jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

How Are You Going To Buy Star Wars Rogue One?

Rogue One A Star Wars Story blew up the box office pulling in over a billion dollars! Because Disney didn't make quite as much as they should and also because I can't stop buying Star Wars movies I am going to pickup Rogue One when it hits video. There are a couple options on the table for how you can pick it up and I felt it was worth a bit of time to discuss our options.

If you want to get the new movie but can't stand buying physical copies you might want to pickup Rogue One March 24th. I still don't quite get why people do this as nearly all Bluray releases contain a digital copy, but if you don't want to add to the landfill going digital is the best way to go.

If you're like me and still enjoy opening the actual movie, putting the disc in the tray and realizing you could be saving your time by just streaming it you will be getting it on Bluray on April 4th. You can't go wrong with any of the versions available at stores but the special ultra-cool collectors edition is at Target you might want to look into. When Target got the special version with extra behind the scenes extras for Force Awakens that content was digital only and not available on a packin disc. This really sucked and many people complained so it seems Disney has listened and Target is getting an exclusive 5-disc set includes collectible packaging with interchangeable character covers and exclusive bonus content.

http://www.starwars.com/news/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-arrives-soon-digital-hd-blu-ray

Are you going to get Rogue One and if so how?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/08/2017 at 04:54am

Blu-ray: Amazon because I am lazy.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/08/2017 at 05:00am

I haven't seen it, so I might try to rent it via Amazon Video. I already have a few other movies on my list to rent such as "Arrival" and "Doctor Strange."

Also, I saw a trailer today for Star Wars VIII and the movie is coming out in December.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/08/2017 at 05:39am

Star Wars VIII trailer was dope.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/08/2017 at 02:36pm

I hate to tell you guys, you didn't really see an episode 8 trailer

http://ktar.com/story/1483276/fan-made-last-jedi-trailer-fakes-star-wars-fans-online/

I'm definitely getting Rogue One at Target. Gotta get those extra special features!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/08/2017 at 03:59pm

Oh, I was trolling. I thought GregoPeck was too. Did not know about the fake trailer.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/08/2017 at 04:10pm

My guess is a full blown episode VIII teaser trailer will be out at Star Wars Celebration and they will announce The original Mew Hope film cut on 4K release details.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/08/2017 at 07:23pm

Wow, I had no idea.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/08/2017 at 07:42pm

In my defense, I found the trailer on Facebook, a friend posted it in a private group. Although, I could have checked YouTube or other links to verify it.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/08/2017 at 07:43pm

Yeah it's well done!

You're right though, it's coming out in December.

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You Can Signup For iD's New Quake Closed Beta Right Now!

Quake was one of the first staples at the early LAN parties I had with my friends. Since I didn't have enough money to afford the full game we were limited to four player multiplayer with the demo. Later on when I had a bit more money I found Quake III on sale and played the heck out of that. Quake, Quake II and Quake III had excellent multiplayer which is something that iD hasn't really seemed to master lately. I really enjoyed the packin co-op that Rage came with and the car deathmatch was really fun too. That said, Quake Champions is iD's upcoming arena based multiplayer shooter and it looks like a incredible retelling of Quake III.

If you're like me then you might be really interested in joining the closed beta and if you are you should head over to the Quake site and join. I'm not sure how many people they will let in, but if it's like most betas they will slowly trickle folks in to test the game and servers and then open the flood gates a bit before launch.

https://quake.bethesda.net/en/

Cygnus Destroyer Looks Back At The Wii U

"The Nintendo Switch is currently flying off store shelves across the globe, but the Switch wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Wii U. Released in November 2012, the commercially failed successor to the massively popular Wii may have produced less than 200 games during its brief run, but there was a lot of gold to be found among that paltry library. Join me on a journey to pay tribute to the severely underrated black sheep of the eighth console generation!"

If I was pressed to buy a console from the PS4, XBox One and Wii U generation I would have picked up the Wii U. As a PC gamer I feel the games we get fill in the gaps that console exclusives often leave open except with Nintendo games. There is nothing like Mario Maker, Mario Kart 8 and Zelda being made by other companies right now and I honestly believe that Nintendo offers a different game experience than most companies. That said, I didn't get a Wii U but really respect it even if it didn't have the largest game library or a very long lifespan. As the Nintendo Switch is now launched Cygnus Destroyer takes a look at the Wii U and some of his most favorite games on the console. As Nintendo launches it's last game on the Wii U in Breath of the Wild I see the Wii U maintaining a long lifespan well beyond it's years in the retro and collector communities.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:11pm

Mario Kart was the most played game on my Wii U. My problem with the Wii U was the second screen did not live up to expectations. If I wanted to play my game just on the controller screen, I had to be in the same room as the Wii U. As soon as I left the room, the connection would be dropped.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:26pm

The Wii U was the Switch prototype and it seems the Switch does the mobile thing way better.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:28pm

^ I just ran into this same problem. I was playing Zelda and wanted to move the bathroom, but couldn't. Poor me had to switch to a game on my phone! #ItsAHardKnockLife

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:36pm

Yeah, it feels like the Switch is what the Wii U should have been.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:38pm

Adam: your solution is in your sentence. "Poor me had to SWITCH to a game on my phone!" Switch is where it's at.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:42pm

LOL, seriously. I just don't want to buy a new system yet. Also, Zelda looks AMAZING on the Wii U still :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/07/2017 at 05:47pm

You just can't play it on the toilet.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/07/2017 at 06:00pm

Eventually I'll move it in there ;)

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Metal Jesus & Kelsey Break Down The VirtualBoy and All Of It's Nintendo Fueled Greatness

Some people cite the short lifespan of Nintendo's recent Wii U as proof it's biggest failure Nintendo has ever had. As popular as that meme is right now the shortest lifespan of a Nintendo console was a year and it was for the VirtualBoy. The VirtualBoy is a Nintendo console that was launched in 1995 with VR that only allowed games two use colors in red and black. The tech was pretty cool and I remember being impressed with it playing it in the stores but none of the games seemed so great I just had to have one and then it was off the market. The VirtualBoy is the perfect system for collectors as it can live on and be a unique footnote in gaming history.

Nintendo Switch & Breath of the Wild Are Out And The Game Kart Tastes Terrible?

The Nintendo Switch & Zelda Breath of the Wild are now safely launched and not only does the Switch seem to be getting good reviews but it seems Breath of The Wild might be one of the best games of all time... already? Breath of the Wild is only few days old but is already getting crazy high reviews like a 98% Metacritic, 10/10 IGN, 10/10 Trusted Reviews, 10/10 Polygon and the like seem to be implying this latest Zelda game might be the pinnacle of the series. Even after the hype train and recent launch to crazy acclaim my plan for picking up a Switch by years end i'm sticking with. I have yet to finish up Ocarina 3D and after that I want to play Link Between Worlds so I have plenty of Zelda for the time being.

Switch Carts Taste Terrible Because... We Need To Eat Them?

Many news sites are reporting that the new Switch game carts taste absolutely terrible, which is something i'd honestly never thought i'd type in a sentence. That said, as Nintendo game carts are now quite small I imagine Nintendo didn't want kids eating them so making the label taste awful would make it so tiny humans don't swallow them which is actually a nice feature now that my house is occupied by a very explorative 9 month old.

That said, if any Cheerful Ghosters have Breath of the Wild on Switch can you lick the games sticker and report back? I'm curious what your thoughts are and what it tastes like. You know, for science. Also, if you are playing Breath of the Wild i'd love for you to post your thoughts on the game so far and keep us updated as you keep playing it.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/05/2017 at 01:48am

I ate some food after touching a cart and my finger had a bitter taste.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/05/2017 at 04:44am

I finally got the paraglider! It only took me around 5 hours. :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/05/2017 at 04:52am

BTW, don't hold anything on fire near exploding barrels. Ouch.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/05/2017 at 05:39pm

I just got my Wii U version this morning! I'll make sure to lick the disk before playing.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/05/2017 at 05:52pm

I hear the wii u version tastes like butterscotch.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/05/2017 at 11:29pm

I demand a full taste review!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/06/2017 at 03:29am

I won't be licking my disc, LOL. While playing, Vinny was watching videos about the Switch and the new Zelda game. He kept telling me things he's learned about it, keeping spoilers away. What I heard in those videos confirms what Jon said about extremely positive reviews. This one person said it's probably the best Zelda game EVER and incorporates the other games more than any other.

I'm looking forward to playing it, but I'm pre-occupied. I'll get to it eventually, maybe this summer.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/06/2017 at 01:10pm

It's the actual plastic casing, not the label, that tastes bitter. And it does taste nasty!

Travis Admin wrote on 03/06/2017 at 01:53pm

Scrypt-- I've heard plenty of people saying the casing is bad but the label is the worst. Boogie had his in his mouth for a few seconds before flipping it to the label side and then started acting like he might die. Interesting. I don't have one to taste myself :D

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/06/2017 at 03:06pm

Challenge accepted...

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/06/2017 at 03:11pm

So gross! I don't know, I can't really tell the difference. If I start with one side, the other just compounds the bitterness. Maybe the paper texture of the label side transfers the taste more rapidly? Jon, you need to put one in Finn's mouth and see what he thinks...

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/06/2017 at 03:37pm

I bet if I did that Francesca would punch me. That said, I'm glad it has it so if he tries it he will spit it out.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/06/2017 at 03:39pm

Some interesting articles I read this morning:

Looks like the Switch controllers are normal Bluetooth devices https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2017/03/06/nintendo-switch-joy-con-and-pro-controllers-work-on-pc-mac-and-android/amp/

GameStop said the Switch was one of the strongest console launches in years. I wonder how that translates to sales?

https://gamerant.com/nintendo-switch-gamestop-launch-comparison/

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/06/2017 at 04:44pm

Today I found a boomerang. I threw said boomerang, and I did not know how to catch it. It flew over my head and I lost it. :(

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/06/2017 at 04:47pm

SO I GUESS YOU COULD SAY HOW TO USE IT FLEW RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/06/2017 at 05:52pm

Yes.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/06/2017 at 06:05pm

Amiibos are cool in this game. They give you a ton of useful items on a daily basis.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/09/2017 at 04:07am

https://i.imgur.com/bZ5weFE.gifv

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/09/2017 at 05:08am

That's cool

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/12/2017 at 07:57pm

In Zelda I am collecting 10 crickets so a guy can romance some girl.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/12/2017 at 10:06pm

How many crickets have you found so far?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/12/2017 at 11:55pm

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/13/2017 at 06:45am

I found two videos I thought I'd share from GameSpot: "9 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Zelda: Breath of the Wild" (https://youtu.be/SaxP1MLBbPE) and "9 More Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Zelda: Breath of the Wild" (https://youtu.be/v5p0ELwY5Sk).

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/13/2017 at 09:42pm

10 crickets! The dude went from a guy hanging out with a donkey to a pimp with those 10 crickets.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/14/2017 at 03:14am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EvbqxBUG_c

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/14/2017 at 05:05am

That was awesome!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/14/2017 at 06:38pm

I am 15 hours into BotW and I feel like I have barely started the game. The time has gone by fast too!

Travis Admin wrote on 03/14/2017 at 07:40pm

Is that good or bad for you? Based on your tone I'm guessing good. Some people would find it daunting, some would want to spend 700 hours in it. I love long games as long as the depth is there.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/14/2017 at 08:46pm

Good for me!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/19/2017 at 05:49am

GameSpot's "Even More Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Zelda: Breath of the Wild" https://youtu.be/7p6DMevgbyw

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/20/2017 at 04:32am

Breath of the Wild on SNES - https://i.redd.it/93dtafk5gemy.gif

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/22/2017 at 03:29pm

25 hours in and I am still having fun, and I still don't know where to go. :) I think I may have found an easier path this morning. Every path I have taken before has kicked my ass.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/22/2017 at 11:10pm

Nope, I was wrong. Time to search for another path. :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/22/2017 at 11:16pm

I am enjoying the discovery process. Even though I have not progressed much in the story line, I have been clearing shrines and opening up the map.

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Stardew Valley Celebrates It's First Year Anniversary

http://stardewvalley.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1_y_a.png

Back in 2013 I wrote about a game in early development called Stardew Valley. It was a one man project that looked like the PC Harvest Moon game we always wanted and we followed it over the years until its launch in 2016. We were so excited about the game that WhiteboySlim, Scrypt and I interviewed the developer of the game, something you should check out below.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1005/interview-w-eric-barone-creator-of-stardew-valley

Recently Stardew Valley celebrated it's one year anniversary and developer ConcernedApe wrote about that and the games long journey to launch. It's a really interesting read and something I recommend you check out.

"Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the release of Stardew Valley.

In some ways, it’s hard to believe that an entire year has already gone by since launch. Yet, at the same time, it’s been the longest year of my life. It’s felt long because I’ve done so much in the last 12 months:

-Game came out
-Released many patches to fix bugs and tweak gameplay
-Dozens of interviews
-Answered thousands of messages/emails
-Provided personal troubleshooting and technical support
-Made many Business/Merchandise deals
-Developed and released the 1.1 update
-Exhibited at PAX and met many fans
-Met Mr. Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon
-Flew to the UK to visit Chucklefish and collect an industry award
-Built a decent computer and got a nice big desk (No more HP Pavilion propped on a Wii U box)
-Worked with Chucklefish to make the Console ports and localizations happen"

http://stardewvalley.net/stardew-valley-1-year-anniversary/

Journey to Un'Goro Is The All New Hearthstone Expansion To Launch In April

I am woefully late to the reporting party to let you know that the upcoming Hearthstone expansion Journey to Un'Goro has been announced and will launch in April. The announcement video by Ben Brode is well worth watching even if you're not a Hearthstone super fan. Un'Gogo will feature a couple awesome things including Dinosaurs, the new Elemental type and card quests. Card Quests cost one mana and will always show up in your opening hand and if you complete them will award you a crazy legendary like the Priest legendary Amara that's an 8/8 for 5 that sets your players health to 40! Blizzard will start the trickle of new card reveals on March 15th and continue the pace until the set launches in April. There have been some reports that the run up to the release of Un'Goro will contain special login bonuses but nothing official has been announced yet. So far i've saved up 5,000+ gold for Un'Goro and should be able to collect even more for the pack opening when then set hits in April.

Season 11 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Hits Netflix April 14th!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C5T30hYVYAAHKQC.jpg

In the not too distant future the brand new Mystery Science Theater 3000 season will drop on Netflix bringing this classic show back to the fans and an entirely new audience. It will release on Netflix and to Kickstarter backers on April 14th, which is a bit odd as I thought Kickstarter backers would get a few days lead time but at least this way everyone can see it at the same time. Joel also released the new cast photo above featuring the new star of the show Jonah Ray playing Johan Heston, Felicia Day as Kinga Forrester, Patton Oswalt as Son of TV's Frank, Hampton Yount as Crow and Baron Vaugn as Tom Servo. There has been a lot of secrecy around the new episodes so much so that the list of movies they are riffing isn't even known yet. As more information surfaces i'll drop it here but until then we can just relax because April 14th isn't that far away.

https://twitter.com/MST3K/status/834564430406963200

Even More Incredible AGDQ Speedruns!

As I finish up watching all the Awesome Games Done Quick speedruns from 2016 I missed watching live I wanted to share a few more you might find enjoy. The above Borderlands 2 co-op run is great as they beat the game in 1:44:50 which is an impressive feat considering it's a run that takes two people to pull off. It uses some fun weapon switching dupe bug glitches as well as some interesting speed bugs that make progressing through areas incredibly fast and interesting to watch.

The final run you should watch is of the Action 52 NES Classic Cheetahmen and if you know of the game and it's epic terribleness you also know the game is very hard. The runner huey beats the game handily in four minutes making the game much more interesting to watch than it is to play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3XOd3oSsjk

Blizzard Dropping XP and Vista Support

In a move that shouldn't be too shocking to anyone Blizzard will drop support for Windows XP and Vista in World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. Windows XP was a staple of Desktop computing for years but has been very unsupported by Microsoft since 2014. If you are on XP or Vista I seriously recommend you upgrade to 7, 8 or 10 as those offer you security updates and a more streamlined experience. With that, I imagine many people own old hardware that a modern OS just won't run on and if that's the case then i'd consider those machines a sort of retro game PC. Lots of older Blizzard games on CD will still work on XP as well as anything released from that era you have kicking around on physical media.

Curious if this change will cause any of you to lose access to any of the mentioned Blizzard games? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

"Starting later this year, we will begin the process of ending support for Windows XP and Windows Vista in World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. Microsoft ceased mainstream support for these versions of Windows in 2009 and 2012, respectively, but since a decent portion of our audience was still using them at the time, we continued supporting them. However, there have been three major Windows releases since Vista, and at this point, the vast majority of our audience has upgraded to one of the newer versions.

After these older operating systems are no longer supported, the games will not run on them, so we encourage any players who are still using one of the older OSes to upgrade to a newer version. We’ll be rolling out this change on a staggered schedule, and will post further notices as we get closer to making the change for each game."

https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20753178086

Travis Admin wrote on 02/19/2017 at 03:48am

I imagine any PC without at least Windows 7 isn't getting much gaming love these days.

It's possible those old machines could still have a life in modern times, though. XP is one thing, but even crappy PCs that came with Vista run better with 7, 8, and 10. They haven't changed a ton of the functional system requirements. I upgraded a crappy Vista pc through 7, 8, and 10 and it runs better now than ever. I use it for things I want to watch on TV but can't do so in any other way than through a browser.

That said, OS upgrades from Microsoft didn't always come with a free upgrade window like they did for 10, so you may not have a cheap/free upgrade path. If you have spare licenses and you don't mind potentially wasting one on a PC that might not have much of a life left, give it a shot.

If you have a Vista PC and this is causing you headaches I don't recommend paying for an upgrade to your OS; put that money toward a new computer.

But as for Blizzard's statement that "the games will not run on them," I bet an enterprising XP holdout could figure out how to make it work. I highly doubt there's a major audience for it, though.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/19/2017 at 02:55pm

Noooooo!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/19/2017 at 05:21pm

Noooooo!

It might be a smaller percentage but some people in that thread were upset about this. When we shipped Starship Rubicon XP was a target OS and I do remember a few people submitting bug reports on it(If memory serves). I respect people getting as much life out of a computer as they can. I love for things to last forever too and I have a machine or two with XP on it kicking around. I don't use it as a daily driver though.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/19/2017 at 09:27pm

> I have a machine or two with XP on it kicking around

I hope by "kicking around" you mean "disconnected from the internet unless absolutely necessary," because there are some serious security issues with XP that will never get patched. One big reason Microsoft tries to get people to upgrade for really amazingly cheap (Windows 8) or free (Windows 10) is because of "vaccination" in a sense. Unsupported operating systems get infected more easily leading to more crap spreading around and more botnets. Don't be part of a botnet, Jon! :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/20/2017 at 04:49pm

Thanks Travis.

Connecting a insecure device to your personal network doesn't get it compromised in seconds but if I connected it direct to the Ineternet it might. That might be a fun thing to try too. Connect a Windows XP box to the net and wait to see how long it would take till it gets owned. Since I can turn it off easily enough that might be a fun experiment.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/20/2017 at 08:35pm

Haha, yeah. I've seen that done for a laugh and it really takes next to no time at all. It's nuts!

And that was even when it was still a supported OS!

But I wasn't even talking about using it directly connected, and I wasn't saying just having it there would get it infected in seconds. Just sitting there doing nothing on your network, it's fine for the most part (not entirely), but it has a nutty amount of security holes just waiting for a malware download. Even using what you'd think is secure software. Since there's no UAC like there is in Windows Vista and above, even a responsible user with a trusty install of Firefox (not including Chrome since you can't run a secure Chrome on XP anymore) can get screwed if an ad network gets compromised, which happens. Even the most trusted ones. Microsoft was handing out malware once because the ad network they used got compromised.

If you disable the hell out of unneeded services and install an outgoing firewall (your router has you covered on incoming, for the most part but again not entirely) and only use it for old games that don't work on Vista and above, and you do no web browsing, you'll heavily mitigate the risk.

And just to be clear, it's a matter of percentages. I'm not saying XP is 100% guaranteed to get malware, not by a long shot. But it's an entirely static target now since it will never change, and it's facing dynamic threats now, and anything can happen.

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jdodson1

2761 Posts

How Are You Going To Buy Star Wars Rogue One?

You Can Signup For iD's New Quake Closed Beta Right Now!

Cygnus Destroyer Looks Back At The Wii U

Metal Jesus & Kelsey Break Down The VirtualBoy and All Of It's Nintendo Fueled Greatness

Nintendo Switch & Breath of the Wild Are Out And The Game Kart Tastes Terrible?

Stardew Valley Celebrates It's First Year Anniversary

Journey to Un'Goro Is The All New Hearthstone Expansion To Launch In April

Season 11 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Hits Netflix April 14th!

Even More Incredible AGDQ Speedruns!

Blizzard Dropping XP and Vista Support