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.

2746 Posts

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/

RetroLiberty's Top 10 Mario Games
"Its near impossible to pick a favorite Mario game, what games get left out and Aaron has a few top choices that normally are not in the top 3!"

I like this list because it places Mario 2 quite high. I know, Mario 2 was Doki, Doki, Panic, but like the video states, that doesn't make it a bad game. Thing is, i'd love to see a new Mario game riff Mario 2 ideas and have been bummed it hasn't happened yet.

That said, this list is quite good and features a segment from YouTuber MetalJesus! So, you know, watch it.

Valve's Free to Play Movie Coming March 19th
"FREE TO PLAY is a feature-length documentary that follows three professional gamers from around the world as they compete for a million dollar prize in the first Dota 2 International Tournament. In recent years, E Sports has surged in popularity to become one of the most widely-practiced forms of competitive sport today. A million dollar tournament changed the landscape of the gaming world and for those elite players at the top of their craft, nothing would ever be the same again. Produced by Valve, the film documents the challenges and sacrifices required of players to compete at the highest level."

Apparently Valve is getting into the business of doing everything and as such are releasing a full length feature film documentary called Free To Play on March 19th. The movie will be streaming on Steam at that date and from the trailer and early reviews, it looks pretty good.

I wonder how else Valve plans to make feature films? So far, I am impressed.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/245550

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable S2 E3: Getting A Gaming PC in 2014
In this episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we talk all about Gaming PC's. Build or buy, Mac or Windows, we talk about it all. At the end we discuss game pricing when I recently came to some sticker shock over $60 buy.

What We are Playing & Drinking

  • 0:45m scrypt: Kingdoms of Amalur & FTL

  • 2:45m Travis: TextMate

  • 3:25m jdodson: catwebcams.com, Portal 2, Reus & Borderlands 2


Getting A Gaming PC in 2014

  • 8.40m What are we current running and what do we like or dislike about our setups?

  • 22:00m Building VS Buying

  • 29:15m What is the most we want to spend?

  • 36:15m Do we have any particular PC brands we like?

  • 42:00m What PC did Greg actually get?


Game Pricing and How it is Evolving

  • 43:55m Wolfenstein pre-order comes with Doom Beta price is $60

  • 49:00m Digital VS Physical


This Roundtable was based on the following post started by GregoPeck:

http://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/1888

Humble Indie Bundle 11: THEY WILL NEVER STOP COMING!
"Humble Indie Bundle 11 features six top-notch indie games, just name your price. Pay what you want for the magical Mex-inspired action-platformer, Guacamelee! Gold Edition, the gorgeous action RPG, Dust: An Elysian Tail, the atmospheric puzzle-platformer, The Swapper and the blistering hardcore platformer, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, which includes a sweet digital comic. Pay more than the average price and you'll also unlock the mind-bending psychological exploration game, Antichamber, and the adrenaline-pumping heist game, Monaco: What's Yours is Mine."

For nothing else, you should buy this Bundle for Monaco. Monaco is a really fun top down Indie stealth game that shines in co-op. I have heard great things about The Swapper so there is much to play in this latest Bundle. All the games comes DRM free and available with Steam keys and run on Mac, Linux and Windows. Well, all except Giana Sisters, that will be ported to Linux and Mac later this year. All told that's not too bad as I would love to play it on my Steam Machine and better later than never.

https://www.humblebundle.com/

Irrational Games Will Close Shop Soon
In what has become my "bummer of the day" it seems Irrational Games, the company that brought us BioShock, BioShock Infinite and Freedom Force is closing down.

"We built Rapture and Columbia, the Von Braun and The Rickenbacker, the Freedom Fortress and some of the nastiest basements a SWAT team ever set foot into. We created Booker and Elizabeth, the Big Daddy and the Little Sister, MidWives and ManBot. In that time, Irrational has grown larger and more successful than we could have conceived when we began our three-person studio in a living room in Cambridge, MA. It’s been the defining project of my professional life.

Now Irrational Games is about to roll out the last DLC for BioShock Infinite and people are understandably asking: What’s next?

Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had. While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.

I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it. I’ll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two. That is going to mean parting ways with all but about fifteen members of the Irrational team. There’s no great way to lay people off, and our first concern is to make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition."

Well damn. That said, Ken is a pretty talented guy and I wish him and his team well!

http://irrationalgames.com/