General Discussion [ Page 86 ]

The GOG Book? Wait it's.. Mac Support!

Awesome video for a new feature to drop from Good Old Games. Now with book... errr Mac Support!

Here are a few of the offerings on Mac on sale:

http://www.gog.com/en/promo/mac_games_launch_promo_18_10_12

For all 50 GoG games on Mac hit this link then filter by system:

http://www.gog.com/en/catalogue

PRGE 2012 Video Recap

A good video recap of 2012's Portland Retro Gaming Expo. It covers the show floor pretty well as far as the whole vibe of the event.

If you are in the area for PRGE 2013, you should definitely attend. There might be a event in your local area as well, so check into that! Go, go, go!

Star Wars + Angry Birds = <3

Angry Birds Star Wars will be released November 8th! It makes sense this paring is happening as Angry Birds is now a huge household game. After Angry Birds space it makes sense that Star Wars comes afterward. I wonder what elements it will bring to the franchise besides John Williams music? Don't get me wrong, John Williams music is superb I am just wondering what else it will have.

If all it brings is the Star Wars music and art we all love I will have to say that's enough for me to play it! I have Angry Birds Space on my phone and still have yet to get past more than the first two levels. Look forward to knocking my birds into Storm-pigs, Wampa-pigs, Sand-pigs,... Read All

Possible New Valve Game?

facepunch recently dropped some leaked art information from an un-named source at Valve about a new title they are apparently working on called "Stars of Barathrum." Again, this is rumor but this rumor comes with some leaked artwork that someone chopped up into the video above.

From facepunch:

"An inside source has confirmed that SOB (Valve's new IP) is an unannounced game entitled Stars of Barathrum (working title). Plays like privateer/freelancer but also with the ability to command larger cruisers and capital ships. It's a very vast and open-world game where you choose your own adventure, a lot of internal resources are being put into SOB."

This is interesting as if... Read All

Rock Star just announced Rockstar Games Collection a backlog

Rock Star just announced "Rockstar Games Collection" a backlog release of all its big modern titles to date on PS3 and XBox 360. In the collection are: Read Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, L.A. Noire & Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition.

If you haven't played many of these games getting them all for $59.99 is a steal! They are mysteriously missing some DLC that comes with the Game of the Year editions, but even at this price that omission isn't a problem.

Does this collection interest you? Does this "Rockstar Orange Box" tempt you into getting it or do you already have these titles?

Sad to not see a PC version of this, but some... Read All

Harvest Moon and Rune Factory I was introduced to the

Harvest Moon and Rune Factory

I was introduced to the series at a young age. Before the age of online reviews and news about games everywhere. This allowed me to enjoy it for all that it is. Not be turned off by how lame it may sound on the outside. At their core both series are a farming simulator with light dating sim elements. Rune Factory also includes dungeon crawling. However, they have an addicting quality unlike any other games. You get hooked fast and find yourself playing them over and over. Some of them have near infinite replay ability.

Making a post about it in hopes that some people who have not yet given it a try will go out and try it. If you have played... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/08/2012 at 10:20am

Looks like a bug in the embed video part, I'll fix it. Thanks Jacob!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 10/08/2012 at 07:01pm

I'm a big fan of Harvest Moon 64, which was actually the first HM game I played. Since then I've tried A wonderful Life which I was not so much a fan of (I should note that I had the PS2 "special edition" which was marred by some pretty bad frame rate issues). I also tried Innocent Life, which was just terrible. I really would like to find another, good Harvest moon game though. Were there any other HM games that were similar to HM64 that you could recommend?

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/08/2012 at 10:04pm

Thanks jon. I see your problem there white. I tried the same. I had played A wonderful life on gamecube then tried to play it on ps2 later when i wanted to finish it. It was horrible to say the least. Innocent Life I don't even know what to say about that one. I put way to many hours into it hoping it would get better. Worst harvest moon ever.

If you want HM64 sequels:
Back To Nature(girl version I THINK), ps1
Friends Of Mineral Town GBA
More Friends of Mineral Town GBA
Harvest Moon DS v1.1
Island of Happiness DS
Sunshine Islands DS

Alright so let me break it down FoMT. (see above) Is a lot of peoples favorite. It's not as advanced as some of the later games though but, has longevity and is great fun. Harvest Moon DS is plagued by bugs even the 1.1 version. However if you can get past the bugs the game would actually be enjoyable. Island of Happiness is kind of hapazard with controls and more for harvest moon veterans who want a challenge. Sunshine Islands to me is really great. More to offer then friends of mineral town. A new cast of characters unlike the other sequels with the old ones returning but not eligible for marriage. It's a direct sequel to Island of Happiness and is quite a bit easier with better controls.

I'll make a part 2 post about good ones in general

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/08/2012 at 10:09pm

Alright so great harvest moons to play that have NOTHING to do with Harvest Moon 64

1. Animal Parade Wii (sequel to ToT)
2. Tree of Tranquility Wii
3. Tale of Two Towns DS and 3DS
4. Magical Melody Gamecube

And the upcoming new harvest moon looks fantastic
A New Beginning 3DS (also known as The Land of Origin)

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/08/2012 at 10:10pm

Also sorry correction. Back to Nature is on the ps3's marketplace and on psp.

Tungsten wrote on 10/09/2012 at 12:24am

Alright, I haven't played any since the SNES. How have they held up? I remember it being really fun but I always felt really constricted by the time limit.

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/09/2012 at 04:11am

Well the snes era of harvest moon doesn't really hold up to the test of time. Not nearly as refined as the newer editions. Harvest moon 64 is the first one that was able to remain great no matter how much time has gone by. If you haven't even tried that one. You definitely are going to want to play that one. If you would like MORE time in your days go ahead and try animal parade on wii. That one gives you lots of time. I love it. Tale of Two Towns is the opposite. Time goes by in the menus and in buildings making the days go by staggeringly fast. I found it hard to keep up with but my other friends didn't have any trouble.

Tungsten wrote on 10/11/2012 at 01:35am

Ya, I'm slow. Animal parade it is. In a game like Harvest Moon, I want to take my time, water every last plant, and never fell like time is running by.

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/11/2012 at 10:12pm

Hope you have fun with it. A good plan of action though when playing. Is to sort of plan out your day. As your in a building time never goes by. So now you have got time to think of whether you want to go mining for the day or tree chopping. Or just try and give gifts to everyone. Trying to do everything in one day is less of a time constraint then an energy constraint. Unless you have got tons of food to chow down regularly to keep the energy level up.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 10/11/2012 at 10:47pm

One of the reasons I really liked the N64 Harvest Moon better than the (admittedly small selection of) other Harvest Moon games is that the pacing felt really nice. Indoor activities like feeding/tending to your animals or shopping in the village, gave you time to plan out your outdoor stuff, like gardening or fishing. The days were just long enough that if you wanted to cram in almost everything you could, but short enough to keep the everything moving along so you saw the results of your labor (plants growing, cash from foraging) quickly.

(For anyone interested, I actually posted Harvest Moon 64 for one of our retro Tuesdays here: http://cheerfulghost.com/WhiteboySlim/posts/356)

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/12/2012 at 04:39am

I agree with all of that as well, although...to say Harvest Moon has a small selection! It's as long a series as final fantasy or Dragon Quest. 24 total games. Of those i think about 4 are ports. There are others that are similar to ports but actually completely enhanced and changed. There's a harvest moon out there for lots of different types of people. None of them are the "ultimate" they all have features that are different. Though I would like to one day see a harvest moon with all of the features from each harvest moon in a single game.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 10/12/2012 at 08:03pm

Oops! I meant the selection of Harvest Moon games I've played is small. I should really proof read my comments before posting. XD Yeah the Harvest Moon series is pretty expansive. One of these days I'm going to try the Rune Factory games. They look pretty cool.

On a related note, I picked up Harvest Moon: Back to Nature on PSN/PSP. I haven't really played much of it yet, but look forward to plowing (see what I did there?) through it. :D

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 10/12/2012 at 08:27pm

hahaha. nice pun. I love rune factory frontier on my wii. Can't wait for rune factory 4 to come over from japan.

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Have any of you ever used ENB for any of your games? I got

http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/images/1215280-1336186446.jpg

Have any of you ever used ENB for any of your games?

I got a new video card a week or so ago and I've been experimenting with ENB mods. First off, I have no idea what ENB stands for. From what I can tell, nobody really does. Essentially, it accomplishes some graphical quality increases using an extra rendering layer. This obviously comes with a hit to performance, so you may not like the results on older hardware.

The main development goes on at http://www.enbdev.com/ and consists mostly of a modified DirectX 9 dll that you copy into the game's directory. Then, presets and configurations specific to whichever game you're using are available, whether from the creator of... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/07/2012 at 09:04pm

Thanks for this, I haven't heard of ENB. Ill give this a shot.

What new video card did you get? Did you have to get a new power supply too? In the next year or so I am going to upgrade my video card, but don't want to get one such that I have to upgrade the power supply in my desktop as well.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/07/2012 at 09:09pm

I got an nvidia Geforce GTX 550 Ti. Not the newest thing out, but new enough to play most things at Ultra High quality. Skyrim is so beautiful.

And yes, my PC came with a 300W power supply, and any decent video card needs at least 400, so I just bumped it up to 650. Nice but cheap Thermaltake. It's running cool without any additional fans or obsessive cable management, so I'm thrilled.

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/07/2012 at 09:14pm

I think Ill need a new power supply. Ugh. Oh well, it happens :)

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 10/08/2012 at 09:43am

Instead of ENB i use RCRN customizer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFFOyfcAxh8.

ENB stands for Enhanced Natural Bloom. It adds in sort of a layer of extra bloom to make things glow more. The reason i prefer RCRN is because it is not an artificial overlay like most graphical adjustments are. It changes the actual graphics for more realistic effect. The trade off is it is a lot harder performance hit.

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 10/08/2012 at 09:50am

Sorry I want to be more clear with what I meant. ENB does NOT adjust actual game mechanics. The bloom adjustment or saturation included in any particular ENB will not effect your stealth and such. RCRN is a REAL in game change not a filter that you see the picture through. At night it is near pitch black making abilities like night vision much more useful. It also effects sneaking making you harder to see when in dark areas.

Tungsten wrote on 10/08/2012 at 10:47am

This was my favorite ENB profile (if I could put up with the 8fps)

http://www.gamezone.com/products/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/downloads/confident-enb-a-realistic-enb-profile-skyrim-mod

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/08/2012 at 04:14pm

Jacob, I read someone suggest enhanced natural bloom, but there was nothing to back that up. I'll assume it's true though :)

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 10/08/2012 at 10:15pm

Ya there is a lot of people who use ENB panicked. Nothing wrong with it. Most people don't really understand the differences or what ENB really is as you said. Which is why most stick with the similar ENB rather then an actual new shader and lighting revamp. In comparison to think about. The awesome water mods you see use new shaders. However with your ENB on, look at the water and you'll see it really isn't much different. The mods of course do more like changing the physics and such but that is besides the point.

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The OSU marching band doing a video game show. Not only is

The OSU marching band doing a video game show.

Not only is this an incredibly geeky marching show, it's pretty well-done. It makes me want to dig out the trumpet and go back to college, just so I can get out on the field again.

Some of this technique is amazing. Making the horse (which I'm assuming is supposed to be Epona) gallop is one of the best things I've ever seen done in a marching show.

If you grew up in the NES golden year then you may well

If you grew up in the NES golden year then you may well remember the infamous Konami Code. One site online has cataloged all the other sites that use it and what secret easter eggs occur when you enter it in.

http://konamicodesites.com/

Awesome to see so many people implementing this bit of game history where they work.

A bit more information on the code and its history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami_Code

I hear many people mention that video games are more

I hear many people mention that video games are more expensive than they were in days of yore. Its interesting as this image has recently surfaced to somewhat dispel that idea. Some games cost in upwards to $70 in certain markets depending on the launch system and demand for it.

I don't mind the $60 if the game is worth it and now games can be MUCH less if its digital. Do you think games cost too much? What was the most expensive game you have both recently and ever?

BR Supporter wrote on 10/05/2012 at 12:25am

I feel like games are a bit too expensive right now. Most major games are $60 which is quite a lot compared to the more indie games that are $20(little more/little less depending on the game type). I don't see why games need to be $60, most indie companies that sell their games cheaper seem to do fine as long as the game is actually good. Also, the fact is that soon most games will be all downloaded digitally. Selling a game digitally is much cheaper than selling a hard copy(disk,case, and any booklets). At least with the hard copy they have to account for all the stuff they include with the game. So the profit isn't going to be as much as a digital download.

All in all I guess I'm saying if you sell a hard copy of the game for $60 its alright, but once you start selling digitally for $60, your just being completely greedy. No digital download needs to be $60 to make a good profit.

BR Supporter wrote on 10/05/2012 at 12:28am

Also, I forgot to add stuff about dlc. Now they are starting to make dlc at the same time the game is being made then selling it for another 10 to 20 bucks. So that brings the total up even higher than before. Mass effect 3 is one of the games that did this. They released the Ashes to ashes dlc at the same time they released the game and gave it a price of $10. This caused the total of the game to become $70 if you wanted the full game. That is just greedy EA for ya.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/05/2012 at 03:21am

I agree, $60 for a digital only triple A game is too much. I've heard the reason why they can't drive the digital price
lower at first is because of contracts with stores.

I hope that changes in the future. Or just charge less, like CS:GO or Torchlight 2 pricing :D

Tungsten wrote on 10/05/2012 at 11:00am

I remember Sonic and Knuckles being ridiculously expensive. The justification was that it let you play the other Sonic games as Knuckles. Pretty awesome idea btw. It was like DLC before DL's.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/05/2012 at 12:17pm

Oh right, didn't that cart have a open top to put the other games on so it could change the code or something?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/05/2012 at 12:18pm

Yup: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_%26_Knuckles

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 10/08/2012 at 09:18am

Honestly I feel like that picture in particular may be taken out of context. For instance, http://www.play-asia.com/paOScore/19-71-99-49-en-15-gundam.html take a look at how expensive those games are. Ya some places have them way hiked up then they were at the time but, most places were pretty cheap. I got a lot of my super sega games for like 20dollars. Sega Saturn in particular has reasons for being so pricey. As out of japan it did horribly and the number of copies was exceedingly low for games.

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