Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Reaper of Souls Drops Next Week. Death Gets Nervous.

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls drops next week adding a whole bunch of content to the game world of Sanctuary. In the new Act V Diablo III story, Malthael the Angel of Death steals the soulstone and as such you must put a stop to it. It's fun seeing what maguffins the Diablo III writers come up with after the destruction of Diablo at the end of the game. On one hand, I love coming back to Diablo and having fun but on the other hand, haven't we killed ultimate evil a few times before? Well, apparently not because we need to take a swing at the Angel of Death. Still, the game looks great and I can't wait to play as the Crusader.

nod to the happenings of act V

The video... Read All Diablo III: Reaper of Souls drops next week adding a whole bunch of content to the game world of Sanctuary. In the new Act V Diablo III story, Malthael the Angel of Death steals the soulstone and as such you must put a stop to it. It's fun seeing what maguffins the Diablo III writers come up with after the destruction of Diablo at the end of the game. On one hand, I love coming back to Diablo and having fun but on the other hand, haven't we killed ultimate evil a few times before? Well, apparently not because we need to take a swing at the Angel of Death. Still, the game looks great and I can't wait to play as the Crusader.

nod to the happenings of act V

The video linked above is a recent interview with some people involved with the voice acting at Blizzard including the voice actors of the new Crusader class. It's a really great roundtable style interview but I found one point interesting as it may shed some light to the particulars of Act V. In the interview, Gideon Emery lets slip that as he was reading lines for Reaper of Souls that you are "Visited by another character and had to reign in the emotion…." Whereas this could mean many things I am wondering if this is a possible hint at the return of some main characters we lost in Diablo III(to avoid spoilers I am being a bit hazy here).

more reaper newsy bits

If you are wondering how you might allocate skills to the new Crusader class, you should check out the new skill calculator. It allows you to read all the new skills and runes you can use to make your perfect build.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/crusader

If you want to know more about the design process for the Crusader, Blizzard has a nice post about it with some design sketches and videos.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/13299171

In other Diablo III news, the auction house is now closed bringing it's reign of terror to an end.

Diablo III drops March 25th on Mac and Windows. Also, if we kill death in Act V does that mean people stop dying in Sanctuary? I guess we'll know on March 25th.

Mighty No. 9 GDC Gameplay Video

Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 is deep in development after a very successful Kickstarter but they took some time during GDC to release a new gameplay video. From the creator of Mega Man, the game seems very similar but give the game a modern edge. I really love the idea of a new fresh take at Mega Man but wasn't in love with all the art choices they showcased. After seeing Mighty No. 9 in action I am convinced the game will be good.

Mighty No. 9 will launch April of 2015 on Linux, Mac, Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Vita and 3DS.

Tetropolis -- "Tetroidvania" platformer starring a tetronimo

With all the news about the big AAA releases dominating what's coming out of GDC, this indie announcement is the one that's stuck with me.

In Tetropolis, you play as a defective tetronimo. As the story goes, there's a factory that creates all those puzzle pieces for all the puzzle games. Perhaps that's why you only see the next one piece in Tetris-- it's the one currently being made! At any rate, our hero gets made with only three blocks instead of four, and is sent to the disassembler. Along the way you'll meet another defective tetronimo, one with only a single block, and work together to try to escape disassembly and find a place to fit in.

The gameplay is what's... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2014 at 12:58am

I like the idea quite a bit. Tetris doesn't contain a huge amount of lore... or should I say doesn't have any lore so adding some characterization to it could be really interesting. Hope this is game is more than just a really inventive gimmick.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/24/2014 at 06:36pm

There was a threadless t-shirt that explained where those tetronimoes come from. Unfortunately it's not for sale anymore but here is a picture of it: http://cdn9001.ripten.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/blurb_tetris1_20100714.gif

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2014 at 10:50pm

Getting a FORBIDDEN on that image.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/25/2014 at 12:43am

http://www.ripten.com/2010/07/14/threadless-t-shirt-explains-where-tetris-pieces-come-from-lbd416/

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/25/2014 at 12:46am

Tim's link didn't work for me at first, but now it looks like it's working.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/25/2014 at 02:00am

Ah yeah, it is working now. Odd.

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

Sign Up / Log In

New Hyper Light Drifter Gameplay Trailer Surfaces

"In Hyper Light Drifter you'll travel a ruined land with a twisted past, delving deep to collect lost technologies and unveil secrets long buried. Hyper Light is comprised of various elements: combat that's lightning quick, brutal, never unfair and always satisfying; a highly stylized, lush and varied world to explore with an intense atmosphere; a strong narrative and character interactions expressed through visual design."

The more I see the gameplay and hear Disasterpeace score I want to play this. Heart Machine is planning on releasing Hyper Light Drifter in mid 2014 for the PC, Mac, Linux, PS4 and Vita.

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable: S2 E5 The Indelible Nature of ...

In this episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we are talk about a smattering of game related bits such as the new Steam Controller re-design, Gauntlet Reboot & Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls. We also chat about what games we've been playing as well as other awesomery not found anywhere else(except for the other places you can find them).

What We are Playing & Drinking

0.25m scrypt: Darksiders & Darksiders II, Dark Souls & Pinball FX2

2.00m WhiteboySlim: GTA V Online & Ocarina of Time Remaster

5.00m Travis: Portal 2, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake & Super Mario World

6.30m jdodson: Portal 2, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake, Diablo III 2.0.X & Nom... Read All

Unreal Engine 4- Linux, Steam Machines, Oculus, and Github

I lied to you yesterday when I said GOG.com's Linux support was the best news all week.

This is.

Unreal Engine 4 launches today, and will soon support Oculus VR, Linux, Valve’s Steamworks and Steam Machines and HTML5. And the source is hosted on GitHub, though you do have to pay a subscription to access it.

That Linux support is for deployment and development. Linux will be a first-class citizen all around for the new engine.

They're also building an app store model for sharing awesome code-- free stuff and paid-for.

Read the full release here: https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/welcome-to-unreal-engine-4

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/20/2014 at 10:47pm

Pretty! I like the low cost of entry, although a free version to learn on would be nice, but the 5% royalty to Epic seems sketchy. I just hope other companies don't start doing this. Imagine if all the software you used as a professional took a cut of your success (Adobe, don't you dare!)?

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2014 at 02:55am

I agree. That said, if you are wanting to build the next amazing shooter, that might not be that bad. Well, depending on what you are used to. One of my friends who developed for consoles and such said that kind of rev cut isn't that uncommon and that engine companies have been doing that for a while. That said, if you don't want a rev cut then Unity might be the ticket. And really, I kind of would rather just buy tools outright than pay them scrilla per month and a rev cut.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/21/2014 at 04:28am

I like Unity's approach. The subscription cost is higher, but the option to purchase a license is, I feel, still important. Of course you can learn to use the tools at no cost, which is the way it should be. I'm glad that model is working for them, and hope they continue with it. UE4 is so beautiful, though (graphically). I've never used it, but watching a few of the training videos they have on it make it seem less intimidating than I imagined. I've only gone as far as making test levels in Unity, but if UE4 is as welcoming to use, and (I would assume) more powerful, then it would certainly be worth $20 a month to try it out, at least.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2014 at 04:58am

I'd love to see what you cooked up with Unity. I downloaded the free version but I haven't gotten around to playing with it yet.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/21/2014 at 06:18pm

My test level isn't much more than going through some tutorials that I followed to get used to the tools. When I was finished I had hills and a wooded area all textured with grass, some bushes, proper rocks, some sand (texture), and a skybox. First person perspective. Playing around with it made me thing two things: "Yeah, I can do this," and "I have a lot more to learn." I'll see if I can dig it out and send it to you.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2014 at 06:42pm

Nice! Looking forward to going through those tutorials myself.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/22/2014 at 03:11am

"Yeah, I can do this," and "I have a lot more to learn." I'll see if I can dig it out and send it to you.

That's the best place to be. Seriously, I love that feeling.

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

Sign Up / Log In

Valve's Free To Play Documentary Launches on Steam & YouTube

"FREE TO PLAY is a feature-length documentary that follows three professional gamers from around the world as they compete for a million dollar prize in the first Dota 2 International Tournament. In recent years, E Sports has surged in popularity to become one of the most widely-practiced forms of competitive sport today. A million dollar tournament changed the landscape of the gaming world and for those elite players at the top of their craft, nothing would ever be the same again. Produced by Valve, the film documents the challenges and sacrifices required of players to compete at the highest level."

You can watch it right now on YouTube linked above or download it on... Read All

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/20/2014 at 05:58pm

I thought this was a very interesting documentary. Really makes me want to quit my job and just play video games all day though lol.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2014 at 02:57am

It was pretty good. I didn't want to quite my job to play DoTA 2 though, it seemed.... very hard to get to a level where it would be worth it. Plus, didn't the video seemed to say old people can't win at professional DoTA 2?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2014 at 02:57am

Being that I am both old and very near death.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/21/2014 at 02:26pm

Yeah, but I have too much ego to let a 20-something year old tell me that I'm "too old."

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2014 at 04:31pm

PROVE THAT Kid WRONG!

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

Sign Up / Log In

Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake Early Preview is Fantastic!

I just sat down to play the Kickstarter Early Access for Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake. Needless to say the game is awesome and I was really impressed by it. After playing many Early Access games on Steam I have come to accept a certain amount of broken and bugginess from early previews. The Kickstarter Early Access for Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake transcends all of that and throws you into a very polished game oozing with charm. If I had any questions about how good this game will be, they were answered in first few minutes of playing.

Once you start the game you are brought right into the games story and meet the main character Niko. Niko wakes up on his birthday... Read All

Mario 64 remake in the works, using Blender Game Engine

Aryok Pinera is doing an amazing job so far in creating a remake of Mario 64, using the free Blender Game Engine. Looks like he's keeping a running development roadmap on his Twitch page http://www.twitch.tv/aryoksini .

Looks quite impressive. Hope Nintendo doesn't...intervene.

GOG.com to support Linux in the Fall

In the best-news-of-the-week department, GOG.com has announced that they will be adding a slew of Linux games in the fall. When Linux support launches, expect at least 100 games with Ubuntu and Mint supported fully (which means Debian and its variants should work as well with a little encouragement). More games and a wider base of supported distributions will be added later.

It's important to note here that they will be bringing in games that already have a native Linux version, as well as porting new games to the platform.

For quite some time now (years?), Linux support has been the #1 requested feature on GOG.com. Good to finally see the "in progress" badge on it.

For... Read All