Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

UNGAMED: The Star Wars Expanded Universe Will Be Retold

"For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the... Read All "For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

“We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon,” said Kennedy. “We’re set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before.”"

So basically we are learning what seemed real enough since the new Star Wars films were announced, they are taking an entirely new direction. All told this doesn't bother me and I look forward to the new stories the new films will tell.

That said, not all fans are happy about this news at all. I'll admit, I grew up considering the Timothy Zhan's Heir to the Empire books to be cannon. Now that they are not, I am a bit sad but it's not like Lucasfilm is taking them away.

What do you think, is Lucasfilm doing right by the new direction Disney is taking the franchise or is this something else?

http://starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page.html

Travis Admin wrote on 04/26/2014 at 03:51am

I came here to post this. It kinda sucks that Kyle Katarn is no longer canon. He was my favorite character in any Star Wars lore.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/26/2014 at 09:26pm

Yeah, but the character is still around it's just not official cannon. Kind of like we have the original films regardless of any new direction or whatever.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/26/2014 at 09:54pm

Well, I was personally hoping for Kyle to show up in the new movies. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/27/2014 at 04:52pm

Sure. I bet lots of Star Wars "Extended Universe" fans wanted stuff like that too. Personally i'd love for the Star Wars Bounty Hunters book to be a movie, it was freaking amazing.

That said, when I heard Lawrence Kasdan was writing the scripts for EP VII all my fears about the story part being good kind of evaporated. Kind of excited to see what new stuff he brings to the table.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/29/2014 at 08:41pm

Aaaaaand this.

http://starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-7-cast-announced.html

CoreyEMTP wrote on 05/03/2014 at 09:14pm

It's like anything else. Enjoy the extended universe as much or as little as you want, but the main source of that universe will always have precedent. Do you really want a rehashing of these stories told in a different format, or do you want to see something entirely new? I vote for the latter.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/03/2014 at 09:36pm

I agree and I sort of think they will pull elements from the EE but mostly do new.

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Cheerful Ghost Fan Art From PDX Artist Hagen Deloss

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BmHL8eWCUAAMHoT.jpg

Wanted to share some Cheerful Ghost fan art from one of my friends and local PDX artist Hagen Deloss. I love seeing this stuff, so if you have seen someone make something or have made something yourself please share it with me.

https://twitter.com/thedelossopher/status/459872880054923264/photo/1

Follow him on Twitter @thedelossopher

World customization options coming to Minecraft 1.8

After the big change in world generation in version 1.7, Mojang is taking things farther in 1.8 by allowing you some direct control over the world generation process.

For me, one of the best things about Minecraft, Terraria, and the other games like them that have randomized worlds is the pure surprise of what you might find. However, it's always annoying when your favorite biome is smaller than an airplane bathroom. A little personalized tweaking is a welcome change.

And if you want to reenact Water World or recreate Rapture, now is your chance. Beyond terrain generation, you can set sea level and flood the world if you like.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/24/2014 at 09:28pm

Cool, I was thinking of this recently. I thought it'd be cool if, when creating a new world, you could choose which biomes are there. This was after thinking that not all biomes appear in a new world, but after some Googling, it seems that every biome is included in every new world.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/25/2014 at 12:12am

I found more info: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/1.8

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/25/2014 at 12:42am

Every biome is included in every world, but then there are also more virtual square miles in a Minecraft world than there are square miles on Earth. A guy has been walking in a straight line every day for three years and still hasn't even come close to reaching the end. I think I read he has about 70 years left to get there.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/25/2014 at 01:31am

Wow, yeah, I was reading about that recently as I was investigating the number of biomes in a world. BTW, I mentioned you in a comment on Jon's Starbound post, check it out. =) Also, I was really surprised to see you post some Minecraft news since you said you weren't really that into it.

After playing with the server (along with my son and one of his friends), I decided to play some Single player Minecraft. It's funny because when I create a new world, I often delete it and create a new one not long after exploring the first one. I guess it just depends on where I spawn and what's around me at the time. Yesterday, I saw an icy kind of biome that I never saw before, but that world was promptly deleted. I think I'll keep the last one I created though.

Also, today I noticed, on the main menu, that Minecraft Realms is now available. Since I had no idea what that was, I looked it up. Apparently, it's a way to connect to other worlds (or servers) and costs about $18/month. I'm not going to be doing that.

Lately, I've taken up my son's habit of watching someone play Minecraft on YouTube. Before I started playing (around last Thanksgiving), I watched Paul Soares Jr.'s Minecraft Survive & Thrive series, which consisted of about 80 videos. It was awesome. I really like Paul, he's cool, he's funny, and he mentions geeky things sometimes. Also, he doesn't scream in his videos (unlike SkyTheKidRS). I've been watching his Paul Plays Minecraft series and I may even start watching his Minecraft multiplayer videos. He also has some for Terraria.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/25/2014 at 06:54am

Found an article about it! http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/22763/20140424/minecraft-1-8-update-snapshot-14w17a-arrives.htm

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/25/2014 at 08:56pm

Minecraft realms is a really great idea.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/25/2014 at 09:05pm

Maybe, I'm not sure I agree though. Maybe I just don't know enough about it. What I read said that it makes it easier to connect to other worlds, but I haven't realized the difficulty in doing so.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/25/2014 at 09:19pm

On second thought, after setting up a server, I guess it is a good idea if it makes it easier to create a world that others can join without having to go through setting up a server.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/25/2014 at 11:03pm

Yeah, that's the idea as I understand it. Playing locally is easy, but if you want to play across the US or the Globe, it is harder.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/26/2014 at 03:52am

Yeah, Realms is amazing. I have no need for it but it comes with so many server options and parental controls. It's a little expensive, but awesome.

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Freeablo is an open source engine for Diablo 1

If you've tried to play the original Diablo on a modern PC you know how tricky it can be. Even if you get it working for one area, moving to the next can throw all kinds of graphical problems, and modern resolutions just make it look wacky. That's a technical term, by the way.

Since it seems Blizzard has (reasonably) long abandoned this game, we've been basically out of luck, but if a new project called Freeablo comes to fruition, we'll get to play the game in ways we never imagined back when it first came out, like playing it on Linux or in 2560x1440 resolution: http://wheybags.netsoc.ie/freeablo.png

It's important to note that this is just the engine. You still need... Read All

2K is saving some legacy titles from the GameSpy shutdown

Good news for people who like older games! With the GameSpy service shutting down soon, many games are on the multiplayer chopping block.

2K announced yesterday that many Civilizations games and the original Borderlands will move to Steamworks. The following games will be switching on May 31.

Borderlands
Civilization III
Civilization III: Conquests
Civilization III: Play the World
Civilization IV
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Civilization IV: Colonization
Civilization IV: Warlords

Unfortunately, Borderlands and Civilization: Revolution on PS3 used GameSpy, and will lose multiplayer support.

The full list of 2K games known to be affected by the shutdown are listed here:
... Read All

All People Want Is For Starbound To Be Awesome

Like many of you, I excitedly boarded the Starbound hype train. After a few weeks of reading the nearly daily updates, watching the update videos and talking to friends, I was hooked. I wasn’t alone as many people on Cheerful Ghost and all over the internet were really excited to see play Starbound. In April of 2013 the Starbound beta hit and over the next few months the Starbound fans funded the game at 4 million dollars! We sailed through the three pre-order bonuses of the new race, collectable fossils and starter pets. My excitement level was crazy. Clearly this game would be the answer to my prayer for an awesome open world building game in space that took the... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/23/2014 at 01:56am

I haven't played Starbound yet, I've been waiting. I'm glad to get an update on the development of the game. I've been wondering when it would be released. I feel like I can sympathize with Chucklefish in trying to have a central hub of developers. Sure there are remote tools out there and such, but I think that face-to-face contact will be a big help. It would also solve their time management issues. I'm sure that once everyone's together then development will speed up and hopefully we'll see that in the quality of the game.

As for when to play Starbound, I'm still not sure. I believe all I have to do is tell "someone" that I'm ready and he'll hook me up (yet again and gratefully). If that offer still stands "T" *cough*, then I'm probably ready for it as I've been playing Minecraft and growing tired of it (playing and not knowing why I'm still playing it). Otherwise, as stated above, I'm sure once the team is together then that will be a great time to play or prepare for a significant update or release date.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2014 at 04:31am

Face to face does have advantages for sure. I've seen working remotely work out fine, but each company is different.

I think things will improve as well. It's a great game and I hope things get.. More greater

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/25/2014 at 11:19am

As I mentioned in Travis's Minecraft post, I've been watching one of my favorite YouTube gamers, Paul Soares Jr. Before playing Minecraft, I watched his "Survive and Thrive" series. I just recently finished watching his "Paul Plays Minecraft" series. I noticed he has some Starbound (and Terraria) videos as well, so I've started watching those. Initially, when I first saw video of Starbound, I thought it looked a bit ugly, but after seeing more of it, that initial impression is fading. The game looks like a glorified Terraria, which is good really. I like some of the game mechanics I've seen so far. It's cool how gravel works in the game (like water) along with sand. There also seems to be LOTS of items. I'm also curious about how to tell if an alien is friendly. Apparently some are and some aren't, but even the friendly ones can be killed. Anyway, the game does look interesting and I look forward to watching more of Paul's videos. It may be getting time for me to jump in the game.

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Learn The Dark Secrets of Flappy Bird

I enjoy these game lore videos. Enjoyed the fake lore video playing up the hyper difficult and addictive qualities of Flappy Bird.

After watching this video I wondered what kind of faux lore would exist for Pacman?

Did You Know Harvest Moon? A Harvest Moon History.

A really great video showcasing the history behind Harvest Moon. Watching this video has me hoping that Stardew Valley launches this year!

Terraria 1.2.4 Preview: Minecarts!

If I would have heard about the addition of Minecarts to Terraria I might not have thought it was a good idea... Until I saw the 1.2.4 preview video. This update should make travel around large Terraria worlds really easy.

Hopefully this will be available from the starting tier! Love the game still gets these great updates for free! 1.2 has added so much and things just keep getting better.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/21/2014 at 01:12am

Good intentions aside, I guess the road to Hell is also paved with long-ass cart rails.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/21/2014 at 02:45am

OK, this is awesome. After playing around with mine carts in Starbound I wished for this.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/22/2014 at 09:07pm

Wow, what a long ride! That was really cool, I wonder how all that was done. Is this update available? I wonder what other changes were made for this update. Ok, now I guess I'm gonna have to go investigate.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/22/2014 at 09:15pm

Ok, I didn't find what I was looking for, but found "Upcoming features" on the wiki: http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Upcoming_features

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/22/2014 at 09:33pm

Yeah 1.2.4 is an upcoming Terraria update. Should be out soon.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/22/2014 at 11:02pm

Where'd you get the info? I was looking for more details. I liked the mention of Terraria 2 on the site I included above.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2014 at 12:08am

Oh, I am following the lead developer of Terraria on Twitter and he mentioned it in the Tweet. I should have included it in the post above, sorry.

https://twitter.com/Demilogic/status/457980435323047936

It's also the title of the YouTube video.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/23/2014 at 12:39am

Thanks, I'm following him now, too!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2014 at 01:24am

Awesome!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/23/2014 at 01:57am

Yeah, though I've been neglecting Twitter for a while...

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/04/2014 at 04:40pm

Update coming next week: https://mobile.twitter.com/Demilogic/status/462976455454908416

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/05/2014 at 09:59pm

AND my prayers are answered. More

https://twitter.com/Demilogic/status/463437188982517760

Travis Admin wrote on 05/06/2014 at 01:17am

Oh man, I loved the bees.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/06/2014 at 01:42am

I know. I think that's a bee mount in that picture. Can't wait to see how that works.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/06/2014 at 02:42am

It looks like the Queen Bee is getting attacked by bees and the player is dressed like a bee. Hahahahaha, perfect for you bee lovers (though I'm not a hater, in real life I respect bees).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/06/2014 at 03:29am

I didn't notice the Bee Armor or Costume the player had but if my eyes are right, they are in fact riding a bee too. I hope the bee gun gets upgraded as well and some late game bee armor. And then I hope everything else is replaced with bee sprites and text.

I think really want I want is Terraria to be a bee simulator game.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/06/2014 at 07:09pm

Coming soon from Maxis and Relogic: SimBee

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Blizzard Launches New Web Reality Show, Azeroth Choppers

Blizzard is a company like few others and are showing that style in it's latest foray, Azeroth Choppers. Azeroth Choppers is a reality TV web show focusing on the Horde and Alliance building competing motorcycles. The first episode is pretty interesting and ends on a typically reality TV cliffhanger. Whereas the geek in me likes the premise of the show I was really turned off by the reality TV aspect of it. The ending cliffhanger seems invented and kind of broke some of the magic.

That said, they plan on doing a whole run of shows online for your YouTube viewing pleasure. The next episode of Azeroth Choppers will launch on YouTube April 24th and keep the week release... Read All