jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012
  Admin

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2761 Posts

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable S2 E4: BioShock Infinite
In this episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we are talking all about BioShock Infinite. This episode is special in that it features the guys from Sleep Ninja Games making the upcoming Indie awesomery, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake. We talk a little about what we've been playing, what we are drinking and I do a quick Q&A about how Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake development is going.

We then tear into a rabid discussion about the amazingness that is BioShock Infinite. I warn you as with things we love, we have some critiques of it. Put your nerd-fi hats on, this episode clocks in at a whopping 2+ hours. And really, did you want it any other way?

What We are Playing & Drinking

  • 1.00m alex: Dark Souls 2

  • 1.25m scrypt: BioShock Infinite & Angvick

  • 2.50m justin: Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze & Papers Please


Monsters Ate my Birthday Cake

  • 4.20m How is development of the game going?

  • 5:15 What they are working on with the game right now?


BioShock Infinite [Spoiler Free]

  • 8.30m What is BioShock Infinite?

  • 9.20m A quick overview of our thoughts on the game.

  • 18.00m Should people play the original BioShock first?

  • 20.30m Our thoughts on the game mechanics and Elizabeth.

  • 29.05m How does BioShock Infinite work as a shooter?

  • 43.23m How did the length of the game feel to us?


BioShock Infinite Story[!!SPOILERS!!]

  • 51.10m The game brought up issues of racism, classism and religion

  • 105.50m Something really spoilery about Elizabeth and Booker

  • 120.20m Something really spoilerrific about Booker

  • 132.40m The Songbird was a pretty big part of the story

  • 153.00m The ending of the game



Want to know more about Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake?

http://sleepninjagames.com/mambc/

Read our interview(s) with them while you are at it:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1887
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/919

New Blizzard Video Shows Off The Huge Diablo 2.0.2 Update
If you are still a bit hazy as to what the new Diablo III 2.0.2 patch contains, Blizzard made a pretty cool video explaining the big points. Diablo III 2.0.2 is pretty much a new game and if you have Diablo III and haven't checked it out, I seriously recommend you do.

You can read about the entire set of Diablo III 2.0.2 changes here:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/12671560/

Crawl: An Upcoming Multiplayer Dungeon Crawler
After hearing that Crawl hit Steam Greenlight today I decided to watch the trailer. The Indie scene is packed with current and upcoming pixel based hack-n-slashes but the Crawl trailer really got me interested. Crawl seems to focus on multiplayer and part of that is you taking your turn being the bad guy. Looks like you can use whatever is at your disposal to take down the "good guy" and then after you kill them take your turn as the good guy while everyone else tries to kill you. Seems like a really unique take on some FPS modes like "Last Man Standing" or "Mutant."

Take a minute to watch the trailer and if you like what you see, give it an upvote on Greenlight.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=230002412

Escape Goat 2 Beta: Puzzle Based Platforming Done Right
I am pretty excited to be part of the Escape Goat 2 beta. If you haven't played the original Escape Goat, I recommend you head to Steam and check it out. I have only played the first few levels of Escape Goat 2 and so far it already exceeds my expectations for a sequel. I really liked the pixel art quality of the original but find the hand drawn nature of Escape Goat 2 to be more to my liking. In fact, every element of Escape Goat 2 seems way more polished from the original. The play control, levels and game pacing all seem to be much tighter this time around.

If you are curious how the new game looks and plays, I made a quick video above showing off the first few levels. So far my testing has only been of the Mac version as they are ironing out some kinks on the Linux version. The game plays very well with keyboard and mouse and shines with the XBox 360 controller.

I am not sure when Escape Goat 2 will launch but when it does, I'll let you know.

If you are curious to read our interview with the creator of Escape Goat and Escape Goat 2:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1687

Prison Architect Alpha 18: Reform Programs & Tazers
"It’s been another massive month, with several major successes. This month we tackled one of our big end game features : prisoner reform. You can now run prisoner reform programs which aim to train, educate and reform your inmates. Reform programs are expensive to run, take a long time to complete, and the success rates are often very low unless your prisoners are very well taken care of. Some bring substantial benefits to your prison and the inmates that take part, others are a longer term investment in your prisoners that may provide little short term benefit.

We have continued to expand the armoury originally introduced in alpha 17. You can now unlock tazers for your armed guards, and eventually issue them to all the guards and dog handlers in your prison. These are non lethal weapons that instantly incapacitate a prisoner without causing any damage, however they can only be fired once before needing a full hour to recharge. Perfect when a prisoner is smashing up his cell, not so great when outnumbered in a riot. We have also added new stab vests to the armoury, which give your guards extra protection in a fight, but slow down their movement as well."

Prison Architect is trimming up to be one of the more elaborate and fun sim games i've played in quite some time. I really enjoy how they add to the feature pool of the game for very specific reasons that don't detract from the overall game itself.

http://forums.introversion.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=47478

Game/Show: What Makes NPC's Great?
"NPCs (non-playable characters) are a massively important part of the gaming experience, so we thought we'd show our love and appreciation. Though they're fictional computer-generated characters, we often develop real feelings for these beings. Sure, they serve functional roles, guiding you through the game. But their presence and personality can allow us to form strong bonds and real emotions, leading us to truly care about their wellbeing. So which NPCs are our favorites?"

What NPC's have stuck with you over time?

Nintendo to Drop Wii & DS Online Game Support May 20th
Nintendo will be shuttering online play for its Wii and DS games on May 20th. They are keeping online game support for the Wii U and 3DS however. Whereas I wasn't a huge consumer of the Wii online play, I did use it and find it say they are shuttering it.

Nintendo generally does right by its customers, but this is a bit disappointing. I understand it's impossible to keep a service going forever but in the face of companies like Blizzard still providing Battle.net support for Starcraft, one wonders why everyone can't do the same thing.

There are rumblings that Nintendo farmed out the online functionality to Gamespy and that this has to due with a recent acquisition of Gamespy by another company.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/support/information/2014/0227.html

Huge Diablo III Loot 2.0 Update Dropped Today
http://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/XNTDTRI2WF0A1393390353921.jpg
If you have Diablo III I seriously recommend you check out the update Blizzard dropped today. Diablo III 2.0.1 adds the new Loot 2.0 system, difficulty system, cursed events, class updates, monster and boss updates, crafting updates, paragon 2.0, pools of reflection & clans and communities.

In fact you should join the Diablo III: Cheerful Ghost clan too. Do a clan search for "Cheerful Ghost" and when I join the game next, i'll add you.

The update took a while as Diablo III had to move a few files around and download over 8 gigs of updates. After the process was over I loaded the game to an entirely new screen and was presented with a very different set of game menus. I like the new system and noticed it's mostly all from the console version of the game.

After playing a bit with my old class the game seemed more fun. The only things that dropped were yellow and blue items and I got some really great stuff I could use right away. One HUGE problem with the original Diablo III was the loot that dropped was nearly all worthless, with the new loot 2.0 system a ton of what dropped I could use.

Overall, I really enjoy the new Diablo III 2.0.1 patch and if you walked away from it originally, I recommend you check it out. I am going to step away from the game to play it fresh when Reaper of Souls launches. If you have played Diablo III 2.0.1 what are your thoughts?

http://us.battle.net//d3/en/blog/13071930

Playing Through Portal 2 Co-Op
http://i.imgur.com/3GyH6Rq.jpg
Recently I decided to play through Portal 2 again and afterward wanted more to play. Originally when I played Portal 2 it was such a great experience I felt no draw to play the co-op missions. The Portal 2 co-op missions take place directly after the single player story is complete and feature Atlas and P-body, two testing robots sent forth by GLaDOS. I asked Travis if he wanted to play the co-op missions and he was happy to oblige. Tonight we started through the missions together and I am happy to say, it was lots of fun.

Portal 2 co-op reminds me more of the original Portal than anything. The co-op game focuses way more on straight testing than story which make sense. Since there are two players the testing chambers get a bit more complicated quicker and we had to spend some time getting certain jump puzzles right. I love jumping through the air and if you love that too, you should play the co-op missions.

We never ran into anything we couldn't figure out but I imagine the chambers are going to get harder. During our first session together we completed the intro, first and second levels.

The game's story is pretty good but my only point of note is that it isn't as sharp as the main Portal 2 campaign. GLaDOS is still her vengeful self but the game misses something in the back and forth she has with Chell(the human character featured in the main Portal and Portal 2 campaigns).

If you have the ability to play Portal 2 split-screen on a console or with a friend over the Internet I seriously recommend it. Doesn't everyone love testing?

Starbound: More Information On Improving Player Progression
http://i.imgur.com/VVyNfVi.jpg
"As we said before, the current progression is entirely temporary, existing to provide temporary gameplay whilst we work on the engine. Today I want to share more with you about the games new structure and the beginning of the game.

First of all we’re removing the different universe sectors. In the final game there will be only three sectors. The sector the majority of the game takes place in, a pvp sector and a creative sector without dangers.

Instead of progressing through the game sector by sector, you’ll advance by upgrading your tech to allow you to visit planets that were otherwise inaccessible due to hazards. An example being a planet with no breathable air. Progression will be less linear and more akin to the kind of progression you find in modern metroidvanias.

We’re building the game with 3 main paths of progression that branch off later on. Farming, adventuring and building. We want players to be able to advance through the game whilst doing whatever they enjoy most.

At the beginning of the game (what would be the alpha sector in the current progression) you start on a ship with a broken fuel module, giving you access to only one planet. Through a series of quests you’re taught how to farm, find trophies in dungeons and build the beginnings of a settlement. Completing these quests will give you the pixels you need to use your ships 3d printer to produce a new fuel module. Which in turn allows progression to the other planets in your current solar system.

At this stage were introducing a new planet type called an outpost. A small and safe planet populated by members of every race. A safe haven for trade and quest taking. You’ll learn how to generate pixels through selling crops, taking quests, selling trophies found in dungeons and renting out houses in your settlement.

From here each of these roles will expand outwards as you progress (for example animal farming becomes an optional part of the farming progression)."

Really looking forward to see the games progression change. Whereas the core mechanics can be fun, the main game progression with sectors seemed very arbitrary. I like the natural progression where you would need to get a breathing system to make it to a planet with no oxygen. I only hope that certain races wouldn't need that as the Glitch really don't need oxygen as they are robots.

I can't wait to see some of these changes make it to the core game and also have the game get way less buggy. I recently started my game and all my chests disappeared including my ship locker. I know it's still early beta, but it's still not great to have that happen. Hopefully things iron out a bit more and we enter a pretty bug free part of the beta.

Curious how long it might be for them to hit 1.0. At this pace it seems like it might be end of 2014 or .. beyond?

http://playstarbound.com/23rd-february/