Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

State of The Ghost: 3.0

In keeping with the spirit of the very infrequent "State of the Ghost" posts I add yet another to the mix. Going forward I plan on doing about 4 a year talking about the nuts and bolts of what's going on and what we have brewing on the site.

Overall I am really happy with how far Cheerful Ghost has come since I launched the site this year in January. Ill paint a larger picture at the year end with how far we have come, but needless to say I am really proud of Cheerful Ghost as it sits today. Since the site is still so young if you have any suggestions or recommendations forward I would love to hear them.

Last month I added a lot of stuff to Cheerful Ghost to clear out... Read All In keeping with the spirit of the very infrequent "State of the Ghost" posts I add yet another to the mix. Going forward I plan on doing about 4 a year talking about the nuts and bolts of what's going on and what we have brewing on the site.

Overall I am really happy with how far Cheerful Ghost has come since I launched the site this year in January. Ill paint a larger picture at the year end with how far we have come, but needless to say I am really proud of Cheerful Ghost as it sits today. Since the site is still so young if you have any suggestions or recommendations forward I would love to hear them.

Last month I added a lot of stuff to Cheerful Ghost to clear out some long needed features to make it easy to start up some new awesome stuff we will launch very soon. Before I get into the upcoming features currently in the works, lets discuss what I rolled out last month:

Posts now have titles. Its funny because people have been asking for this since the site first launched. I thought it was nothing important so I kept dismissing it as something we needed. Over time I realized that being the ONLY person that felt we didn't need post titles was a bad idea, so I gave you what you wanted. I sort of did it thinking no one would use it but... since its launch its has been used in 100% of all new posts proving without a doubt I can be wrong about what features we actually need :D After using the post titles myself, I can say they are an awesome addition and I am glad people kept pushing on that one. I think this proves that if enough people want something and are vocal about it, it will be added. Post titles now work with our Atom Feed, Emails & Google Searches and when you share a post to Facebook and Google+ the title is incorporated in the content.

If you come to the site on a popular Holiday you will get a trophy. So far I have added Trophies for All Hallows Eve, Turkey Day & Leprechaun Day. As more holidays approach, I will add more. If you have a holiday you think should be memorialised in trophy form, let me know. Yes, I will add a trophy for Star Wars Day. :D

If people haven't come to the site in a few weeks we send out a email letting them know the most popular conversations that happened since they were away. I send this out every two weeks as to not be annoying. We now randomize between 5 or 6 different subjects for the email. I don't want to give the impression the content of the email is always the same because the subject line was. Now the subject will be different enough to hopefully let the user know the content of the email is new and interesting.

We were having a problem with certain people posting content a few users and myself didn't think was awesome. I implemented a system to "bury" a post. Basically it means that a buried post won't be visible to anyone on the main or corresponding game page. The post will be visible to the originating user and on the users personal area. 99% of posts are fine, occasionally some are not and this is just a way to ensure stuff on the main page is awesome for everyone.

Tungsten, Panickedthumb & WhiteboySlim are site moderators. Basically this allows them the ability to bury posts and add and edit games in the Cheerful Ghost database. Wherein its not new they are moderators, they can now bury posts along with me.

I experimented with adding video embed support for Twitch.tv. Basically I can't get a good method to ALWAYS display the video feed to browsers on your phone, tablet and desktop. What I ended up doing is displaying a Twitch graphic pointing the user to the twitch content on the site. I don't love this solution, but I like it more than displaying a broken box to people on iPhones and Androids. Eventually Twitch will provide an embed that will work on all clients and when they do I will be the first to incorporate it.

I had to migrate the database of the provider we host the site with. The free database plan we were on was no longer valid because of all the data the site stores. I guess tracking 26k games all the posts and comments take up more space than they felt should be under the free plan. :D
I also fixed a few bugs and made some improvements to the overall site look and feel as well as a bunch of other stuff I don't remember off hand.

I cleared this list off because I wanted to put us feature wise in a good place for something I have wanted to do since the site launched in January.

Cheerful Ghost is getting a visual upgrade. First off I want to let you know that the site will not lose any functionality you love. I am merely taking the design we currently have and making it better. Since I am the lone developer you have been stuck with the best visual design that I could muster. For not being a designer I am pretty happy with how it turned out but I want the site to be "moar awesomerz" in its visuals.

Yesterday I started the process of working with the new design made with the amazing Twitter Bootstrap Framework(http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/) and after showing it to a friend I am really happy with the direction. What I am doing is recreating the main page in HTML and making sure it works well on phones, tablets and desktops. When I complete the initial design and mockup I will post a "Lets Play: Cheerful Ghost Design Edition" to show you what I have cooked up.

After the design is tweaked and I feel it is awesome enough, ill spend a week or whatever cutting up the site to operate with the new design. After the bugs are all ironed out ill push it out for everyone to enjoy.

The reason I want to give the site a visual lift is because I want the visuals of Cheerful Ghost to be as awesome as the community and the content we create together. For many months I have considered what to do about this and think I am on a pretty good path, but I look forward to your input here when I post the visual "Lets Play" video showcasing the new goods.

Thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts about the above, please let me know.

Not sure who's still playing but...

http://www.diablo3farming.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Diablo-3-keywarden-act-4-Nekarat.jpg

If any of you have the gear, want to farm some key wardens some time? I've run the act II key warden about 20 times on mp2 and have only gotten 1 key.

More than anything, I'm just bored with the run.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/04/2012 at 09:17pm

I play D3 here and there, but I am only level 54 or something like that. Is that high enough to take down this guy?

Travis Admin wrote on 11/04/2012 at 09:44pm

I don't even think they spawn in non-Inferno.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/04/2012 at 09:58pm

Well there we are.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 11/05/2012 at 03:06am

They spawn in all difficulties but they only drop keys in inferno mp1+. So yes, you are 6 levels and 10 mil gold or so away.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/05/2012 at 03:09am

Ok so an hour of grinding an I'm all set :D

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/05/2012 at 03:10am

That all said I am pretty happy with picking up and playing Diablo 3 from time to time. Haven't got to any of the end game stuff yet, but at some point I will.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/05/2012 at 03:37am

I can wallop The Butcher in Inferno pretty easily now, but the first bit of Act II still slays me. I may have hit the point where you have to love the grind to keep going.

I'm OK with that, I suppose. It's definitely a pick-up-put-down game for me. I play it a couple of days and have loads of fun, then I'm done for a while. If I quit right now and never looked at it again, I would have still gotten my $60 worth.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/05/2012 at 04:00am

I got a pretty good value out of mine too I think. I got ze Collectors which I think is superb. Prob listened to the soundtrack more than I've played the game.

Chowda wrote on 11/05/2012 at 06:18am

Yes, keys drop in inferno acts 1-3 when you have 5 stacks of valor. Each monster power gives an additional 10% chance for the key to drop. So MP10 has a 100% drop chance. We usually farm them on MP5 or 6.

I just finally got all 3 organs the other day and made my first hellfire ring. It didn't roll very well but at least I get the bonus XP!

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Totally Rad Show Reviews Dishonored

I am a big Totally Rad Show fan. Love me some Jeff, Dan and Alex. I enjoy what they have to say about Video Games, Comic Books and Movies.

On such recent review for Dishonored really interested me in checking it out. I have more games than I know what to do with now, but when a Bethesda deal comes around with Dishonored included I will pick it up.

Did you nab this game? What are you thoughts on it?

Haven't played a stealth shooter yet, so this would be my first. Oh and when I pick this up, it WILL be on PC.

Another interesting article on games journalism

http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles/craig-test/1351787650.43.jpg/EG11/thumbnail/360x200/

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-02-the-games-media-must-renew-the-trust-of-its-audience

Table Top: Star Fluxx

Table Top just released a new episode covering the Board Game Star Fluxx. One of my friends recently picked this up and I need to play it with him sometime. He said it was good, looks like it from the video.

Cheerful Ghost User Interview: BR

As I mentioned a few days back that I would be sending out user interviews to the most active Cheerful Ghost users. I emailed BR and he awesomely answered my questions.

Ill send out more over the next few weeks. If you don't get a email right away, fear not ill get to you all.

http://cheerfulghost.com/BR

jdodson: I know a bit about this already, but I wonder if you can let us know why you chose BR as your screen name?

BR: For those who don't know, BR stands for BlueRooster. This has been my screen name for the past few years. I first came up with it when creating an account to play Global Agenda. I mostly like it because its fairly simple and unique. I've never met someone... Read All

Non Union Equivalents

http://www.psp-themes.net/data/media/5/Mario%20RPG.jpg

SMRPG is a game that, in retrospect, I consider to be an interesting failure. There's a lot to recommend it but almost as many sore spots. Let's start with the good:

The Timing System: What is the number one genre staple in JRPGs that is persistently tolerated and rarely improved? The grind. 80% of JRPGs consist of pressing the action button. This is true. Random battles rarely require any sort of deep strategical thinking and can be conquered with basic attacks. This is necessary; it'd be exhausting to think each and every encounter. It'd be like having to figure out the best way to tackle a goomba. So, this gets boring, almost every time. In SMRPG, they introduce this... Read All

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 11/02/2012 at 08:44pm

Aww. This was one of the first games I ever beat all the way. Geno is still one of my favorite characters of all time. I love the marionette. I still consider this to be one of the best games of all time. I love the culex battle as a throwback to early final fantasy games. It also was the precursor to the long running and much beloved paper mario games. The minecart mini game was also really fun. As was the music note tadpoles. Thanks for taking the time to write something up on such and old classic though. It's rarely mentioned nowadays.

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 11/02/2012 at 09:16pm

I didn't have history with it, is one thing. Coming at games as an adult is tougher than as a kid sometimes. I don't think it's a bad game by any means. It's an experiential thing, right? The important thing is how you felt playing. That's what the podcast is about and also this site, I think.

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 11/02/2012 at 09:31pm

Ya I don't fault you for disliking it or anything. You made valid points about it. Just giving my own opinions on a game from my childhood. I've gone back and finished it again about 3years ago replaying some games to see if it was all nostalgia.

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 11/02/2012 at 09:47pm

There are some games I definitely give a lot of affection to due to nostalgia. I loved SNES RPGs but this is a weird blind spot for me as a young'n. If I had stumbled across it at that age, I would have ate it the fuck up. Instead, I wasted time on Paladin's Quest.

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 11/02/2012 at 10:12pm

paladins quest...OH! I remember why that sounds familiar. It's also called Lennus. I just recently finished Lennus 2 a month or so ago. It was a great game.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/03/2012 at 09:59pm

I missed Super Mario RPG too. My cousin played it and loved it, but I didn't have it. By the time it came around I was moving on to being in a band and I skipped this entirely.

I came back to try it later and the faux 3D sort of didn't resonate with me. It seems to garner high praise from people that love it though. The fighting didn't stick with me and the story wasn't memorable, for the small bit I did play.

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My Minecraft World: Blown up by a Creeper

So this is my first foray into the world of Lets Play videos and I decided to make it of my first Minecraft World. I take you through my amazing house, Sheep and Cattle Farm as well as my Wheat fields.

Having to spend time talking and playing didn't leave much of my attention paid to the creeper advancing on me. As I watch the video again he is plainly there and because I didn't notice him, blows me up handily.

That said, I plan on doing more of these and its a great way to share what I have been playing a bit of.

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 11/02/2012 at 03:23am

Be happy you didn't cheat haha. Some LP's out there play the game and then do audio afterwards. You made me think of one time when my brother, cousin, and I were out at night time. They sent me out to do something and we thought we knew where all the creepers were. But there was a spider on the roof. He lept on my head sent me flying forwards into the creeper so i got scared ran back for the door. However there was a creepier to the side of the door we didn't see and he blocked my escape and blew me to bits. We were on hardcore. Was a frantically funny moment.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/02/2012 at 03:37am

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BOOM!

Travis Admin wrote on 11/02/2012 at 03:38am

Whenever I see a LP with someone actually talking while playing, I'm hoping I find another classic like Laddergoat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggB33d0BLcY

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/02/2012 at 04:12am

Yeah no goats in this video. :D

Watched the Ladder Goat video and my wife was like "can you please turn that down." That guys laugh is so high pitched!

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 11/02/2012 at 04:27pm

Welcome to the LP brotherhood

BR Supporter wrote on 11/02/2012 at 09:21pm

Jake, those aren't LP`s, they are commentaries. There is a difference. Most the time the game footage is just something for you to watch while you listen to what the people have to say.

Also, Jon, you have a great voice for an LP. I find it very easy to understand and relaxing to listen to. Might sound a bit weird but that is a major factor for a successful LP. Nobody wants to listen to an annoying voice.

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 11/02/2012 at 09:33pm

There are people who call their stuff LP's in the titles but still do what I described believe me. Commentaries are indeed what they are but, that's not what some people are saying they are.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 11/02/2012 at 11:42pm

Man, it's so pixelated... ;)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/03/2012 at 06:27am

jdodson: @Adym: Yep, thats the style of the game.

@BR: Thanks I appreciate that. I typically don't watch a lof of lets plays for a few reasons.

1. They immediately start out with some guy screaming or 5 guys in a room laughing at something I don't get. Its hard to get into something where its nearly all inside jokes or what not.

2. I have no idea what they are doing. Can you state the goal of this lets play? Can we work to some kind of end? I like to know whats in store, take me on the journey and then end it off. If the goal is "i want to play this game and have no agenda" then fine, but state it up front. I don't want to watch a 30 minute video for that 5 second glimpse of greatness. If the awesome part isnt the whole 30 minutes, you lost me.

At some point Ill do the whole "hey guys I am in minecraft and I am going to walk that direction and just see some awesome Vistas and shit!" The awesome part though, ill tell you that and narrate the journey! I sort of view these videos in much the way I write about my experiences with Skyrim or The Binding of Issac.

Something needs to bind the person to what you are doing. Not saying this first video was the best at that, but I had an agenda and it followed through on that with some fun in the middle.

Oh and thanks for the comment about my voice! I have a face for radio so hearing that helps! That said if you want to hear a sexy man voice checkout Watch out for Fireballs podcast as Kole goes beyond my skills.

And you should checkout Gary's latest lets play of Call of Cthulu, it's really well done.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 02:02am

Awesome! Your video shows one of my biggest peeves with the game, that is Creepers! Luckily it didn't blow up anything important. I remember one of the house I built in one of my worlds kept getting destroyed by Creepers! I also hated in my last world every time a Creeper would come by as I was farming and boom there goes my farm.

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The Best Thing To Happen In The 21st Century

http://www.oculusvr.com/. The first ever cost effective version of simulated VR to ever be developed. It's on kickstarter if you guys want to support it. It's the stepping stone to real and true virtual reality in the future. Take a few minutes of your time and watch that video.

Borderlands 2's Nutshell

So I was asked by Jdodson to give my thoughts and opinions on borderlands 2 after playing just about everything the game has to offer. I am a level 50. I've never cheated and played it duo with my cousin and we have everything. This has NO SPOILERS. It's simply an objective look at the game as a whole.

Pros:
+Better Characters
+More Varied Environments
+Better Enemies
+More Challenging

Cons:
-Change to the gun system (It's also a plus but let me describe it later in the review)
-A few broken new mechanics (completely objective)
-Not as much endgame as I feel was promised

So let's start off with characters. The characters this time around are quite humorous. Tiny Tina herself is... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/02/2012 at 02:57am

I think I agree with you on gun type. For me it wasn't game breaking, but it wasn't as cool as before in the way you describe. It just seems strange to have all fire damage guns be of a certain type only.

Can you re-play most of the higher level bosses again?

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 11/02/2012 at 03:17am

you can replay every boss in the game again. This goes for every part in the game too. If at any time you want to go face the first boss again. You can just go back to the area their in and they respawn.

edit: Also on gun type. I just want to reiterate. It WAS a good idea on their part but again. They needed to make them unique with completely NEW variables. Not old ones that already existed. It got rid of gun types that already existed. There are more guns but in reality it seems limited like theres even less. Hopefully they combine the old and the new in a borderlands 3.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/02/2012 at 03:24am

Guns: that makes sense.

Boss Spawns: One of the biggest let downs of the original Borderlands what that I couldn't come back and re-play the rack hive boss fight in the main campaign.

Jacob_Richardson Post Author wrote on 11/02/2012 at 03:50am

Ha I totally agree. Me and my cousin are heavy heavy borderlands players. We both talked about that same fight numerous times while playing through borderlands 2. He looked over my review after I wrote it and totally agrees with it all. I wrote it based on conversations we had as we played through the whole thing. We always talked about what could be better in certain areas. There's just not a lot of co op games left so critiquing the ones left is important.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/02/2012 at 04:13am

I agree. Diablo 3 has co-op and its a fun part of that game and BL2 shines with it.

More co-op the better.

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