malek86
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Pomegranate Deseeder
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Post by malek86 on Mar 4, 2022 21:21:46 GMT
Decided to go back to Eternal Ring to see if it gets better.
It does get a little better. Not enough to call it a good game, but at least the faults become less glaringly obvious. Might as well try to finish it. So far it hasn't been too hard, so I guess it's not like a standard From game.
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EMarkM
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Well, quite...
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Post by EMarkM on Mar 5, 2022 8:00:57 GMT
I’m going to regret this, aren’t I? But here we go! I think I asked this one at the old place, and I’m pretty sure I’ve tried on Reddit too, but I never seem to get very far. I have a memory of a video game from at least ten years ago, maybe even twenty, and I’ve been trying to find out what it is/was. It was a fantasy RPG type thing where other players could join your world, so a bit like Dark Souls, I guess. The “unique” feature of the game, and the bit that got it stuck in my mind from an article I read, was that you could hide from these other players, rather than interact with them, by disguising yourself with an illusion spell that transformed you into a background object. The example I remember in the article was a broom, leaning up against a wall. It feels like it could have been Fable or something like that. Was it one of Molyneux’s much-touted features that never made it to a game? Or is this a completely false memory on my behalf? Help if you can; it’s been nagging me for years! Thanks  |
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mrpon
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Post by mrpon on Mar 5, 2022 8:45:34 GMT
Was a loaf of bread the health bar?
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 5, 2022 9:11:44 GMT
Dark Souls 2 did let you transform into an object to fool invaders. Maybe it was just that? Not quite ten or twenty years ago, but you know, false memory and all that.
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EMarkM
Junior Member
Well, quite...
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Post by EMarkM on Mar 5, 2022 9:34:17 GMT
Was a loaf of bread the health bar? Oh no…it’s happening again, Mother… |
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EMarkM
Junior Member
Well, quite...
Posts: 2,150
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Post by EMarkM on Mar 5, 2022 9:35:51 GMT
Dark Souls 2 did let you transform into an object to fool invaders. Maybe it was just that? Not quite ten or twenty years ago, but you know, false memory and all that. Thanks for this. I honestly just can’t place it being that recent. In my head, it’s around the time of me still having a Windows 98 machine, or maybe PS2…gah… |
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Post by snackplissken on Mar 5, 2022 9:40:46 GMT
I know it’s CEX but what is up with tonnes of expensive games that have no instruction manuals. Are the staff or people stealing them? I can’t say I ever have lost a manual…
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Post by Aunt Alison on Mar 5, 2022 9:43:17 GMT
It makes them seem rare so that when they put the manuals up on eBay, you'll pay even more to make it complete
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Post by snackplissken on Mar 5, 2022 10:29:27 GMT
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 5, 2022 16:48:24 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2022 16:55:39 GMT
I really like the look of that, but it does seem like all the power of the PS1 was used to render the ONE THING a foot away from you.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 5, 2022 17:09:07 GMT
I really like the look of that, but it does seem like all the power of the PS1 was used to render the ONE THING a foot away from you. All of the memory too, since just about every sub-menu, from the bestiary to even the equip screen, has a loading screen behind it. Reminds me of Blood Omen. |
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Post by snackplissken on Mar 6, 2022 9:15:37 GMT
I quite like the look of that.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 6, 2022 12:37:33 GMT
Yeah... I'm considering giving it another chance. It's not that bad, it's just that I'm sure at some point I'll get stuck somewhere (Eternal Ring was painfully linear instead), and your resources get depleted very fast.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 6, 2022 18:56:31 GMT
Ended up trying again. This time I was able to make more progress. I still don't understand what's going on, what I'm supposed to do, and where I am going. But my stats are growing, I have some equipment, and I've got in a decent loop. But it's still so unforgiving. Save points are scarce, and none of that bonfire business, dying just means you have to reload. Dark Souls is tense, but as long as you don't have too many souls, you are encouraged to experiment. Not so much here, because you could go a long while without a save point, and making a mistake could be very painful. Standard enemies are slow and easy to circle-strafe, but the stronger ones will topple you in seconds, and even the weakest enemy still has at least a paralyze or poison status attack. Plus, many of them have ranged attacks, and are perfectly willing to use them from outside the visible area. Oh, one thing I realized though: it's not that the power of the PS1 is all being used to render things one foot away from you. It's just that you gotta use torches to brighten the area. That makes the draw distance... two feet. And I'm too cheap to use a rare torch anyway.         |
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 7, 2022 8:20:51 GMT
Managed to complete most of the first two areas, including a boss, but gave up again at the third area (the game mentions six areas total, so I was still in the first half). Enemies got way too annoying, and it looked like I wasn't making any meaningful progress anymore. Better cut my losses here.
Moreso than Souls, Shadow Tower really wants you to suffer throughout, and not necessarily as a design choice. You have no idea what you are doing, the controls are cumbersome, the field of view is too restricted, equipment degradation is System Shock 2 levels of bad, corridors all look the same and there is no map whatsoever, hitboxes are wonky, and the list goes on.
I was actually feeling pretty invested, in the way that only a good dungeon crawler can give you, but there is just too much to suffer through.
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dmukgr
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Post by dmukgr on Mar 7, 2022 12:53:03 GMT
Sinden update: By far the trickiest part of the setup is with the emulators. I simply can't get PCSX2 working with it, but on the other hand Duckstation was a piece of piss. MAME was OK once I got my head around it but it took a while to get there - it was just MAME being MAME tbh. I can help out anyone with any questions about what I did here. The actual included software configuration tool looks ugly but actually takes up way less of your time than you might expect. The default settings for everything worked for me. The main thing was that it educated me to sit/stand further away from my 55" TV, which was a pretty fair point. If you get weird jitter, random off-screen misses or a perception of lag, try moving further away. Once it's all up and running though unless you're some sort of professional light gun gamer you're not going to notice any difference between it and a classic CRT setup. It's probably better than the old PS1 guns in some ways, like off-angle stuff and jitter are noticeably improved. My accuracy ratings in-game are exactly the same. I'm going to build one of the OG console adapters (as soon as I can get my hands on a Pi 4 anyway) and once that's done, I'm probably going to retire my last CRT forever. That's the highest praise I can bestow on both the Retrotink 5x and Sinden guns. |
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Psiloc
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Post by Psiloc on Mar 7, 2022 15:28:48 GMT
Great to see his story on something like the Guardian.
I can't wait to see what he comes out with in regards to the original consoles. I totalled it up and I've spent a few hundred pounds making the adapter myself (although I did get a bit carried away - I do enjoy a project).
Can confirm that I got rid of my last CRT! I've completely transitioned to retro gaming on a flat screen (OLED).
I repeat that if games/ports started coming out that support the gun natively, removing the need for so much configuration, it would be basically perfect and an easy recommendation to anyone interested in gun games.
I might share photos of my setup if anyone is interested.
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Post by gamingdave on Mar 7, 2022 15:40:56 GMT
I love the idea of getting a couple, and running emulation, but I suspect they would end up being used for a couple of weekends and then left on the shelf
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Psiloc
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Post by Psiloc on Mar 7, 2022 16:15:26 GMT
Haha I know that feeling. But I had none of those doubts for me personally because I literally kept a CRT around just for lightgun games and used it fairly consistently.
The price for a single non-recoil gun is pretty reasonable IIRC. It's just the waiting time that's the killer, if they haven't caught up from the pandemic yet. Mine took 9-10 months to arrive but I ordered right in the middle of 2020.
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Post by Lurker on Mar 8, 2022 10:45:52 GMT
I ended up ordering the 2 player Sinden pack the other day and have no idea when I'll get it. Maybe I'll finally get to finish my Launchbox build by the time it comes? (spoiler alert: no I won't!).
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Post by One_Vurfed_Gwrx on Mar 8, 2022 11:00:39 GMT
Haha I know that feeling. But I had none of those doubts for me personally because I literally kept a CRT around just for lightgun games and used it fairly consistently. The price for a single non-recoil gun is pretty reasonable IIRC. It's just the waiting time that's the killer, if they haven't caught up from the pandemic yet. Mine took 9-10 months to arrive but I ordered right in the middle of 2020. If it ends up working with consoles it could also be my excuse to replace my crt in the spare room with my old plasma I recently upgraded to an OLED... |
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Psiloc
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Post by Psiloc on Mar 8, 2022 11:02:18 GMT
I can vouch for the PS1 & PS2 adapter working, it's just that you're looking at around £100 to put the adapter together even in a basic form.
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Psiloc
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Post by Psiloc on Mar 8, 2022 11:12:30 GMT
I think unless you're likely to actually enjoy putting the adapter together, it would be wise to wait until the official adapter comes out. To be honest MAME is better than most PS1 arcade ports were anyway, but the thing that tipped me over was the lack of support for Time Crisis 2 & 3 in MAME. And the fact I couldn't get the gun to work in PCSX2. Duckstation worked well though.
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Post by One_Vurfed_Gwrx on Mar 8, 2022 15:21:44 GMT
I still need to find time to properly with the Retrotink 5x I bought last year  . I have at least updated it (a few weeks ago) |
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KD
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RIP EG
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Post by KD on Mar 17, 2022 19:22:35 GMT
Just in case anyone was wondering, this is the Top Woolworths sellers 35 years ago, all full priced.
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mrpon
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Post by mrpon on Mar 17, 2022 20:57:59 GMT
Pfft, Microprose chancing their arm there!
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Lizard
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I love ploughmans
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Post by Lizard on Mar 18, 2022 0:06:17 GMT
I know it’s CEX but what is up with tonnes of expensive games that have no instruction manuals. Are the staff or people stealing them? I can’t say I ever have lost a manual… When younger I was always amazed by how frequently friends would lose or break toys, CD cases, games manuals etc. They just didn't give a fuck. Anything I got I held onto and tried to keep in good condition, I don't know why people would be so careless. |
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Post by rwklau on Mar 18, 2022 2:47:24 GMT
Just in case anyone was wondering, this is the Top Woolworths sellers 35 years ago, all full priced.
Somewhere I still have those C64 versions of Paperboy and Space Harrier. For a long time around £10 was ingrained as what I considered to be the price of a full game to be. |
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Mar 18, 2022 5:26:04 GMT
Whoah, 1998?!? I tend to forget how awful early 3D can look. Probably because I'm mostly playing isometric games when it comes to that era. But Thief and Half Life also look significantly better. I guess comparing PS1 and PC isn't quite fair.
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. I have at least updated it (a few weeks ago)
