jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Fallout 4 Gameplay - Walk Around The Beautiful Wasteland

Some new Fallout 4 gameplay surfaced and it looks great. Is anyone else going to pick this up in November when it launches? The footage is a mixture of scenes we already saw at E3 and some new stuff featuring power armor. Spoiler alert, you get into power armor as if it were some kind of mech robo-suit.

Todd Howard has been talking to press lately and I found this Telegraph article interesting on the games voice acting.

"A lot of games have voiced characters, but what they don’t want to give up is all the dialogue options. So for us a lot of it was logistical. The voice actors have been recording for 2 years, they’ve each done over 13,000 lines of dialogue. So to be able to do that makes the difference; you still have choice."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/11723096/Fallout-4-interview-Bethesdas-Todd-Howard-on-building-the-apocalypse.html

Are you looking forward to skipping* all this dialog too? Let me know in the comments.

* I kid, I kid.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/18/2015 at 06:01pm

I'm not sure if there is any doubt that many of us will jump on that upon release. That said, I thought it was coming out in November, not September.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/18/2015 at 06:13pm

November is what I thought too.

I might have to put my PC through some rigorous training to prepare for it but damn it, I will play it!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/18/2015 at 06:54pm

I'll update the post, thanks!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/18/2015 at 07:20pm

Sorry I didn't click the link at first, but there it does say, "November release."

Do we have system requirements yet?

If any of you are upgrading your PC, let me know what you're thinking about getting and where. I usually shop at NewEgg.com for computer parts.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/18/2015 at 07:24pm

When I first found out about Fallout 4 and saw it in action, I thought, "Deathclaws are going to be even scarier now that they're in HD!" In the video, it seems the character had a bit of a long battle with one even wearing that full suit of powered body armor.

Also, as I watching this video, I was thinking about what sets this series apart from FPS games. Wondering why I'm interested in it instead of FPS games. I guess the answer to that is the RPG and adventure elements to it, but now it's also crafting.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/18/2015 at 09:56pm

Yeah it isn't an FPS, it's an RPG at heart that has some first person shooting elements.

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Starship Rubicon Drops On Steam -w Linux Port & Huge Update

Following in the vapor trails of our early 2015 release Starship Rubicon is now on Steam! It’s pretty exciting to be part of a game that is now available for people to play on Steam. Tick one off that bucket list!

This update is pretty massive in that it features an all new gravity gun, ship and level editor, mod tools and freshly baked Linux port. So you know, this seems like a great time to buy the game and everything so… why don’t you head over to Steam and get it?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/372030

If you bought Starship Rubicon through Cheerful Ghost/the Humble Widget, Itch.io or Desura we have already dropped a key on that site and it should be available very soon, because why buy it twice?

Recently you may have heard about some trouble on the PC game service Desura. Because of this we are recommending people not purchase the game on Desura. We have removed links to it from www.starshiprubicon.com and recommend people buy it from Steam or site direct via the Humble widget or Itch.io. We recommend people that bought the game on Desura to head over there and grab the Steam key and download the game files. We are both sad to see this happen to Desura as we love to support all the PC indie stores we possibly can!

Will A PC Live In Your Living Room? The Corsair Bulldog May.

Valve's SteamOS and Steam Machine Train is heading out of the station this November alongside their Steam Controller and lots of PC manufacturers are jumping on board. Corsair, makers of memory and other hardware has a new living room PC chassis called Bulldog that might be something worth checking out. It's a DIY kit that comes with a case, 600 watt power supply, hydro series liquid cooler & next gen motherboard featuring an Intel chipset starting at $399. This is aimed at people that want Steam in the living room but want the ability to upgrade the system over time. You'd need to add the RAM, hard drive and video card but after that you'd have a pretty slick setup.

I've approached a living room PC from the lower cost option but this seems to allow for a more powerful setup and run as much as the base cost+extra components. This is something i'll keep in mind as November gets closer.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/blog/2015/june/what-is-bulldog-a-preview-guide-and-faq

This Is No Trap - The Force Awakens Comic-Con Panel

Star Wars VII is coming this December and it may be one of the most anticipated films in recent memory. Many fans are wondering if JJ Abrams magic will infuse the films with life again. I remain fairly hopeful as I try and consume every bit of non-spoiler information I can get my hands on. JJ and crew were at San Diego Comic-Con a few days ago talking about the new film and there were more than a few surprises to learn. Watch the entire presentation above and then check out the Force Awakens behind the scenes clip they release right afterward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTNJ51ghzdY

It was amazing seeing the new principle cast along with the dark side additions. When Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford came out things got nuts. When JJ took everyone to a special Star Wars concert afterward they sealed it for one of the coolest Comic-Con panels ever. December can't come soon enough. Anyone planning on seeing it during a special midnight showing?

Starship Rubicon Linux Notes

Starship Rubicon is coming to Steam very soon, *cough* tomorrow *cough* and I wanted to let everyone know that we are happy with how the Linux port turned out. That said there are a zillion Linux variants out there and we wanted to drop some tips for people on how to get things running as smooth as possible.

SOUND

Linux has some problems with sound effects not playing and/or being at wonky volumes. Go figure. It uses OpenAL by default (I have not been able to get FreeAudio to work) but apparently needs the 32-bit drivers. On 64-bit Ubuntu, you should be able to get them with:

sudo apt-get install libopenal1:i386 libopenal-dev:i386

Other linux distros need to modify that command accordingly (https://www.codeweavers.com/support/wiki/diag/missinglibopenal has a good reference sheet). You may need to reboot following the install.)

We will keep this page updated with any Linux fixes that any people need to employ to keep the game running in the wild sea of distros.

Hearthstone Expansion "Argent Tournament" Drops July 22nd

https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lxqQAIaxr_FTq_ersqHeu3-yE_k=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3853488/hearthstonenotice.0.jpg

Blizzard sent a package to a few popular video game websites (not us, booo) teasing a new Hearthstone expansion coming July 22nd called "Agent Tournament." In the image linked above from Polygon the scroll reads:

"Well met, hero!

Champions are gathering from around the world to witness the next exciting thing Hearthstone has in store. News travels far and wide in search of brave new faces ready to answer the call to arms — are you one of them?

Muster for battle and mark July 22 on your calendar. The next bit of news won't come by carrier pigeon — thankfully, we have much better ways of communication now.

Victory awaits!"

So what are you most excited for? A full new adventure or a new set of cards? Both? I started playing Hearthstone regularly after it dropped on Mobile so I have a ton of cards yet to get and I haven't even started opening Goblins and Gnomes packs yet. I unlocked all of Naxx and got the first tier of Blackrock so I don't "need" the new content but I bet other players are absolutely itching for more things to do.

What are you looking forward to coming out July 22nd?

http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/7/8909349/hearthstone-expansion-tease-hints-blizzard-pc-ios

Annoy-o-Tron Addresses The Media - My Most Hated Minion

Blizzard has been creating a slew of Hearthstone ads and the latest two featuring Annoy-o-Tron I particularly liked. Annoy-o-Tron, in my opinion, is one of the most effective ways to lock down the early game as it costs two to bring out and has divine shield plus taunt. When it comes out and I hear the familiar "HELLO, HELLO" I cringe.

http://www.hearthpwn.com/cards/12181-annoy-o-tron

This ad is particularly cringe worthy too, but that's the point entirely. When you start Hearthstone you get 100 dust and can craft, right away, two Annoy-o-Trons. I decided to craft the Ironbeak Owl instead which I use in damn near each of my decks and for two it can break near anything cool with Silence.

http://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Ironbeak_Owl

What do you think, what would you craft and what are your strategies to taking down the Annoy-a-Tron early game? An Ironbeak Owl seems to work well for me.

Here is the other ad for the curious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mGgwg9-zDU

Celebrate The 4th of July With Mad Explosions And Carnage

Broforce is everyones favorite freedom acquisition simulator featuring mook murder and now with a whole new set of updates that would make Jean Claude Van Damme quit his Timecop job. This new update features the Brocketeer, Broheart, new Melee attacks & FLEXING!

So if you were looking for something patriotic to do on the 4th, why not flex on over to Broforce? 5 out 5 world despots don't want you to do it, so that's always a good reason to check it out.

Minecraft: Story Mode Is Coming? Do We Need This?

Telltale Games is dipping into the Minecraft franchise to launch Story Mode. The trailer features the voice talent of Patton Oswalt, Cory Feldman & Billy West. I should start out by saying I thought Minecraft was neat, but I am not a very big fan. That said, this trailer failed to excite me but I wondered if it worked for Minecraft fans. Maybe Story Mode is what the Minecraft fans crave?

Let me know in the comments.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/04/2015 at 06:01pm

Since they announced this a few months back, I've been wondering why this is a good idea. Having watched the trailer, I'm still not sure.

I mean it's Telltale so it will probably have good gameplay, but I have no real drive to pick this up. I never thought Minecraft needed anything story-related attached to it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/04/2015 at 10:08pm

Right, that seems to be my reaction too.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/04/2015 at 10:50pm

Did Lego need story games, or a movie for that matter?

Story mode for Minecraft will do extremely well, because Minecraft does extremely well. Whether it needs it or not (which it doesn't).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/04/2015 at 11:10pm

Hahaha yeah, I agree. Money will be made. Oh yes, it will be made.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/a7jJnwEeiU0/hqdefault.jpg

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/04/2015 at 11:37pm

I recently bought Jurassic Park: The Game during the Steam Summer sale. It's a Telltale game and from what I've heard, they all have similar game play, which I think is disappointing. In Jurassic Park, I had to press a button (I used my controller) to perform an action at a certain time. Not hitting the right buttons at the right time often caused my characters to be eaten by dinosaurs. I wasn't really fond of JP's game play. So, I'm imagining a similar experience with this game.

As for Minecraft (the real game) there's an expected 1.9 release coming eventually. That update is called "The Combat Update" as it adds shields and I think makes use of both hands. Check the wiki for more info.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/06/2015 at 02:08pm

Yayyyyy... *cough* http://www.gamespot.com/articles/whole-new-version-of-minecraft-for-windows-10-anno/1100-6428641/

Travis Admin wrote on 07/06/2015 at 05:37pm

If this is just a marriage of the different versions, letting you use mouse/keyboard, touch, or controller, then I'm fine with that and it makes sense. I'll probably even buy it. If they ignore the standard version of Minecraft to work on this one, then I'm not going to be happy.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/29/2015 at 05:40am

The new snapshot for 1.9 should be out today (Wednesday).

I read something else about the Windows 10 version of Minecraft, which for now is disappointing. Basically, W10 is getting the Pocket Edition of the game, which is a very bare version of the game. I have it on my tablet. Many, many things are missing, including music. I'm hoping this new version of the game will help the development of the PE, since they seem to be essentially the same thing.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/29/2015 at 10:34am

Oh! Existing Minecraft owners can get the Windows 10 beta version for free: https://mojang.com/2015/07/get-minecraft-windows-10-edition-beta-for-free/

Travis Admin wrote on 07/29/2015 at 03:48pm

Yeah you get it for free, I claimed mine, but the fact that it's just a port of the pocket edition is annoying. At least they're giving it to people who already bought the full version.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/27/2015 at 11:36pm

Confirmed for Wii U release. "Minecraft: Story Mode is also coming to a long list of other platforms, including Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC, Mac, Android, and iOS."

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-story-mode-confirmed-for-wii-u/1100-6430076/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/28/2015 at 04:43am

Interesting. I'll be keeping a lookout for how the reviews land for this one.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/23/2015 at 09:36pm

I just bought this for Vinny. We both love Minecraft, but I think he'd enjoy this game more than me. I have watched the few episodes Paul Soares, Jr. posted of him playing this game. This summer I bought the Jurassic Park TellTale game and it didn't really turn out to be something I really wanted. What I mean is that the game play seemed very limited, basically you watch and and move at times, but also you have to press a certain key (or combination of keys) at the right time. Failure to perform those keystrokes often meant death in the game. However, from what I've seen of this game, it has that, but it also seems to have more dialog choices. I'm really not sure if I'll get this game for myself, it is kind of tempting though.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this now that the game has been released?

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The Maingear Shift Could Make Greg Jealous

Marques Brownlee is one of the YouTube personalities I subscribe to because he creates superb tech review videos. He usually reviews smartphones, watches and laptops but did something a bit different in that he reviewed a PC I hadn't heard of called the Maingear Shift.

"Featuring MAINGEAR VRTX (Vertical Exhaust) Cooling Technology, the SHIFT was the first system to employ a vertical, heat stack design to dissipate heat out the top of the chassis, not the back, harnessing the natural behavior of hot air to rise, and drawing in cool air from the bottom. This promotes cooler running temperatures under load, less work for the system fans which leads to quieter operation, and increases overclocking and performance potential."

The Maingear Shift is a luxury PC that seems to be aimed at the Alienware and other high price PCs. It sports a car paint finish and some very tidy case design, cable work and lighting. I also appreciate the positioning of the ports as well as the absolutely mammoth case. The mid brew base option Maingear PC is well over double what I paid for my current PC but when you factor in how much i've upgraded it the price is a bit closer.

Are you in the market for a new PC and if so, what are your thoughts on the Maingear shift? I bet this thing would play Terraria amazingly well.

https://www.maingear.com/custom/desktops/shift/

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/02/2015 at 06:34am

Looks pretty cool! I'm obviously not in the market since I bought mine within the last 2 years. While I do have a sweet GTX 690, GTAV made me think that maybe a Titan or two would be sweeter. For now, I'm sticking with my beast.

I've noticed that much of the top panel of my PC seems to be a bit of an air vent. That makes sense.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/02/2015 at 06:46am

On second look, that Corsair and those two GTX GPUs look sweet!

hardeyez wrote on 07/02/2015 at 10:52pm

There are also cheap rosewill cases that vent up... I have three in my house now (one for me and for each of the kids).
http://www.rosewill.com/products/1533/productDetail.htm

hardeyez wrote on 07/02/2015 at 10:55pm

argh, accidentally posted before I was done :) That rosewill case vents up, however the pci cards still lay horizontal in the case with the connectors in the back... But in the winter it's nice to set my feet on the top for extra warmth :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/04/2015 at 04:25pm

That Rosewill case isn't bad. With that, The Maingear Shift isn't like anything i've seen you can buy.

Oh hey, hardeyez, about how much did you spend putting those PCs together and what were the specs? Looking at replacing mine in the next couple and curious what people have put together and how well it turned out.

hardeyez wrote on 07/12/2015 at 07:24am

I built the "budget gaming pc build" that was here http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/gaming-desktop-computer.html I built one for myself but put more RAM in it, and a couple months later built ones for my kids using the updated version (basically much better graphics card for cheaper). They update those builds regularly and have worked well for me... and you can easily tweak to taste but I like having some of the research worked out for me... Just one heads up, I used that gigabyte mobo and had to tweak setting to get it to play nice with linux... Worked flawlessly with windows. So I was surprised that linux ended up being more work (usually it's the other way around, linux recognizes everything). I can't quite remember the issue, but it was just tweaking some bios settings, so I can always dump them out here to see what it was :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/12/2015 at 08:34pm

That's a nice build. I think when I get a new PC that i'll build it myself. It's a ton cheaper and anymore, i'd rather something a bit faster for my buck.

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jdodson1

2762 Posts

Fallout 4 Gameplay - Walk Around The Beautiful Wasteland

Starship Rubicon Drops On Steam -w Linux Port & Huge Update

Will A PC Live In Your Living Room? The Corsair Bulldog May.

This Is No Trap - The Force Awakens Comic-Con Panel

Starship Rubicon Linux Notes

Hearthstone Expansion "Argent Tournament" Drops July 22nd

Annoy-o-Tron Addresses The Media - My Most Hated Minion

Celebrate The 4th of July With Mad Explosions And Carnage

Minecraft: Story Mode Is Coming? Do We Need This?

The Maingear Shift Could Make Greg Jealous