" to watching it.

https://plus.google.com/events/cf2l2epi6oah57hmq3o43q9e9i8

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/17/2015 at 10:30pm

I think I'll have to skip this episode until I watch the movie, due to spoilers.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/17/2015 at 10:36pm

We will have a segment of the episode spoiler free. We will say when we move into spoilers!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/17/2015 at 10:40pm

I know, I read that part.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/17/2015 at 10:56pm

Ok. It will be recorded so you can catch it after you see it if you want!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/18/2015 at 12:00am

Yeah, I figured. =) I don't know when I'll see it. I would like to know what you guys thought of it, whether or not you liked it and/or whether or not you liked it better than the prequels.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/18/2015 at 12:48am

Leaving to see it in the next 12 minutes so i'll know in the next couple hours

Travis Admin wrote on 12/18/2015 at 01:57am

"whether or not you liked it better than the prequels."

Yes.

Honestly I don't know how that answer could not be yes.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/18/2015 at 02:33am

I like the prequels, but it seems I'm almost alone in that.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/18/2015 at 03:23am

They're... not terrible. Just majorly disappointing after the originals.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/19/2015 at 01:44am

Well, I've decided to take Vinny to see the movie tonight in 3D. So, I'll probably join the conversation after all. =)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/19/2015 at 01:55am

That sounds great!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/19/2015 at 05:44am

Well I thought the movie was good, but our 3D experience was horrible. I don't know what was wrong, whether it was the glasses or the projector, but it was hardly 3D. It was more like "beer goggles" vision. But, I liked the movie and so did Vinny. =)

Travis Admin wrote on 12/20/2015 at 07:02am

Simply amazing. Easily better than the prequels, by leaps and bounds. Possibly higher than fourth place.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/20/2015 at 03:12pm

I need to watch it again (and again, and again) but I'm thinking it's at least number 3, maybe number 2 for me. But that could just be the hype. It's so significant for me because it's the first Star Wars film I've seen in theaters for the first time that didn't disappoint me, so I'm still riding that high.

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Get Caught Up On Star Wars By Watching Them All At Once

Many Star Wars fans are marathoning all the Star Wars films before they see The Force Awakens. Seriously, I sort of respect that sort of thing but it doesn't really work for me. In days past i'd do that and then go see the new film with the fresh thoughts of the old ones in my mind. Often it creates a very hard situation where since the thought of the other films are so fresh, I compare it more than I would if some time has past since my last viewing. That said, if you can marathon films and enjoy the new ones, more power to you and if you want to do it faster than ever check out the fan edit above of all 6 Star Wars films at the same time.

Ark: Survival Evolved Available for XBox One

I thought I'd share the news with you that Ark: Survival Evolved is now available for the XBox One. The game is still in development and I've been following it very closely. I don't have an XBox One, but I've been playing this game on my PC since the summer, at least. I think it's a great game and it's certainly very popular. It also has issues which need to be addressed. Right now, I'm waiting for optimization updates. Unfortunately, the PC version doesn't run very well unless you have an extremely high-end GPU like a Titan. I only have a GTX 690 and I don't believe the game takes full advantage of my dual-GPU card. I can get the game to run well by using a command... Read All

Or We Can Keep It In The Box!

Star Wars week continues with this hilarious new Saturday Night Live short. They really capture the disparity between kids and nerdy adult toy collectors. I really want to keep all my awesome stuff behind glass too because dammit, these toys are not for playing with!

An Inside Look At Hardware Manufacturing At Valve - Take a Peek at Valve's Robot Factory

"When we first started designing hardware at Valve, we decided we wanted to try and do the manufacturing as well. To achieve our goal of a flexible controller, we felt it was important to have a similar amount of flexibility in our manufacturing process, and that meant looking into automated assembly lines. It turns out that most consumer hardware of this kind still has humans involved in stages throughout manufacturing, but we kind of went overboard, and built one of the largest fully automated assembly lines in the US. Our film crew recently put together a video of that assembly line, showcasing exactly why robots are awesome."

As more manufacturing comes back to the... Read All

The Story, Finally Solved?

I've never actually played any of the Five Nights at Freddy's games, but it's been fun watching MatPat trying to dissect the story as the games have come out. He finally believes he has the story finally solved.

The final video (the main one for this post) is the final theory, and is good on it's own, but it was also a fun journey watching MatPat and the Game Theorists try and figure the games out as they came out, so I'd recommend watching the whole playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOl4b517qn8jl4Lw8H8cDrDkGwf1FtC7I

And of course, now that the story is "solved," there's a new image at http://scottgames.com/ that hints at more on 12/22/15 lol.