jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 2D Is An Amazingly Ambitious Fan Project

"OoT 2D is a 2D remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that is styled like ALttP. It has been attempted many times and by many different authors, the first attempt of which was over a decade ago!

This embodiment of OoT 2D will use no already-existing engine and no utilities such as Game Maker. While building it from scratch is slow and old-fashioned, this method of programming will grant full control over everything, resulting in a high-quality product! We hope you all like it!"

Ocarina of Time 2D is a really interesting fan project that seems to be well into development. I tried to download it to run it through some paces but it was taken down on MediaFire due to a Nintendo of America takedown notice. I hope the project lives on as this remake seems to be something i'd love to play. It mashes up the magic of the Link to the Past era graphics with the most beloved entry in the franchise.

http://oot-2d.com/

Unlock Diablo For Free In Heroes Of The Storm

http://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/c2/C2VD7XWGNAPE1439515941762.jpg

If you purchased Diablo 3 and play Heroes of the Storm you might want to head back to unlock something neat. Blizzard is handing out the playable hero Diablo for anyone with a valid Diablo 3 license and all you need to do is log in to Heroes of the Storm before September 8th to claim it.

"Immediately following the next Heroes patch, any player with a Diablo III license on their Battle.net account will receive the Diablo Hero in Heroes of the Storm for free. Simply log in to Heroes of the Storm to claim the Lord of Terror and start unleashing hell on your foes. Don’t wait though— this offer ends at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 8!"

http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/19867266

Shovel Knight Plague Of Shadows Update Gets A Trailer And Is Coming Soon!

When Shovel Knight came to Kickstarter it's amazing retro graphics and fun premise catapulted it to much success. So much so that they hit each stretch goal they set. Yacht Club Games decided to ship the main base game and after the initial launch bring a lot of the stretch goal features later. The in-game stretch goals were the ability to play as 3 bosses, gender swap mode, challenge mode, 4 player battle mode, ability to play all bosses in battle mode & the Linux & Mac ports (already released).

From what I imagine is the first of the playable boss modes, Plague of Shadows is coming as a free update and it looks to be a entirely separate story and play experience than the base Shovel Knight game.

"Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows is a free expansion for Shovel Knight, a sweeping classic action adventure game that won over 70 Game of the Year Awards in 2014. You play as Plague Knight, the villainous master of alchemy, in a quest all his own. Using his maniacal scientific mind, Plague Knight is seeking to concoct Serum Supernus, the Ultimate Potion. However, to retrieve these ingredients, he must extract them from his former allies… the villainous knights of the Order of No Quarter! World class platforming, music, storytelling, and art all return in Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows; an explosive quest with a new play style, new story, new bosses, and more!"

http://yachtclubgames.com/plague-of-shadows/

Diablo 3 Patch 2.3.0 Out Now Featuring Ruins of Sescheron, Kanai's Cube, New Seasons & Difficulty Levels

Blizzard isn't stopping the Diablo 3 update train post Reaper of Souls for a very interesting patch 2.3.0. I'll clip out the more interesting bits we've been talking about in the run up to the patch drop.

"The Ruins of Sescheron
The frozen wasteland that is the Ruins of Sescheron are now open for exploration! Filled with new enemies, traps, and environmental hazards, you'll be able to explore the region and learn more about what befell the barbarians of Mount Arreat. Explore the Immortal Throne and obtain the ultimate treasure: Kanai's Cube.

New Feature: Kanai's Cube
Kanai's Cube is a new artisan that offers a slew of new recipes to fully customize your items and catalogue your Legendary powers. Several recipes are available to players immediately upon acquiring Kanai's Cube.

New Feature: Season Journey
Each player approaches a new Season a little differently and we wanted to celebrate individual player successes. Beginning in Season 4, you'll be able to track your personal progress through the Season Journey interface.

Torment VII-X difficulty levels have been added to the game"

For the lowdown on the new armor sets and full blog post and patch notes check the links below. I think this patch will bring me back to the game to check out the new zone and Cube.

New armor sets in this patch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq-SFJ-eG4M

Full patch blog and notes:

http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/19859662

Mega Man Legacy Collection Blue Bombs It's Way To PC

If you played a few NES platformers you've more than likely played a Mega Man game. Capcom just released Mega Man Legacy Collection for $15 containing the original Mega Man through Mega Man 6! Capcom is advertising these to be faithful reproductions of the originals and to that they are not joking. They seem to be using some kind of NES emulation and like modern emulators offer very nice upscaled 8-bit graphics and original sound.

Six classic games in one – Play a piece of video game history with the original six Mega Man games and experience the origins of the classic series.

8-bit style with HD flair – The games retain their retro 8-bit style with an added HD finish, giving a crisp, clean look to the charming, classic sprites.

Challenge remix mode for new and veteran players – The robust new Challenge Mode remixes gameplay from all six games for a new type of challenge. It provides both increasingly difficult trials for experienced players and also teaches newcomers to become familiar with the style of the games and tackle some of the trickier areas.

Museum of the era – The Museum Mode features a massive repository of history and art collected from the era of the games in this collection. Take a look back at the history of Mega Man with loads of information, high-res art, concept pieces, sketches and more in the Museum.

Developed with an all-new engine – Using the newly developed Eclipse Engine, Capcom and Digital Eclipse are able to archive these six pieces of video game history with faithful reproductions of the originals for a new generation of gamers.

Leaderboards and video replays – Fans will be able to watch video replays of the top players on the leaderboards, showcasing a whole new generation of Mega Man talent!

$15 dollars for all 6 games ain't bad and if you are looking at capping off your collection this might be the way to do it. Let me know if you plan on picking this up or if you are sticking with your ol' NES carts. The Mega Man Legacy Collection is out on PC, XBox One and PS4.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/363440/

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/26/2015 at 07:09pm

I saw this on the Steam news (that window that pops up when you open Steam and it shows you what's on sale), but I overlooked it as I didn't think it contained the original games. Thanks to your post, I decided to go ahead and buy it. I've played some of the NES games, but particularly I remember having one of them for the Gameboy.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/27/2015 at 03:26am

I will probably pick it up in the future. I have too many recent purchases that need some TLC.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/27/2015 at 06:31pm

Yep, me too. I plan on coming back to Mega Man 2 and 3 at some point and when I do will pick this up.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/27/2015 at 08:37pm

I know these games are classics, and the music is iconic, but I wonder how Adult Adam will receive them. I'm sure I'll buy this at some point, but I wonder if Child Adam loved and beat these games because his options were limited. When I run into a difficult section, how many times will I actually replay it, or simply move on to another game?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/27/2015 at 10:58pm

I played a little bit this morning and beat CutMan. I was glad to see that I could use my controller for it. I also noticed that this isn't a simple emulation, but definitely a graphically improved version of the game. What I mean is that in the original game, there were a lot of disappear sprites, but that's not so in this version. I also like that there's an auto-fire button.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/28/2015 at 01:37am

@GregoPeck... That is funny that you say sprites don't disappear. Most of the complaints that I have seen have been around performance issues that were most likely in the game to begin with.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/28/2015 at 03:56am

@Will_Ball, I hope you and others understand what I mean by disappearing sprites. If anyone's played an NES for any length of time, they'll definitely see what I'm talking about. This occurs even if you're using an emulator. However, now that technology has progressed, the game no longer has the same sprite limitations as the original hardware.

Steam says I played 11 minutes of the game. I didn't notice any issues at all. I was able to plug in my XBox 360 controller (which I have only for my PC) even while the game was running and it worked right away. This was a feature I was hoping would be included as I prefer to use a controller for these original NES games. That's because if you use they keyboard, the directional buttons (by default) are used by my right hand, not the left, which I didn't enjoy.

I didn't look at the extra stuff very much, but I think it's great that they provided it; original artwork for example.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/28/2015 at 04:42am

Good to hear it worked well for you Greg. I never actually played the original Mega Man but spent quite a bit of time playing 2 and 3.

All 6 in one pack? Mega Man for ages.

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Watch Adam And I Open 55 Grand Tournament Packs - Spoiler Alert One Of Us Gets Justicar Trueheart

When Adam and I heard there was a new Hearthstone release we started hoarding our daily quest gold. When the Grand Tournament launched today I had enough gold saved for 28 packs and he had 27. Adam had the idea that we stream our opening of our packs and the video linked above turned out way better than I expected.

We start the stream talking about some of the more interesting Grand Tournament cards then proceed to the main event, opening packs. I'd say Adam drew a much larger spread of cards than I did but I ended up pulling Justicar Trueheart. He also pulled two balls of spiders to which I pulled none.

http://www.hearthpwn.com/cards/22276-justicar-trueheart

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/25/2015 at 04:55am

Adam is no longer talking to Jon

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/25/2015 at 04:56am

Just kidding. It was actually a great time. I'll start rebuilding decks tomorrow and see what happens!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2015 at 04:58am

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/25/2015 at 12:20pm

I see a typo in your post, you put "Grant" instead of "Grand".

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2015 at 01:39pm

Fixed.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/25/2015 at 08:19pm

It's still in the URL. LOL

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 09:50pm

Let me know when you have a verdict on on Ball of Spiders. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2015 at 05:19am

I didn't pull a Ball of Spiders so I can't comment on it. What I can so far is that i've been mostly playing Shaman and the new cards are a mixed bag so far. I am still tweaking, but so far they are not a slam dunk or anything. I've had some really fun games but few wins.

My Hunter deck is way more versatile but that needs some more tweaking to get it tuned right.

I can't wait to put together a new Paladin deck.

JaBo wrote on 08/26/2015 at 04:29pm

I did like 40-50 of the mage v. hunter brawl to play with the new cards, and I have been doing arena's now (since I had 1400 gold saved up) and I should be able to just do arenas for quite a long time (for instance, spent 150 to enter arena, got to 8 wins and won back 250 gold plus a pack). It's a fun way to play with the new cards too. There's some that are just really good!

Mukala's Champion, really great guy. I had 2 out at once and just was overpowering. https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/shacknews/assets/editorial/2015/08/Hearthstone_MuklasChampion.jpg

Lock and Load hunter card was great, I'm def feeling some more powerful burst hunter deck coming

Almost all the new priest cards I love! Those dmg to self and heal ones are great for my heal trigger combo deck. And the legendary is a fun late game card.

This card is bonkers: https://i.imgur.com/Rls4NIJ.jpg I got it an arena match and just cast it ASAP! Boom, whole deck/hand +1/+1.

Boy, so refreshing! Warlock, Shaman, even Rogue looks fun now!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/26/2015 at 05:37pm

I'm enjoying the Tournament Medic in my Warlock deck. Especially when paired with Floating Watcher
http://hearthstone.blizzpro.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/07/Tournament-Medic.png
http://wow.zamimg.com/images/hearthstone/cards/enus/animated/GVG_100_premium.gif?9786

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/28/2015 at 04:41am

I played the Mistcaller in a Brawl match and i'll agree, it is a bonkers card.

I didn't pull a Mukala's Champ but I am seriously considering crafting it.

JaBo wrote on 08/28/2015 at 08:01pm

I'm at 9 original packs, 6 GvG, 4 arena packs and 735 coins to still do more arena with. I'll keep playing until I'm spent then finally bust open packs. I like waiting til there's 10+ as I feel good that I'll at least get 1 card I'm interested in lol

Travis Admin wrote on 08/30/2015 at 06:08pm

So is this expansion only adds new cards, like Goblins vs. Gnomes, right? And expansions are separate from adventures, like Naxxaramas and Blackrock?

I'm getting back into it a little for the first time since right after release. Just unlocked all the different decks, and wow I suck.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2015 at 09:45pm

Hahaha yeah, sucking at start is perfectly normal. I had a post for new players a bit back. Check that out.

The Grand Tournament is a new expansion and not an adventure.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/31/2015 at 12:35am

I'm not entirely sure what adventures are yet, but I definitely know what an expansion is from my time in Magic the Gathering.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/31/2015 at 04:56am

Adventures contain 5 tiers of boss fights where you can unlock specific cards. So far there are just two adventures, Naxxramas and Blackrock Mountain. You can pay $25 for each adventure or unlock each tier 700 gold at a time.

JaBo wrote on 08/31/2015 at 06:01pm

I opened my 27 packs that I accumulated and got 3 legendaries and enough dust to craft another legendary. I then bought 30 packs and got 1 more legendary. So, back to ladder now that I got some of the good new cards. I only have 2 legendary GT cards. The Justicar I pulled (and I like using) and I crafted the priest chick for funs. http://i.imgur.com/vnHeEty.jpg

Was torn between her and this one http://media-hearth.cursecdn.com/avatars/252/298/22264.png

A neutral legendary is always nicer, but Priest is my fav so I went there.

9 mana gets me her plus a random legendary. I never play her without mana to heal same turn.

JaBo wrote on 08/31/2015 at 06:02pm

Oh also, Murloc Knight is best new card... get 2 and use asap

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/31/2015 at 08:39pm

I've heard that about the Knight and I agree. I pulled one and will craft the other. Murladdin is a very cool new deck type.

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Hearthstone The Grand Tournament Out Now - Inspired Minions Rejoce

I've been spending the last month plus saving up my gold to open Grand Tournament packs and I can't wait for tonight to open them. One of my friends is coming over and we plan to open the packs together and stream it for anyone interested. Please let me know in the comments what cards you've pulled and any new decks you are playing with.

"Joyous fanfare fills the air of taverns everywhere today, which can only mean one thing—Hearthstone’s second expansion, The Grand Tournament, has arrived! Experience all The Grand Tournament has to offer: 132 new cards add a cavalry of noble knights, powerful steeds, potent spells, and more to your collection. A new keyword, Inspire, rallies minions to perform great acts of courage as they fight in your honor for a hard-earned victory!"

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19843158/the-grand-tournament%E2%84%A2-now-available-8-24-2015

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/24/2015 at 08:07pm

I'm looking forward to getting some interesting cards! I've played one battle against someone with an Inspire card, but they didn't get a chance to use it (they played it the turn before I won). I think this next week is going to be really interesting as everyone is going to be experimenting with new deck combos!

Bina wrote on 08/24/2015 at 10:40pm

Take a look:
http://2p.com/35698954_1/All-Remaining-TGT-Cards-Revealed---See-54-Brand-New-Cards-by-Corey_T.htm

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/24/2015 at 11:16pm

That's going to be a super helpful link! I want to be surprised tonight when I open my packs, but I'll be coming back to that link to check what I still need!

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 01:28am

I'm still trying to unlock all of nexxramas, so I'm saving my gold for that. I did, however, allow myself to use my gold to purchase one GT pack. Here's what I opened:
Spellslinger x2 (mage class)
Murloc Knight (paladin class)
Bolster (warrior class)
Armored Warhorse (neutral)

I don't think any of these cards fit with my current builds. Next month when I start opening more GT packs, we'll see how they work out.

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 01:41am

Justicar Trueheart- Play with mage class. As we saw with the GT brawl prerelease, doing two damage per turn never gets old. And combo with some of the other mage class cards, this ability gets insane.

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 01:52am

Tournament Medic may be broken when added to Warlock deck. Starting turn 5 draw an extra card without losing health!

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 02:03am

Spawn of Shadows paired with Greater Heal. You deal 4 damage to both heros then heal yourself for 4.
Fallen Hero!! Money. All the way.
Ball of Spiders. It might not be the best, but it's really fun. It's essentially deal three damage and draw three beast cards for six.

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 02:24am

Powershot is crazy useful. Similar to Betrayal.
Sparing Partner is great. Great cost for what it does.
Ancestral Knowledge is only good if you benefit from overload. Otherwise terrible.
My priest deck is going to love Holy Champion.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/25/2015 at 03:26am

Opened 27 packs tonight! I'm going to have to go through these more before I can really comment, but it was a lot of fun seeing all the new stuff!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2015 at 04:56am

Yeah, i'm not in love with ancestral knowledge either. But it's at least some kind of card ramp I suppose?

I agree about Fallen Hero, when wouldn't that be a good card to put in a Mage deck?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2015 at 04:57am

I am thinking the Murloc Knight might be a good card to put into a Paladin Deck. I have a few Murloc cards so it might be worth experimenting with.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/25/2015 at 05:04am

We have to think up cool deck names before others (like zoolock).

I suggest Murladin!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2015 at 02:02pm

Here is a video of someone going lethal with a refreshment vendor because they have the card that makes healing cause damage.

http://gfycat.com/AmbitiousSparklingBison#

Bina wrote on 08/25/2015 at 09:48pm

@jdod That video is too much fun. I watched it on loop about 3 times.

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Half-Line Miami Is a Unique Half-life / Hotline Miami Fan Mashup

Do you love Half-life AND Hotline Miami and ever wonder what a mashup between them would be like? If you are like me then then answer is whaaaa? but that doesn't mean that Thomas Kole's latest game isn't something worth checking out. Half-line Miami is available to download on PC for free, just hit the link below. Or should you bludgeon the link below with a crowbar? It's up to you.

http://stabberthomas.itch.io/hlm

What Were The Limitations Of Old School Video Game Hardware And How Did Developers Overcome Them?

YouTuber The iBook Guy posted a two-part video outlining how developers of retro video games side stepped the hardware limitations. iBook Guy talks about old hardware RAM limitations of 16k, 32k and 64k and how the developers used certain spriting techniques to give us the awesome games we grew up with. In many cases I didn't know they had those limitations to work with so after watching the video I have a new appreciation for how difficult old games were to make.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/24/2015 at 01:05am

I'm assuming you found this on Facebook, since I tagged CheerfulGhost in a post I was tagged in. =) This was particularlly interesting to me because my first computer was a Commodore 128D. It's fascinating how engineers were able to make colorful images on screen despite the limitations at the time. An artist made a really awesome picture using that old tech.

Even though ANSI and ASCII weren't discussed, I'm reminded of a funny quote I saw many years ago, "ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI." LOL

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/24/2015 at 01:05am

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2015 at 03:53am

I think I find this in a retro blog I am subscribed to? It may have been Facebook.

I played quite a few games on DOS that used ANSI graphics. I actually think they are pretty cool looking but I am also very old

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Did You Know ILM Has A VR Lab?

Disney/ILM is researching new forms of entertainment with VR and it's pretty interesting to see how they utilize the hardware. The thought of a VR Star Wars film is interesting but I am not entirely certain of how awesome it would be. I imagine someday I might be reading this and thinking my fears quaint but I don't know if it's obvious to anyone how a traditional film would work in VR. Not to say I wouldn't want to experience that at some point. Perhaps they will offer a 2D and VR experience for future films so you can watch it as you'd like?

jdodson1

2755 Posts

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 2D Is An Amazingly Ambitious Fan Project

Unlock Diablo For Free In Heroes Of The Storm

Shovel Knight Plague Of Shadows Update Gets A Trailer And Is Coming Soon!

Diablo 3 Patch 2.3.0 Out Now Featuring Ruins of Sescheron, Kanai's Cube, New Seasons & Difficulty Levels

Mega Man Legacy Collection Blue Bombs It's Way To PC

Watch Adam And I Open 55 Grand Tournament Packs - Spoiler Alert One Of Us Gets Justicar Trueheart

Hearthstone The Grand Tournament Out Now - Inspired Minions Rejoce

Half-Line Miami Is a Unique Half-life / Hotline Miami Fan Mashup

What Were The Limitations Of Old School Video Game Hardware And How Did Developers Overcome Them?

Did You Know ILM Has A VR Lab?