jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Star Wars The Force Awakens Behind The Scenes Roundup

The Force Awakens was the biggest movie launch in 2015 and as such there is going to be many behind the scenes videos about it. I've seen some really interesting stuff and wanted to share those with you. The first one shared above is a short about the Holochess easter egg in The Force Awakens. It was filmed using a very similar stop motion animation style and people connected with the original film to give the scene the authentic feel they were going for. YouTube channel Tested also did a separate video where they interviewed everyone involved with the Holochess scene and it covers much of the stuff in the official video above but is from a slightly different perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sexd06I8mzg

Finally FX Guide TV did a very interesting short on the practical and CG effects in The Force Awakens. There is a metric junkload of CG shots in The Force Awakens but it is used very well alongside quite a lot of practical. It's nice to see the discussion and have them talk a bit about how complicated some of these shots were to get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G42oiW2EosU

Hearthstone Dailies For Ghosts: Episode 2 Final Tier of Blackrock Mountain

In this episode of Hearthstone Dailies for Ghosts I grind up to 700 gold to unlock the last tier of Blackrock Mountain. Am I able to defeat all the bosses? The last bossfight is a bit tricky, do I have the right cards to finish Nefarian?

You Might Want To Check Out Season 5 of Diablo III

If you're like me and picked up Diablo III you had fun with the single player and didn't delve too deeply in the content beyond that. I spent some time with a couple Nephalem rifts at Reaper of Souls launch but didn't delve too deeply. That said, Blizzard hasn't been idle since the last expansion launch and recently dropped patch 2.4.0 as well as Season 5 that is well worth checking out.

If you didn't know, seasons last three months and contain a set of objectives that if completed grant you special stuff. To date, I haven't put much thought to completing them as they weren't very interesting but for me, Season 5 and patch 2.4.0 has changed that. To read more about Season 5 check the link below but i'll clip out some of the more epic parts.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/19993877/first-look-season-5-12-22-2015

* There are no more Season exclusive legendaries. All new Legendaries included in Patch 2.4.0 will be made immediately available to be found by players regardless of Season participation.
* We’ve introduced Haedrig’s Gift, a special bundle of Set items you’ll receive on completion of certain stages of the Season Journey. Starting in Chapter 3, three of the objectives in the Season Journey will reward you one of these bags, each containing two pieces of one of your class sets.
* Be careful, though; each step of the Season Journey will only reward one Haedrig’s Gift (for a total of three bags per Season/one full set of gear), regardless of how many characters you might play in a given Season. Make sure to claim these gifts on the character you want to receive their set!
* Last, but certainly not least, is the addition of a totally new Season-exclusive feature called the Season Rebirth. This allows you to take any non-Seasonal character you have and instantly transform them into a Seasonal character, ready to jump straight into the action on day one.

The special armor set Haedrig's Gift is pretty epic depending on the class you open it with. I've seen some incredible stuff including the video linked above of a Barb tanking an 82 greater rift.

Also, the changes made to Nephalem Rifts, leveling, item drops and power since base Reaper of Souls has been really interesting and has made the game feel much more streamlined and whichever character I pick feels very satisfying to play with. If you have Diablo 3 on PC and have had an inkling to get back, head in for a season and work on the chapter progression. So far, it's been a hell of a time.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/22/2016 at 04:51am

I was wondering if you could get Haedrig's Gift on multiple characters. Good to know. I'll probably do Monk for the first round.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/22/2016 at 05:09am

So, it's not exactly a glorified version of Campaign Mode? I've played a hell of a lot of that in the last year and feel like I'm done with Campaign mode for a long time.

I thought it was cool that you mentioned in the latest roundtable that you jumped in with a Witch Doctor. I was thinking of checking out the new-to-me stuff and the Witch Doctor was probably the first that came to mind. I enjoyed that class, perhaps mostly because of the summons.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/22/2016 at 05:27am

Also, is a Season played alone or with others?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/22/2016 at 07:01am

Greg: Seasons can be played with anyone to my understanding. For instance, each time I play I open my game to others and get people joining in with me, it's nice because you get bonuses for playing with more people.

Frankly it feels like they took some nods from Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm in that Seasons are like quests. It gives you something to work against other than simply leveling your character to make them beefy. I like having things to accomplish and the end goal of collecting cool stuff that holds over is a really nice reward. Currently more than half-way through the 3rd set of objectives.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/22/2016 at 07:02am

Travis: I plan on getting the gear bags but I am unsure which character I will open it for. The Wizard bonuses look incredible.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/22/2016 at 09:25am

Awesome sauce! Well, I'm not sure how I feel about playing with strangers, but with friends, that would be sweet! How many others do you normally play with? You said you're playing with a Witch Doctor, how many other Witch Doctors do you play with? Would it be too weird to play with another (me)?

So, it kind of works like Adventure Mode's bounties and Nephalem Rifts? Campaign Mode had objectives, but it was basically story driven and since I've been through the story very many times already, I'm not interested in repeating it any time soon. If or when a new expansion comes, I hope that I could bypass the current bits of Campaign Mode that we have.

How many objectives are there? Do you finish all of them with one character and come back with another for more?

Sorry to bombard you with questions about it, but you have more experience with Seasons than anyone else I know and I haven't done any "research" into them. I just know they go for a few months, take a break, release a patch, and come back again. I also know you can get various items, but aside from that and what you've posted here, I know nothing else.

I do enjoy playing games with you guys. I enjoyed that one time you joined me while I was playing. I look forward to playing more games with you all.

Oh and I like that they've made it so pets are actually useful instead of just cosmetic. I have an astral dog, so it'd be cool to get in and see what it can do for me. Also, being able to get more storage space is always helpful. I got all that I could before the latest patch and had so much extra stuff, I ended up storing them on other characters.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/22/2016 at 03:45pm

Seasons are a game mode that uses a different set of characters. You can now import a character to be seasonal but it is stripped of items. In seasons you can compelte objectives in single player or adventure mode. I recommend adventure mode and using bounties and rifts to complete goals. A Season objective would be something like "level up the blacksmith to 10" or "collect 10,000" gold.

http://www.diablowiki.net/Seasons

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An Epic AGDQ 2016 Speedrun of Diablo 2 Featuring MrLlamaSC

MrLlamaSC was featured in this years Games Done Quick charity speedrun event. He completed Diablo 2 + LOD in 1h47m in another hypnotizing speed run. The awesome part about watching AGDQ runs is that the runners talk about the strategies they use, a bit about the game and how it was programmed, different runners and whom holds the current world record. The current D2 speedrun record is by Teo at 1h20m.

MrLlamaSC does a great job here considering Diablo 2 is very random and he couldn't restart for something better.

http://www.speedrun.com/run/9mej6d9y

The Legend of Zelda HD on Wii U Launches March 4th With Amiibo Support!

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD remake is dropping on the Wii U March 4th to flex your HD TV. You can buy the remake digitally, single game or a special game+Link Amiibo collectable that...

"Using the Wolf Link amiibo at a certain place will allow you to play “Thorough Battle: Trial of the Beast” (perhaps this is the Twilight Cave we heard about last week). If you clear this while owning the “Giant Wallet”, you’ll earn the “Bottomless Wallet”. This lets you hold up to 9,999 Rupees, compared to Giant Wallet’s maximum of 1,000. The leak also mentions something about how Link’s health inside normal dungeons can be recovered by the amount of hearts you preserved in the exclusive dungeon (which I assume is this one)."

As we discussed in the last Roundtable, Wii games suffer from artifacting and are not upscaled on the Wii U. Nintendo re-releasing Twilight Princess in HD allows this game to get a glorious HD remake and bring it to Wii U owners that may have missed it on GameCube and Wii.

http://nintendoeverything.com/famitsu-sheds-light-on-zelda-twilight-princess-hds-amiibo-features/

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/21/2016 at 04:41am

Awesome! That game definitely needs an HD remake. While I enjoyed the game, I was disappointed by how graphically old it looked. I'm sure the remake will make the game look beautiful! I was not one of the many who were disappointed with the Wind Waker's graphics, I thought that style was really good and I enjoyed the game. I have not yet bought it's HD remake though.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/21/2016 at 05:21pm

Dude, I will definitely pick this game up. I've not played a new Zelda game since Link's Awakening, so it's about time I play one. Not to mention I bought a Wii U with one of the goals being playing the new Zelda game. This might have to do if the NX comes soon lol

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/22/2016 at 03:52am

Twilight Princess is a good game to pickup as it pulls some elements from Ocarina and others to make a very fun game. I started playing it back in the day and walked away at the water temple. Which isn't an uncommon reason to get frustrated with a Zelda game

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/31/2016 at 09:16pm

https://www.facebook.com/NintendoAUNZ/videos/577481495742321/ Here's an even better video (in my opinion). I have absolutely no idea what in the world the storyline is, and I'm looking forward to playing through this at some time!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2016 at 09:45pm

I played this years ago and it... It was something very "Zelda-like" but with a darker edge to it.

Thinking of playing this next after Links Awakening.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/05/2016 at 02:24am

Nintendo dropped some new game features for Twilight Princess today.

"A new item in the game called the “Ghost Lantern” has been added. This mysterious item will glow when in the same area as a Poe (a kind of ghost), making the Poe soul-retrieving quest much easier to complete. Hero Mode, a challenging new mode, can also be selected when starting a new game. In this mode, Link will take double the normal damage and there are no heart drops. In addition, if Link finds Rupees in a treasure chest while his wallet is already full, Rupees will no longer be returned to that chest. Players are also less likely to reach the limit of their wallets, as they have been modified to hold more Rupees."

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/9IUSGMI5HEExiIxD17Uv-vMwJ6pgBEXh

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Are You Down With Zelda? The Most 90's Rap About One Of The Best Zelda Titles Around.

"Down with Zelda from the very start, I got the heart it's smart to play the part. Down with Zelda! Creepin' through with an overhead view because a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. So I stay on track collect the fact, never cut slack and I always watch my back for Jack. Down with Zelda! Don't ask them because i'm the man with the plan because the power's in my head and the power's in my hand. Down with Zelda!"

If you didn't understand 90's colloquially and didn't watch the video you might think this person want's to take Zelda down but these kinds of videos are so uniquely 90's you can't make them up. Like any Nintendo commercial from the 90's I remember this one and after I saw it had to share it. At one point at the 19 second mark there is some gameplay not featured in Link's Awakening of a huge ghost as well as some game art that didn't ship with the final version. Funny that this commercial was shot with such an early build but yeah, I imagine this ad campaign was envisioned before the final build of the game was out internally at Nintendo.

Down with Zelda? This game and commercial, for sure.

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable S4 E1: The Most 2016 Thing We've Ever Done

In this episode of the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we talk about our highlights of 2015 in gaming as well as talk about what we are looking forward to in 2016. We take a break to read some Chick Tracts, discuss paid mods as well as our guesses or general lack of knowledge around Nintendo's new dream console NX!

jdodson may also have first coined "Triple Indie" to discuss Indie games with large budgets. Even if he wasn't, it's still nice to dream big! Come for the discussion stay for Scrypt drinking so much he can't think of what to say next!

Notes:

Cheerful Ghost 2015 GoTY Awards - http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2753/cheerful-ghost-2015-game-of-the-year-awards

Hearthstone Dailies for Ghosts Episode I - http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2767/hearthstone-dailies-for-ghosts-episode-1-the-show-begins

Consortium: The Tower Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/idgi/consortium-the-tower

Travis Admin wrote on 01/21/2016 at 06:39pm

https://medium.com/@morganjaffit/indipocalypse-or-the-birth-of-triple-i-eba64292cd7a#.nom0ekkfg

This guy called it Triple-I back in August, which is close. I still give you credit.

I'm gutted that I can't find my Chick Tract collection. At least I still have the weirdest one.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/21/2016 at 07:10pm

Scrypt sounds so defeated when talking about Destiny lol

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/21/2016 at 07:10pm

(And a little drunk)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 01/21/2016 at 08:37pm

So defeated! Pathetic, right? No more booze at the RT for me, I think :)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 01/21/2016 at 08:38pm

I couldn't talk about life shit, or I would have lost it, so I had to dump it on Destiny.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/21/2016 at 08:39pm

I think it's OK for games to disappoint us. Destiny disappointed many people so you're not alone there. When you also consider how much money people spent on versions of it, I think it's OK to think about it.

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New Doom Game Heavily Inspired By The Original

Game Informer has an incredible spread on the new Doom game that is slowly unlocking over the next couple days. In the next couple days they will do a story on Dooms new Snapmap feature which is the coolest part about the new game in my opinion. The detail and love iD is putting into the game really shows and it does seem to be a love letter to the feel of the original.

No exact date is set yet but it should be in the first couple months of this year. Doom is coming out on PC, PS4 and XBox One and I am curious how you plan on playing it and if you are going to pick this one up on launch day?

http://www.gameinformer.com/p/doom.aspx

Even the Ocean To Release Summer of 2016 As New Site & Trailer Drops

Joni and Sean and the two part super group behind the Indie Zelda-like Anodyne are close to releasing their follow up Even The Ocean. Even the Ocean is a story based side scroller where you "follow Aliph, a technician for Whiteforge City, as she investigates a recent string of power plant failures..." It features an interesting power mechanic that you can balance to use in your favor situationally. From following the game in it's early stages it looks to have changed some but it still looks great.

When the game launches i'll post more but you can find out more by checking the games website.

http://www.eventheocean.com/

We also talked to Joni and Sean back in 2014 about the game which Scrypt and I saw at that years PAX Prime. You can read that interview below:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1557/even-the-ocean-the-upcoming-game-from-analgesic

Square Enix Giving Away David Bowie Game Omikron The Nomad Soul

Beloved musician and entertainer David Bowie recently passed away to the grief of many. It's hard not to see the effects of Bowie's long career in music and pop culture. Many may not know but David Bowie was featured in a game called Omikron: The Nomad Soul.

"Responding to the desperate pleas of a mysterious character from another dimension, your soul must enter the dark and futuristic city of Omikron. This heralds the beginning of an epic adventure through an increasingly strange and dazzling parallel world, trying to solve the many puzzles that prevent you escaping alive. Think, fight and interact with the immense gaming environment to defeat the menacing demons that have tried to trap you."

As a memorial to Bowie, Square Enix is giving away The Nomad Soul for free on PC and Steam and you can redeem your copy at the link below using the coupon code "omikron" at checkout.

People from the United States should use the link below:

https://store.na.square-enix.com/product/281956/omikron-the-nomad-soul-pc-download

People from everywhere else should use the link below:

https://store.eu.square-enix.com/emea_uk/games/pc-windows-download/Omikron-The-Nomad-Soul.php

jdodson1

2746 Posts

Star Wars The Force Awakens Behind The Scenes Roundup

Hearthstone Dailies For Ghosts: Episode 2 Final Tier of Blackrock Mountain

You Might Want To Check Out Season 5 of Diablo III

An Epic AGDQ 2016 Speedrun of Diablo 2 Featuring MrLlamaSC

The Legend of Zelda HD on Wii U Launches March 4th With Amiibo Support!

Are You Down With Zelda? The Most 90's Rap About One Of The Best Zelda Titles Around.

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable S4 E1: The Most 2016 Thing We've Ever Done

New Doom Game Heavily Inspired By The Original

Even the Ocean To Release Summer of 2016 As New Site & Trailer Drops

Square Enix Giving Away David Bowie Game Omikron The Nomad Soul