Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Double Fine Goes Into The Woods To Learn More About Trees

Double Fine are the Queens and Kings of developer documentaries showing off their game making process. After Psychonauts 2 was successfully funded on Fig they have started development and decided to take a trip to the woods to get inspiration for the game from actual nature. It's a fun doc short but focuses more on the bus ride down than actual time in the woods. I guess that's par for the course for nerds, spend more time talking about video games on a bus than time with actual pinecones and bears. Still it's a fun watch and if you are interested in how the game is turning out, well worth your time.

Stardew Valley Getting a Retail Collectors Edition April 11th!

"Stardew Valley Collector's Edition is coming to retail stores nationwide on April 11, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One! In addition to the full game, the Collector's Edition includes a Pelican Town Map, Mini-Guidebook by Kari Fry, and a code to download the Stardew Valley Soundtrack!"

Stardew Valley was a game we've all been following on Cheerful Ghost since I first heard about it February in 2013 and has since launched to crazy popular acclaim in the PC world. I love that it's getting a retail collectors edition, what I don't love is that it's only going to come out on PS4 and XBone. I know everyone already picked it up on PC, but I'd totally buy this if it came... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/06/2017 at 10:20pm

If I got Stardew Valley on PS4 I'd probably just go digital. More than likely, though, I'll just wait for a future Steam sale.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/07/2017 at 04:13am

Yeah. The PC copy would come with a Steam code, but I still like collecting boxes of things for some stuff.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/07/2017 at 05:40pm

Absolutely. However, Stardew Valley is definitely not something I would do that with. Especially if it's just a map and a guidebook (mini-guidebook at that). The soundtrack would be cool, but that's available without springing for a collector's edition. It also seems you can buy a much better version of the full guidebook at Fangamer (https://www.fangamer.com/products/stardew-valley-guidebook). Oh, and you can also buy the map on Fangamer (https://www.fangamer.com/products/stardew-valley-pelican-town-map). So, you spend a little more, but you get better items when you buy individually. The "collector's edition" just seems to be a gimmick.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/07/2017 at 06:18pm

> The "collector's edition" just seems to be a gimmick.

Well. Yeah.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/07/2017 at 08:05pm

What I mean is, THIS SPECIFIC collector's edition seems to be a gimmick. Some (most?) offer some exclusive cool thing, something actually worth seeking out as a collector. This Stardew Valley collector's edition offers things that are already available for purchase elsewhere, or something significantly less impressive, as is the case with the mini-guidebook. Whereas other collector's editions might be arguably worth the money, this one seems like a total ripoff. This would be more appropriately labeled as a "bargain edition" not a collector's edition.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/07/2017 at 08:48pm

> What I mean is, THIS SPECIFIC collector's edition seems to be a gimmick.

Sure.

I think getting a smallerized version of what you said would be interesting if the lesser price point and ease of having it all in one place was something someone wanted.

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

Sign Up / Log In

It's Dangerous To Go Alone! Take This Playing With Power Book Review!

The NES Classic launched to such a crazy high amount of demand that it's still hard to get. Nintendo has recently said that it's continuing to build units but there are some parts it's having a hard time getting so it might take a bit longer until we are all able to get one. I've also seen some new hacks making it pretty easy to load fan created ROMS on to the system making it much more extensible than we originally thought. That said, we still have to wait and if I had to guess when I'll finally get one it would be this summer. If you are waiting and want to occupy your time, and bookshelf with something fantastic you should look into the book "Playing with Power:... Read All The NES Classic launched to such a crazy high amount of demand that it's still hard to get. Nintendo has recently said that it's continuing to build units but there are some parts it's having a hard time getting so it might take a bit longer until we are all able to get one. I've also seen some new hacks making it pretty easy to load fan created ROMS on to the system making it much more extensible than we originally thought. That said, we still have to wait and if I had to guess when I'll finally get one it would be this summer. If you are waiting and want to occupy your time, and bookshelf with something fantastic you should look into the book "Playing with Power: Nintendo NES Classics." It's an homage to the 90's era of Nintendo magazines and provides pretty extensive walkthroughs of 17 games like Ice Climber, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda and Mario 3.

It's A Secret To Everybody

I have the cheaper paperback edition I got at Target. When I bought the book I didn't know there were two versions and if I had it to do over again I'd get the hardcover edition. Both versions have distinct cover art and I don't prefer the hardcover editions cover, I just didn't know i'd read the book as much as I did. See, back in the day, I wore down my Nintendo Power issues to the spine. I have a Mario 3 guide that I read so much I had to rebind the spine with packing tape. I still own the book and it's still looking as haggard as ever. So I was really happy to learn that Playing With Power sourced nearly all of it's Mario 3 content directly from the ol' Super Mario Brothers 3 Nintendo Power Guide. It's nice to see them reprinted here and lots of the book contains art and articles from old Nintendo Power guides and articles and the original game manuals.

Playing with Power also contains some really fun technical articles about how the original Nintendo worked and it goes into pretty large detail about it in such a way that I learned quite a bit about the NES and it's game carts. For instance, did you know that to get the upgraded effects of Mario 3 they employed MMC3 to get the stationary menu and smooth dual background scrolling effects? Apparently Nintendo kept upgrading the MMC chips all the way through NES production to keep pushing games further to finally end up at the MMC5 which could address a whopping 8 megs of memory!

Master Using This And You Can Have It

Look, we all have access to the Internet and looking up what to do in The Adventure of Link isn't hard. But, as a collector and someone that enjoys having fun stuff I can say there is something special about reading through a Nintendo guide about awesome games in 2017. If you got an NES Classic and need some help on some of Nintendo titles included with the NES Classic, Playing With Power is something you should look into.

Super Mario Land Is One Of The Strangest Mario Games

jdodson gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

jdodson gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Recently I went to the Portland Retro Games Expo & Northwest Classic Games Enthusiasts Retro Game Swap Meet. It was a pretty special time as this was the first full fledged video game event I took my son Finley to. He's seven months old and I had him attached to me in a baby carrier the whole time, but i'd like to think he was impressed with all the old retro games and systems. The swap meet was fun and I didn't have as much time as I wanted to due to heading in a bit late because earlier we were at the Portland Women's March. That said, I arrived in the events final hour which was enough time to check out each table and pickup a few games that i've wanted for... Read All Recently I went to the Portland Retro Games Expo & Northwest Classic Games Enthusiasts Retro Game Swap Meet. It was a pretty special time as this was the first full fledged video game event I took my son Finley to. He's seven months old and I had him attached to me in a baby carrier the whole time, but i'd like to think he was impressed with all the old retro games and systems. The swap meet was fun and I didn't have as much time as I wanted to due to heading in a bit late because earlier we were at the Portland Women's March. That said, I arrived in the events final hour which was enough time to check out each table and pickup a few games that i've wanted for some time.

I picked up NBA Jam on Sega, Super Mario Land on Gameboy and a box for New Super Mario Land DS to put my game pak inside so I can set it next to the other DS games I own.

Super Mario Land Is a Strange Mario Game

Super Mario Land was one of the launch titles when the Gameboy hit the market in 1989. I remember it fondly because my brother bought a Gameboy and Super Mario Land was one of the first games he had. If you are familiar with Mario games, Super Mario Land is very similar but contains some strange elements that haven't been repeated in modern Mario games. First off the traditional fire Mario super ability is replaced with a super ball variant. Mario shoots the superball and if it doesn't hit an enemy it bounces off walls until it hits an enemy or gives out. This allows you to collect coins in hard to reach areas and occasionally you can bounce a shot to hit a bad guy but most of the time it's just weird. I like that they tried something different and it's possible the super ball power was easier to program back then but I prefer the traditional fire flower power as it's easier to rely on and time the shots of.

Super Mario Land contains the same tight platforming of nearly any Mario game except, at times, I missed certain jumps by falling through a platform. It's rare but since i've never seen it in a Mario game, when I happened I was surprised. Again, I imagine this is due to the early nature of this Gameboy title and it's lack of horsepower even compared to the NES but it's something I noticed.

Super Mario Land keeps up the strangeness in that it also contains auto scrolling levels. You can control Mario in a Submarine and Airplane and beyond the levels being a bit easy they are also pretty fun. Auto-scrollers aren't something you see in a Mario game and having them here is so odd it feels like some kind of extra bonus game.

Even though Super Mario Land contains some gameplay elements not seen in any other Mario game the strangest part of all is the story written in the game manual.

"Once upon a time, there was a peaceful world called Sarasaland. In this world there were 4 kingdoms named Birabuto, Muda, Easton and Chai. One day, the skies of Sarasaland were suddenly covered by a huge black cloud. From a crack in this cloud, the unknown space monster Tatanga emerged to try to conquer Sarasaland. Tatanga hypnotized the people of all the kingdoms so that he could control them in any way he liked. In this way he took over Sarasaland. Now, he wants to marry Princess Daisy of Sarasaland and make her his queen. Mario came to know of these events, and he has started on a journey to the Chai Kingdom where Princess Daisy is held captive, in order to restore peace to Sarasaland. Can Mario defeat Tatanga, release people from his interstellar hypnosis, and rescue Princess Daisy? It's all up to you and Mario's skill. Go for it Mario!"

I picked up the Super Mario Land game manual at this years Portland Retro Game Expo and laughed as I read the games backstory. At the time I did wonder why Bowser and Princess Peach weren't in the game but I figured Mario went on other adventures and maybe this happened while Mario was on vacation? The story seems so arbitrary and whipped up it borders on parody but as someone that loves campy stuff, I also love it.

Super Mario Land is a really unique entry in the Mario-verse and one I don't mind coming back to. I think my most beloved Mario games are some of the strangest and i'd put Super Mario Land up there with Mario 2 as some of the ones I enjoy coming back to reliving over again.

Crescent Loom: Kickstarter campaign is a go go go!

Heya! So, I just launched the Kickstarter for my neuroscience Kerbal Space Program-meets-Spore underwater creature creator Crescent Loom!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wickworks/crescent-loom-stitch-muscles-weave-neurons-create

And here's a pre-mortem I wrote last night where I talk a bit about the prep work I did in getting the campaign ready: http://wick.works/the-storm-before-the-storm/

I'm excited! I'm nervous! aaaaaaaaaI'd love to hear what you think!

Bethesda Rolling Out Fallout 4 HD Texture Pack Next Week on PC!

https://images.contentful.com/rporu91m20dc/5qj2pLlI9GiscMYy8ucIO6/0a0eb18997ad629cef648e983a30e15a/FO4_PS4Pro_FULL.png

Bethesda is shipping a couple updates to Fallout 4 next week. PC users are getting a 58 gig download option in the form of a HD high resolution texture pack. If this is anything like the Skyrim update, this should offer up an incredible visual upgrade to Fallout 4! Bethesda has released the recommended specs on the HD pack and i'm not sure I know someone that meets the minimum spec GPU wise.

Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i7-5820K or better

GTX 1080 8GB

8GB+ Ram

Love to hear how well this texture pack works for you on your current rig so make sure to come back and let us know your specs and how it runs. Bethesda is also dropping an update to Fallout... Read All

As Frank Ascends To Second Banana Heaven - MST3K Samson VS. The Vampire Women

As the wait for the new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix continues(i've heard rumors of a March release) I am continuing my journey of watching each original episode in order. I just finished season 6, which to date is my least favorite season. All that said it does contains some great episodes like Code Name: Diamond Head, Kitten with a Whip and High School Big Shot. The season 6 finale is Samson VS The Vampire Women and is the last episode to feature Dr Forresters assistant TV's Frank. Samson VS The Vampire Women is a crazy movie and Frank leaving the show adds a more somber tone to the episode. In the MST3K timeline MST3K The Movie came after... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/29/2017 at 06:26pm

Where are you watching all the seasons?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2017 at 05:34am

Good question. SO as a long time MSTIE I bought the huge digital DRM free video pack on Vimeo that launched in 2014.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mst3k

Basically you can buy 83+ episodes for $300 to stream and/or download which comes out to about $3.60 per episode. So I did that, downloaded them all and supplemented the rest through YouTube on their official channel or other channels.

There are 26 full episodes on the official YouTube channel which is an incredible collection of great episodes. If you want a zero dollar legit option to dive in, that's your best option. If you want to own a DVD Shoutfactory has great collections available but I haven't gone that route.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYy4ZargUluf-iyr4vFpe-xaJ46GEDpBI

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/31/2017 at 04:38pm

I have some of the DVDs, not many. I am checking out this site: http://www.club-mst3k.com... Looks like they have links to streams, but I don't know how many of the link exist/work. But it is good start.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2017 at 06:35pm

You can search for the episode on YouTube that works for me.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2017 at 06:36pm

Oh, which collections do you have?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/31/2017 at 06:58pm

Volumes 1, 2 & 6...

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/01/2017 at 04:47am

Cool. I'd like a few DVD cases for my shelf. Or find some VHS tapes somewhere. That would be fine too

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/01/2017 at 11:38pm

I had some VHS copies back in the day.

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

Sign Up / Log In

In Space No One Can Hear You Testing - Prey Launches May 5th!

The Prey reboot has received a new trailer that showcases a bit of the story as well as the new release date. Apparently you are in a science space station where they are experimenting on aliens and are also a testing subject/scientist. The tone of the game seems very Bioshock, Portal and Alien-esque with a very clean and polished look that is fairly impressive. I'm intrigued by this game but am still not certain i'll be picking this up at launch. To help entice people to pre-order Arkane Studios is offering special DLC bonuses and if you like cosmetic shotguns(oh my!) then you're going to be very happy. I mean, unless you don't like that sort of thing, then it's not... Read All

The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable is Dead. LONG LIVE CHEERFUL GHOST RADIO

We’re going through changes. The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable is entering its chrysalis, and when it emerges it will be Cheerful Ghost Radio, the new podcast by members of the Cheerful Ghost community.

What does this mean for you?

Better quality audio. Taking video out of the equation should improve the audio quality since it won’t be compressed like in Google Hangouts.

Better visuals. You no longer have to look at our ugly mugs.

More options. You are no longer tied to Youtube so you can listen whenever you want, wherever you want.

What does this mean for us?

We no longer have to put on clothes to record an episode!

We’d like to hear what you want from Cheerful Ghost... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/26/2017 at 04:36am

Personally the clothing thing was really hampering my creativity.

/rimshot

CapnCurry Supporter wrote on 01/26/2017 at 04:50am

Wait, we were *required* to have clothes? Huh. I just always happened to be dressed when we started filming. Good thing you mentioned it; that could've made the last episode awkward.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/26/2017 at 04:53am

So, just removing the video aspect of the Roundtable and publishing the audio discussion?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/26/2017 at 03:26pm

Radio? Who needs a radio?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/26/2017 at 03:27pm

But seriously, I love the new name. Looking forward to listening!

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/26/2017 at 05:46pm

> So, just removing the video aspect of the Roundtable and publishing the audio discussion?

Simply, yeah we are. More specifically we think that making a podcast will be a bit better for the kind of show it is and how people consume this kind of thing. For instance, it's hard for many to sit down and watch and hour+ show but it's not too hard to play a podcast while your driving, working or whatever.

When the show launched 5 years ago(it's really been that long) video streaming was a new thing. So new that I thought doing a game show that way would get us more attention and sort of ride the tech train to viewers. That... didn't happen so we are going Podcast because it's a better way to do what we do. PLUS we can publish to iTunes and the wide word of Podcasting sites to get, possibly, more attention. I also thought putting the videos on YouTube would get us some cross views, but YouTube has made it's search algorithms such that people simply never find our show.

Well that or it sucks and no one cares but it's my semi-solid belief it's a fine show that can find a bigger audience.

So in that spirit and trying to improve things, we are doing a Podcast.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/26/2017 at 05:48pm

> Radio? Who needs a radio?

Mock. Yeah. Ing. Yeah...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5f_gbzo4Q0

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/26/2017 at 06:43pm

Will they happen more often now that you guys don't have to be camera ready?

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/26/2017 at 06:54pm

At this point the plan is to keep doing them monthly. I'll admit this is might be more to my schedule than everyone else's.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/26/2017 at 09:13pm

Does anyone think we should do more than monthly?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/26/2017 at 11:22pm

The reason we ended up going from twice-per-month to monthly was because we were trying to find content. Monthly, there's always content for us to discuss.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 01/27/2017 at 02:20pm

Maybe that's a good question, too. What would you guys like to hear in a CG podcast?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/27/2017 at 10:27pm

I think what you guys already talk about is great. I didn't realize it was on a monthly basis. It would be cool if you guys could get some interviews during the podcast!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/27/2017 at 10:31pm

I agree, I'm pretty happy in general with the current content. I already use it as a podcast when I'm working, so no changes would be perfect for me :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/27/2017 at 11:19pm

Will: I've thought about doing interviews and I think it will be easier in the podcast format. Thanks for bringing it up, i'll think more about doing them that way.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/28/2017 at 12:24am

Awesome Jon!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/28/2017 at 03:26am

Yes, that's a great idea Will!

rettisawesome wrote on 02/02/2017 at 07:13pm

@jon I've thought for a long time you guys should have done the show while also recording an audio track. then you have the live version which is great, you can stream it on youtube and twitch, then take the audio and publish it as a podcast. This coming from a podcast guy though... not a video guy. Either way, exciting to see new things!

rettisawesome wrote on 02/02/2017 at 07:16pm

and further Jon, as far as timeline. The schedule depends on what you want. Weekly podcasts seem to garner more followers. Having a lot of interaction with people (weekly) helps grow that. And when new people come on, they listen to a current episode, then start in on your back catalog. The more there is, the more they'll listen (i know, obvious). If it doesn't work with your schedule. You might try longer recording sessions once a month, and divide them into multiple episodes monthly. If you have a base that knows what you are doing, once a month is fine. But if a new listener joins the ranks, they may forget you in a month.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/03/2017 at 04:01am

I like the idea of recording multiple things during a session. I'll think about how to do that.

> But if a new listener joins the ranks, they may forget you in a month.

How I listen to Podcasts is buy subscribing on iTunes podcast thingy and if I don't love, I unsub. People will also hear it embedded on our site. Maybe they will forget but it will be in their Podcast app, but I hear you that more regular content is better.

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

Sign Up / Log In

More Incredible Speedruns From AGDQ 2016

As I continue watching the many speedruns from Awesome Games Done Quick I have a couple I wanted to share y'all could watch. The first one above is the Fallout New Vegas run by progamingwithed that took 24 minutes! It uses a strat I haven't seen before in that you can exploit a reload animation to travel very fast and jump incredibly high. If you like pacifist runs this is very close to that as progamingwithed needs to only kill a couple people making this one of the most peaceful Fallout runs i've even seen.

Contra Race

This years AGDQ featured a lot of great races and this one is a must watch. Themexicanrunner and toad22484 complete Contra in 10:40 and I don't want... Read All