Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Is Super Mario Brothers More Immersive Than Call of Duty?

Jack and Rich are back with a new episode of Previously Recorded that discusses quick time events, cut scenes and game immersion. They note that when you drop instructions on screen to press buttons you remind the player they are playing the game instead of being the character on the screen. This is a good point and I think that it often gets worse when you are playing a PC game that asks you to press a button on a controller that you are not using.

What do you think, is Super Mario Brothers more immersive than Call of Duty? Do quick time events ruin game immersion? Are Jack and Rich horrible frauds?

Explore The New World In Pioneers

Pioneers is a brand new exploration strategy game in alpha development by Eigen Lenk. In Pioneers you take the role of an explorer leading a party to make a name for yourself in the new world. If you ever wanted to play a game where you could be Lewis and Clark, Francis Drake or Edmund Fanning this game is it. It also has a really unique painted pixel art style that I find really refreshing.

You can get Pioneers on itch.io now for as much as you want to spend on it on Mac and PC. If you play it let me know what you think of it in the comments!

http://eigen.itch.io/pioneers

"Pioneers is a turn-based exploration/adventure RPG where you lead a party of travellers in search... Read All

An Early Access Overview of Salt the Game

Overview

Pirate, exploration, crafting, hunting, ship building

Unique graphical style

*Note 11/2019*
Salt is no longer in Early Access, so some of the content of this post may have changed. One thing is that it now contains a multiplayer option.

I've been regularly watching a favorite YouTube channel by Paul Soares, Jr. Months ago, I noticed an interesting new game on his Indie Game Test Drive playlist called "Salt." I didn't really get into it at first, but recently, I thought I'd check it out a bit more and watched the rest of his videos on this game. While I installed the demo months ago, I didn't start playing it until recently and after catching up on his Salt... Read All

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/20/2015 at 10:10pm

Along with playing the game, I've decided to read the developer's blog. I just found a great post about the graphical style of the game (see link below). While I noticed that the game looked similar to Wind Waker, it is mentioned as an inspiration to Salt in the post I just read. That's pretty cool. I remember when WW came out, it seemed to catch a lot of negativity from players, although i thought it was beautiful. When it came to Salt, I thought it was cool looking, but my first impression of the character model (pirates) wasn't a great one. However, now I really love it. The game is simplistic and artistically beautiful. I also really like the realistic looking water and lighting (such as the sun and moon).

I'm still very happy with the game and I'm looking forward to seeing what is added or changed in the future. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year. There are some questions that come to mind while playing the game. One of them is if things respawn, which they seem to do. I've seen islands with pirates back on them when I had previously killed them all. It seems that respawning takes place when exiting the game and opening it again. I think other things (like boulders) respawn, too. I also think some things despawn. For instance, once I was chasing a black deer at night towards the shore. It disappeared right in front of me into the sea. This occurred right when the night changed to day (you can tell because the chirping crickets sound change into birds).

I've spent a LOT of time on an island looking for things that I know are there, like the pickaxe on the spawn island. There are quests in the game and it seems as though I've only run into the one where a guy asks you to help him locate buried treasure on an island. There have been at least a couple of times where I spent a LOT of time on an island trying to find it. I always do find it, though. Still, I'm some what disappointed that this is the only quest I've come across and it's been given to me plenty of times. While these quest givers are "merchants," they didn't seem able to participate in the buying or selling of goods. I still haven't found any real merchants on my randomized seed.

Anyway, I hope some of you at least check out the demo. I think this game is worth getting and really cool to play and I'd love to discuss it with you.

Developer's blog about Salt's graphical style: http://saltthegameblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/friday-dev-update-closer-look-at.html

JaBo wrote on 02/26/2015 at 06:44pm

I just checked it out...looks sweet and thanks for the review. I am definitely going to try the demo. This might be a game I hook up to the TV if it's as cool as it sounds.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 02/26/2015 at 09:36pm

Thanks, JaBo! It is a cool game. I've spent 61 hours playing it so far. Some of the harder pirates (such as Pirate Battlemaster and Captains) seem a bit over-powered. There is an exploit that can be used to defeat them though as they won't chase you into the sea and you can therefore "kite" them. However, Bandages and White Flower Potions are greatly beneficial when fighting them, along with blocking (right-click w/ weapon). You can dodge, but that mechanic is a bit tricky to master, so I almost never do it. Dodging requires you keep your mouse focused on the enemy and jump with a directional button (WASD). However, you can jump backwards, which is a bit easier.

The game is all about exploration and doing so you will be able to find more things that will help in the tougher battles. I managed to buy a good sword from a merchant and I'm still using it. I also found some good armor at a ruins site, but then along the way I found better armor.

There are two different types of the compass in the game. The first one always points to the north (the red line), but on the face of the compass, "N" always is in front of you, so it can be a little confusing. I saw on Reddit that someone mentioned how the compass could be better, the developer saw that and created a Mariner's Compass in the game. I found one in the game and it is much better at showing you the direction your facing.

I should have included a video in my post, but check out the trailer on Steam's app store: http://store.steampowered.com/app/327860/

This is a game I definitely recommend, enjoy, and am looking forward to seeing how its development progresses. It's supposed to be finished by the end of the year.

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Re-Logic and Engine Games announce Terraria Otherworld

From the official site:

Re-Logic and Engine Software have combined forces to develop the next progression in the open world/sandbox arena: Terraria: Otherworld.

Set in an alternate dimension within the Terraria universe, Terraria: Otherworld places the player in a life-and-death struggle to restore a once-pristine world – now overrun by a malevolent force that has corrupted nature itself – to its original splendor.

Combining elements of sandbox gameplay with role-playing and strategy elements, Terraria: Otherworld explores the Terraria experience in an innovative and unique way - providing a fresh approach to the “open world” genre.

This must be the secret project we've... Read All

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/16/2015 at 09:15pm

I need this book right now: http://i.imgur.com/eMXvl3K.jpg

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/16/2015 at 09:44pm

Interesting, it reminds me of a few games other than Terraria. It seems the game is in very early development. They don't have much news for it yet nor does it seem to be available as early-access on Steam. I'm looking forward to seeing more about this.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/16/2015 at 11:49pm

Yeah it's literally just been announced, so it's in early alpha. Hopefully they don't go the Early Access route.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/17/2015 at 12:19am

Did Terraria go the Early Access route? Re-Logic is such a tease! They give us spoilers for 1.3, mention the possibility of Terraria 2, give us Terraria on almost every console and mobile device, and now they show us a trailer for a new Terraria game. They must know we love Terraria and want more. Although, I'm grateful for all of it. I wonder how long it will take Otherworld to be released, I suppose at this point we can only speculate and wait eagerly (just as is for 1.3).

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/17/2015 at 01:16am

Terraria came out before early access was a thing.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/17/2015 at 11:24pm

This is great news. Like you Greg, I don't think I can get too much Terraria. At least I haven't yet.

So this coupled with Terraria 2 and the next update should be great. I think Terraria Otherworld seems to have a Moonman quality to it(the Terraria-esque game on Kickstarter). Look forward to playing both.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/18/2015 at 04:36am

Otherworld seems to have some visual similarities to Starbound, which I found interesting. Definitely not a bad thing.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/31/2015 at 07:09am

We have an update! The game is (obviously) not being released in 2015. However, there is a bit of news for it along with a new trailer featuring "Swing Grappling."

http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/terraria-otherworld-an-update.38448/

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InstaDoom: filters and selfies finally come to Doom

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9-0n85IIAA39sf.png:large

I remember playing Doom in the '90s, and loving every minute of it, but there was always something missing. What if I wanted to make Doom look like a photograph from the 60s? What if I wanted to take a picture of myself to remember the moment forever?

Well, now my prayers have been answered.

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/71767-instadoom-screw-nofilter-rc1/

As Kotaku has said, "After almost 22 years, Doom is finally finished."

Sword Coast Legends Is An All New Epic D&D Adventure

"Set in the lush and vibrant world of the Forgotten Realms, Sword Coast Legends offers an all-new way to enjoy the time-tested magic of playing Dungeons & Dragons as a shared storytelling experience. With a deep narrative developed by a team of long-time industry veterans and a partnership with Wizards of the Coast, the single player campaign of Sword Coast Legends brings the world of Faerûn home like never before."

When I heard about the brand new D&D game Sword Coast Legends I was pretty excited. A few of us on Cheerful Ghost have been playing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic as part of the Cheerful Games Club and i've really enjoyed the turn based... Read All

Broforce Gets Super Alien Update - Game Over Man, Game Over!

Broforce continues it's Steam Early Access domination in the form of an all new update featuring Zenomorph Aliens. Fight these iconic Aliens as Indiana Brones, The Brominator, Cherry Broling and the rest of the Broforce crew! Free Lives have treated the Broforce Early Access well and the great updates just keep coming. If they continue on at this rapid fire pace I imagine Broforce will launch some time this year!

Bethesda is hosting their first E3 conference

Bethesda is hosting their first E3 conference this year. June 14. Mark your calendars!

I present this without comment; speculation is naturally going to be out of this world. I think from the picture I chose you can tell what I'm hoping for, though. But they have something big to discuss, it seems.

http://www.bethblog.com/2015/02/10/bethesdas-first-ever-e3-conference-save-me-a-seat/

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/11/2015 at 03:45am

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/events/72/bethesda-e3-conference

My guesses:

* Doom 4
* Fallout something or other

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/11/2015 at 04:13am

I'm not sure what to expect other than another Fallout game. Remember when I played Fallout 3 this summer? I saw some of the news on that that guy who played "Three Dog" hinted at another Fallout game. That said, do any of you think there's a chance for another Elder Scrolls game? I'm not sure how well The Elder Scrolls Online is doing, perhaps at E3 they will be showcasing an update for that game or something else. It's kind of hard to believe we're already talking about E3 this early in the year, but this news means I may have something other than Nintendo to pay attention to.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/12/2015 at 03:57am

Zenimax has announced that ESO is going free-to-play. This early in the game's life, that's not a good sign.

However, they still want to milk what they can from it, so I doubt there'd be a new Elder Scrolls announced this early. There were 5 years between Oblivion and Skyrim, though, so if they keep that gap, 2016 would be when Elder Scrolls 6 comes out.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/12/2015 at 04:21am

Well that seems like good news for anyone who wants to give ESO a try. Still, I understand your point. On the flip side, FFXI is still not free-to-play. I wish it were though. i still have the game, which came with some expansion packs. I also got Wings of the Goddess for free (I won it from the Wiki) and I haven't really explored those expansions.

As for the timing you mentioned, then maybe there's a possibility that they'll announce development of a new Elder Scrolls game. Still, I think right now all we can do is to speculate about what their E3 presentation will announce or show off. Although, I think there's a very good chance we'll at least find out about a new Fallout game.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/12/2015 at 05:01am

FFXI still isn't free-to-play because they're still making crazy money off of it. ESO wasn't, so they went the microtransaction route.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/12/2015 at 05:14pm

"Zenimax has announced that ESO is going free-to-play. This early in the game's life, that's not a good sign."

Cool, that means i'll give it a shot then. Free is always a good price. That said, I wonder if it will change for the worst? I didn't mind the F2P aspects of LoTRO.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/12/2015 at 06:31pm

While I would never pay a subscription for FFXI again, if it ever went free to play I would be all over that, even if just to occasionally see some old familiar sights. :D FFXI (and from what I hear, FFXIV) don't have the huge subscriber numbers as some other games, but the fan base they do have is very loyal. It seems they've found their niche and ran with it.

Once ESO goes F2P I'll definitely give it a shot. Going F2P isn't necessarily a bad thing if it's handled right.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/13/2015 at 03:12am

Sorry guys, I meant free-to-play as in the way Guild Wars 2 is free-to-play. You still have to buy it, but the ongoing income will be microtransactions, so there's no subscription cost. Before, you had the up-front cost, the subscription, AND the microtransactions.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/13/2015 at 03:26am

I don't think I would mind that either. That said, if I had to pick between buying ESO or GW2 I'd pick GW2.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 02/13/2015 at 04:53am

Same. The free weekend they did a while back convinced me there's a lot to love in GW2, even if it's just at the start.

jaelte wrote on 02/15/2015 at 04:53am

C'mon Fallout 4, Commonwealth. Time to pay The Institute a visit.

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Back To The Future Ending Scene Recreated In Pixel Art

YouTuber Mauri Helme has recreated the last scene of Back to the Future using pixel art. Contains some great moments all involving pixel art Doc Brown.

One of my most played games

I play this game at work, I play this game at home. I play it probably 4-5 days at least out of the 7 day week. It's easy to play for 15 minutes or for 3 hours. There is no pausing while in your 10-15 min match, but you can jump up to refill water or something and not lose your turn.

I play MtG competitively every week still (in person). I love card games. What I like about Hearthstone is the following:

1. The game IS free, albeit with options to buy stuff.
2. There's no trading, so there aren't people farming all the good stuff and then trading/selling.
3. Since the game does earn money for Blizzard, they are invested to keep the game balanced and update it.
4. The... Read All I play this game at work, I play this game at home. I play it probably 4-5 days at least out of the 7 day week. It's easy to play for 15 minutes or for 3 hours. There is no pausing while in your 10-15 min match, but you can jump up to refill water or something and not lose your turn.

I play MtG competitively every week still (in person). I love card games. What I like about Hearthstone is the following:

1. The game IS free, albeit with options to buy stuff.
2. There's no trading, so there aren't people farming all the good stuff and then trading/selling.
3. Since the game does earn money for Blizzard, they are invested to keep the game balanced and update it.
4. The gameplay is actually balanced. I enjoy playing the different "classes" and making lots of different decks. (You get a 30 card deck that contains no more than 2 of any one card).

I saw an earlier post that mentioned how grindy the game is. I feel the opposite. I've played my share of MMOs and thus my share of grindy games. I have never felt like I needed to grind in this game. I play for the fun of each match. If I happen to get gold out of it, sweet. If it feels like the matches are a grind to you, then you definitely wouldn't like this game. The game IS the matches. That is the end game. You grind in a game to get to that end game, no grinding really needed here.

Sure, better cards win games, but you also can play against the computer early on, play non-ranked matches, or play ranked matches which will keep you pitted against equal opponents. Then there's arena. I had a huge arena obsession for a while. You can spend coins or $2.00 for an arena match. It's basically a draft. You make a deck based on 3 random cards popping up. You pick one and a new set of 3 pops up. Repeat until you have your 30 cards. You can play around with some awesome cards you don't have yet and you can bypass the 2 card per deck limit (I once had 5 of an awesome card).

This game is super easy (for me now) to play well while watching tv as it doesn't require full attention. You gain cards by playing. As your class-character levels up, you unlock the base class type cards for that person. Also, as you win matches you get gold and complete the quest of the day for gold. Doing really well in the arena also wins you gold. You use gold to either buy packs or compete in the arena again. Packs give you 5 cards (one at least will be rare). You also get dust. Dust can be obtained from breaking down cards you don't want or copies of cards you don't need (more than 2) and is used to craft other cards.

I thought I'd put in my 2 cents to the game as I play this game more than any other right now (and for the past year) and I only saw negative to middle of the road reviews.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 11:39pm

Thanks for posting this, I like Hearthstone too. I don't play that much and was curious about something now that the game has been released for sometime. How is the matchmaking? Is it pretty fair or are you incorrectly paired?

Have you spent a lot of money in game? One minor fear I have on playing a game like this is i'll be in deeper than the amount i've payed for something like Magic. Oh and over my entire life I haven't spent that much on Magic.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 02/11/2015 at 12:57am

The only time I spend money in game is if I'm dying to do some arena. The arena lets you play with your "draft" deck until you get 3 losses. I got a gift card for google play and ended up just blasting through arena after arena. I haven't spent anything since that and before that maybe $10. All in all, $30. Everything can be obtained w/o paying any money, I just didn't want to wait to earn more gold to do more arenas. And considering how many hours I've put into the game, it's not a bad amount of $ on a game.

The matchmaking seems ok... what is weird about it is the rankings start over every month or so. Ok, let me explain the ranking. You start at rank 25 and work down. There are 3 stars for a rank (at 25-15 or so). This means, if you are bottom rank 25 with no stars, it will take 3 stars (wins) to get to rank 24. However, if you get on a win streak, it'll give you extra to help get you to the rank you should maybe be at. Losing costs you a star, but you don't lose stars unless you are rank 20 or better.

At the end of a cycle, they reset the rankings. But, you get a bonus star for each rank you obtained. So, it doesn't throw everyone back to 25 and let everyone duke it out. It's basically just scrunching up your sleeve to your shoulder. Your sleeve is still layered out to the cuff even if it's now bunched up towards your shoulder. So, those that were ranked 1 will still be higher ranked that those that were 15.

So for instance, I was rank 10 when the cycle ended and it rewinded me back to 18 or 19. I wasn't playing much this week, so now that I am, I am playing people rank 19-18-17-16 and I am winning easier than when I was rank 10. So, the game gives me bonus stars with win streaks to help get me to the rank I have more of a challenge at. It eventually balances you out in that manner.

It does tend to be difficult to maintain a stable rank if bouncing between different decks though. I used to play all sorts of random stuff, but now I kind of focus on one concept or strategy or deck and that helps maintain a consistent level of competition.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/11/2015 at 01:14am

This game constantly intrigues me, but I have never actually played it. I'm thinking I'm going to have to pretty soon here. I don't play MtG much, but I do enjoy it, and Hearthstone seems like something I'd enjoy. It's just a matter of following through and downloading it lol

jaelte wrote on 02/15/2015 at 04:58am

A few of my coworkers play this and some of my friends used to play it, but I'm not sure if I want to jump into this while I'm still playing Magic: The Gathering (the physical card game) as often as I do. Too redundant. Maybe someday, though.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 02/19/2015 at 12:30am

I do play both often.. it's refreshing to not have the mana issues that MtG has. You get 1 a turn! No mana screw is my fav aspect lol.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/06/2015 at 04:46pm

Must be pretty excited. New Hearthstone Adventure Blackrock Mountain.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/18140859/fluffy-kittens-announced-at-pax-east-3-6-2015

I was pretty excited to hear phone ports of the game are a few months out. I imagine i'll play this much more on my phone.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/07/2015 at 08:20am

I just started playing this game as I noticed it was free. I really like it! So far I've been playing the "Practice" mode. I'm trying to get all characters in that mode to level 10 at least to unlock all of their basic cards. I'm also trying to use every character against every character (I'm almost done). It is fun and it is similar to Magic The Gathering, which is great because I love that game, too. I don't know why Blizzard is giving this game away, but I'm sure glad to have it for free.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/07/2015 at 03:34pm

Both Heroes of the storm and Hearthstone are free BUT Blizzard sells you in game card packs for Hearthstone for a dollar and in Heroes they sell you skins, Heroes and mounts. At the end of the day, if one were so inclined one could spend WAY more than $60 on both games.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/07/2015 at 03:34pm

Or you could play the game, earn gold and slowly unlock everything for free.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 03/18/2015 at 03:56pm

Yeah, I just spent $6 yesterday to do 3 Arena runs... sometimes I just get an urge to do some back to back and what's a couple bucks? It's just like Dota2, free to play, but they make millions!

JaBo Post Author wrote on 03/21/2015 at 12:00am

Oh man, I normally play Priest... a control priest. Right now, I made 9 different priest decks to try out some different mechanics. Twice today I won turn 5 with different styles lol.

One game, went like this:

T3: 2/8 defender
T4: 1/4 windfury mech
T5: cast on my 1/4 windfury - double defense (to 8), double defense (to 16), strength=defense swing for 16 x 2 lol

Another game I just won turn 5 was with those Light Wardens that get +2 attack for each time a character gets healed

I got out that 1/3 taunt guy that has deathrattle, deal 1 dmg to all creatures. I had 2 light wardens out and a cleric guy (the 1/3 draw cards when heal minion). My enemy has 3 guys out. He kills my taunt guy dealing 1 damage to all creatures. My turn starts, I play shadowboxer (each time a heal happens deal 1 dmg) and then played circle of healing to heal all guys for 4 lol... 6 triggers to all 4 of my guys. I drew 6 cards, gained +12 attack on both wardens, dealt 6 dmg with the shadowboxer... attacked for game.

Game is so fun :D

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2015 at 02:23am

Are you getting Blackrock Mountain? I saw the pre-order bonus was a unique card back.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 03/21/2015 at 04:19am

I will definitely get it, just a matter of when and what method.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 03/21/2015 at 04:22am

Hmm, not sure the way to embed an image into this post lol... here's a screen shot of me winning turn 5 just now again... 29 power and 27 power on my two guys on turn 5! lol.

http://imgur.com/GgrhnDH

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2015 at 04:35am

That's impressive. Have you had a match end that fast before?

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/23/2015 at 10:19pm

Some people on Twitch are going for the longest Hearthstone turn, which if it finishes will be 40 hours.

http://www.pcgamer.com/this-absurd-hearthstone-turn-is-taking-40-hours-and-you-can-watch-it-live/

JaBo Post Author wrote on 03/25/2015 at 07:25pm

Hmm, read the article. I was intrigued at first, until I saw he was rigging his hand to an impossible and setting up an impossible board state. Seems pointless.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 03/25/2015 at 07:29pm

Actually, I read some comments and saw that he manipulated both players, and it was done through real game mechanics. I thought he just hacked the code and made 220 copies of the spell... that's a little more crazy now, wow

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/26/2015 at 02:44am

Yeah, it is pretty cool. It's not a situation to likely happen in a real game but it's a nice proof of concept that I imagine Blizzard it looking at changing.

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