General Discussion [ Page 77 ]

The new Xbox is going to be EPIC, people!

Cheerful Ghost has received an insider tip from an anonymous Microsoft employee with some new info about Redmond’s next console offering. According to our insider leak Microsoft is working on a new console called “Xbox.” While this may lead to some confusion considering it shares a name with Microsoft’s first console, it makes sense as a brand, as you’ll see below, with the plans Microsoft has for it.

Xbox is not only going to be a console but a platform for future gaming devices, such as the X Surface. This will be a new gaming tablet, not running on standard Windows 8 or RT, but on a new gaming focused OS that has the familiar Metro interface, but powerful enough for... Read All Cheerful Ghost has received an insider tip from an anonymous Microsoft employee with some new info about Redmond’s next console offering. According to our insider leak Microsoft is working on a new console called “Xbox.” While this may lead to some confusion considering it shares a name with Microsoft’s first console, it makes sense as a brand, as you’ll see below, with the plans Microsoft has for it.

Xbox is not only going to be a console but a platform for future gaming devices, such as the X Surface. This will be a new gaming tablet, not running on standard Windows 8 or RT, but on a new gaming focused OS that has the familiar Metro interface, but powerful enough for console-level games. This will allow for more incremental upgrades as new X devices are released, making the Xbox a hub for all your gaming hardware.

“Microsoft is really pulling out all the stops and this console will be its biggest release to date” our source went on the record to say. “The Xbox will allow you to play games, listen to music and do what you love so much better than anything that came before it.” And with a CPU spec increase of 3X it leaves little to the imagination that this will be something special.

I’m sure consumers will jump at the chance to buy new devices year after year to play all the games coming out, and this is a perfectly reasonable choice for Microsoft after their tablets and Windows 8 have been so poorly received. And the confusing naming convention seems like a bad idea on the surface (no pun intended), but I’m sure Microsoft knows what they’re doing!

We will keep checking in for more in the coming days where we will report everything that gets sent to our inboxes, totally raw and unfiltered-- we don’t worry about little things like vetting our sources! Want to share some info about the new PS4 that has the processing power of IBM’s Watson supercomputer and is controlled exclusively with Donkey Kong Jungle Beat bongos? We’re ready to believe you!

For more info: http://x-surface.tumblr.com/

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/24/2013 at 02:52am

Looking forward to it being able to play music!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/24/2013 at 09:32pm

Very cool, can't wait to learn more!

David_Woods wrote on 01/24/2013 at 11:05pm

Aaaaactually, this disappoints me. IMO the benefit of consoles in the past has been their focus. There's been a little deviation in the last generation in the form of their respective network offerings, with expanded media options, but their main focus hasn't deviated from being a game console. To hear "Xbox is not only going to be a console" sends shivers up my spine. It sounds like the business/enterprise side of MS is starting to infect the gaming division. I liked it better when they were separate.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/24/2013 at 11:10pm

David, please pay close attention to the last two paragraphs and read the source at the bottom of the page. I think you may have missed some important bits.

And congrats again, btw! Very happy for you.

David_Woods wrote on 01/25/2013 at 04:10am

Wow. LOL.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/25/2013 at 09:54pm

Don't worry D_W, I was fooled too, just didn't want to admit it lol

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Steam oddness on OS X 10.7.5

I seem to recall there are others here that use OS X, so thought I'd share this.

The other day the Steam client crashed on exit. whee! Actually not the first time, but it has engendered a new symptom. Unless I reboot my MacBook Pro before restarting the client I get a dialog stating it can load due to an instance already running. I've checked the process list and not such things is there, so I'm guessing that some resource isn't getting released now.

I've share some details with Steam, so hopefully some sort resolution will be found. I'm not really willing to reboot my laptop just so I can play
some game the has Steam insinuated into it.

Has any other OS X stumbled across... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 07:53pm

Give this a shot. ClientRegistry.blob likes to get corrupted, and causes all kinds of fun issues.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7241-EYON-2343

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/24/2013 at 01:20am

I have had Steam problems on Mac. Mostly shutting it down and it yelling at me for some reason so I kill the app. Had a much better time with the Linux client all told.

MoonWyrd Supporter Post Author wrote on 01/26/2013 at 02:09am

@panickedthumb thanks for the suggestion. alas, it didn't make a difference. :( Hopefully Steam will get back to me soon.

MoonWyrd Supporter Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 04:39pm

Well, Thursday I got a reply from Steam :
=========================================================================
Please exit Steam and go to the folder Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Steam

Delete all of the files in this folder except for SteamApps and Userdata.

Restart your computer.

Launch Steam and re-test the issue.

Note: This process will not affect your currently installed games.

Note: If you are using Lion please do the following to access your Steam folder:

1. Click "Go" in the menu bar
2. Click "Go to Folder..."
3. Type "~/Library/Application Support/Steam"
4. Click "Go"

This will take you directly to the folder.
=========================================================================

This seems to have fixed the problem, at least for now. I've run the Steam client several
times since and played Civ V a few time w/o the problem recurring. Thought I'd update
this in case someone else gets hit by this.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:05pm

Whoa nice, thanks! I might try this as I get crashes in Steam as well from time to time.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:16pm

You'd think going in and deleting everything like that would be bad, but I guess it is smart enough to know what to download. Glad you got it working!

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It's not gaming but...

I've tooled around with Blender before, but I've left it alone for about 6 months now.

Enter Cycles

Cycles is Blender's new renderer and I must say that it is a thing of beauty. It's fast, it's practical, and, most of all, it makes lighting and materials make sense, something that has been a major hurdle in my modeling hobby. Oh, and the near real time renders (for small resolutions) help tremendously.

The image I've attached took about 20 minutes to model (and I'm really bad), but the real key is that the lighting and materials took about 2min.

For someone who actually knows what they're doing see: http://www.blenderguru.com/videos/introduction-to-cycles/

Hunting For Steam Game Easter Eggs

The other day I wondered what hidden bits of rad one would find by looking through the files Steam installs for the games I played. What I found was pretty interesting as some games install some cool files and stuff they don't advertise. Understand that all I did to find this information was click around in in my Steam games folder for this information. I recommend you do the same and post your findings to this post or make your own post about it.

Together lets find all the awesome stuff in our Steam games.

But first the steps to finding Steam game Easter Eggs:

Open Steam

Go to your game Library

Right click on a game and select Properties

Select the LOCAL FILES tab

... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/21/2013 at 11:01pm

A lot of this has to do with what you have bought. The AC3 special edition, for example, has a Bonus/ folder that has the soundtrack, but if you bought the standard edition, that's not there.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/21/2013 at 11:04pm

That makes sense. Ill note the difference fow show. :D

Travis Admin wrote on 01/22/2013 at 04:52am

OH! I just remembered this one. Lots of games have secret music and stuff you can find, or some games have unencrypted images or text you can sort through, but how many games have secret *games* for you to find?

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/03/awesomenauts-on-pc-includes-hidden-roflnauts-mini-game/

Awesomenauts does! It's a retro-styled Smash Brothers style brawler.

hardeyez wrote on 01/22/2013 at 05:09pm

Also, the gcf files in there are packs of files browse-able with tools https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/GCF e.g. you can extract all the sounds from Portal 2 and use "Are you still there?" on your phone :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/22/2013 at 05:13pm

Awesome, thanks for sharing people ill get these into the post above when I continue on through my Steam games!

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A Glimpse Into The Future of Next Gen Consoles

One of my friends on Twitter @groveronline asked me what I thought of a recent Reddit post by KR4T0S, an industry insider with some knowledge of the next generation console hardware. Its a really interesting read and I recommend you check it out.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/16tttt/orbis_unmasked_what_to_expect_from_the_nextgen/c7zfgtg

I want to respond to a few points he brings up:

"If both the 720 and PS4 are running AMD CPU's then that is a revolution, what that means is every developer working on consoles and PC will have a grip on the architecture of all three platforms. The 720 is a Windows PC, the PS4 is a Linux PC. I was wondering how Valve were going to... Read All

Steam Guides: Player-created guides come to Steam

Steam now has a section for player-created tips and guides on the Community Hub. It's similar to what you might find at a site like GameFAQs. For example, here's one about how to find the Minecraft easter egg in Borderlands 2: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=121138540

These guides are accessible in the Steam Overlay, which means that you'll be a little closer to your guides now. They seem a little more full-featured than GameFAQs' offerings as well.

For more: http://steamcommunity.com/guides

The Game Chasers Sin City Shenanigans Part 1.

Found an interesting YouTube series called Game Chasers. It is a reality TV style show of a couple of dudes that hunt down awesome Retro Styled games and systems.

Let me know what you think of it, I find these kinds of video game shows really interesting.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/18/2013 at 08:06pm

This is the sort of thing I like and it's possible I'd end up watching more but this guys really seem like dbags to me. Nothing personal to them but a little charisma would go a long way towards making this show a lot more watchable.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/18/2013 at 08:07pm

Fair enough. Sometimes the line between humor and actually being a d-bag is fine :D

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/18/2013 at 08:11pm

I would do terrible things to that toy store but I wouldn't say nerdgasm or make fake humping motions. I don't know. I'm being a judgmental jerk.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/18/2013 at 08:13pm

It's actually a good example of like an aesthetic that's like a "nerd-thug" that I've always been irritated by.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/18/2013 at 09:13pm

I think there is something there. Personally I don't hump my video games, even the ones I love. Wherein I get why people think its Hil-freak-arious, I sort of side with you Gary. That kind of thing is pretty cringe worthy.

Now I could hug something, like a power glove, but you know.. thats sort of different and all ages. :D

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/21/2013 at 06:56am

I'd love a version of this that wasn't fucking obnoxious. I'm interested in hunting for old games. Just don't be such dumb thug meat heads about it.

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Dat Firehose: Free Bundle & Doom Gangnam Style

If you had a problem with The Humble Bundle costing money now there is a solution in The Free Bundle. Right now The Free Bundle is collecting a few interesting Indie games such as Nitronic Rush, Ascension, Celestial Mechanica, Imscared & Abobo Big's Adventure.

http://www.thefreebundle.com/

This week in GoG, a weekly YouTube short showcases what was released and other GoG awesomery. This episode features Cultures 1+2 release, Kings Bounty Crosswords GoTY & more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXfP9VJl0BQ

To showcase what is possible with the new HTML5 Cavas technology some enterprising souls wired up Doom 3 and Gangnam Style. The Demons dancing does seem quite... Read All

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang

Recently I watched a neat documentary called "Minecraft: The Story of Mojang." Essentially its a documentary that follows the rise of Minecraft and chronicles the journey. Notch, the owner/original developer of Minecraft is featured heavily as are other employees as they join Mojang. The documentary features other notable gaming luminaries musings about Minecraft such as Peter Molyneux and Tim Schafer.

The documentary is tonally similar to Indie Game: The Movie in how its shot. I was completely engrossed in the film start to finish and to me the movie didn't suffer from any pacing problems.

The creators of the film are employing a pretty interesting distribution model.... Read All

NES Complex Demonstrates Universal Game Cases

Just found an awesome how-to video by NESComplex on creating universal cases for your NES Collection. He goes over design, to print to how to construct the cases for your NES library.

"In this update video I demonstrate the storage system I use for many of my NES games: Universal Game Cases UGC and printed box art covers from www.thecoverproject.net. I show how to print them from PowerPoint, and modify the game cases for NES games using a multi tool. I also address using DS Cases for GBA games and the problem with doing this if you live outside the states. If you know of any websites abroad, let me know and I'll add them to the description! I hope it helps!"

... Read All