Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Skyrim Anniversary Editon Coming 11/11/21

*Note: I didn't find a trailer for this, so I included the hilarious "Very Special Edition" trailer, which was an announcement for the Alexa version. Yes, you read that right, now go watch the trailer it is a must see!*

Wow, 11/11/21 is going to be an amazing day for gaming! I just wrote about the GTA Trilogy and now I get to tell you that Skyrim Anniversary Edition is coming out on the same day. "This 10th Anniversary Edition of the game will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S." (Quoted from news source below.)

Just like the GTA Trilogy, I've known about this for a few months now, but have waited for a release date to share... Read All *Note: I didn't find a trailer for this, so I included the hilarious "Very Special Edition" trailer, which was an announcement for the Alexa version. Yes, you read that right, now go watch the trailer it is a must see!*

Wow, 11/11/21 is going to be an amazing day for gaming! I just wrote about the GTA Trilogy and now I get to tell you that Skyrim Anniversary Edition is coming out on the same day. "This 10th Anniversary Edition of the game will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S." (Quoted from news source below.)

Just like the GTA Trilogy, I've known about this for a few months now, but have waited for a release date to share it with you. I was only aware of a couple of changes, but I found a good source and have decided to quote it here:

"Current and future owners of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition on any platform including Xbox Game Pass Subscribers will receive access to three free pieces of Creation Club content: Fishing, Survival Mode and even new quests with Saints and Seducers. Additionally, Skyrim Special Edition owners on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S, as well as Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Xbox Series X|S will receive a free upgrade to an enhanced version on November 11 for their respective PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S systems!

We’re also excited to announce the most definitive version of Skyrim to date: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition. The Anniversary Edition includes Skyrim Special Edition and 74 creations, all 48 currently available and 26 to be released. These showcase over 500+ individual elements such as quests, items, armor, houses, etc.

Existing owners of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition and Xbox Game Pass subscribers will also receive the option to purchase an Anniversary Edition upgrade for their Special Edition version of the game to gain access to all the additional content found in the Anniversary Edition."

The Steam version isn't mentioned, but it is coming. Details I'm finding suggest that the Steam version of SE will receive the same treatment as mentioned in the last paragraph above this one. If you already own the Special Edition, SE's price will be discounted from the price of the AE. Keep in mind though, I'm finding sources that are saying AE will break mods. I've been looking for more info on the Steam version and I think I found a good source in the forums here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/489830/discussions/0/4809273833190921323/

What do you think about this? Is this an upgrade you plan to get? I think I will although I feel like I've played Skyrim enough and I'm not really sure I'm very interested in the additional content.

Quote source: https://elderscrolls.bethesda.net/en/article/REybYU3Gy2InVlHmus4UC/skyrim-10th-anniversary-fan-celebration

News source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/skyrim-anniversary-edition-adds-fishing-ps5-xbox-series-x-s-upgrades-on-the-way/1100-6495364/

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Coming 11/11/21

I've known about this for a few months, but have waited for a release date and trailer to let you know about it. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is coming 11/11/21. It is a remaster of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas and it looks gorgeous!

GTA 3 was a pivotal corner stone in the series that brought the series from bird's eye view into the 3D third-person perspective we've come to love since. I believe GTA 3 took the series to a whole new level and it's popularity has exploded since. I loved GTA 3 very much and I also very much loved Vice City. I'm quite sure I bought both games in their infancy. I even have what was released on the PSP, except... Read All I've known about this for a few months, but have waited for a release date and trailer to let you know about it. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is coming 11/11/21. It is a remaster of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas and it looks gorgeous!

GTA 3 was a pivotal corner stone in the series that brought the series from bird's eye view into the 3D third-person perspective we've come to love since. I believe GTA 3 took the series to a whole new level and it's popularity has exploded since. I loved GTA 3 very much and I also very much loved Vice City. I'm quite sure I bought both games in their infancy. I even have what was released on the PSP, except for GTA Chinatown Wars, which I've never played. I still have all three games on Steam. While I first played these games on my PS2, it was actually the original XBox versions that I loved more, because it allowed you to use your own music.

I don't mean to belittle San Andreas, it was great. I'm quite sure I bought it at launch. However, there is a mission called Supply Lines that I found to be extremely frustrating when I first played it. I'd rather not do it again, but I think this remaster warrants attempting it again. I did finally complete it, though. In recent years, I tried replaying the game on Steam and ran into another frustrating mission and I gave up. The mission itself is simple, you just use the hydraulics on a car and bounce around. Unfortunately the controller configuration didn't translate well to Steam and I was unable to figure out how to complete it. I think I did find a solution much later, but I haven't tried. It might work better now with my XBox One controller.

This compilation is $60 and is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. As for PC, I don't see it on Steam and the article I linked below says it will be available on the Rockstar Launcher. I think I might get it right away, even though I strongly prefer to have all my games on Steam. I've actually been bored with gaming lately and have taken a break. There's a game coming out next month that I've been eagerly awaiting and it looks like now I have this one to look forward to as well.

Let me know what you think about this. Are you a fan of the series? What are your thoughts on the games? What do you think about this remaster compilation? Will you get it and if so when do you think you might?

News source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-the-trilogy-definitive-edition-release-date-announced-and-its-soon/1100-6497306/

Minecraft Live 2021 News

Minecraft Live 2021 has wrapped up and as always Mojang has given us a lot to look forward to. I'm going to point out some key things, though I may miss some details. I recommend watching the embedded video, however it is about 25 minutes long and xisumavoid has a shorter video (almost 13 minutes), which actually covers more. You can see his video here: https://youtu.be/ZXMgC-HuvIk

Before I get into 1.19 I want to cover a few things briefly. Be sure to log in to your Minecraft.net account so that you can migrate it to your Microsoft account. Obviously, you can create one if you don't already have one. It's easy and you can get a free cape by doing so. Once the account... Read All Minecraft Live 2021 has wrapped up and as always Mojang has given us a lot to look forward to. I'm going to point out some key things, though I may miss some details. I recommend watching the embedded video, however it is about 25 minutes long and xisumavoid has a shorter video (almost 13 minutes), which actually covers more. You can see his video here: https://youtu.be/ZXMgC-HuvIk

Before I get into 1.19 I want to cover a few things briefly. Be sure to log in to your Minecraft.net account so that you can migrate it to your Microsoft account. Obviously, you can create one if you don't already have one. It's easy and you can get a free cape by doing so. Once the account is migrated, go to your profile on Minecraft.net and look near the bottom under the "skins" part. You'll find the cape there. When you open the Minecraft Java Edition launcher, it will ask you to log in as usual. However, it may not work, so click the "back" button and the "X" next to your account to remove it. Then it'll prompt you to choose a Mojang or Microsoft account to log in with. Select your Microsoft account and you're all done. If you need help, feel free to ask. You can also visit this link: https://help.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/articles/4403183382541-How-to-Migrate-Your-Mojang-Account-to-a-Microsoft-Account-No-Images-#h_01F8B6E4ZBPXQY72Q0T3NWCVAX

All DLC for Minecraft Dungeons has been released and there are a couple new features. The game will introduce seasons, just like Diablo 3, which will provide weekly challenges. There will also be a new single player game mode, which is a tower that you progress through each floor. I don't have details on this at the moment, but if you're interested you might be able to find more about this.

Next year 1.19 will be available and it's called the "Wild Update." It introduces a new biome called the birch forest. It seems the swamp may be getting revised (I don't think it's a separate biome). It will now include mangrove trees, which adds a new type of wood, which can be used for crafting just like any other wood. Some of the roots are large and you can ride a boat underneath of them. Mangrove trees can be planted in water or dirt using the propagules that grow on it.

Frogs are also being introduced in this update. They don't appear just in the swamp though and they have color variants depending on the biome they're in. So, the tropical frogs are a different color than the snowy frogs. You can't have frogs without tadpoles and they're here, too. You can collect them with a bucket of water. So, what do frogs eat? Fireflies of course! Yes, fireflies are being introduced as well.

Version 1.18 is the "Caves & Cliffs Update Part 2" and it will expand the vertical borders of the worlds. So, worlds will be higher, allowing for taller mountains, and much lower replacing bedrock and allowing for deeper caves. It is going to be easy to keep your world from other updates and migrate them to 1.19. They're calling this feature "blending" and it will not destroy your worlds.

Taking advantage of the new depths of the world, a new biome is being added called the Deep Dark. It includes unpopulated cities, which look like ruins. However, this is a very dangerous and actually very scary biome. You really should watch one of the videos to see this for yourself. There are blocks called sculkers. There are different sculker blocks, but I won't get into them here. They react when they detect motion and if they're activated enough, a new terrifying creature will spawn called the Warden. It is blind, but can chase after the player if they detect motion. You can usually avoid motion detection by crouching. One way to avoid the Warden is to throw something like a snowball in another direction. This will divert it's attention away from the player.

Early on 1.17 was going to introduce bundles. You can place up to 64 items in them and thus carry many more items making inventory management much better. Archaeology was also introduced, but both of these new features will not be in 1.19, but will come some time in the future. However, we do get a very cool new feature, chests on boats. This is going to be very helpful in transporting multiple items and they will also work with redstone.

Another cool feature is the introduction of the mud block. You make one by using a bottle of water on dirt. You can then put it on top of a drip stone block (introduced in 1.17), which will drain the water from the mud block turning it into a clay block. This will most certainly be helpful as clay is sometimes hard to find and easy to overlook. Mudblocks can also be made into mud bricks, which look smaller than regular bricks.

Voting for a new mob has been going on during Minecraft Live. The Glow Squid is a new mob in 1.17, which won the most votes last time. This time the Allay won. It is a flying creature that can retrieve items. You give it an item and it will look for more of the same item. It cannot harvest, mine, or break blocks though. I'm not completely sure how useful this is, though. It will return the items it finds to the player or on a note block. You might find some info here: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-upcoming-allay-mob-will-help-you-collect-items-following-fan-vote/1100-6497172/

Let me know what you think about all this. Have you played 1.17? If so, how do you like it? What do you think about it? 1.18 will be available in December, are you looking forward to it?

The Strange Clan

If you follow me on Twitter, no doubt you've seen how into cryptocurrency I've gotten. But I've withheld from talking about it in Cheerful Ghost because I didn't want to look like I was pushing something like an MLM, nor am I wanting to give financial advice lol.

But, now there's a game I can share about!

The Strange Clan is a fantasy game where players have unique NFT (non-fungible token, basically a unique digital asset that's saved "to the blockchain" to prove ownership) with which they can eventually farm, quest, explore, etc.

The game is pre-alpha currently, so there's nothing to try out yet, other than buying our characters, but the world is being built on Passage... Read All

Take This Wild "Documentary" Ride About RollerCoaster Tycoon

RollerCoaster Tycoon is one of the best sim games of all time. As such it has a huge cult following and because of that was the first request fans made of NoClip for their retro documentary series "Greatest Hits." It goes over a lot of the games history all the way to it's modern incarnations and would be perfect except they weren't able to land an interview with the series creator Chris Sawyer.

If you love RollerCoaster Tycoon and are itching to play it there is a great open source project Open RollerCoaster Tycoon that is one of the best ways to play it on PC, Mac or Linux. If you don't have a PC and are mostly on your Smartphone or Tablet, RollerCoaster Tycoon... Read All

MetalJesus Takes A Look At The MiSTer

The MiSTer is an open-source project that emulates consoles and various other retro hardware via FPGA. FPGA means that it's pretty original hardware accurate emulation and it's similar to RetroPIE in that it's open source meaning anyone can create a hardware kit on your own to play or sell. I've heard really good things how well MiSTer runs and as such wanted to share this review by everyones favorite Jesus made entirely of Metal.

TechSpot Explains Why Using "Ultra" Settings is "Dumb"

I found this great article by TechSpot today explaining why using "Ultra" settings (or the preset) is "dumb." I have to agree, although I'm one of those gamers that wants the best hardware to be able to easily run any game on that preset. However, this is an expensive and performance demanding preference. It's not based on logic, either. I have noticed great quality in games using only the "High" preset along with great performance. I've also noticed that the "Ultra" preset doesn't usually add anything noticeable, except for the huge performance hit.

That experience is exactly what TechSpot is referring to here. They've benchmarked the performance and quality of some... Read All I found this great article by TechSpot today explaining why using "Ultra" settings (or the preset) is "dumb." I have to agree, although I'm one of those gamers that wants the best hardware to be able to easily run any game on that preset. However, this is an expensive and performance demanding preference. It's not based on logic, either. I have noticed great quality in games using only the "High" preset along with great performance. I've also noticed that the "Ultra" preset doesn't usually add anything noticeable, except for the huge performance hit.

That experience is exactly what TechSpot is referring to here. They've benchmarked the performance and quality of some games using really good hardware. Their observations were pretty much what I just said, the quality of "Ultra" presets is usually negligible and comes with a big hit to performance. I really think this is a relevant topic here and I do strongly recommend reading the article. One of the games mentioned is DOOM Eternal and the game recommend that I don't use the highest preset, but the second highest and it was great.

Sometimes it's difficult to decide which settings to use in a game and presets are a great way to do that simply. GeForce Experience can also optionally "optimize" your settings, but I've found that while those settings are usually good, sometimes they are not. This makes me question the basis of the settings that GE chooses.

Take for example Ark: Survival Evolved. I let GE "optimize" my settings when I got my GTX 1660Ti (and other new hardware). However, I noticed the performance with those settings was unacceptable. It was pretty much using the "Epic" preset, which is the "Ultra" one for this game. Ark has been out for a while now and it's been very demanding on hardware since the beginning. This is just an example of a game where the highest preset comes with an unacceptable hit to performance while not really showing any greatly obvious quality improvement that you'd think would come as a result of the settings.

Let me know what you think about this topic. Are you one of the people that *must* have hardware good enough to run on "Ultra" presets? Or are you someone who values performance more and still enjoys good quality? Have you also noticed how "Ultra" presets don't always give really big and noticeable differences in quality, but significant performance hits?

https://www.techspot.com/article/2338-ultra-vs-high-settings/

I didn't want to leave this post w/out an image, so I uploaded a screenshot I took some time ago showing my settings for Ark. This was primarily to help me remember, since the game sometimes resets them.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/05/2021 at 07:59pm

I try to max out graphics. As long as framerate isn't horrible I am fine. 30 fps is all one needs.

GregoPeck Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/05/2021 at 08:30pm

Depending on the game, I won't settle for much less than 60. LOL That's for modern games, but some games are locked at 30 and I usually find that acceptable. More FPS makes me happy, even though I realize it's not all that great and sometimes irrelevant. I think GE helps "optimize" your settings for 30FPS, not 60. The Ark settings it gave me pretty much limited me to around 30 FPS and it wasn't acceptable, performance was still bad. Once I switched to the "high" preset, performance greatly improved along w/ my FPS. I'm still using a 60hz monitor, though I really want to upgrade. I also don't like screen tearing, so I use VSync. I am very interested in GSync especially, though FreeSync is gaining popularity and compatibility.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/07/2021 at 01:54pm

I’ve noticed the ultra settings providing noticeable quality on some games but not others. Though I usually tweak every setting to see how much benefit vs performance hit I get for each one.

Though when you’re zoned into a game I think it’s far less important.

GregoPeck Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/07/2021 at 07:01pm

Cool! Thanks for your input, Travis! I usually see if GE can "optimize" settings for a game (which it cannot do for all games) and see how that goes. I like the games that auto-detect and put me at the highest settings LOL. I've done most of my tweaking w/ Ark, as shown in my embedded screen shot. I was tweaking it years ago and I continued to tweak it even until recently.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/08/2021 at 08:42pm

I’ve found GeForce experience to be a good starting point but sometimes it gets things way wrong. Where some times it puts me in a very poorly running situation, sometimes it tries to make me play things at settings that are nowhere near as advanced as I could use without a performance hit.

I do like the option as a starting point quite a bit though.

GregoPeck Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/08/2021 at 09:35pm

Agreed! I have the same experience.

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/09/2021 at 04:40am

Someday I may have a PC with the ability to run max graphics on. That said, it feels like I do with the Series X but I know compared to some PC's out there it's not as powerful.

GregoPeck Super Member Post Author wrote on 10/09/2021 at 08:04am

I haven't been keeping up, but my perception is that this console is pretty good. They're remaking GTA 5 and Skyrim for both consoles and PC. I seem to remember some games performing much better on the new generation than last. I think Cyberpunk was one example. I'm not too surprised and I think it's good that they've reached this point. They seem to be on par with PC now. I don't know if they have Ray Tracing and DLSS though.

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

Sign Up / Log In

Free Guy Is A Must See Movie And Is Streaming Now

Check out the embedded trailer. I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to give away spoilers. Guy, played by Ryan Reynolds, is pretty much the main character but there are other recognizable actors in it as well. The ones I noticed were Taika Waititi and I recognized the voice cameo by Hugh Jackman. You might recognize it, too. It sounds like him, but you don't see his face. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was actually the bank robber in the trailer that Guy shoots. You don't see his face, either.

What if life were a video game? Guy found glasses that opened his eyes and he began to see video game things such as health pickups, money, and missions. If you like... Read All

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Switch Tech Review

Seems like I'm posting a few Digital Foundry videos this morning. With that, has anyone picked up and played Skyward Sword on Switch yet? I've heard the controls are a mixed bag but overall the game is quite good. I didn't get this game on the Wii but am curious if it's worth coming back to on Switch?

GregoPeck Super Member wrote on 09/27/2021 at 08:24pm

So, I haven't watched the video, but I thought I'd add my two cents in, since you kind of asked for it. I had the game for the Wii and really enjoyed it. I remember the last time I played it, though it was probably 5 or more years ago and was the second time I played it.

My only concern is that I have no idea how you're supposed to play it without the Wii controller, because it relied on that heavily and IMO it worked out well. Clearly they must have found some way around this, though. This may have been pointed out in the video.

I'm surprised that of all people you, Jon, haven't played this. Well, you said you didn't get it on the Wii, but you didn't say you didn't get it on the Wii U, so I could be wrong that you "haven't played this." I don't think I got it for the Wii U, but I could again be wrong, but I definitely had it for the Wii.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/04/2021 at 03:12am

> I'm surprised that of all people you, Jon, haven't played this.

It came out at the end of the Wii cycle and I was very focused on the PlayStation 3. Kind of like now. I was pretty focused on the Switch and now I’m mostly playing my Series X.

GregoPeck Super Member wrote on 10/04/2021 at 07:55am

Ah, I understand, I've gone through similar phases. I'm currently strictly focused on the PC and have been for a while. I'm interested in the Switch, but don't have one at the moment. I'm only slightly interested in the new console generation, but not very. When it comes to them, I'm more interested in when their exclusives will come to PC, if at all.

Anyway, This is a good game and I'm sure they did a good job adapting the controls.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/09/2021 at 04:39am

> Anyway, This is a good game and I'm sure they did a good job adapting the controls.

I've heard mixed things about it. Apparently it's possible to control the game with a normal controller but very difficult. You have to still be precise with the sword swinging which isn't the easiest on a thumbstick.

GregoPeck Super Member wrote on 10/09/2021 at 08:06am

Ah yeah, the motion controls were a big part of it, that's why I was concerned. It was really fun on the Wii.

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

Sign Up / Log In

Super Star Wars Trilogy on SNES - A Gaming Renaissance For A Classic Franchise

I played Super Star Wars on the Super Nintendo a lot. A lot. It's one of the most fun Star Wars video games I've played and it's notoriously "Nintendo hard." I never really thought about it as a youth but when I come back to it now I do. If you practice at it you can beat it start to finish in one life, which I could do, but it takes a lot of effort to develop that. That all said, Super Star Wars and the subsequent two games are an example of fantastic Star Wars video games in a very crowded space. Lately, the quality of Star Wars games has gone up but it wasn't always so.

Skyrim Anniversary Editon Coming 11/11/21

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Coming 11/11/21

Minecraft Live 2021 News

The Strange Clan

Take This Wild "Documentary" Ride About RollerCoaster Tycoon

MetalJesus Takes A Look At The MiSTer

TechSpot Explains Why Using "Ultra" Settings is "Dumb"

Free Guy Is A Must See Movie And Is Streaming Now

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Switch Tech Review

Super Star Wars Trilogy on SNES - A Gaming Renaissance For A Classic Franchise

Recent Activity...

Masters of the Universe: Revelation

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Coming 11/11/21

Skyrim Anniversary Editon Coming 11/11/21

Minecraft Live 2021 News