Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Song of the Deep by Insomniac

Insomniac Games recently announced a new title they're releasing this summer "Song of the Deep". I really enjoy almost every Insomniac release (especially Ratchet and Clank) so I follow them closely and now I'm eagerly awaiting this "Metroidvania-style underwater adventure"

Announcement: http://www.insomniacgames.com/announcing-song-deep/

Hearthstone Shake Up - Normal Mode & New Deck Slots Coming!

One of the biggest problems in Hearthstone has been new players starting the game. There are a ton of cards to get and because of that, it's very daunting for new players. Changes are coming that should address this and create an entirely new game mode that should shake up the base game for the better.

There is so much here, I am going to clip out most of it to discuss.

"You’ll play Standard using a deck built solely from a pool of cards that were released in the current and previous calendar year, along with a core foundation of the Basic and Classic card sets (which will always be valid for Standard). You’ll be matched against other players who are also using Standard... Read All One of the biggest problems in Hearthstone has been new players starting the game. There are a ton of cards to get and because of that, it's very daunting for new players. Changes are coming that should address this and create an entirely new game mode that should shake up the base game for the better.

There is so much here, I am going to clip out most of it to discuss.

"You’ll play Standard using a deck built solely from a pool of cards that were released in the current and previous calendar year, along with a core foundation of the Basic and Classic card sets (which will always be valid for Standard). You’ll be matched against other players who are also using Standard decks.

Standard will help make for a more dynamic and balanced metagame:

* A select set of cards makes each new card have more impact!
* The developers will have more freedom to design exciting new cards.
* It lets newer players jump in faster without having to collect as many cards.
* Standard is only available as a format in Friendly Challenges, Ranked, and Casual play, so it won’t affect Arena, Solo play, or Adventures.

Wild is our new name for the Hearthstone you already know, because it’ll be the format where anything can happen. While Standard puts a bright spotlight on recently released cards and brings a more balanced experience, when you queue up for Wild, you’ll be cozying up with the crazy fun of Hearthstone you’re already familiar with. Of course, as more and more cards are added over time, the wilder and more unpredictable Wild will be!

In terms of gameplay, nothing is changing for Wild: you’ll be able to finish quests, earn gold, rank up on the ladder, get card backs, earn Legend rank, and use all the cards you’ve already collected to build a Wild deck, just like you always have. When you queue up for Ranked or Casual play with a Wild deck, you’ll always be matched with other players who are also using Wild decks.

The arrival of Standard format will also be an excellent time for us to take stock of Hearthstone. While normally we’re quite conservative about making balance changes to Hearthstone cards (and we’ll continue to be in the future), we’re planning to take the new Hearthstone year as a golden opportunity to re-evaluate a number of cards in the Basic and Classic card sets, including class cards, and make some long-considered adjustments."

Blizzard will also be phasing out the ability to buy old expansions and adventures that are not part of standard. You will be able to craft these cards if you want, but the Naxxramas adventure and Goblins VS Gnomes packs won't be available for purchase. Additionally you will be able to dust all the old Adventure cards for full value, so if you want you can dust Maexxna, Wailing Soul or Sludge Belcher if the only mode you play is Standard.

After I first heard the news I'll admit, I was a bit scared but after more consideration this really does seem to be a good move for Hearthstone. Standard will be the new primary format and Wild will be available for anyone that can swing it. I've always dreamt of crafting Dr. Boom but since Goblins VS Gnomes is heading out there is no longer a reason to do that. That said, we will all lament some cards being phased out like Sludge Belcher and Loatheb.

That said, having a more accessible format to new and existing players seems like a great thing. But what do you think? There is a lot here so I recommend reading the whole post and FAQ linked below.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19995505/a-new-way-to-play-2-2-2016

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/03/2016 at 06:32pm

This is a HUGE change. One that will be worth following. I jumped on the Hearthstone bandwagon hard when it came to mobile and was pretty decent at it.

I've not played for a month or so now, and this update upsets me a little. I don't like losing adventures like Naxx. When I started, I was more interested in Black Rock, so I played through that, then saved my gold for the Grand Tournament expansion. I've played a couple tiers of the League of Explorers adventure, but got a little burnt out on the game. Now if I want to play Naxx, I have to get in a quickly grind up to 700 gold to unlock a level of Naxx before it goes away if I want cards from it. This frustrates me.

But at the same time, I realize that having a Standard game will greatly help out newer players. Wild could be really fun years from now when you see a card you've not seen for years played as well :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/03/2016 at 08:01pm

I will probably play both Standard and Wild. Keep decks for each.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/03/2016 at 09:27pm

@AdamPFarnsworth, it sounds like you'll still be able to acquire the cards from Naxx or the Goblins/Gnomes adventures via crafting, rather than doing the adventures. The cards aren't going away, they're just changing how you get them, and limiting what will be available for use in the Standard vs Wild arenas.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/03/2016 at 10:21pm

Sure, I know that, but crafting a card like Kel'Thuzad seems impossible lol

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/03/2016 at 10:41pm

@Adam @scrypt "How will purchasing Adventures work?
You will be able to purchase Adventures that are part of the current Standard format normally. Adventures that are not part of Standard will no longer be available for purchase. If you already own at least one wing of such an Adventure, you’ll have the option to unlock the remaining wings using in-game gold."

So if you have at least one wing of an Adventure open you can keep unlocking the rest with gold to collect the cards. So if you haven't already and still want to unlock at least the first wing of Naxxaramas.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19995505/a-new-way-to-play-2-2-2016#cards

Bina wrote on 02/03/2016 at 11:39pm

Did anyone else notice how forced the cheerfulness of that designer was? His smile was a little to big and his voice has an underlying tension. I think he's trying to be reassuring, but it comes off as just kinda weird to me.
I'm really excited about this change up. Though I have to say I hope they continue to balance some of the cards from classic so that we see a real change up. Cards like Tirion and Silvanas still seem OP and may go back to being an auto-include if Blizzard doesn't do something. Or I could be really wrong about that and we might see a flood of new builds wildly different from anything we've seen before.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/05/2016 at 01:20am

"Did anyone else notice how forced the cheerfulness of that designer was? His smile was a little to big and his voice has an underlying tension. I think he's trying to be reassuring, but it comes off as just kinda weird to me."

I've been subscribed to the Hearthstone YouTube channel and seen a few of Bens videos where he talks. From my observation, I could be wrong, he seems to have a nervous energy about him and also seems like he wants to be select with wording. I think one reason why he is careful with wording and especially this news drop is how much of a big change this is and how vocal the Hearthstone community is. Some people are really upset and very vocal about it. I think the, general, consensus is somewhat mixed but coming out in support of this. That said, some people are pissed and I can see how they'd be a bit nervous people might riot. Change is hard and some gamers are really really hard to deal with sometimes.

"Though I have to say I hope they continue to balance some of the cards from classic so that we see a real change up. Cards like Tirion and Silvanas still seem OP and may go back to being an auto-include if Blizzard doesn't do something. Or I could be really wrong about that and we might see a flood of new builds wildly different from anything we've seen before."

I think some balancing to Classic is essential for this to work, otherwise the best cards to get are the OP ones from classic.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/05/2016 at 02:50am

Interview with Ben Brode after this news. It's really interesting and well worth a read.

http://www.pcgamer.com/ben-brode-on-why-standard-hearthstone-has-to-ditch-the-old-card-expansions/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/05/2016 at 02:57am

PC Gamer also listed the most important cards that will leave Standard when that starts and #1 is Sludge Belcher. I agree, that card is important and nearly always a win to any deck you add it to.

http://www.pcgamer.com/the-20-most-important-cards-that-will-be-removed-from-hearthstone-standard/

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/11/2016 at 05:26pm

Good pcgamer interview. Thanks for posting @jdodson!

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Another Month Of Cheerful Ghost Website Stats

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ywjU6RBiKXM/maxresdefault.jpg

File this under "completely nerdy stuff no one may care about" but I've thought it would be interesting to post some of our website statistics for a month. This isn't to wreck privacy or anything, mostly to get a snapshot of the average Cheerful Ghost patron. For instance, did you know what the most popular web browsers Cheerful Ghost users use?

Well, now you do.

These statistics were from December 2015.

Users

Each user hit 1.64 pages per session*

The average user session duration is about 1 minute and 49 seconds

The percentage of totally new users/sessions is 64.17% which means we have more new people looking around than site regulars

The top browser languages in order... Read All

Each user hit 1.64 pages per session*

The average user session duration is about 1 minute and 49 seconds

The percentage of totally new users/sessions is 64.17% which means we have more new people looking around than site regulars

The top browser languages in order are English, UK, Spain, German and no language set

Traffic country breakdown is as follows: United States 59.69%, Canada 3.75%, United Kingdom 3.72%, Russia 3.09%, Germany 2.07%, Australia 1.88%, Brazil 1.58%, Spain 1.32% & Netherlands 1.32%

Browsers

The top browsers in order are Chrome 63.51%, Safari 14.74%, Firefox 12.73%, Internet Explorer 2.20%, Mozilla Compatable Agent 1.25%, Android Browser 1.22%, Edge 1.15%, Opera 1.09%, Safari (in-app) 0.69% & Opera Mini 0.33%

The top operating systems in order are Windows 54.82%, Mac 13.79%, Android 13.69%, iOS 13.49%, Linux 2.53%, (no set) 0.72%, Chrome OS 0.43%, Windows Phone 0.26%, Nintendo Wii 0.10%, Playstation Vita 0.10%

The top mobile operating systems in order are Android 49.41%, iOS 48.69%, Windows Phone 0.95%, Windows 0.59% & Playstation Vita 0.36%

I was surprised to see Android topping out iOS but it makes sense considering how well Android has been doing recently. Fun to see people come to the site using the Wii and Vita. I have no idea how the site looks on either anymore so i'll have to boot up my Wii to see if it's not a complete mess and since I don't have a Vita I am not sure how well that works. Oh and apparently few actual Cheerful Ghost users use Internet Explorer. I still test with it, so for the remaining hold outs, you're welcome.

* A session is basically a time someone came to the site to look around, login or comment.

Final Fantasy VII Steam Review

Azurephile gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Azurephile gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Review

Recommended

The most popular Final Fantasy game now on Steam

Updated HD graphics, achievements, optimizations, and a Character Booster

Final Fantasy VII is undoubtedly the most popular game in the Final Fantasy series. While it is a greatly epic game, it's actually not my ultimate favorite of the series. That honor goes to FFVIII, which was the first in the series I played and fell in love with.

After being introduced to FFVIII, and therefore the FF series, I decided to play FFVII once I finished with VIII. I played both games many years ago on the original Playstation. Unlike, VIII, I've only played through VII a few times. I believe I finished it at least... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/02/2016 at 03:31am

Not sure if I am going to play Final Fantasy VII or VI next. I love VI so much but I haven't played VII yet.

Such a hard choice.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/02/2016 at 05:14am

It is a tough choice. I started playing VI again after I finished VII. I'm going backwards. I actually have a few different versions of it.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/03/2016 at 03:24am

Jon, you should play Final Fantasy VII just because it's kind of a gaming icon, but go into it with managed expectations. The graphics don't hold up well to time like later games, even VIII, do.

Greg, you're welcome for the introduction to Final Fantasy :D

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/03/2016 at 03:39am

@Travis, yes, thank you very much! Just introducing me to the game significantly changed my gaming life. I became quite totally obsessed with the entire series and I've played almost every one of them (some of them multiple times). There hasn't been a lot of disappointment that I've had with the series, but some does exist. Anyway, the original version of my FFVIII post mentioned that you introduced it to me, but I ended up editing it to make it a little less personal.

I agree with your recommendation to Jon. I agree with you that the graphics in the original versions of many games in the series don't "hold up well to time," however (as I mentioned), I was greatly impressed with the Steam versions.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/03/2016 at 04:45pm

Good points. VII does look a bit odd to my modern eyes, but it's always been on my "list of shame" and it's worth a look even if I walk away from it I think.

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Final Fantasy VIII Steam Review

Azurephile gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Azurephile gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Review

Recommended

Updated graphics

Achievements, cheat tool, and Chocobo World

*Note this post was written before the Remastered version, so it's about the first Steam game, not the second*

It was about 15-17 years ago that I was introduced to Final Fantasy VIII, which was my introduction to the Final Fantasy series. It's kind of hard to believe it was that long ago, but since then I've come to love Final Fantasy games. FFVIII is definitely my favorite among them, I immediately fell in love with nearly everything about it including the characters, stories, side quests, music, and more.

The Junction system is one of the main things that sets this game apart from the... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/02/2016 at 03:27am

One day a couple weeks ago I saw Greg playing this on Steam and one of the selections for your Steam friends is to watch them play the game. It basically kicks the game into streaming mode and I watched him play for a bit. This is a cool feature and the game looked like fun.

That said, the section of the game seemed to have a grey and brown ascetic something I haven't before seen in a Final Fantasy game.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/02/2016 at 05:16am

I was surprised that you began to watch me play. I didn't know that was possible. I had just finished one of the discs and was controlling characters from the past while you watched me play. It was a rather calm part of the game. I didn't really want to give too many spoilers. I also didn't want to bore you by constantly drawing spells I needed. I did try to summon a couple of GFs to show you what they are like. Thanks for joining me!

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/03/2016 at 04:46pm

No problem, it was awesome Steam lets you share your gameplay with friends. It's nice because you don't have to a full blown twitch stream but your friends can watch if they want.

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Hearthstone Dailies For Ghosts: Episode 3 Basic Decks, Raptor Rogue and Aggro Shaman

A few people have been asking me about starting strategies for Hearthstone. It's a tough grind when you start and I discuss what I would do if I started now and then get in playing with a basic+naxx Warlock deck. I round out the show playing a few new Aggro Shaman and Raptor Rogue decks.

Basic+Naxx Warlock Deck:

http://hearthstoneplayers.com/basic-naxxramas-warlock/

Raptor Rogue(I don't run Sylvanas or Dr. Boom as I don't have them)

http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/376635-top-5-legend-raptor-rogue

Aggro Shaman:

http://www.icy-veins.com/hearthstone/shaman-face-aggro-loe-deck

Last year I created a post for new Hearthstone players. My only update would be to unlock Naxxramas,... Read All

Nicholas_Biondi wrote on 02/03/2016 at 01:36am

good vid. As a new player, this was real helpful.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/03/2016 at 01:39am

Thanks. If you have any suggestions or maybe issues you run at with the game, let me know. I made this video based on conversations with you and a few other friends.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/03/2016 at 06:26pm

Very cool video. I really enjoy gameplay videos where the player explains their process, especially games that cater to deeper levels of strategy (e.g. Hearthstone). Thanks for making these!

On a selfish note, the alpha turned out really well on the banner image, which I'm also thankful for :D.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/03/2016 at 10:42pm

The alpha did turn out well, I like how the Ghosts are surrounding me

Nicholas_Biondi wrote on 02/05/2016 at 04:58am

ghosties be spoopin

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Stardew Valley Is Finally Shipping February 26th And It Looks Fantastic

"You’ve inherited your grandfather’s old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won’t be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community center, once the town’s most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!"

Looks like much more is coming to Stardew Valley that I originally anticipated and I am excited to give... Read All

New Terraria 1.3.1 update spoiler: Controller support!

Today, Re-Logic has released some more info for what to expect in Terraria's upcoming "just around the corner" 1.3.1 update. Official controller support!

When the Steam Controller dropped, I was pleased to see an official configuration for it from the devs, but that just uses bindings mapped to keyboard and mouse inputs. This will allow other controllers to join the fun!

I'll definitely try this on release with a 360 controller, and I'm interested to see if native controller support will make the Steam Controller config work more naturally. Ultimately, I feel I'll probably stick to Steam Controller for about half of my playing and keyboard/mouse for the other half. But... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Turns 4!

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday SPRIIIIIIGGGHTTT Happy Birthday to you!

Today Cheerful Ghost turns 4! 4 is one of those years where it feels like something substantial but it's not quite 5 years but we didn't just start yesterday either. As Cheerful Ghost hovers onward in 2016 I've really been enjoying this time in gaming and how we've all been talking about it together. PC gaming is incredible right now as we have an embarrassment of riches in Indie and Triple A games. Mobile has never been stronger with a wealth of great smartphone titles as well as 2D/3DS games and the Vita is there to give people some mobile Playstation enjoyment.... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/29/2016 at 03:16am

How are we 4?

Seriously, it seems like it could have been less than a year ago. Great times. I'm glad you sent me a message on Facebook saying, basically "Hey, I made this site for video games and I think you might like it." Actually, I don't have my old Facebook history, I clear it every now and then, but if you do I'd love to see the conversation.

That's a good thing to kick off the conversation on this post: in as much detail as you can remember, how did you find the site?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 01/29/2016 at 03:47am

At the time (I can't remember the date, but it must have been in early 2013, though it seems it should be earlier...), I was searching the web for sites that allowed you to catalog your game library, but also had a community. I stumbled on this budding site called Cheerful Ghost (I'm pretty sure it was through a Google search), and loved how clean and simple it was. Cool people that loved games, and a cool place to talk about that shared interest. I jumped in headlong, maybe even a little too headstrong, but you guys accepted me anyway, and for that I'm thankful.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 01/29/2016 at 04:27am

It was just brought to my attention that I actually found this site through Reddit. I've never been a frequent Reddit user, so I probably Google searched, landed on Reddit, then linked from there. I forget things :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/29/2016 at 05:14am

I'm not sure when it was exactly (although I could check my history) I found out about Cheerful Ghost because of Travis. I don't think I got very involved until that one time I was looking for recommendations of a good game to play. I posted in the Video Game Nerds group on Facebook asking for recommendations and Travis (and possibly Jon) replied with something like "...one of us" and suggested Terraria. While I didn't jump on that train immediately, I did eventually and I fell in love with it. I believe that was when I became a regular here. I've been enjoying being part of a great community of gamers. I enjoy writing and gaming, so this site is just really right for me.

So, Happy Birthday Cheerful Ghost!!!! I also want to take a moment to thank you guys (again) for this awesome community. I've visited other gaming communities and I've seen just how different Cheerful Ghost is. This is quite frequently a very positive gaming community. People here don't spew a lot of negativity, hate, and other drama that you see elsewhere. And, even though the occasional typo occurs, people here obviously know how to spell and have a good grasp on the English language. So, thanks again!!!

@Scrypt, awesome job on the pic, man!!!!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/29/2016 at 05:21am

"And, even though the occasional typo occurs, people here obviously know how to spell and have a good grasp on the English language."

Haha, yeah. We are getting better. Maybe I should say I am getting better.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/29/2016 at 08:57pm

I’d just like to share how it all started for me. I knew Jon from way back in 2004. We were both moderators on the official Ubuntu forums. We didn’t talk a TON but we knew basic things about each other, and I think we were Facebook friends at the time.

So out of the blue I get an email from Jon, with the subject line “Window Glass is an Upwardly Mobile Venture” and I can remember thinking “OK, I’m going to have to tell Jon his email account got hacked. But I read it anyway, and here’s what it said, with some things cleaned up for readability, and posted to pastebin so that this isn’t just a massive wall of text:

http://pastebin.com/SrKLJnRA

I was intrigued, but still not entirely sure of what to expect, and I responded as such: “Yeah man, sounds awesome. Let me know when it's online. I think I know what you're going for with it, but it sounds like something that will make more sense once I see it in action. I look forward to being a hipster cat.”

And that’s where it all began. When Jon launched the site, I joined up, and immediately dumped literally every single game I owned into it, on all platforms, and started chatting about games with people I’d never met. But I love this email that I sent back a week later, titled “One Week with Cheerful Ghost.” I read this now, four years later, and it still holds up:

http://pastebin.com/FjT9Zcnx

Seriously, it’s hard to believe that it’s been that long ago. I had no idea back then that I’d love this place as much as I do, but It has become an integral part of my life. Not because of the games, but because of the awesome people.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/29/2016 at 08:58pm

(and thanks, Jon, for forwarding these old emails to me)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/29/2016 at 09:06pm

No problem Travis!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/30/2016 at 04:26am

Happy Birthday!

It's fun to go back to the first posts and see how the site has grown (No titles at first, really short sentence posts, etc).

Super happy for you Jon! And for me!

hardeyez wrote on 01/31/2016 at 04:22pm

Wow, 4 years already? Congrats!

rettisawesome wrote on 02/01/2016 at 06:13pm

Good work guys!

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The Ballad Of The Wind Fish In 4K!

I play through Link's Awakening every couple years and each time I am really floored by the Ballad of the Wind Fish. This time I decided to take a 4K video of the song playing on my handheld.