jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

6 Game Invites and A Few Thoughts

Hey O everyone. I seem to find myself with 6 Firefall invites. One scratchable card and 5 email invites to be exact. The game is in beta right now but I installed it and am trying my hand at the tutorial parts. So far, its quite a bit of fun where other MMO shooters have fallen flat for me. One way Firefall sets itself apart is by having a really great set of intro steps getting you familiar with the game. All of it is optional, but its really useful trying out the classes and seeing what they are capable of.

The game also allows you a really satisfying selection of guns and I really liked the ability to switch between first and third person mode. Nothing janky here, the 3rd and FPS modes are very well done.

Oh right its also very pretty too.

**1 Invite Left**

So if you want a invite, hit me up in the comments and ill ship them off.

jaelte wrote on 05/08/2013 at 03:01am

Hmm. Sure, I'll give it a shot.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/08/2013 at 03:05am

I actually have 4 invites that I'm sitting on, as well! Anyone that wants are welcome to them.

I decided to jump into Firefall last October (I think it was October...), but haven't been on since January, as there wasn't really that much more to do at the time. Very entertaining though. Almost like a World of Warcraft meets Borderlands feel. I'll make my way back in eventually. Sounds like quite a few things have changed.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/08/2013 at 03:13am

@jaelte sent.

@scrypt: I am hacking on the site tonight, let me know what you find. I only played the game a little bit and quite enjoyed what I found.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 05/08/2013 at 03:20am

I'd love one! I just got a new PC and would love to break it in. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/08/2013 at 03:42am

@WhiteboySlim: Sent.

jaelte wrote on 05/08/2013 at 04:02am

Thanks! It's downloading now. I hope to get some time in tonight, if it's not too late when it's done installing.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/08/2013 at 05:56am

Peeked back into the game to see what's what. I really like that they added a tutorial/testing area at the beginning. VERY glad to see that all of my content and progress was saved, and hope that continues through the release. I don't expect it to, but it would be nice. See they have Twitch integration now, and more robust system options. Lots of new items to acquire, which will undoubtedly be my prime reason for spending more time in New Eden :).

BR Supporter wrote on 05/08/2013 at 01:06pm

I'll take one of those. I'd like to give it a shot

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/08/2013 at 06:22pm

Hey O could I get an invite too?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/09/2013 at 12:12am

Adym & BR: Invites sent.

Tungsten wrote on 05/09/2013 at 09:52am

If you still have on laying around, I wouldn't mind checking it out.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/09/2013 at 04:37pm

Tungsten: Sent

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I was the Sun (Before it was Cool)

Last week I published an interview with Curtis Schweitzer, one half of the amazing composer duo working on the Starbound score. In the interview I posted a question tossing out names for possible songs about the Novakids, one of the in game playable races.

One of the new Cues uses a name I suggested in the interview "I was the Sun (Before it was Cool)." I am very happy to see this happen and want to thank Curtis for using it! Curtis, if you need any more song titles, hit me up!

Check out the recent blog post about it as well as the other track Hylotl: "The Eternal Tide"

https://curtis-schweitzer.squarespace.com/blog/postid-5

To read the original interview in its entirely:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1248

New Wolfenstein Game with Alternate Future & Bots

"Wolfenstein: The New Order, an action-adventure shooter slated for release in late 2013. The game is being developed by MachineGames, a studio comprised of seasoned developers known for creating compelling, critically-acclaimed story-driven games. Wolfenstein has been widely credited for helping establish and popularise the first-person shooter genre, and Wolfenstein: The New Order is a reimagining of this franchise -- offering players a gripping and dramatic experience. The official announcement trailer can be seen today at GameSpot.com."

Day one purchase, no question. I loved the last Raven made Wolfenstein game and this one looks fantastic. A distopian future where the Nazi's won and now they have armies of robots? My only question is how BJ survived that long and I am surely hoping the answer is time travel.

Does this trailer spark your fancy or did it fly over you in a wave of "meh?"

The new version seems have been blessed by Carmack as he had this to say in a recent Tweet:

"Machinegames has some of the sharpest developers we have ever worked with, both passionate and pragmatic. Doing Wolfenstein proud."

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/331772043899068418

Very excited.

First Thoughts On The Portal Linux Beta

Portal and Left 4 Dead 2 were recently released on Steam for Linux and I decided to give Portal a shot. First off the install is painless and after starting the game up the game auto-detected my system properly and turned all the setting up to the right levels. The shot I took above was a scaled down version of what I saw on my monitor.

The game plays very well and is really awesome because... its Portal :D Its really quite incredible how quickly Valve is porting over their back catalog to Linux and I have found that they all work very well.

Have you tried the Portal Linux Beta or the Left 4 Dead 2 Linux Beta yet?

Robert_Kryder wrote on 08/31/2014 at 03:49am

I just downloaded Portal. I am using a box that my place of employment awarded to me. It is a totally sweet Dell Optiplex 760. However, it comes with the most basic of Intel Graphics stuff/drivers/widgets. It's as if the Aperture Science Enrichment Center didn't pay their power bill, and I am seeing only the barest of outlines in the dark. I can hear GLaDOS, and I asked her what the best Graphics card would be, and she suggested an Nvidea card, because that company is, as she so aptly put it, "Is Open Source Friendly." So I am thinking the GeForce 9300. Any thoughts out there in CG land?

Robert_Kryder wrote on 08/31/2014 at 04:46am

Hmm. Now it works. Not sure what I did, but wow this is cool.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/31/2014 at 06:17pm

Cool to hear that it works pretty well. Portal should run on even some of the most basic hardware.

NVidia is a good choice, but if you want awesome Open Source support and don't need to play the most bling of the bling, then stick with the Intel card as all the drivers for those cards are in the Linux Kernel directly.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/31/2014 at 06:17pm

That said, NVidia will be the best bang for your buck and they have superb drivers for Linux.

Robert_Kryder wrote on 11/04/2017 at 01:08am

Jon, do you know if Starcraft 2 Legacy or Battlechest has stand alone games against the AI ? I know there are many solo campaigns, but I can't see anything on Google about just starting a game against the computer.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/05/2017 at 02:26pm

Yeah Rob you can do that. PLUS it’s going free to play later this month so if you want, you can wait until then to play it for free!

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Rex Rocket: A 2D Sci-Fi Adventure in Space

Back this on Kickstarter!

"Inspired by the retro glory days of 8-bit games, Rex Rocket is a traditional 2D platformer brought into the 21st century. Paying tribute to classic NES games like Mario, Mega Man, and Metroid, old-school gamers will find Rex Rocket a breath of fresh air, stirring warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia. Rob and Tyler, two passionate indie game devs, have a mission to keep the world of retro games alive."

So many awesome retro styled games have been coming out on Kickstarter lately. Add Rex Rocket to the list of games that look really great. One thing that sets Rex Rocket apart is that the Kickstarter video focuses on the game intro and gameplay only.

The game has already hit its 6k goal with 19 days left to go but if you wanted to lock this game in on release, the intro level for a copy of the game is $10 and then $15 for the game+score.

Plants VS Zombies 2 Drops in July

Stephanie Bayer the community manager for PopCap recently tweeted that Plants VS Zombies 2 is going to drop in July. I played the heck out of the original and am looking forward to the next installment.

Hopefully Crazy Dave has a much larger role in PvZ 2 and my only real request is that PopCap make the second one have some difficulty modes.

https://twitter.com/NSSteph/status/331424089883414528

The Firehose: Guns, Starbound Ore & LoD Updates

PC Gamer recently crowned the Flak Cannon as the best FPS gun of all time, video linked above. I totally agree.

The Ore list for Starbound was recently leaked on Reddit. While it didn't make Chucklefish too happy it does show off how much awesome stuff there will be to mine, like the infamous Obtainium.

http://i.imgur.com/bJ4dXrK.jpg

Legend of Dungeon developers showcased some new mobs for the game to be added sometime before Beta is finalized. Unicorns, Leprechauns and Gorgons!

http://robotloveskitty.tumblr.com/day/2013/04/23/

Travis Admin wrote on 05/05/2013 at 05:11pm

ALL HAIL THE FLAK CANNON.

Seriously, that gun is amazing. It may be that I'm just not super at FPS games and the Flak Cannon makes it easier, but man I'm Sir Frags-a-lot with that thing.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/05/2013 at 05:24pm

The Flak cannon is dope. Recently I picked up the Rage expansion and really enjoyed the nail gun. When I play Rage again, ill get it much sooner so I can use it throughout the game and that should be quite a bit of fun.

BFG is a pretty epic gun too but the Flak will be my goto gun when I play any version of Unreal Tournament.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 05/05/2013 at 06:30pm

When I first moved into an apartment with room mates we use to play a lot of Unreal Tournament. The flak cannon was always a favorite!

I was also a big fan of the shock rifle (is that the right name)? It was the one where you could fire off a orb of energy, then blast it with another shot to make it explode.

jaelte wrote on 05/05/2013 at 07:39pm

Pfft. Obtanium has nothing on unobtanium.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/05/2013 at 08:07pm

Well. At least you can collect Obtanium.

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Awemazing Stardew Valley "Month of Graphics"

ConcernedApe just posted a pretty lengthy update about changes he recently made to the upcoming, Stardew Valley.

"I’ve been doing a big “month and a half of graphics”, and I’m finally about done with it. A lot of what I’ve been doing has involved redrawing or touching up older sprites that I wasn’t happy with. The old stuff was passable, but I am so much happier with the new, and I think it really does help breathe life into the valley. It’s funny how a seemingly trivial graphical detail can excite the imagination and evoke a sudden thrill, drawing you into the game world on a much deeper level."

The new art looks very good and I urge you to head over to the blog and read over the recent game changes. The new style has a really unique feel and is very pretty.

No word on when this game will be released, but when the news drops I will let you know.

http://stardewvalley.net/mini-dev-update-4/

May the 4th Be With You!

Happy LIFE DAY... oh wait, er.

Happy Star Wars day everyone! I know its fairly cliche to say, but I really do have an unironic love for Star Wars. I hope that on this, one of the most sacred days in Geekdom you can do something Star Warsy and awesome.

Some ideas(not ordered for practicality):

Go to Antartica with a friend. One of you should partially freeze and then the other one can stuff the other one in a Polar Bear for warmth. This may be dangerous, so consult a wildlife specialist before you begin.

Step 1. Build a very large space station that looks like a Moon from a distance. Step 2. Put it in space. Step 3. Anger people such that they want to destroy it. In retrospect, stop at step 2.

If you are in an armed hostile situation where a local bounty hunter is trying to take you in to the local crime boss ONLY shoot at him after he nearly shoots you in the face. Pre-emptively acting here would upset the elderly and the very boring.

Kiss your sister.

Punch Jar Jar Binks in the face.

Go to your local desert and look for droids. Stop when you see a walking golden man that is extremely fussy and ill tempered with a vacuum cleaner.

OR checkout the latest Steam Sale where they bundle up all the PC Star Wars games for $50. You know, whichever you prefer.

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/25772/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Day
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Life_Day

StarCrafts Episode 2 Got 99 Problems

I have been that SCV so many times. Build a Barracks and look back to find the base being over run by Protoss. So lonely.

jdodson1

2755 Posts

6 Game Invites and A Few Thoughts

I was the Sun (Before it was Cool)

New Wolfenstein Game with Alternate Future & Bots

First Thoughts On The Portal Linux Beta

Rex Rocket: A 2D Sci-Fi Adventure in Space

Plants VS Zombies 2 Drops in July

The Firehose: Guns, Starbound Ore & LoD Updates

Awemazing Stardew Valley "Month of Graphics"

May the 4th Be With You!

StarCrafts Episode 2 Got 99 Problems