jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Fan Game Pokemon Uranium Finally Launches!

After 9 years of development the fan game Pokemon Uranium has finally launched with an amazing trailer. It's awesome to see these fan projects finally ship and this one looks exceptionally good. If you're a huge Pokemon fan that loved the GBA era Pokemon games this looks to be made just for you.

The site is getting crushed do to popularity of the game, so there are a couple download options below.

http://www.pokemonuranium.com/download/

Download the game on Mega:

https://mega.nz/#!6YdCSJ5Q!hkyWiwm9p7nIyGJrnZIDBegjlhOsIfe8Jov4jMjzW-o

Game download from an official Google Drive link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HusEKrIZiQbUlvd0kySHZKSXM/view

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/12/2016 at 12:39pm

Interesting. None of those links are working, either. The first gives a 505 server error, the second says it can't be found or was deleted, and the third says too many people have tried to download it.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2016 at 03:48pm

Yep, the Mega link could have been a cease and desist, Mega is pretty good about honoring those. Kim Dotcom doesn't want to go through that whole mess again!

With as quickly as Nintendo shut down the Metroid remake, I'm surprised they haven't (at least publicly) gone after this harder.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/12/2016 at 04:40pm

This is why all my pokemon fan fic is called pokamon. :)

hardeyez wrote on 08/12/2016 at 05:40pm

I wish they'd done a torrent. The we could at least see it before Nintendo kills it... :(

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2016 at 06:26pm

I'm sure someone has posted a torrent.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/12/2016 at 07:09pm

If I were a musician I'd call my Pokemon fan fic Polkaman. LOL

Travis Admin wrote on 08/14/2016 at 05:54am

So it happened-- the main links have been taken down. This one might stay for a while!

https://uranium.sweepy.pw/

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The Latest Star Wars Rogue One Trailer Shows The Rebel Alliance At War

I just watched the latest Rogue One trailer and I wasn't sure it was possible but i'm even more interested in seeing this film in December than I was before. The new trailer features a better look at the movies tone, characters and even drops a few more story beats. The end of the trailer also shows the back of Darth Vader's helmet and his signature respirator.

What did you think of the new trailer? Still interested in checking this out in December or are you going to pass on this one?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/12/2016 at 12:34pm

I might go see it. Is this supposed to take place during the time the first Death Star was constructed? Isn't that the pilot and main lady in the last Star Wars movie?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/12/2016 at 04:25pm

I think that was dark helmet. This takes place in the space balls universe.

I hope this movie is good. All the bad press about the reshoots have me worried.

hardeyez wrote on 08/12/2016 at 05:36pm

Exactly, getting more and more excited about this...

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2016 at 06:28pm

"Isn't that the pilot and main lady in the last Star Wars movie?"

You mean Rey? Nah she wasn't even born when this movie takes place. This one takes place right before Episode IV.

As for reshoots, don't worry. A ton of movies have reshoots.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/12/2016 at 06:31pm

Yeah, I thought that was Rey. I thought the pilot was BB-8's pilot. I guess I'm too lazy to look up character names. LOL Anyway, thanks for the clarification, Travis.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/13/2016 at 02:40am

> I think that was dark helmet. This takes place in the space balls universe.

HA! I've heard Spaceballs IS getting a sequel. Mel Brooks involved even.

> I hope this movie is good. All the bad press about the reshoots have me worried.

It's pretty uncommon to do reshoots for films where budget is an issue. One thing I've heard is that Disney is spending money keeping the films of rather high quality. The reason they are doing this is to keep the films top notch so they can milk the brand for infinite money. It seems to have worked with The Force Awakens and frankly I don't mind if the end result is good. Reshoots mean they are rework stuff that didn't work as well before. Sounds good to me!

All that said let's consider a world where it's maybe not as good as the Force Awakens or not even really on the same level. Not sure that will be the case, but let's assume it might not be.

Let's say the film is no better than Garth Edwards two previous films Monsters and Godzilla. I'd say Monsters was the better of the two and so let's say Rogue One is only going to be as good as Monsters. Well a film that's just as good as Monsters set with the rebels at war and with this sort of more gritty feel would be FUCKING INCREDIBLE. Seriously that shot with Ben Mendelsohn in the trailer makes me believe we might be surpassing Monsters in terms of how good this will be. But even if it's simply just as good as Monsters or maybe even Godzilla, that's still something i'd watch again and again.

A couple more pro Gareth musings:

* Monsters and Godzilla dig BIG and scale really well and from all the shots in the trailer it seems Gareth's style is on full tilt here. I've never seen scarier or bigger shots of Star Destroyers, AT Walkers or get more of an impression of the absolutely crushing power of the Empire. When those Rebels are being led through the streets in cuffs and then we see the absolute monster power of the Empire I was scared for the Rebels. I've never seem the Empire this strong before and I believe that is due to Gareth's visual style.

* Monsters is essentially a movie about two people trying to get to the US from Mexico during an alien invasion. It's not really about the Aliens as much as it's about those people and them being very human on a road trip. The monsters are used sparingly and to very good effect. The world is dangerous and mysterious and Gareth's use of Mexico as a backdrop really highlight his focus on a different culture and their loss due to the aliens. He doesn't really even explain the aliens very much which adds to the films overall mystery and rewatchability.

Monsters is on Netflix so if you haven't seen it, queue it up and remember Gareth did all that on a 4.2 million dollar budget! It's not perfect and at times I think the actors could have been a bit more serious with the material(maybe just Whitney Able, I don't think she is entirely on point here).

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/13/2016 at 12:19pm

I'll have to check out this Monsters movie you mentioned. I assume you're talking about the latest Godzilla movie, which I enjoyed, but I'm not sure I've seen a Godzilla movie I didn't enjoy and I've seen a lot of them (including the one from the '98 or so).

Travis Admin wrote on 08/13/2016 at 03:49pm

Yeah I'd never heard anything one way or the other about Monsters. I'm intrigued now.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/14/2016 at 04:08am

So one minor correction: Gareth did all that on a $500k budget. $4.2 million was the gross at the box office. So the movie wasn't a commercial hit but it's an indie darling.

And for good reason, we watched it tonight and were hooked throughout. Seriously, this is how you do a monster movie that's not about the monster. You get the feeling that the BIG world-defining stories are going on somewhere else in the world, but we're focused on these two very human people with very human motivations.

There are some problems with it. The effects are used sparingly but they aren't incredible (but with $500k they're still very impressive). There were a few very "convenient" plot devices to push the characters into situations.

I thought Scoot McNairy did a fantastic job, but I love him in everything I've seen him in. He wasn't pitched as the star of Halt and Catch Fire but in the first season, but I kinda thought he filled the male lead role with his wife and Cameron on equal footing. Fantastic show, btw. But you're right, Whitney Able wasn't stellar.

We watched the trailer first and weren't really into the idea of watching it, but we wanted to see what Gareth could do. Wow, that trailer did a terrible job of explaining what the movie was about. But then I guess it's hard to sell a monster movie that isn't about the monster.

Seriously, masterfully done, and more to the point it really makes me look forward to Rogue One even more. As I said earlier, it's a story going on while the big story is happening somewhere else, and I think Rogue One really fits that narrative in many ways, based on the trailer. This is the story that took place in Episode IV's opening crawl.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/14/2016 at 05:47am

> So one minor correction: Gareth did all that on a $500k budget. $4.2 million was the gross at the box office. So the movie wasn't a commercial hit but it's an indie darling.

Oops, well even better

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/14/2016 at 05:48am

Also glad you liked it!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/15/2016 at 02:15pm

I watched it the same night Travis did apparently, just hours later. I also liked it. I'm going to try to explain my thoughts on it without giving away spoilers (or too much). Unfortunately, it triggered my....let's call it "romantic frustration." It didn't end as I expected (or even as my dark side hoped). Still, it was good. I thought it was dramatically relevant right now as we have a Presidential candidate who wants to build a wall to keep Mexicans out of the USA. Even in the movie we see just how well this might actually work.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/15/2016 at 10:23pm

I think the concept of Aliens is used quite a few ways in that movie too.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/16/2016 at 02:33am

And another trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5qguZw3RzY

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/16/2016 at 02:46am

Thanks Travis!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:43pm

Here's a rad version of the trailer recut with Sabotage by the Beastie Boys
https://youtu.be/oMmiNeVrbDk

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Quakecon 2016 Wrap Up - Prey Reboot and Quake Champions Revealed

Quakecon is the iD Software PC gaming conventionlan party and this year they revealed details about what's happening in the Bethesda studios family including the upcoming Prey and Quake reboots.

Now That New Doom is Incredible iD Software Is Bringing Back Quake

Quake Champions is iD's upcoming big push back into the FPS multiplayer arena and they seem to be doing things right focusing on impressive features such as 120hz gameplay an unlocked framerate and a return to the quick classic Quake game play.

"20 years ago, Quake set new standards for multiplayer competition and pushed the boundaries for graphics and gameplay. The fast, skill-based arena-style competition that turned the original Quake games into multiplayer legends is making a triumphant return with Quake Champions."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UhHcEiegb8

Arkane Studios Working On A Prey Reboot

The original Prey was a very unique FPS that had a fun sci-fi premise and really compelling characters. Arkane Studios is rebooting the Prey franchise and this entry looks to ignore the original Prey game and go in a different direction. Not sure if this a horror game or an action FPS with more heady sci-fi elements. Regardless, Arkane Studios makes good games and this is something I am interested in following.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHZ9WAertc

Warning To Windows Laptop Gamers - Set Your Windows 10 Power Mode Properly!

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41gxG6beXgL.jpg

A couple days ago I wrote a few thoughts about my new ASUS ROG gaming laptop. It's a nice piece of hardware and if you are looking for a nicely priced portable gaming machine it's worth a look. That said for my most immediate computing past I've mostly used Mac OS and Linux and as such i'm not the biggest Windows power user and I recently learned something you might find useful.

Set Your Power & Sleep Mode To High Performance

One mistake I made when I first got my laptop was to mess around in the power and sleep mode control panel and set it to "power saver." It seemed like a reasonable selection as I figured Windows would switch into "high performance" mode when a game started and then drop back to the default "power saver" mode automagically. Come to find out that's not how Windows works and when you set the power mode to "power saver" it causes your graphics card and CPU to always switch to the lower power option. On my ASUS ROG that means that it will constantly use the integrated Intel card instead of the nvidia one and ignore a couple CPU cores.

So make sure to set your laptop to "high performance" by default in settings and if you kick back on the couch surfing the web you can click the battery icon in the lower right to temporarily switch Windows into power saver mode while it's on battery power. When you plug the laptop back in it will automagically switch it back to high performance mode to run the laptop in all it's gaming glory.

It's nice that I finally figured this out as during the last few days I've got terribly low frame rates and performance in any game I've played on it and it's disturbed me quite a bit. I nearly thought something was wrong with my hardware then I discovered this power mode and how it can cap your gaming performance.

You can read my thoughts on the ASUS ROG:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3061/one-month-with-the-asus-rog-gl552vw-dh74-gaming-laptop

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/09/2016 at 12:22pm

Also, be sure to change the global setting in the Nvidia Control Panel. This can be done by right-clicking on your desktop, clicking Nvidia Control Panel, then Manage 3D Settings, then scroll down and make sure "Prefer maximum performance" is selected next to "Power Management mode." See the following link for a visual of what I'm talking about. http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3130/~/setting-power-management-mode-from-adaptive-to-maximum-performance

Travis Admin wrote on 08/09/2016 at 03:00pm

Yeah that nvidia setting Greg mentions is one that might never cause you any trouble until it does. I don't know if it's a driver quirk or the way games use the driver or what but it usually adapts properly, it just sometimes doesn't.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/09/2016 at 05:33pm

That's good to know, I think it's set that way but I'll check tonight to be sure.

Nicholas_Biondi wrote on 08/09/2016 at 07:37pm

Yay! I have bought nothing but ASUS ROG for the last 3 laptops. Can't beatthe price/speed,quality for my money!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/09/2016 at 07:40pm

Nicholas_Biondi: That's really good to hear.

Based on how it keeps getting slimmer and lighter and that i've had such a great time with it so far, when the time comes i'll be looking into getting another. I usually wait a long time to get new hardware but going ASUS again seems like a very solid idea.

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Want a New Challenge For Link To The Past? Try The Link To The Past Randomizer!

If you have played The Legend of Zelda Link to the Past inside and out and are looking for something new you might want to download the Link to the Past Item Randomizer. It's a Windows program that generates you an unique ROM that randomizes all the items in the game among all in game chests. The first chest you open might contain the Master Sword or the Hookshot but since it's random, you never really know till you open it. It's a cool speedrunning project to give the community something new to challenge themselves and also memorize the location of nearly all the in game chests and how to get to them.

"This is a simple program that moves around items in the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (ALttP). It is used for racing the game.

When racing the game, it is suggested that each player play the same seed to ensure a level playing field."

https://dessyreqt.github.io/alttprandomizer/

One Month With the ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH74 Gaming Laptop

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/asus_gl552vw_dh74_i7_6700hq_16gb_1tb_128ms3_windows_10_64_15_6_1183449.jpg

I'm not gonna lie, originally I wanted to buy a Mac laptop. I like the Apple hardware, build quality and software better than nearly all of the Windows alternatives. And even though I may love Apple's products I don't love the price because when you buy Apple you pay a premium for it. And with that price and quality premium you also lock in to your hardware specs. Apple used to allow upgrades to it's laptop harddrives and ram after your initial purchase but that is no longer the case. I want a system that's reasonably priced, is mobile and something I can upgrade when the time is right. Playing games well is also important to me so after a bit of searching I finally pulled the trigger and bought an ASUS ROG laptop.

Show Me The Specs

The ASUS ROG was in the right price and spec zone as it features an Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz, 16GB RAM; 1TB 7200RPM + 128GB SSD harddrive & an NVidia GeForce GTX 960M -w 4GB VRAM. The OS runs on the SSD which means this thing boots up wickedly fast. The ROG features an HDMI port so plugging it in to my desktop monitor and TV is a breeze and after a bit of learning on my part I figured out how to rock a dual monitor/laptop screen setup in Windows 10. I went with the 15" laptop as 17" seemed way too large for a laptop and since the hardware of both sizes is nearly identical, I think the smaller size was a better choice. The ROG also features a nice illuminated keyboard that really helps with typing in the dark. In general the laptop hardware is solid in nearly every respect but I do have a couple gripes with it. The black finish is very neat looking but it's also a fingerprint magnet. It's not too bad but I do have to wipe it down from time to time because the smudges bother me. The other annoying part of using the ROG is that if you bend it slightly on occasion the DVD drive opens. Originally I thought i'd use the DVD drive more but apparently I don't use it at all so the only time the drive ever opens is on accident.

Beyond those minor issues the ASUS ROG is a very solid and powerful laptop. It's not too heavy has a good build quality to it and is very enjoyable to use.

Apparently, Windows 10 Is Pretty Good

I'll be honest, I am not a huge fan of Windows or Microsoft. This is mostly because I found the Microsoft of the 90's to be really bad in terms of it's anti-competitive behavior but recently the company has come around a bit. Windows 7 was a pretty good Operating System and after using Windows 10 for a month I can say that it's pretty easy and isn't too annoying to use. That said it phones home more than E.T. so if you don't want Redmond knowing when you go to the bathroom, I suggest you run SpyBot Anti-Beacon. The ROG also comes with a ton of crap-ware installed and that takes a bit to get removed but after all of that is gone and Windows isn't calling Bill Gates every 5 minutes, it's a solid experience. I can't honestly tell if Windows 10 performs better than 7 but I haven't noticed any slow downs in any games or actions on Windows 10.

This Thing Plays Games Well Too

If you want the biggest bang for your buck in PC-land you shouldn't go with a laptop. I went with a laptop because I wanted to play games and have a very portable system. I also wanted a machine I could hack Cheerful Ghost code using Linux and the ASUS ROG does that really well. It also plays games well, but again, if you want more power for your dollar go with a regular ol' PC. That said, I was able to max out StarCraft II with zero issues and the ROG can also play the new Doom game in 1080p without dropping below 30 FPS.

After using the ASUS ROG for a month I can say that i'm really happy with my purchase. It's a solid system for the price and it plays all the games I want to at a very acceptable speeds. It's comfortable to use on the couch and slides right in on my Desktop and works great with my monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you are looking for a nicely spec'd laptop that plays games well you might want to look into the ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH74.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/05/2016 at 08:06am

Sweet! How's the battery life? Does it get hot?

JaBo wrote on 08/05/2016 at 06:15pm

Huh, yeah, pretty similar to what I bought last year. ASUS G751JL 17-Inch Gaming Laptop
I love mine. Max graphics gaming on a laptop with a quiet fan that doesn't get too hot... I still love it. It's huge though... I had to buy a $100 gaming back pack for it lol. (I use it for school too ).

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/05/2016 at 06:34pm

Mmm, new hardware. Does it VR? :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/05/2016 at 11:41pm

> How's the battery life? Does it get hot?

The battery life is about 4-5 hours JUST with a browser open doing light surfing in battery saver mode. It's a couple hours if you are playing a game on battery.

It gets how when you have Steam or Battle.net open and/or are playing a game. It pushes hot air through a side fan, and it gets a bit warm on the bottom but nothing too bad.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/05/2016 at 11:42pm

> It's huge though...

I bet. That's why I got the 15" :D

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/09/2016 at 12:26pm

I just noticed in the picture you included in your post that the WASD keys seem to be highlighted. That reminded me of a keyboard change I'd like to see. On most keyboards you'll find that the J and F keys have little protrusions on them so that when you put your hands on your keyboard, you know where the "home keys" are without having to look. I think the WASD keys deserve the same treatment for gamers like us. :)

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Funkmastermp Speeds Through The Original Diablo at AGDQ 2016 in 20:35

I just watched a very impressive Diablo Summer Games Done Quick 2016 run by Funkmastermp where he blows through the game in 20 minutes. This is pretty impressive considering the very slow character run speed in the original Diablo and that Funmastermp never gets his character over level 3. Funkmastermp uses a frame timed item dupe to get a ton of gold to buy enough mana potions and items. At one point he needs to get a teleport scroll tome and has to talk to reload the game and talk to Adria over 50 times.

This is a really good run and if you are a fan of Diablo something you should watch.

The Internet Archive Plays With Power By Putting Each Issue of Nintendo Power Online

If you grew up pouring through each issue of Nintendo Power then the Internet Archive might be your new best friend. They recently put each issue online to view and download for your nostalgic retro gaming needs. Nintendo Power discontinued all publications in 2013 but in it's 90's prime, it was the best way to learn about Nintendo games. My favorite parts of the Magazine were the comics and tips and tricks section where you could learn cheat codes and other secrets to your favorite games. The popularization of the Internet made magazines like Nintendo Power largely obsolete in favor of wikis and game sites but that said, it's still awesome that each issue is available to read.

https://archive.org/details/nintendopower

**UPDATE**

Nintendo booted up their lawyers and now the issues of Nintendo Power have been removed from Archive.org. Hopefully Nintendo can release them digitally or allow a collectors edition reprinting to meet demand.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/8/12405278/nintendo-power-issues-disappear-from-free-online-archive

One Night in Karazhan And The World's Your Oyster - New Heartstone Adventure Coming August 11th

It seems the rumors of the new Hearthstone Adventure being in Karazhan were true as Blizzard announced the upcoming adventure "One Night in Karazhan" to the audience at ChinaJoy. One Night in Karazhan will feature 4 new wings you can unlock for 700 gold or buy the whole adventure for $20. As you can see from the trailer above, One Night in Karazhan has a very cool disco party vibe that looks like it pulls many influences from Disneys Beauty and the Beast as well as the John Travolta's disco classic Saturday Night Fever. After the darker tone of Whispers of the Old Gods us getting a more silly party styled adventure seems like a nice change.

As with all Hearthstone adventures the first wing will launch August 11th, the second the week after and they will continue to release at that pace until the final wing launch. This adventure is different in that they are offering everyone a free prologue mission that will unlock two free cards for everyone! So even if you don't plan on picking up the whole adventure, playing through the free mission for the two cards seems like a pretty good deal!

I've scoured the web for more details about the expansion so if you are interested keep reading!

If you are interested in watching Hearthstone designer Ben Brode talk about the new adventure in the recent ChinaJoy twitch stream, you can watch it below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w5Yaqrkszk

Redditor Nostalgia37 is keeping a spreadsheet up-to-date with all the Karazhan cards as they are unveiled by Blizzard. So far 9 of 45 cards have been revealed and they all look like they will have a pretty big impact on the meta. As the Karazhan gets closer to launch i'll be talking about the cards I am most interested in .

https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/4v60mk/the_marvelous_prerelease_reveal_chart_all/

PC Gamer has a interesting playthrough of one of the missions of One Night in Karazhan. I recommend muting the audio.

Thttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7e_Udn88E8

Nova Covert Ops: Pack 2 Drop Ships In On August 2nd

I'm a huge StarCraft fan from way back. I tore through the original games and more recently, StarCraft II Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. I'd thought that would be all of the single player content we'd get from StarCraft II until they announced the Nova Covert Ops missions. They launched the first 3 missions and I was happy to give them a good review. So it's nice to finally know that the next 3 missions are dropping on August 2nd. The game picks up where the last missions left off which continues your search for the terrorist organization, The Defenders of Man. I don't want to say more as that's already a light spoiler for the first three missions but it's sort of akin to saying the Rebellion fights the Empire in Star Wars (spoilers if you haven't seen Star Wars).

As with any official StarCraft campaigns i'll give you my take on it after it launches and I blast through it.

If you want to read my review of the first Nova Covert Ops 3 missions, check that out below.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2878/starcraft-ii-nova-covert-ops-mission-pack-i-review

jdodson1

2759 Posts

Fan Game Pokemon Uranium Finally Launches!

The Latest Star Wars Rogue One Trailer Shows The Rebel Alliance At War

Quakecon 2016 Wrap Up - Prey Reboot and Quake Champions Revealed

Warning To Windows Laptop Gamers - Set Your Windows 10 Power Mode Properly!

Want a New Challenge For Link To The Past? Try The Link To The Past Randomizer!

One Month With the ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH74 Gaming Laptop

Funkmastermp Speeds Through The Original Diablo at AGDQ 2016 in 20:35

The Internet Archive Plays With Power By Putting Each Issue of Nintendo Power Online

One Night in Karazhan And The World's Your Oyster - New Heartstone Adventure Coming August 11th

Nova Covert Ops: Pack 2 Drop Ships In On August 2nd