Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

The new Xbox is going to be EPIC, people!

Cheerful Ghost has received an insider tip from an anonymous Microsoft employee with some new info about Redmond’s next console offering. According to our insider leak Microsoft is working on a new console called “Xbox.” While this may lead to some confusion considering it shares a name with Microsoft’s first console, it makes sense as a brand, as you’ll see below, with the plans Microsoft has for it.

Xbox is not only going to be a console but a platform for future gaming devices, such as the X Surface. This will be a new gaming tablet, not running on standard Windows 8 or RT, but on a new gaming focused OS that has the familiar Metro interface, but powerful enough for... Read All Cheerful Ghost has received an insider tip from an anonymous Microsoft employee with some new info about Redmond’s next console offering. According to our insider leak Microsoft is working on a new console called “Xbox.” While this may lead to some confusion considering it shares a name with Microsoft’s first console, it makes sense as a brand, as you’ll see below, with the plans Microsoft has for it.

Xbox is not only going to be a console but a platform for future gaming devices, such as the X Surface. This will be a new gaming tablet, not running on standard Windows 8 or RT, but on a new gaming focused OS that has the familiar Metro interface, but powerful enough for console-level games. This will allow for more incremental upgrades as new X devices are released, making the Xbox a hub for all your gaming hardware.

“Microsoft is really pulling out all the stops and this console will be its biggest release to date” our source went on the record to say. “The Xbox will allow you to play games, listen to music and do what you love so much better than anything that came before it.” And with a CPU spec increase of 3X it leaves little to the imagination that this will be something special.

I’m sure consumers will jump at the chance to buy new devices year after year to play all the games coming out, and this is a perfectly reasonable choice for Microsoft after their tablets and Windows 8 have been so poorly received. And the confusing naming convention seems like a bad idea on the surface (no pun intended), but I’m sure Microsoft knows what they’re doing!

We will keep checking in for more in the coming days where we will report everything that gets sent to our inboxes, totally raw and unfiltered-- we don’t worry about little things like vetting our sources! Want to share some info about the new PS4 that has the processing power of IBM’s Watson supercomputer and is controlled exclusively with Donkey Kong Jungle Beat bongos? We’re ready to believe you!

For more info: http://x-surface.tumblr.com/

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/24/2013 at 02:52am

Looking forward to it being able to play music!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/24/2013 at 09:32pm

Very cool, can't wait to learn more!

David_Woods wrote on 01/24/2013 at 11:05pm

Aaaaactually, this disappoints me. IMO the benefit of consoles in the past has been their focus. There's been a little deviation in the last generation in the form of their respective network offerings, with expanded media options, but their main focus hasn't deviated from being a game console. To hear "Xbox is not only going to be a console" sends shivers up my spine. It sounds like the business/enterprise side of MS is starting to infect the gaming division. I liked it better when they were separate.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/24/2013 at 11:10pm

David, please pay close attention to the last two paragraphs and read the source at the bottom of the page. I think you may have missed some important bits.

And congrats again, btw! Very happy for you.

David_Woods wrote on 01/25/2013 at 04:10am

Wow. LOL.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/25/2013 at 09:54pm

Don't worry D_W, I was fooled too, just didn't want to admit it lol

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The Turret Anthem: Source Film Maker Creation

Just found an awesome video made with Valve's Source Film Maker called "The Turret Anthem." It features turrets from Portal and Portal 2 and contains a cool song and a great animation sequence cut together with Valve's Source Film Maker.

Up vote it on Steam here:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=122130516

Steam oddness on OS X 10.7.5

I seem to recall there are others here that use OS X, so thought I'd share this.

The other day the Steam client crashed on exit. whee! Actually not the first time, but it has engendered a new symptom. Unless I reboot my MacBook Pro before restarting the client I get a dialog stating it can load due to an instance already running. I've checked the process list and not such things is there, so I'm guessing that some resource isn't getting released now.

I've share some details with Steam, so hopefully some sort resolution will be found. I'm not really willing to reboot my laptop just so I can play
some game the has Steam insinuated into it.

Has any other OS X stumbled across... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 07:53pm

Give this a shot. ClientRegistry.blob likes to get corrupted, and causes all kinds of fun issues.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7241-EYON-2343

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/24/2013 at 01:20am

I have had Steam problems on Mac. Mostly shutting it down and it yelling at me for some reason so I kill the app. Had a much better time with the Linux client all told.

MoonWyrd Supporter Post Author wrote on 01/26/2013 at 02:09am

@panickedthumb thanks for the suggestion. alas, it didn't make a difference. :( Hopefully Steam will get back to me soon.

MoonWyrd Supporter Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 04:39pm

Well, Thursday I got a reply from Steam :
=========================================================================
Please exit Steam and go to the folder Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Steam

Delete all of the files in this folder except for SteamApps and Userdata.

Restart your computer.

Launch Steam and re-test the issue.

Note: This process will not affect your currently installed games.

Note: If you are using Lion please do the following to access your Steam folder:

1. Click "Go" in the menu bar
2. Click "Go to Folder..."
3. Type "~/Library/Application Support/Steam"
4. Click "Go"

This will take you directly to the folder.
=========================================================================

This seems to have fixed the problem, at least for now. I've run the Steam client several
times since and played Civ V a few time w/o the problem recurring. Thought I'd update
this in case someone else gets hit by this.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:05pm

Whoa nice, thanks! I might try this as I get crashes in Steam as well from time to time.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:16pm

You'd think going in and deleting everything like that would be bad, but I guess it is smart enough to know what to download. Glad you got it working!

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New Teaser For Console Release

Looks awesome, I really hope this comes to PC.

Anyone going to pick this up on a console when it comes out?

http://terraria.org

Travis Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 05:58pm

If there's a demo, I'll give it a shot. I just don't see it working as well with a controller.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 06:29pm

Also, in terms of this coming to PC:

* Redigit ended up being the last developer on PC Terraria, and personal stuff got in the way of his development so he stopped development of new content.

* 505 Games approached him about making a console version, and they came to a deal, so nobody from the PC version is working on the console version.

* Redigit has recently tweeted about possibly getting back to work on the PC version, but depending on the deal he has with 505 Games, he may not legally be allowed to bring all these features to the PC version, as it isn't his content to port.

So it's possible that PC will get this, but equally (or perhaps more) likely that it won't. It's possible that we'll get so much awesome stuff it'll make the console ports look weak and useless. We won't know until we know.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/24/2013 at 01:18am

Strange someone would port your game but you down own the content. Figured they would be licensing it and... Actually I have no idea how that works.

Oh well, hopefully learn more. The new stuff looks great and the controls look pretty good, but its hard to say before I try it.

+1 to the demo idea.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/25/2013 at 07:10pm

Yeah, if there's a demo I might give it a shot, but I expect I'll stick to the PC version I already own. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/25/2013 at 07:18pm

Makes sense, a pragmatic approach :D

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 03:29am

I played the PS3 demo before Travis gifted me a copy for the PC. The demo's music got a bit old after a while and didn't appeal to me as much as the PC version's music does. I'm slightly tempted to play the PS3 or mobile versions now that I've played through the PC version, but I'm not quite sure that I will. I think I agree with Travis regarding the controls for the console version and think that it seems to be a game better played with a mouse and keyboard on the PC. I'm interested in seeing what others think about the console and mobile versions of the game.

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Heart of the Swarm Intro Cinematic Drops

Seems to be that some companies are filling the gaming lull by releasing epic game trailers and as Blizzard just dropped the opening Cinematic for Heart of the Swarm. As the Cinematic played out I was like "What is going on, in Wings of Liberty she..." and then they did that switcheroo at the end which was awesome.

Blizzard storylines contain pretty similar elements I've noticed. In Warcraft you had Arthas who was corrupted by the Undead and became Litch King. You have a similar story in Diablo III. In Starcraft Kerrigan is corrupted by the Zerg. This is a first time that I know of in Blizzard-dom where such a corrupted character might become good again. Blizzard seems... Read All

The Elder Scrolls Online: New Trailer and Beta

Bethesda released a new epic trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online today, as well as opening a sign up page for the limited public beta.

I've been out of the MMO scene for a while, but I signed up. I'm interested in seeing what they can do with this. The lore aficionados are a little upset that this seems to go against established canon, but I'm not incredibly worried about that if the game is good.

The trailer is certainly pretty, some uncanny valley stuff in there to be sure, but it's all pre-rendered, no gameplay. The gameplay trailers have looked interesting, but not convincing one way or the other-- I'm just going to have to get my hands on it.

The sign up page can be... Read All

Will_Owens wrote on 01/23/2013 at 11:29am

Although not a fan of MMORPGs or the newer Elder Scrolls games, I'm interested to see how they adapt the gameplay of being a one man army/savior for an entire province to a multiplayer environment. I'm sure it will have a lot of initial interest, but I see it going the way of the Star Wars online RPG.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/24/2013 at 01:23am

I think its hard to compete with WoW. Lots of MMO'ers will try the latest "NOT WoW" game and then discard quickly because its not WoW. People say they want a "NOT WoW" game but continually discard games and head back to WoW.

The new thing for MMO's is have a time in the sun with the subscription model and quickly pivot to F2P. Not a bad road if you can make money there and eventually many MMO's would be epic after 10 years of development its just expectations are pretty high for games in that space.

jaelte wrote on 01/27/2013 at 08:39am

Well, I signed up. Now for the waiting game, I suppose. I haven't played any MMORPG in awhile, but I'm somewhat intrigued by this one.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/27/2013 at 05:50pm

Its an interesting idea, but like @Will_Owens I am interested to see how they pull this off.

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Anyone else signed up?

http://webcdn.pathofexile.com/gen/image/YTozOntpOjA7aTowO2k6/MjthOjI6e3M6MjoiaWQi/O2k6MjY1O3M6NDoic2l6/ZSI7czo3OiJwcmV2aWV3/Ijt9aToxO2k6MTt9/9cd0f57e2a/act3_screenshot6.jpg

The public beta begins tomorrow and it looks like something worth checking out. It seems to be the answer to the question "What would happen if you let a bunch of huge Diablo 2 fans make Diablo 3." Oh, and its Free-to-Play... so why not try it?

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 01:57am

I got the email, not sure ill have time to check it out. Let me know how it plays when you try it though, really interested in this one.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 03:13am

I'm just starting to wonder if the world needs another Diablo-like game. Though this may prove me wrong.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 04:07am

Well, perhaps not but this one is free to play which does open it up to certain players that might not have been able to get Torchlight 2 or Diablo 3.

Plus it being F2P means I will try it out for sure. And you know, the free to play model kind of works for a game like this.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/23/2013 at 04:23am

As long as it isn't pay to win.

MoonWyrd Supporter wrote on 01/23/2013 at 07:17pm

Would be nice to see Mac/Linux support, but I get why that can tricky while also moving through beta. I have a friend who I used to play D2 with quite a bit that now a days refuse to devote this sort of hardware to Windoze.

Given that I was just playing D3 this morning (ah the joys of being unemployed :) ) I'll probably check this out on my spare system.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/27/2013 at 05:49pm

This game is really interesting. Its kind of like Diablo with a Greek aesthetic. UI is a bit hard to navigate at times, but its an interesting game for sure.

MoonWyrd Supporter wrote on 01/28/2013 at 01:18am

I spent an hour at it Thursday morning. Definitely beta, but intriguing. The skill system looks to have many more possibilities.

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It's not gaming but...

I've tooled around with Blender before, but I've left it alone for about 6 months now.

Enter Cycles

Cycles is Blender's new renderer and I must say that it is a thing of beauty. It's fast, it's practical, and, most of all, it makes lighting and materials make sense, something that has been a major hurdle in my modeling hobby. Oh, and the near real time renders (for small resolutions) help tremendously.

The image I've attached took about 20 minutes to model (and I'm really bad), but the real key is that the lighting and materials took about 2min.

For someone who actually knows what they're doing see: http://www.blenderguru.com/videos/introduction-to-cycles/

Interview w Sleep Ninja Games Justin Baldwin

Back this on Kickstarter!

Recently I saw an amazing Kickstarter for a new gamed called "Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake." The game focuses on amazingly lush visuals and a puzzle styled game play similar to early Legend of Zelda Games. I immediately had to know more about the Kickstarter and Sleep Ninja Games the company behind the magic.

jdodson: The “Monster’s Ate My Birthday Cake” Kickstarter page reminisces of the time before the Wiki where we shared secrets and game lore by word of mouth. What lore or secrets have been burned into your brain you can’t shake?

Justin Baldwin: It's been a long time, and I remember it for tons of games. I really more or less want to try to bring that experience... Read All

Heart of the Swarm Beta

Hello Friends,

I totally dig Starcraft. So much so that I pre-ordered the Collectors Edition of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm. The collectors edition packs in the game soundtrack, making of DVD/BluRay, art book and other digital bits. A week or so before the launch of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm I plan on doing a video un-boxing of all my Collector Edition's to share with everyone.

That said, since I pre-ordered the game I was given access to the beta and decided to take it for a spin. They are only making the multi-player aspect of Heart of the Swarm available for Beta customers so I won't be able to comment on the Single Player until game launch in March. That... Read All Hello Friends,

I totally dig Starcraft. So much so that I pre-ordered the Collectors Edition of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm. The collectors edition packs in the game soundtrack, making of DVD/BluRay, art book and other digital bits. A week or so before the launch of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm I plan on doing a video un-boxing of all my Collector Edition's to share with everyone.

That said, since I pre-ordered the game I was given access to the beta and decided to take it for a spin. They are only making the multi-player aspect of Heart of the Swarm available for Beta customers so I won't be able to comment on the Single Player until game launch in March. That said, I played two matches as the Zerg, my race of choice.

The two new Zerg units I played around with were the Viper and Swarm Host. The Viper is a flyer that can move enemy units closer to you. So if an enemy ship or unit is hitting you from a distance you can pick it up and lift it closer to you. It was fun using the Vipers to bring enemy fliers inside my Hydralisk swam and watch them die. Allowing the Zerg more methods to mess with an enemy is an awesome thing. The other new Zerg unit is the Swarm Host which is a siege unit that when burrowed spawn Locusts that spit acid. While interesting, I never found the right formula to use Swarm Host to the point where I loved it but I imagine I just need more time with the unit.

Heart of the Swarm doesn't seem to add any new structures or change any of the other multi-player game mechanics that I noticed.

Looking forward to talking more about the single-player of Heart of the Swarm when the game is launched in March. Speaking of, are you planning on picking up this expansion?

Pre-Order the Game on Amazon and get early Access to the Beta:
http://goo.gl/6uCOl

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/unit/viper
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/unit/swarm-host
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/heart-of-the-swarm-preview/
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/ (section on the new units to Heart of the Swarm)