jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Not much to share because PopCap hasnt shared much with us

Not much to share because PopCap hasn't shared much with us yet... That said, Plants VS Zombies 2 has been confirmed by PopCap for release for Spring of 2013.

http://beefjack.com/news/plants-vs-zombies-2-coming-spring-2013/

Hoping it comes with difficulty modes or something that makes it harder for multiple replays!

Hear ye, Hear ye, Today we announce the Cheerful Ghost

Hear ye, Hear ye,

Today we announce the Cheerful Ghost Borderlands 2 Haiku Contest

To celebrate the upcoming Borderlands 2 launch on September 18th, Cheerful Ghost is having a Borderlands 2 Haiku Contest. You have two chances to win a copy of Borderlands 2 on Steam and the details are as follows:

We are giving away one copy of Borderlands 2 on the Steam Gifts site here: http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/RaQNV/borderlands-2 One lucky winner will be selected at random to win on Steam Gifts site.

We are also going to be giving away a second copy of Borderlands 2 to the Cheerful Ghost user that creates the coolest Borderlands 2 Haiku. The winner will be determined by which Haiku gets the most “+1” comments from other users. To post your Haiku for consideration, add Borderlands 2 to your game list and post your Haiku with Borderlands 2 as the game category for your post.

Feel free to share your Haiku post over Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to allow your friends and family the ability to vote for you. Due to practical considerations, only “+1” comment votes count that are posted directly to the Cheerful Ghost site.

Each person may only vote once. If you vote multiple times, we will disregard each vote over the first one we count.

Each Cheerful Ghost user can only submit one Haiku to be considered.

Please format your Haiku appropriately, for more information on that see the always amazing Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku

Deadline for Haiku Contest entries and votes are September 15th @ 4PM EST!

If you have any questions on the contest, feel free to ask in the comments below.

Rudyard_Stone wrote on 08/29/2012 at 07:24am

This is a Haiku
It's about Borderlands 2
I hope I win it

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/29/2012 at 03:09pm

Thanks for the submission Rudyard.

If you want this one to be considered for the contest, it will need to exist in its own Borderlands 2 post so people can vote on it.

It would be too hard to parse out whom votes for what in a comment thread with different Haikus.

Thanks again!

Sebastian wrote on 08/29/2012 at 08:03pm

Borderlands was sweet
Now I want to play the next
How will I do it?

Well I heard of sites
Mainly Cheerful Ghost dot com
I might win this award

First is a contest
This haiku is my entry
I really hope I win

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2012 at 12:01am

Hi Sebastian.

Thanks for the comment. If you want any of those to be in the contest, they should be a proper Borderlands 2 post so people can comment on them.

Thanks!

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/05/2012 at 10:49am

Will you be checking the Haikus authenticity at the end of the contest to see if they follow the 5-7-5 pattern?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2012 at 11:41am

Yes, we will.

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/05/2012 at 12:48pm

Oh. I'm glad to hear that. I made sure to proof-read mine several times.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2012 at 02:21pm

Actually I'll confer with @panickedthumb about that. Let you know.

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/05/2012 at 03:11pm

Thanks!

TonyJapMayo wrote on 09/14/2012 at 10:59pm

Hi, So do we get the winner based on the votes?

If yes, cant people just make fake accounts to +1 etc?

Thank =)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:00pm

They could but it doesn't seem like that's the majority of people voting.

The next contest will be different :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:01pm

And yes, winner is based on votes.

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:05pm

I've been trying hard on this. I hope it ends up well.

TonyJapMayo wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:05pm

Oooh, temptation >< haha.. nah, I'll play fair.. I love Japan n Haiku is Japanese ><

Btw, I hope your vote = 20 votes =P haha.. Thanks for the chance jdodson =)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:09pm

No problem.

Bryden_Gee wrote on 09/15/2012 at 06:22pm

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I Have A Gun Get In The Car

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/15/2012 at 06:23pm

Do you wanna play,
The rape game? No!
That's the spirit...

Tsunami wrote on 09/15/2012 at 08:01pm

Rise and shine brave men!
The whole world is up and down!
Free your mind!Go Fight!

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Gearbox recently released a stripped down retro version of

Gearbox recently released a stripped down retro version of Borderlands 2 you can play in your browser. You can choose from one of the 4 new Borderlands 2 characters and fight hordes of enemies in an area 2d shooter. From the handful of games I played, I chose Salvador and made it to level 16. There is a fair amount of gun types to choose from but I seemed to prefer the machine guns to the others. Shotguns seemed to be a bit underpowered as the intial blast is strong but they took too long to reload.

Its a fun game to try out in anticipation for Borderlands 2 launch this September 18thand you can play it here: http://www.wubwub.eu/demake.php

If you strip the "/demake.php" off the end of that domain, it looks like there are a few more things that will become available as time marches onward to the Borderlands 2 launch. Should be interesting. More as it develops.

This just in from the rumor department, Fallout 4 has been

This just in from the rumor department, Fallout 4 has been recently discussed on Reddit and a few other game sites. According to one anonymous Redditor, Bethesda has been poking around MIT for the upcoming Fallout 4. The Redditor in question is an anonymous MIT employee with insider knowledge of Bethesda scouting locations for the game.

I loved Fallout 3 and news of Fallout 4 is very cool. What do you think, does Fallout 4 set in Boston interest you? Are you ready to head back into the Fallout world and kill more Super Mutants and Enclave?

-

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/yexpi/fallout_4_will_take_place_in_boston/
http://attackofthefanboy.com/rumors/fallout-4-headed-boston-rumors-mit/

Tungsten wrote on 08/26/2012 at 03:21am

Only if they ditched the engine. As much as I loved Skyrim/Fallout3/Oblivion, I'm getting sick of it. They all just seem like expansion packs rather than full games, despite the hundreds and hundreds of hours of content.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 12:49pm

There's no way they'll ditch the Skyrim engine until they've got at least one Fallout with it. They've been using the same engine for years, just heavily modifying it. I don't see that changing any time soon.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:13pm

I think Skyrim's engine is different enough. Fallout 3 definitely felt like a prettier Oblivion engine, but Skyrim's feels singificantly different enough, while still being familiar.

Tungsten wrote on 08/26/2012 at 02:00pm

It just seems like a facelift to me. They removed the "zoom in on faces while talking" and retweaked the menus. It still has the same glitches and limitations. I'm sick of standing in a room where I can't even pretend to look out a window, or where people come in and out by materializing at the door. I'm sick of the physics glitches, of people talking to me through walls, of the same canned animations.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed those games, but if half-life 3 comes out on the Source Engine (even the extremely updated version from Portal) I'm going to be disappointed. Same deal here.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2012 at 05:50pm

Tungtsten: Good point. I haven't given that as much thought as you but ... yeah I mean they do look like similar games.

I started with Fallout 3. I played a bit of oblivion and it was fun, but I stopped dead at a particular Oblivion gate I couldn't figure out. Then I came back to my game and stopped because I became a Vampire accidentally and started getting hurt in Sunlight.

That said, my first all in experience with a Bethesda game was Fallout 3 and I loved the game. I guess love isn't a good enough word really, I LOVED the game. I didn't really think of the game engine as the world, the textures and stuff was very different to me.

As I now play Skyrim, yeah you know the slow motion kill shots do remind me of Fallout 3. The play style kind of reminds me of it too. The voice actors are similar, the style is similar so its more noticeable to me now. Its not bad, but yeah, its familiar.

Will a new game with the engine, similar voice actors and style in the Fallout verse bother me? I imagine not. I mean, I have Fallout: New Vegas waiting for me to start up and I imagine ill love it, but I might put another game in the middle first.

I hear you though, seems like you played more of the Bethesda games than I and yeah, all told if they took a departure with the next game more that could be a great thing.

That said, like panickedthumb I doubt they will drop the engine and such. I do hope they clean it up bugs and strange elements. Then again, its fun to have Mammoths fall from the sky but it does sort of break the immersion.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

My Continuing Adventures As The Dragonborn

As I continue my adventures as the Dragonborn, the things I can do in Skyrim become more and more epic. Somehow I missed that Bethesda released a free DLC update to Skyrim that adds high res textures to the game. I knew community members had high res packs but finding out about Bethesda's drew me to the immediate download and install.

After starting the game after the DLC was installed I noticed right away, the game looks even more incredible. It shows the game was "mastered" with consoles in mind and the high res. textures really make the game feel more organic. The swords and game environments seem less pixelated and edgy. Plus with lighting turned up, the game has a softer glow to it in certain conditions that are really quite beautiful. That said, all this beauty comes with a cost. Things are a bit slower on my rig. Its well within the realm of acceptable but it is still present. I imagine when I get a new video card it will be less pronounced.

I finally saved up the 5k gold for my house in Whiterun. There is nothing in the house save cobwebs and boxes so I am stashing items inside it by simply dropping them on the ground. That seems to work between saves so ill do that until I can find a way to put a chest inside. Does anyone know you can get a chest in your house to stash items in?

I was also presented with the opportunity(not saying how for a possible spoiler) to become a Werewolf. I don't mind the idea, but it seems you lose a few "human" benefits and I am not sure being a Werewolf is worth it. It seem you gain the ability to become a Werewolf but on the flipside in Werewolf form you can't collect items or anything. Plus in human form you lose your sleep bonus. Also it seems if you change into a Werewolf around a human they immediately want to kill your human form too. Has anyone done this and would you say this is a good idea?

High Res. Texture Pack:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/202485/

A fun epic Skyrim 300 video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ct1668FUKs&feature=player_embedded

Travis Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 01:55am

You can talk to the steward or something, can't remember his title, to upgrade your house. I think there's a chest upstairs by default though.

As for werewolfing yourself, I never cared for the benefits. It's a fun novelty at first but I never used it after a few times.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/23/2012 at 02:38am

Ok. I can't seem to progress with the faction that can turne until I decide I want to. Wondering if in should take the jump for that story line alone.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:47pm

I never found being a werewolf beneficial, other than ocassionally when I needed to run somewhere quickly (and didn't have a horse), or just maul a town. But I also didn't find the negatives to be a handicap.

It was an interesting storyline.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:54pm

You can get through that quest line pretty quickly and then there is a way out.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:55pm

And if you get Dawnguard, there's a way back in!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2012 at 02:50pm

Cool. Sounds like there isn't too much of a negative to being a Werewolf then.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/24/2012 at 06:58pm

Yeah, you don't get your sleep bonus on skillups, and people will tell you that you smell like a wet dog. That's about it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2012 at 11:18pm

Hahaha, totally worth it. Wondering. Can you be a WW any other way?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:02am

Not that I'm aware of.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:30am

There's one sidequest where you can get an item that helps control when you can turn. I won't give any more info in case you want to avoid spoilers but you can search for it on the wikis if you are so inclined.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 02:19pm

Will do, thanks!

So you can't control when you turn the to start?

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 02:47pm

You can control it but you only get one per day. The item changes that.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 03:18pm

Oh sweet thanks. Good thing you don't switch on a full moon in town automagically.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:11pm

Actually I think that coul be interesting. If they gave you more benefits to being a werewolf but one big drawback, like turning automatically on a full moon.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:26am

Right. That would be.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Looks like Nintendo Power is going to be closing up shop.

Looks like Nintendo Power is going to be closing up shop. It had a fantastic run in the late 80's and early 90's and whomever had a subscription I was always envious of. I read each issue cover to cover many times.

I remember reading the issue with Secret of Mana detailed and I couldn't put it down for weeks. The way Nintendo stiched together images and game hints was magical to my young video game addicted brain.

A few years ago I got a subscription to Nintendo Power again and some of the spark remained but my habits changed and I didn't read them as eagerly as I once did. Oh and they talked about Nintendogs too much for my tastes. I should have kept my original issues of Nintendo Power but like so many, I tossed them out.

I DO have 2009's special 25th anniversary issue with the special silver cover and poster. I also have a somewhat tattered copy of the Super Mario 3 guide as well as the Final Fantasy VII guide. That said a few site online have archived all the old issues to obtain. Hopefully Nintendo issues an app that has them all available or puts them on some kind of web archive.

I salute you Nintendo Power an amazing relic of a era long since gone!

Oh and the top Nintendo Games in 1988 for Nintendo Powers First issue:
http://i.imgur.com/VHY0c.jpg

-
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/08/source-nintendo-power-magazine-to-cease-publication/

What better way to celebrate Retro Tuesday that with a Super

What better way to celebrate Retro Tuesday that with a Super Mario Brothers post it note video? Well, perhaps Shigeru Miyamoto visiting your house and telling you they are making another Zelda game in the style of Link to the Past and releasing the source code for the original Zelda as open source.

One can dream can't he?

Blizzard dropped the news today that Heart of the Swarm will

Blizzard dropped the news today that Heart of the Swarm will enter multiplayer beta "very soon." I enjoy the Zerg quite a bit and am looking forward to the single player game. Wings of Liberty was very well done and I anticipate Heart of the Swarm to be just as good or better! I know, perhaps my expectations are too high for a post Diablo 3 Blizzard? I certainly hope not.

Relevant bits from the blog:

"We are preparing to invite testers for the Heart of the Swarm beta very soon! To be clear, this test will be for the multiplayer experience only. We will begin with a select group, including many players who assisted us in testing Patch 1.5, as well as some pro-gamers and press. Over time, we will add more and more testers into the mix.

If you are interested in participating in the beta test, please make sure you are opted in for beta testing. You can do this by clicking "Beta Profile Settings" under the Account Management section of your Battle.net account. Note that the opt-in doesn't guarantee entry, but gives you a chance at joining the beta test. Also, we'll be working with your favorite fansites and community personalities to give away more entries to the beta test, so keep an eye out for invites coming from the greater StarCraft community over the coming weeks."

Really hoping to get in the beta to try the new units!

http://us.battle.net//sc2/en/blog/6983561

Second Terraria World Comes To a Close

I turned off the Terraria server tonight. It was awesome to see what people did with the game. I was honestly surprised people built as much, mined as much and killed as many bosses as we did. The screenshot is of the final state of the game at night and as you can see, the village is fairly dense.

We mined down to the underworld, killed Skeletron, The Eye of Cthulhu, Eater of the World, survived countless Blood Moons, Goblin Invasions put the world in hard more and then defeated the hard more bosses.

Some of my favorite moments were on the first night spelunking underground with @chowda, exploring the underground Jungles with @panickedthumb and killing the wall of flesh 10+ times with everyone before we set the world to hard.

I really enjoyed the world and as such plan on having other game events we can play together if people are able. That said, I promised to share the world file after it was over and here it is.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1oRZK7IvLFZM21aWjNFemJSNVU

Travis Admin wrote on 08/20/2012 at 01:21pm

The underground jungle was damn fun. Annoying at times, but tons of fun.

This server is honestly one of my favorite experiences in gaming. You guys are all awesome to play with. Terraria is so deceptively deep, and it was great discovering it all with you guys, building tons of awesome stuff, and taking out bosses.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/20/2012 at 01:31pm

Any privacy concerns with 4shared? I've never used it but need to create an account if I want to download that file. Just want to make sure they aren't going to steal my identity or burn my house down or anything nefarious.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/20/2012 at 01:46pm

Ah, didn't know you need an account to download that file. I'll share it with another service. I kind of just picked a random site. Do you have one you use?

Travis Admin wrote on 08/20/2012 at 01:55pm

Well, I did, but the FBI shut it down :) Haven't looked into it much since then. Megaupload was awesome.

I guess there's always Google or Dropbox.

But I don't mind creating an account, as long as it's safe, or there's always bugmenot.com :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/20/2012 at 02:42pm

Nah don't. I'll re share with Google Drive.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/21/2012 at 03:26am

I have incorporated some key elements of our world into my own and finished my base. Video is uploading, but it's going to take some time.

And now, just in time for the Diablo 3 patch, I think I'm done with Terraria for a while.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/21/2012 at 04:15am

Good call. Look forward to checking out the video.

Also, link updated. Should "just work" now.

vdogmr25 wrote on 08/21/2012 at 08:25pm

It was a blast to jump in on this. I wish I had time to participate more, but the time I had was well spent. Thanx for getting me started and giving me quite the loot boost, everyone.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 01:16am

That looks awesome!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/25/2014 at 04:22pm

Yeah Greg, you can download both of our old game maps (this server map is linked above) if you want to see what we did.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/14/2014 at 10:10am

Jon, I see the first one "cg_world1.wld" in the link, but not the second.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/14/2014 at 10:53pm

Ah, yeah I am not sure where but I posted about the second world and put a link to it in another post. Let me see, try this one:

First Server:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1oRZK7IvLFZM21aWjNFemJSNVU/edit?usp=sharing

Second Server:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1oRZK7IvLFZd0Fwa21sV2xKeEk/edit?usp=sharing

Third Server:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1oRZK7IvLFZWGRMeFVuY19NVUk/edit?usp=sharing

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/15/2014 at 12:42am

Awesome! I'll have to go explore!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/15/2014 at 02:31am

Wow and oops! I was exploring the first world, it's pretty cool. I fought some Corruption enemies that I hadn't before (I haven't really explored the Corruption in my 2nd world yet). Then, I went to the Underworld to do some exploring and what do you know...I killed a Voodoo Demon and it dropped it's doll in the lava. Even with the Spectre Armor and a total of 51 defense, it was an easy fight for me and my Terra Blade. It's pretty cool exploring the worlds created by you guys. I did throw each world into my Terraria backup folder, so no matter what I do, I can always revert. Thanks for giving me three new worlds to explore! I also am the last person to visit the first world (obviously), about 2 years after you guys. Hahaha.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Everyone can now install the DoTA 2 spectator client to

Everyone can now install the DoTA 2 spectator client to watch existing DoTA 2 games and the upcoming DoTA 2 international. I just installed it and watched a game and it was pretty interesting. Couldn't figure out how to train on watch just one hero, but it was fun to see the game play out in real time.

If you want to nab DoTA 2 now, you can pay $30 for some DoTA items and beta access to play right now. I think ill just wait for the actual release, but its really tempting... I might pay to play it earlier.

Check out the DoTA 2 spectator client and let me know what you think. Is DoTA 2 something you are interested in?

Travis Admin wrote on 08/18/2012 at 04:56am

I watched a tournament game. I have no idea what the hell was going on.

I got into the beta a while back but haven't jumped in yet. I mean, I got the beta invite during the Steam sale, come on! What did they expect?

But being one of the last 5 people left who haven't played the original DOTA, I was kinda lost. It looks a bit like what would happen if a Diablo-style game got dropped into the Warcraft world, with a few mechanics of War3 coming in as well.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/18/2012 at 05:30am

Yep. It's essentially two teams trying to overwhelm the others base. It's super competitive and gets really quite hard. Hopefully when It drops they will have bits and private games do we don't get lambasted for being newbs. :)

Travis Admin wrote on 08/18/2012 at 05:51am

That's always been my problem with super competitive games. People are so serious about it you are practically helpless if you don't dedicate 16 hours a day to it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/18/2012 at 01:30pm

Hopefully they ship bots or have a easier mode. If not, yeah it might not be as much fun.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/20/2012 at 11:32pm

I've gotten into the beta for this game. It's... well. I dunno. I've played a similar game (see my previous post on Demigod) and I was really looking forward to this game and was really excited to get into the beta but it is really not beginner friendly. I don't mind losing in a game (especially a game I'm new at) but getting dominated so badly you feel like you never get a chance to really learn what you're doing sucks. I'm hoping there will be a option to play against bots until I can at least get use to the 30 or so different heroes so I at least know what my own abilities do before jumping into more matches against other people. :)

If they had an option to play private games, I think this could be a lot of fun with the rest of the CheerfuGhosters though.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/20/2012 at 11:46pm

I much prefer games with friends than games with strangers who will just annihilate you or grief. For example, I played a little CoD4:MW online, and I just don't see the appeal. It's not that the game isn't well-made, or that the content isn't fun, it's the *people* who ruin it. Same with Halo 3. I just play solo unless I can play with friends.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/20/2012 at 11:47pm

Addendum to the above: The only exception is TF2. Maybe the "It's too cartoon bro, why would you ever play that junk?" mentality drove away all the assholes. I played TONS of TF2 online and loved every minute. A teammate I was on at one point said "Wow, I don't even care that we're getting our asses handed to us, I feel honored to see this. They are AMAZING."

How often would you hear that in CoD?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/21/2012 at 02:07am

I think we all agree. Fun is good, lamers are not. Private games help, bots help but a great community and game style helps more.

Hopefully DoTA 2 has bots and I am pretty sure they will have private games at least. But if no bots then how does one fill a game?

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

jdodson1

2746 Posts

Not much to share because PopCap hasnt shared much with us

Hear ye, Hear ye, Today we announce the Cheerful Ghost

Gearbox recently released a stripped down retro version of

This just in from the rumor department, Fallout 4 has been

My Continuing Adventures As The Dragonborn

Looks like Nintendo Power is going to be closing up shop.

What better way to celebrate Retro Tuesday that with a Super

Blizzard dropped the news today that Heart of the Swarm will

Second Terraria World Comes To a Close

Everyone can now install the DoTA 2 spectator client to