jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Watch 64 Floppy Drives Play The Star Wars Main Theme

The Floppotron is an impressive creation built from hacked floppy drives and other old PC hardware to create musical tones and then made to work together to recreate the Star Wars main theme.

Can General Solo get these people a medal?

"How does it work? The principle is simple. Every device with an electric motor is able to generate a sound. Scanners and floppy drives use stepper motors to move the head with sensors which scans the image or performs read/write operations on a magnetic disk. The sound generated by a motor depends on driving speed. The higher the frequency, the greater the pitch. Hard disks use a magnet and a coil to tilt the head. When voltage is supplied for long enough, the head speeds up and hits the bound making the „drum hit” sound. The disk head coil can also be used as a speaker to play tones or even music, but… that would be too easy and too obvious.

Every column of 8 floppy drives is connected to one 8-channel controller built on ATMega16 microcontroller. One controller acts as one voice with envelope simulation – the higher the volume, the more drives are playing. This allows to make ADSR-like shape and simulate a musical instrument, like a piano (exponential decay) or string instrument (sine, vibrato). "

We Finally Have A Good Picture Of What Happened To StarCraft: Ghost

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starcraft/images/0/0d/SC-G_Logo1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080508203154

Polygon has a really great article that covers the history of the infamous Blizzard game StarCraft: Ghost. Ghost was a game that was aimed at consoles and featured stealth gameplay starring the Ghost character Nova. I remember hearing quite a big of buzz about the game and as with many upcoming Blizzard games, I was really interested in playing it. Eventually Blizzard stopped talking about the game entirely and then we found out the game wasn't in active development but never properly cancelled. Up until now we didn't know much as to why the game was scrapped but Polygon has a very well written article that covers the story of Ghost from conception to it changing hands to an entirely new team.

"The story of StarCraft: Ghost is a complicated one that spans two development studios, a buyout by Blizzard and declarations that, even though no work was being done on the game, it was never technically canceled. Polygon recently spoke with nine developers involved to look back at the project.

"StarCraft: Ghost was in the wrong place at the wrong time," says James Goddard, a fighting game veteran who worked on Ghost for years.
"

http://www.polygon.com/2016/7/5/11819438/starcraft-ghost-what-went-wrong

Mighty No. 9 Stands Trial In The Latest Episode Of Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Recently Mighty No. 9 launched to very mixed reviews. Some Kickstarter backers didn't get the correct game codes for the platforms they pledged to and many more experienced some unfortunate game glitches at launch. In one of his latest videos, Cygnus Destroyer runs Mighty No. 9 through the Innocent and Proven Guilty courtroom and I found his verdict fair. As a fan of the original Mega Man series I had high hopes for Mighty No. 9 but I had mixed feelings about picking it up until I saw this video.

Starbound Finally Leaves Orbit To 1.0 July 22nd!

http://playstarbound.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/sb_releasedate_facebook.png

Chucklefish is finally releasing Starbound 1.0 coming July 22nd. After making a huge early access splash, Chucklefish hit a few snags with some pretty large delays and as such garnered some community backlash. I am happy to see the game finally hit this milestone and as such am really eager to play it in it's final form.

"In case you missed it, Starbound is coming out of Early Access on 22 July, 2016.

After ~5 years, the game we set out to make finally exists, and to say that it all feels a bit surreal would be a massive understatement!

While Starbound will be finished in two weeks, this isn’t the end. We will continue to update and support Starbound for as long as we can. We’ve got loads of cool ideas we couldn’t fit into 1.0 but hope to put into future updates.

Thanks again for all your support over the years! You’ve stuck with us, and it means so much."

Travis Admin wrote on 07/09/2016 at 05:19am

I almost can't believe it! I have been waiting it out, but I'm stoked about playing the gold release.

I do wonder about those features that didn't quite make 1.0. I wonder what's in store.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/09/2016 at 06:11am

I thought of reporting that as I found that news earlier. :)

hardeyez wrote on 07/09/2016 at 07:56am

I played through so many versions of it that it feels more like Starbound 13.0.... but there hasn't been a new stable in a loooong time, so I'm looking forward to it again

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/10/2016 at 03:41am

I played it quite a bit at launch and then checked it out one or two times after that. It always got better but it didn't seem to hit the level of greatness I expected it to. Since then lots has happened to the base game and I am really looking forward to checking it out and seeing how the base game works with the new story mode and quests.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/10/2016 at 04:32am

I've played it a few times. The first time wasn't too impressive as there wasn't much to do, but it got better. I ran into some bugs, too. Now I'm itching to play again. It's very tempting, but I'm afraid if I do then I won't be as excited about 1.0 by the time the 22nd rolls around. Recently, I decided to check up on Starbound's news and that's when I found out about the 1.0 date. Initially my favorite race to play was the Avians, but then I played some Novakids and enjoyed them, too. I'm interested in finding out what's changed since I last played. I imagine, at least, there's a lot more quests now. I don't know if I played it after they introduced pets though.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/21/2016 at 10:44pm

Finally an update! "Starbound will launch tomorrow at 10am PST / 6pm GMT"
http://playstarbound.com/starbound-1-0-steam-workshop/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/22/2016 at 03:55pm

Wow. It's launching today. I hope it's really fun.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/22/2016 at 06:14pm

Launched! I played for a bit, it definitely seems different right from the start. There never was a story or an intro mission when I played before. A lot has changed since I last played. I watched the trailer, too, and it looks like a whole lot has been added. I'm glad the wait is over. There's probably more to come in the years ahead, too.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/22/2016 at 07:41pm

This will be the mod that makes the game infinitely better:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cn_f2DGUsAABnvx.jpg:large

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/24/2016 at 04:46am

https://youtu.be/KnsiZOJjfUg

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Today I Learned Diablo Was Released On The Original Playstation

After Diablo became a huge success on PC, Blizzard partnered with EA to port it to the original Playstation. This bit of retro knowledge wasn't something I was aware of until I saw RetroSnow's recent review of Playstation Diablo. From his review, the port seems to be very well done if not a bit dark in certain levels. It's nice to see Diablo III make a strong comeback on modern consoles and if you have a PS3, PS4, 360 or XBone I seriously recommend you download the Diablo III demo to see how well it plays.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/05/2016 at 12:47am

I have Diablo III for PS4, and I almost hate to say it (almost), but I think I prefer it there than on PC. Of course, Diablo is much better suited for console play than some of their other games, but even then, they did an amazing job with the console builds (for the PS4, at least).

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/05/2016 at 01:04am

I'm relatively a newb when it comes to Diablo, I didn't start playing until the third game. That said, I was surprised to hear familiar music and see Tristram in this video. I really enjoyed Diablo III, which makes it a tempting game to get on a console. I'm glad that it does well on there and that Scrypt amazingly says he thinks he prefers it on the PS4 instead of the PC. Wow!

Travis Admin wrote on 07/05/2016 at 03:05pm

Yeah they use some of the same themes throughout the series. The Tristram you see in this game is the destroyed Tristram thats a little outside of New Tristram in Diablo III. I *think* some events at the end of the first Diablo destroyed it, but it may have been something that happens off-screen between the first and second games. I honestly don't remember.

Or alternatively: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8rFnefnKhA

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/05/2016 at 04:34pm

Hahaha

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/06/2016 at 03:13am

That's awesome :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/06/2016 at 04:47am

That's awesome. Dorkly makes some really cool videos.

hardeyez wrote on 07/09/2016 at 08:01am

Yeah, the playstation version was pretty fun, but not quite as good as the pc... for Diablo 3, I really like the console version especially the local multiplayer and the dodge roll mechanic

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/10/2016 at 04:10am

Yeah, up until loot 2.0 and Reaper of Souls on PC I thought the console game was __WAY__ better but then the PC got most of the updates exception the dodge roll. That said, the console port is pretty darn good and the ability to couch co-op is pretty awesome.

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The History Of Doom

I recently found a video that catalogs the history of Doom and also briefly discusses iD Software. I've posted videos before talking about iD Software but this is a bit different in that it mostly covers Doom, it's origins and the most recent Doom 2016 installment. Not a huge amount of new information here but if you don't know the story of Doom, this is a very good way to get it.

Summer Games Done Quick Speedrunning Charity Starts On July 3rd

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HkF2Oe1-t9cXBzT7-xOQBJqoBHY=/0x103:1015x674/1280x720/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48535861/Screen_Shot_2016-01-10_at_11.31.05_AM.0.0.png

Speedrunning charity stream Summer Games Done Quick will be blasting through the gaming stream-o-sphere starting July 3rd @ 9.30am and wrapping up on the 9th. As with every year, the game speedrunning lineup is a buffet of classic retro titles and many hot new modern titles such as Goonies II, Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening DX, BioShock, Dishonored, Hexen and Fallout 4.

I've created an Event you can join to add to you calendar to remind you of the event or just queue it up on Twitch starting July 3rd. As with every year there will be some great speedruns of this event and i'll share the ones I really enjoy. Let me know if you plan on watching and what games you are going to tune in for!

Summer Games Done Quick is supporting the Doctors Without Borders Charity and it's a very special one and well worth you considering making a donation during the event!

"Every year, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides emergency medical care to millions of people caught in crises in more than 60 countries around the world. MSF provides assistance when catastrophic events—such as armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, or natural disasters—overwhelm local health systems. MSF also assists people who face discrimination or neglect from their local health systems or when populations are otherwise excluded from health care."

https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule
https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick

The Entire BioShock Saga Is Coming September 13th!

"Relive the depths of Rapture and sail through Columbia in BioShock: The Collection! Remastered for current-gen, this edition includes all three #BioShock games, complete with all single-player DLC and a never-before-seen video series with commentary from Ken Levine. Available September 13, 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC."

If you haven't jumped into BioShock yet this upcoming collection will be a great time to do so. Whereas the original game didn't sit as well with me as others, I thought BioShock Infinite and both DLC missions were incredible. If you enjoy heady sci-fi games with compelling stories, characters and gameplay or simply want to head back and experience Rapture again, the BioShock Collection drops September 13th on PC, XBone & PS4.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/02/2016 at 04:20am

It's also worth noting that, like Skyrim, if you own these on PC already you'll get the remaster for free.

There's a Steam sale going on, what are you waiting for?

Travis Admin wrote on 07/02/2016 at 04:21am

I'll also add, on a more personal note, that I count the original Bioshock as one of my favorite games. In retrospect I don't think Infinite was close to topping it, even though I also count Infinite as one of my favorites.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/02/2016 at 05:52am

> It's also worth noting that, like Skyrim, if you own these on PC already you'll get the remaster for free.

So since I already own BioShock, Infinite and all the DLC i'll get this for free? If so, sounds good to me! I'd like the extra behind the scenes content!

Travis Admin wrote on 07/02/2016 at 01:43pm

Yep! If you want the Minerva's Den DLC for Bioshock 2 you have to have the game and the DLC.

But there's actually no change for Infinite. It's not getting the remaster treatment, it's just being included with the others. It's already shiny enough apparently. So if you have Infinite on PC you already have everything they're shipping for that one.

If you look at the announcement page, the behind-the-scenes stuff is just for the original Bioshock.

https://blog.2k.com/news/bioshock-the-collection-announcement

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/02/2016 at 02:28pm

To clarify, no change for Infinite on the PC, but it is being remastered for Xbox One and PS4. PC is just so powerful!

This is pretty exciting! All the Bioshocks, shiny and snug together. The director's commentary and Museum of Orphaned Concepts look most interesting. I haven't played through Bioshock since I completed it when it came out, and I never played through Bioshock 2, even though it's sitting, sadly, in my Steam library.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/02/2016 at 03:33pm

Yes, I meant specifically in Jon's case, but should have worded that better.

Bioshock 2 is also sitting in my Steam library, with like 2 hours of play time. It's not that it was bad, it just didn't grab me the way the first did. I still owe it a chance I suppose.

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All Of A Sudden, Game/Show Ends

After Game/Show launched I posted quite a few episodes to Cheerful Ghost because I liked the style of the show and what it had to say. Today I watched the latest episode that sort of just let us all know the show was over using a title roll and series of clips. Not that everything that ends needs to wave goodbye, but this doesn't seem like the shows style and I wonder what the story here is?

All that said, Game/Show had a really solid two year run and like many I appreciated it's perspective and what it added to the discussion.

*waves goodbye*

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/02/2016 at 02:34am

I'm probably in the minority (or maybe not, what with the cancellation), but Game/Show wasn't my favorite. LOT's of hyperbole, and I felt like Jamin's arguments were often contrived, to the point of being irrelevant ("Is Halo 5 For Old People?", "Is Jonathan Blow Gaming's Einstein?").

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/02/2016 at 03:03am

Oh man, interesting.

I saw this video in my subscriptions, but hadn't watched it yet. I'm not a huge fan either (only really enjoyed a few of the episodes), but it's still a little sad to see it go.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/02/2016 at 03:08am

scrypt: They used hyperbole for sure. My thinking as to why is because hyperbole can often get attention and start a discussion, where something more reasoned may not. It's not my style most of the time, but I can see it's use from time to time.

Once the video was going, did you find the arguments to contain the same kind of hyperbolic themes? It seemed they chilled some, but often the arguments seemed somewhat simple.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/02/2016 at 04:19am

"hyperbole can often get attention and start a discussion"

It's like the old joke about Linux forums. If you go in and explain your problem, you won't get any answers, but if you go in and say "Linux sucks, it can't even do [thing you're trying to do]" then you'll get a ton of explanations and fixes from people defending it.

Hyperbole gets attention and starts discussions for the wrong reason, but it definitely does get attention and start a discussion.

I have no strong opinion on the show though. I liked the first couple episodes and then, for no reason I can immediately convey, I just lost interest.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/02/2016 at 05:31am

I don't know, I feel like the arguments relied on bent facts that only served to reinforce the title of the videos. I lost respect for him when I felt like I had to do the research for him after each show I watched. Not like his arguments stirred me to look deeper into a subject, rather I felt like he kept missing the point, and then missing the facts that would have supported a more grounded topic. In those cases where I bothered to let it push me, I actually learned more in spite of what was presented, not because of it (and that's not a good thing). I almost wish there was an Onion-like satire to Game/Show. That would have been entertaining. However, trying to start seemingly intelligent conversations by catering to people who have no attention span seems like a completely futile and frustrating endeavor. I watch another show called The Know, and they have similar tactics with their headlines (as do most game news sites these days), and it just gets boring. It's like they're not even trying to be creative anymore. Just say something bat-shit crazy, and people will click.

I'm being pretty harsh, and maybe the show wasn't intended for me. I like smart conversation, and topics that run deeper than surface fodder, but I also feel like there are enough interesting things in the gaming world to discuss without having to make things up.

Having said all that, I really do wish Jamin well with his next project, whatever that may be. He has a unique voice, and at the very least I'll be interested to see where he goes from here.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/02/2016 at 05:46am

> Having said all that, I really do wish Jamin well with his next project, whatever that may be. He has a unique voice, and at the very least I'll be interested to see where he goes from here.

Yep, me too. And it was a PBS project so I wonder if we will see more gaming content from them?

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Dolphin 5.0 Swims In The Impressively Murky Seas Of Emulation

If you've ever played a GameCube or Wii game you owned in Dolphin you know it can at times be both very good and at times strange. The upscaling ability of Dolphin on Wii and GameCube games is well worth the price of admission alone as experiencing these classic titles in HD is incredible. For me, my classic hardware sometimes breaks so I try and backup all my games so I can play them on my PC. Recently Dolphin released 5.0 which is a notable milestone in that it optimizes for speed and also makes many games run much better than they did before.

"The long awaited Dolphin 5.0 release is finally here! After nearly a year of bug-hunting and handling the release process, everything has come together for our biggest release yet! The three previous releases followed a very distinct pattern: sacrifice performance, hacks, and features in exchange for higher accuracy. As such, Dolphin 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 progressively grew slower. But thanks to the cleanups put forward throughout those releases, Dolphin 5.0 is the fastest Dolphin has ever been!

By removing all of those hacks and outdated features while cleaning up the codebase, Dolphin has reached a new level of efficiency, powered by a revitalized dynamic recompiler. On the GPU side, OpenGL and D3D11 have seen tons of optimizations and accuracy improvements, and have been joined by a brand new D3D12 backend for huge performance gains. If there's a CPU or GPU extension that can make Dolphin faster, we take advantage of it."

https://dolphin-emu.org/

jdodson1

2762 Posts

Watch 64 Floppy Drives Play The Star Wars Main Theme

We Finally Have A Good Picture Of What Happened To StarCraft: Ghost

Mighty No. 9 Stands Trial In The Latest Episode Of Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Starbound Finally Leaves Orbit To 1.0 July 22nd!

Today I Learned Diablo Was Released On The Original Playstation

The History Of Doom

Summer Games Done Quick Speedrunning Charity Starts On July 3rd

The Entire BioShock Saga Is Coming September 13th!

All Of A Sudden, Game/Show Ends

Dolphin 5.0 Swims In The Impressively Murky Seas Of Emulation